Love At Any Cost by Julie Lessman

In Author Julie Lessman's own words from interview on MY FAVORITE PASTIME April 5, 2013:

Tell us about upcoming releases and works in progress.

Julie Lessman:Well, the “Heart of San Francisco” series, which launches April 15, 2013, is kind of a poor-man, rich-man scenario among three cousins during the Irish-political landscape of 1902 San Francisco. Think Little Women meets Dynasty.  And for those too young to remember the TV show Dynasty, think family wealth and poverty in a political setting.

This series is a bit of a departure for me because it’s a lot lighter and I hope a lot more fun than the angst and high drama of my two prior series.  It will be shorter and less complicated than the O’Connor saga, which means the books will be about 400 pages rather than my usual 500+, and the plots will be two-tier instead of three- and four-tier.

You’ll have the romance between the hero and heroine front and center, of course, but also a second-tier love story between the older couple in the series, just like there was with Patrick and Marcy O’Connor. Only instead of a happily married mother and father such as we had in the O’Connor saga, Caitlyn McClare is a godly widowed matriarch who butts heads (and hearts) with her rogue brother-in-law Logan McClare, with whom she was once in love. Engaged to Logan at a very young age, Cait broke the engagement when she discovered Logan’s infidelity, resulting in her marrying Logan’s brother instead. Now, twenty-seven years down the road, Cait is a widow and Logan is determined to win her back, so the romantic tension between these two undergirds the romantic tension between our heroine, Cait’s niece Cassie McClare, and the hero, Jamie MacKenna.

The one-line premise for Book 1, Love at Any Cost is: “A spunky Texas heiress without a fortune falls in love with a handsome pauper looking to marry well.” And here’s the jacket blurb:

Fooled by a pretty boy once, shame on him.

Fooled by a pretty boy twice, shame on me.

Jilted by a fortune hunter, cowgirl Cassidy McClare is a spunky Texas oil heiress without a fortune who just as soon hogtie a man as look at him … until Jamie MacKenna, a handsome pauper looking to marry well, lassoes her heart. But when Jamie discovers the woman he loves is poorer than him, Cassie finds herself bucked by love a second time, sending her back to Texas to lick her wounds and heal her heart. In her absence, Jamie discovers money can’t buy love, but love built on faith can set a heart free, a truth he discovers a little too late … or is it?

I guarantee you there’s a lot of sass and fun in this new series, so I’m really looking forward to introducing my readers to this lighter style and the San Francisco McClares!

Check out the full interview featured HERE.

Here is an awesome video of the book:

MY THOUGHTS:


Make no mistake, when Julie Lessman says that there is a lot less drama and angst in this book, that does not translate into "boring"! LOVE AT ANY COST is anything but boring! There is drama, there is angst and there is romance and humor. And all of that squished into about 100 pages less than what Julie's novels normally are. While LOVE AT ANY COST gave my heart less of a workout than former Julie Lessman books I can't say that it gave it a total rest! The romance between Jamie and Cassie is fraught with humor and tension. Jamie is determined to do whatever it takes to win Cassie even if he has to fake a faith that he doesn't have. Cassie is determined to never be taken in by a pretty-boy again. When Jamie's plans are thwarted and Cassie's heart is once more broken it seems that nothing can bring them together again. As with all of Julie Lessman's books there is a secondary romance going on. Or at least Logan wishes there was a romance going on! He was once engaged to Cait, but she married his brother instead. Now she is widowed and Logan hopes to win her heart once more. One thing Cait has taught Cassie is that the man she courts needs to share the same faith as her. Now Cait finds that she must remember her own advice. With so many hurting hearts in this book one wonders how Julie will wrap it all up, because as she has always assured me all of her books have a happy ending and that is what keeps me reading to the end! I definitely recommend LOVE AT ANY COST and I am looking forward to the next book in the Heart of San Francisco series.

FUN FACT:

I was one of the winners in a contest that Julie was having to have a character named after me in LOVE AT ANY COST. Julie Lessman asked me whether I would like to have a lady of the evening or a socialite named after me. I chose the lady of the evening character! Why? Honestly I thought it would be interesting to choose something more edgier, totally opposite of what people would expect of me. So if you go to page 42(Chapter 4) Julie, a lady of the evening in the Barbary Coast is introduced. And this is the part of the story where I fell in love with the character of Jamie MacKenna!