A Love Surrendered by Julie Lessman

Susannah(Annie) is determined to shed her "good girl" reputation. Anger at God for taking her parents has hardened Annie's heart and she is determined to live for herself now. She becomes friends with her sister Maggie's old crowd and is soon learning how to shed her good girl persona.

Steven O'Connor has held himself in check for three years since his break-up with Maggie. He is trying to make up for the pain he caused both of them in their relationship. Unfortunately he is trying this in his own power and not God's. When he meets Annie he sees her as just a kid of 17. He instantly sets out to warn her against the fast crowd that she is hanging with. He especially warns her to stay away from him. Determined to be the wise older brother type Steven insists that Annie stay her innocent self  because there are few girls like that left.

Wanting to make Steven see her as a woman and not a kid Annie begins to flirt with men to make Steven jealous. She succeeds in winning him over but at what cost? Steven and Annie begin dating, but will their passions lead them down a road that they will both regret?

A LOVE SURRENDERED is my favorite out of the Winds of Change series! I couldn't put it down. Reading the characters' struggle with their faith, struggle in their relationships and yet seeing how God of all creation steadily brings them back to Himself brought such a reality to the story. The character struggles are real, they deal with their passions, their anger, their human-ness all while the reader is able to see God's hand in each situation. While Annie and Steven were the main story of the book we also got peeks into Luke and Katie, Sean and Emma, Marcy and Patrick, and the rest of the O'Connor gang's lives. A LOVE SURRENDERED is a roller coaster of emotional ups and downs along with some sweet romance and spiritual lessons, a must read in the series!

Here are my reviews for the other books in the Winds of Change series:

A HOPE UNDAUNTED
A HEART REVEALED