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    Unending Devotion
    Unending Devotion
    Unending Devotion
    Audiobook11 hours

    Unending Devotion

    Written by Jody Hedlund

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Lily Young longs to find her lost sister or will die trying. Heedless of any danger, she searches logging camps and towns, posing as a photographer’s assistant. And then she arrives in Harrison, Michigan—and into the sights of Connell McCormick.

    Connell is determined to increase the fortune of his lumber-baron father and figures as long as he’s living an upright life, that’s what matters. But when Lily arrives in town she upends his world, forcing him to confront the truth that dangerous men have gained too much power while good men turn a blind eye.

    Vexing but persuasive, Lily soon secures Connell’s help, drawing them ever closer to each other. Will standing for what’s right cost them both everything?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateSep 1, 2012
    ISBN9781469213729
    Author

    Jody Hedlund

    Jody Hedlund is the bestselling author of The Doctor’s Lady and The Preacher’s Bride, which won the 2011 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award and the 2011 Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers, and was a finalist for Best Debut Novel in the 2011 ACFW Carol Awards.

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    Reviews for Unending Devotion

    4.5/5

    117 ratings16 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Good book, good narration. Poor job by studio in recording. Skips large portions around Chapter 10 and then again from chapters 27 thru the end. Will have to find ebook to read skipped parts.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Talks about God. Keep my attention. Main character trying to do something good.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Lily Young and her sister were orphans when her sister was placed with a family. She wasn't happy and ran away for a "job where she could make lots of money fast." Lily knew this was not good and was determined to rescue her sister from a live of prostitution. She worked with a kind bear of a man named Oren who was a traveling photographer. As they travel through various logging camps Lily searches for her sister and saves other young girls from a gruesome fate.In one small town Lily meets Connell, a young man trying to prove himself to his father and also "one of the boys." At first he doesn't understand her militant stand against bars and whores but starts to come around and soon the two are fighting together to both find Lily's sister and clean up the town. But not everyone is in favor of said clean up. Will their blossoming relationship be able to withstand familial and other pressures?This is a sweet tale of an impetuous girl and a thoughtful boy falling in love. Ms. Hedlund builds her romance slowly with humor, grace and it is grounded in as much reality as possible. She has a true gift for bringing time and place to life. It was a fast, page turning read with very likable good guys and rotten bad guys. She brings to light the horrors of a "trade" that goes on to this day, luring in young girls with promises of easy money. The love of family - whether the one you are born into or the one you create - can help surmount any difficulty.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      This one wasn't my cup of tea. It improved as it went on, but I had already spent too much time being annoyed by the main characters for it to matter much.
    • 4/5
      I was convicted by the heroines determination to end the human slavery she came in contact with. I was surprised to discover so many details were historically accurate...Spoiler Alert...and I was relieved to learn the true villain died penniless and drunk!! The author let him go and I feared he would just set up services in another small town.
    • 5/5
      Very well written with a great message for today. Well read as well. Keep up the great work you are doing.
    • 3/5
      I so wanted this book to be good not so the characters are over the top or not trying Lily is a piece of work, head strong no way just foolish and putting everyone in danger with her actions guess she didn't read in the bible be still anď know i am God.Connell's is a little weak but i am happy he didn't give in to Lily every demands it was ok not great

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I love Jody Hedlund’s books. The only thing I’d change is the romance is a little more detailed than I’d like. I love how she brings a little of God into her books

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This story takes place in Michigan in 1883, when the logging camps and towns were in full swing. Lily Young is trying to find her lost sister and as the book says. . "or die trying". She is searching the logging "brothels" while she works as a photographer's assistant. She is a feisty young lady, who charges ahead and tries to help as many young girls escape the life of prostitution as she can, while hunting for her sister. When she arrives in Harrison, Michigan she will have contact with Connell McCormick, who runs one of the lumber camps in town. Although there is attraction there, they both have very different viewpoints on how things are being run by the lumber barons. Lily and Connell will eventually work together, which will draw them even closer, but since each ot them think they are right, what will it cost them?This was a very interesting story and showed the reality of what these logging communities were really like. The author's note in the back of the book was interesting, as she drew from real people and events that truly happened and weaved them into this very adventurous and dangerous story. As it states near the end of the book, "God had brought her to a place where she had more love than she'd ever dreamed possible. Maybe it wasn't the family she'd planned. But God was giving her a chance at a family of her own the way He'd planned".

