This is NOT your typical "romance". This is not sentimental fluff without substance. It will make you laugh and leave you crying.

Gil and Sunny's love for each other is one which is often viewed as scandalous, taboo, and yet absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching... They are first cousins.

This is certainly nothing new. Cousin romances have existed since the beginning of time, and are not all that uncommon, even in today's world. However, the subject is one that few authors have the courage to write about. Cindy Bonner handles a difficult subject with grace, compassion, sensitivity, and realism.

Set in the early 1900's, Sunny and Gil face tremendous prejudices against them. Yet love is something that can not be denied, and is worth sacrificing everything for. The couple overcomes every obstacle imaginable, and their love endures through the best and worst of circumstances.

Never has a story touched my heart like this one, and never has one echoed the thousands of voices of cousins who find themselves in similar situations so clearly.

I thought that this book was incredibly well written, and very original. I picked it up in the library never having heard of the author, and I didn't put it down until I finished the entire book in one day. In a day where it is hard to find something new and fresh, this book meets those expectations. I highly reccomend this book, and it's author to anyone looking for a fresh mind!

If you want to be swept away, and get deeply immersed in your charactors, this is the book for you. The WWI setting, the forbidden love story, the broken dreams and hearts, all add up to a delicious story! I can't wait to read more from Cindy Bonner!

After falling in love with an outlaw, Lily Delony must battle an internal conflict growing inside of her. It is a fight for true love against her family and the whole town. Her heart belongs to Marion Beatty, the youngest brother of an outlaw gang. When the town of McDade sets up to capture and hang the Beatty gang, Lily discovers that her father is part of the vigilante group. Marion and Lily have hidden their love long enough. On the night of the captures Lily and Marion run off togerther hoping to start a new life. They did not leave the town alone though. Marion was wanted for murder and abduction, and the sheriff was hot on his trail. After getting married, both move in with a family member and begin their life. When Marion runs into the sheriff, he turns himself in and is takin back to McDade. Lily is reunited with her father, but is sadden. Her father does not recognise the marriage license and burns it. Lily rides into town with only one motive on her mind, how to get Marion out of jail.
This book is a wonderful love story. It has suspense and romantic love scenes. The authors descriptive form of writing places vivid pictures in your mind. Teenagers and young adults anre recommended to read this novel. It is a page tuurner that will not allow you to sleep.

I just have to say, I was given this book 9 years ago when I was only 13 years old. It captivated me then and it still does to this day. I re-read it at least once a year, every year since then . I never get tired of it. With each year of new maturity, I understand and love this story even more. Thank you, Ms. Bonner, for writing this marvelous story. Your writing paints such a detailed picture and brings the reader in and I can almost feel the cold in the air and the smell of gunpowder around me. I only wish such characters really did exist. Thank you!

I am a 32 year old college graduate and mother of two. I have always loved to read, so I've read a LOT of books. This book remains one of my all-time favorites! It has a wide age-range of appeal. I discovered it at age 24, and would wholeheartedly recommend it for any female age 12 or so and up, right on through adulthood. It's filled with the sweetly romantic love that young girls crave, and for those of us who hate the "adult" romance novels for their annoyingly stereotypical scenes and descriptions, this is a delightful change of pace. It's not inspidly sweet and juvenile by any means, though. If you can find this book, even at a public library, get ahold of it and enjoy it!

The Passion of Dellie O'Barr is a story full of feelings and new experiences. The gentelness of the main character and the radical choices she makes keep the interest in the story run high. Cindy Bonner is a winner!! I love all of her books and think she should get the recognition she deserves. It is a pleasure to read Bonner's novels, the subject is well researched and written in an easy to understand language, yet colorful. The manner in which Bonner describes the town, all it's residents and the way of life is so well written, it paints a clear picture in mind. I could not put the book down, it was a great reading, and time well spent. I want to recommend this novel to everybody, you will not regret you opened Cindy Bonner's "The Passion of Dellie O'Barr".

This book is just as incredible as her first, "Lily". It's a wonder to me that Cindy Bonner doesn't get more recognition for her work. Her novels are honest, with real, human characters. This book, as well as her two previous, is a book I will never forget!

This is not a formula romance. It is deeper, better written, and more realistic than most so-called romance books. I absolutely loved this book and recommend it highly. It is written in the first person, and with such charm and honesty, I immediately cared deeply for the characters. I hope this auther writes more novels. She is an extremely gifted story-teller!

I think that this book is one of the best romances that I've ever read. I have also been charmed by the character Marion Beatty. He's 6'0 and I love guys at that height! Well, as far as Texas goes, this is pretty much in short of what it really was like back then. It felt as if I were right there with them. I imagined that I was Lily all the time and when they stopped in that one barn that was owned by someone off on Christmas vacation, and made love with each other. I was scared when Lily was, loving when she was, but angry at her when she got mad at Marion for little things. I felt so sorry for him at those times. if ever someone wants a comedic, romantic, and a little saddening tale about after the Civil War, this is the perfect one.

This book is GREAT! It has action, romance, and a little bit of comedy in it. You now from the start of the book that Lily will go with Marion, the "outlaw".

This book was a HUGE let-down to me after reading Lily. I was so excited to see that the sequel was FINALLY out, I could't wait to read it, then was sadly disappointed. It was still a good story, but not nearly as good as Lily.

Being a young reader battling similar problems that Woody had with falling in love with someone he knows he shouldn't, I thought this book was filled with passion. You could feel Woody's pain and see Lily's determination.

THE CHARACTERS WERE SO BELIVABLE THAT I TO FEEL IN LOVE.ONCE I FINISHED READING,I TRULEY MISSED ALL OF THE PEOPLE AND THERE LIVES THAT I HAD COME TO KNOW AND SHARE.