Dare to Love Again by Julie Lessman ~ A Historical Fiction Book Review


The Heart of San Francisco, Book 2
Historical Fiction

Back of the book:

She's a sassy socialite burned by love. He's a jaded cop burned by the upper class. When sparks fly . . . will love catch fire again?

Spunky Allison McClare is determined to be a fearless, independent woman. But when she takes a notion to explore the wild Barbary Coast, she quickly discovers she's no match for the unsavory characters that haunt the dark streets.

Detective Nick Barone would rather do almost anything that teach this petite socialite self-defense, but it seems he has little choice. Sparks fly every time the two meet until a grudging friendship develops into something deeper. But is he just a fraud like all the rest of the men Allison's cared for? Or is he the one who will let her dare to love again?

Award-winning author Julie Lessman brings the glamour of Gilded Age San Francisco to vibrant life in this journey to find a love that never fails.

My thoughts:

With Dare to Love Again we continue on in the saga of the McClare family of San Francisco. Not only do we get to see what's happening with Cassidy and Jamie we also get to shift our main focus to Allison. 

The Hand of Hope School is finally up and running but it is located on the edge of the unsavory Barbary Coast neighborhood. It is a great place to reach the girls that the school is intended to help but it is an unknown territory for the McClare's of Nob Hill. Allison is an adventurous girl and wants to explore the city that she loves.

In order to keep his beloved niece safe from the unsavory elements of the city, Logan McClare grudgingly hires Detective Nick Barone to teach Allison self-defense and to also secretly guard her. Nick has a great disdain for the elite so the sparks begin to fly between the two of them right from the beginning. 

This is a fun story but an even greater tour through historic San Francisco. Julie Lessman does a fabulous job of drawing out the distinctions between the Barbary Coast and Nob Hill. She has brought a very multi-cultural city to life by taking us into the very heart of Chinatown and allowing us to get to know some of the residents and experience through their eyes the struggle between the haves and the have nots.

I think you are really going to enjoy this story of love and struggle. The characters are multi-dimentional and the sights and sounds of the city are brought to life on the pages of this novel. Pick up a copy for yourself and be transported back in time.




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