Showing posts with label Great Lakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Lakes. Show all posts

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Review of Undaunted Hope by Jody Hedlund


Hedlund triumphs again with Undaunted Hope,
the third book in the Beacons of Hope series. 


Who doesn’t love lighthouses? The history behind the lights and their keepers along the shores of Michigan makes for great settings in this series of historical romances. 

Hoping to escape a tainted reputation from her past mistakes, Tessa Taylor arrives in a remote area of upper Michigan as the new teacher to the children of copper miners. From the moment she arrives in Eagle Harbor, she needs rescuing—time and again—by the handsome assistant lightkeeper. Tessa is drawn to Alex Bjorklund, but as a teacher, is under obligation to remain a single woman. Besides, she could never involve herself with a lightkeeper; she wants nothing to do with the lake or a lighthouse ever again.


The town of Eagle Harbor is being held hostage by the corrupt chief clerk of Cole Mine—the town’s source of income and supplies. The workers and their families refrain from standing up to the abusive boss for fear of retribution. Will Tessa be able to stand up against the evil Mr. Updegraff?

As always, Hedlund’s characters have terrific depth. They are faced with choices that cause them to rely on God’s guidance to discover their own strengths and weaknesses.

This page-turner’s plot is full of twists and turns. Just when you think there’s a resolution, another snare is tossed into the story.

This series has a common thread besides light houses—a wooden cross and a letter. Although this book is perfectly fine as a stand-alone, readers of the series will enjoy how the story of the cross and letter resolve in this volume.

My favorite part of all Jody's books comes after that last page, in the Author's Note. That is where she reveals the real people and real stories that influenced the novel. I only wish my high school History class had been so interesting! 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it for readers of inspirational, historical and light romance.