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I love how just when the reader thinks everything is wrapping up another crisis pops up.
    • 4/5
      Lilly believes her sister is being held in a brothel in an area filled with a lot of undesirable people. She helps to get women out of bad situations where they have been mistreated and taken advantage of by men. Connell McCormick, who runs his family lumber business in Harrison, comes into play when Lilly comes into town. Once she discovers what is happening in Harrison, she tries to open Connell’s eyes to the truth while trying to figure out what happened to her sister. What I liked: I really liked Lilly’s personality. She is a feisty, strong, and determined young woman. She will tackle a challenge head on if she believes in what she is doing. I think that is cool. Final Thoughts: The story got off to a slow start, but once I was a few chapters in, I was the story picked up and I was able to get more into it. This is the second book by Ms. Hedlund that I have read, both of which were really good historical fiction stories. The writing was smooth and everything flowed well. She describes everything in vivid detail and makes the reader connect with the character. Unending Devotion is an engaging Inspirational Historical Fiction story that deals with courage, loss, and love. It is perfect for fans of Christian/Inspirational Historical Fiction. ** I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for nothing, but my honest review. Thank you!**
    • 4/5
      I loved the story of Lily. She’s doing something that I think most people wouldn’t have the courage to do. She’s saving young women who are in need of rescue. But the one young woman she wants to rescue eludes her. Lily was so focused on her sister that I don’t think she realized when love came knocking on her door. It took her a little while to realize she was falling. But I liked that about the story. She wasn’t hard-headed, well yeah she was to a point, she was just so focused on what was important to her. I think that’s always how it happens. Love finds you when you least expect it. And even though she tried to listen to what God wanted for her she was so focused on her “mission” that she didn’t realize that God had put love in her life for a reason.Connell was probably my favorite character. He’d been hurt and wasn’t quite ready to move on. So I think he was just as shocked when he realized that he was falling in love. But what I liked the most about him is that he was so much like many men I know. At first he just went with the flow. Lived his life and tried not to meddle in what was going on around him. But once he realizes that what is going on bothers him, maybe with a little influence, he stands up and does what’s right in his heart.The writing was pretty good. I can tell that Hedlund did her homework. Being a Michigander I’ve done a bit of research on how the logging companies worked when they set up shop in the north of the state and Hedlund’s account seems to be pretty accurate. It really helped me connect to the story to see the author really knew what she was talking about. She may have took a little liberty, but to write good fiction I think that’s a necessary evil. And even though the end was a bit on the cheesy, everyone’s happy side it was still good. I didn’t cry (surprisingly) but it was still a touching story.
    • 4/5
      Lily Young and her sister were orphans when her sister was placed with a family. She wasn't happy and ran away for a "job where she could make lots of money fast." Lily knew this was not good and was determined to rescue her sister from a live of prostitution. She worked with a kind bear of a man named Oren who was a traveling photographer. As they travel through various logging camps Lily searches for her sister and saves other young girls from a gruesome fate.In one small town Lily meets Connell, a young man trying to prove himself to his father and also "one of the boys." At first he doesn't understand her militant stand against bars and whores but starts to come around and soon the two are fighting together to both find Lily's sister and clean up the town. But not everyone is in favor of said clean up. Will their blossoming relationship be able to withstand familial and other pressures?This is a sweet tale of an impetuous girl and a thoughtful boy falling in love. Ms. Hedlund builds her romance slowly with humor, grace and it is grounded in as much reality as possible. She has a true gift for bringing time and place to life. It was a fast, page turning read with very likable good guys and rotten bad guys. She brings to light the horrors of a "trade" that goes on to this day, luring in young girls with promises of easy money. The love of family - whether the one you are born into or the one you create - can help surmount any difficulty.
    • 5/5
      Unending Devotion is just that. Lily Young will risk everything to find and rescue her sister. Just when she thought her sister was fine and in a good loving home, she learns that she has run away. Now she is looking everywhere in the Michigan logging towns.When you read that some of the people in this book really existed and were as bad as they are portrayed here as they were in real life. You are looking at the face of pure evil, and the facts that are presented as fiction, some did actually happen. No wonder this book is a real page turner, you can't put it down.There are some real caring folks in this town of Harrison, Michigan and they will warm your heart.Lily has come to town with Oren, to help take pictures at the camps, and to try to locate her sister Daisy. When one rough individual grabs at her she ends up in the lap of Connell McCormick. Another man who is there for her is Stuart, who runs the local paper. They both take a liking to her, and stand up for her on several occasions.Will Lily be able to find her sister, will Stuart or Connell win her heart?The answers are here, you just have to savor this book to the end, and enjoy this historical novel.I received this book from Litfuse Publicity Tours, and the Publisher Bethany House, and was not required to give a positive review.
    • 5/5
      An intense story of looking out for loved ones through dangerous circumstances and testing loyalties along the way. A great look at the lumber trade of the 1800s and beautifully written with stunning metaphors throughout.
    • 5/5
      Lily Young rescues young girls from being exploited by abusive men. Specifically, Lily relentlessly searches for her younger sister, Daisy, whom she believes is trapped in a brothel in a logging town swarming with deadbeats and unruly shanty boys.Unending Devotion starts with a bang when Lily finds herself covered in dirty socks as part of a dining room scuttle with the rough men of Harrison, Michigan in 1883. She is strong-willed and opinionated. Readers may not warm up to her initially, but stick with it, because Hedlund grows her character nicely. How Lily tangles with men from the wrong side of the tracks throughout the book to find her sister is a puzzle worth following. For this reader, the most compelling character is Connell McCormick, who struggles to maintain his integrity with Lily and in managing his lumber-baron father’s business.The book’s dedication reads, “For all of the many women who are helpless, hurting, and abused: May you find a way out of the coldness of winter into the fresh spring of freedom and hope.”Hedlund is a master storyteller. She cleverly juxtaposes the ravaging of the land by lumber barons and the people of the time whose lives fell through the cracks. The book is packed with distinctive, multi-layered personalities. Words are used economically, but deliver a message with punch. “ A trickle of worry turned into a twist of dread.” You will get a bit of history and romance with much food for thought to take with you after you’ve closed the last page. Highly recommended.Bethany House provided the advance readers copy for my unbiased review.Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont