Book Review: Unending Devotion by Jody Hedlund

Unending Devotion

By Jody Hedlund

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance

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Set in 1883 in a Michigan lumber town, Unending Devotion paints a picture of what the lumber era was like around the turn of the century, a time when it was a booming industry fraught with danger and immorality. The danger was in the very nature of the profession. Immorality was encouraged by the plethora of saloons and brothels that set up shop in the lumber towns. These vices provide the backdrop of the love story belonging to headstrong Lily Young and complacent Connell McCormick. As the two discover each other they also discover that they have some growing to do as individuals before their love can fully bloom. What makes the tale even more compelling is knowing that some of the characters were inspired by true events.

The opening scene in Unending Devotion thrusts the reader directly into action as Lily rescues an unwilling participant from a brothel in the early hours of the morning just before sunrise. Soon after, Oren, the father figure in Lily’s life, is introduced as he whisks the women off to certain safety.

Orphaned a young age, Oren is the closest thing to a father Lily has ever known, even though they have only known one another for about a year, introduced when Lily was hired to be the caretaker of his wife while she was dying so that he could take care of his photography business without worrying about his wife’s safety. They grew close while she was living in their home so it seemed natural after his wife died for Oren to take Lily with him as his assistant in the lumber camps. Lily uses the opportunity to look for her missing sister whom she is certain also needs to be rescued from a life of prostitution.

It is evident how much Oren thinks of her like family when he steps in to protect Lily from Connell, and it is during this comedic meet-cute scene that Lily’s impulsive courage is on full display as she stomps on the foot of the man who had held her captive in his grip. When Connell comes to assist the inn owner, who has her spoon ready to hit someone on behalf of Lily, Lily and Connell somehow end up tripping. They tumble over one another until they get caught in the clothesline where the men hung their wet socks. All tangled in the line, the two fall onto a chair with Lily landing in his lap. Oren busts in the room just in time to see the compromising situation his “daughter” appears to be in and threatens Connell by holding the rifle to his head. As it turns out, though, Lily does not need protection from him but rather the other lusty shanty boys that fill the room. Nonetheless, Oren watches over their impending courtship the way that a father would protect his daughter’s honor.

As the story unfolds both Lily and Connell must learn how to control their weaknesses, use them to their benefit, and grow spiritually. Lily, whose identity has always been wrapped up in her sister’s, must also find out who she is on her own. And Connell discovers that although he likes the self-identity he has found within his family business, he can also leave his own mark on it with his ideas and aspirations for making not only his family business better but also the entire industry.

With the help of some friends from town, the two of them also face their toughest adversary. He just so happens to be the owner of the stockade up on Deadman’s Hill, aptly named for the violence used to control both his patriots and the women who worked for him. Lily dares to fight him any way she can after she discovers that he is luring women to work for him by promising them jobs as respectable hotel maidens and instead subjecting them to a life of prostitution. It doesn’t take long for them to learn that he is an enemy they did not want to make. Nonetheless, at the end of this battle of good versus evil, good prevails.

My Rating:

Unending Devotion is very well written, and I consider it one of the better books I've read. Stylistically, it is easy to follow. However, it does offer opposing character points of view in the same chapter. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that I personally found that it detracted from the overall experience in a couple of passages. This is because those passages did not have any separation or break between switching from one point of view to another.

On a better note, I love that the book features such strong characters, especially the female characters involved in Lily’s personal life. Hedlund does an excellent job with character growth. They subtly learn from one another in order to become the person that they are meant to be, making them easy to relate to.

Lastly, Hedlund includes important notes about her research for this story at the end of her novel. It is quite interesting to learn of the little-known history of life during the lumber boom. It’s also a little disheartening to know that such evil as that on Deadman’s Hill really did exist. Thank goodness Hedlund is able to also show the hopeful side of life. She leaves the reader with an ending that is not only satisfying but inspiring as well.