July 11, 2010

Review: Taken by Storm by Angela Morrison


"Lessie is a Mormon. She's wholesome, pure and innocent and devoted to the teachings of her church. Dating boys outside her church is frowned upon and the guidelines about dating in general are very strict in the Mormon world:

-Thou shall not be alone with a boy who is not your brother or your father.
-No parking
-No necking
-No tongue kissing
-No groping
-And obviously, no sex unless you're married.

And these are just some of the acts that are off limits. But Leesie doesn't mind, not really, because she's never really met anyone that made her want to do any of those things anyway. And then Michael moves to town....

Meet Michael - he's not wholesome, not pure, and certainly not a Mormon. When Michael arrives in town, he's a bit of a mess. You see, the poor kid just watched his parents die in a diving accident and is being haunted by their faces in his dreams.

At first, Leesie just tells herself that she's hanging out with Michael because he needs help. He's broken and she wants to fix him. Michael likes Leesie, though - a lot - and he wants more then friendship from her. It isn't too long before Leesie realizes that she feels exactly the same way. But what about her church? And what about her dreams to head off to Brigham Young University at the end of the school year? Is it even possible for a Mormon like herself to have a proper relationship with someone who doesn't believe in the things that she does? 

The Mormon guidelines pose some serious challenges for Leesie and Michael. Michael isn't a virgin when he comes to town, and wants nothing more then to make sweet, sweet love to Leesie. But if he can't even use his tongue when he kisses her, how on earth is he going to get her out of her clothes? He says he loves her, but does he love her enough to respect her religion and their teachings? Leesie doesn't understand why Michael can't separate love and sex. For her, they're two separate entities, but for Michael, they're one and the same."



Can love exist without sex? If sex is the ultimate act of love, how can you be completely in love and not have sex? This is the problem for Leesie and Michael. Lessie was raised to believe that sex is for marraige and marraige only. But for Michael, if you care about someone then why wait?


Michael is a lost soul trying to deal with the tragic death of his beloved parents, and comes to town to live with his grandmother. Michael loves to dive, he has a passion for it. His parents were divers, its in his blood. But while on a boat with his parents and several other divers, a major storm hits and everyone dies except Michael. So now he has survivor's guilt and he's haunted by the memories of his mother and father.


Lessie is a deeply religous Mormon, who s devoted to her faith. She plans on going to a prestigious Mormon college after graduation. Lessie also plans on getting married someday and saving her virginity for her husband, just as the Mormon faith dictates. But things get complicated when she meets Michael and they instantly have a connection. Though Leesie only wants to be Michael's friend and help him through his grief, she ends up falling in love with him.


In the beginning of their relationship, kissing seems to be enough for Michael. But as their feelings intensify, he starts to ache for more. As much as Leesie wants to obey Mormon rules, can she stop herself if they go too far?


I really enjoyed reading this book. It's mostly narrated by Michael, but we also get Leesie's prospective from her poetry and online chats she has with a friend. In the beginning it seemed like Michael was a jerk, but he had a lot of depth and feeling to him. He didn't judge Leesie for her beliefs, even though he didn't agree with them. She helped his deal with losing his parents and he showed her what real love is.


They didn't have much in common, but it didn't matter. When you have love what else do you really need?


Once they have been dating for awhile, the subject of sex is pretty much looming over their heads. Michael is experienced and more then willing. But since Leesie is a Mormon she cannot have sex until she's married. Michael is torn between wanting to respect her beliefs and his strong love, and even stronger lust for Leesie. Its funny because the more I read, the more I found myself thinking "come on Lessie, just do it!"


Overall I would reccommend this book, but I have to say that the ending was a little disappointing. But read it and judge for yourself. And according to the author's website, there is going to be a part two, called 'Unbroken Connection'. For more information visit: Angela Morrison.

GCR Lisa







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