Friday 18 May 2012

Book Review: Forever Hilltop by Judy Baer


About the Book: The charming and often hilarious Forever Hilltop series follows the experiences of former city dweller Alex Armstrong as he settles into his new role as pastor of a Scandinavian community in rural North Dakota. Alex is sometimes baffled by his parishioners and their colorful ways, but he comes to appreciate their simple wisdom. One thing's for sure -- life in Hilltop Township is never dull! This new two-in-one format features An Unlikely Blessing along with its sequel, Surprising Grace.

In An Unlikely Blessing, Alex Armstrong is a former city dweller who has just accepted his first parish assignment to a small community in the wilds of North Dakota. In Hilltop Township, Pastor Alex becomes familiar with the residents and their odd traditions, from julebukking to King Oscar's fish balls. And then there's the excitement the single pastor creates among the unmarried women in the community! Alex soon discovers that his new church home has as much to teach him as he has to teach them.

In Surprising Grace, Alex Armstrong is settling into his new role as pastor of Hilltop Church, and he's even starting to understand the strange ways of the people who populate this barren stretch of North Dakota prairie. But he also finds that his flock needs help and counsel like he never imagined. In this cozy and entertaining read, Alex must choose between the woman he once loved -- and the home he's come to love.


My Thoughts:  I have to admit that this book did not fully capture my attention.  It definitely took me awhile to get into it at all, I think because there were so many characters to keep track of.  I also sometimes found Alex's thought process to be somewhat off for some reason, I'm not even sure exactly what it was.

And yet, on the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of the rural countryside and small town lifestyle - both of which I'm very familiar with.  There were definitely some quirky and endearing characters and by the second book I was definitely more drawn into the storyline.  I just didn't like the fact that it took that long for me to get into it.

Thank you to Litfuse Publicity for organizing this tour and providing me with my complimentary review copy.

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails