[LitFuse Blog Tour&Review]An Unlikely Blessing by Judy Baer

Posted 5 February, 2011 by Molly(Cover To Cover Cafe) in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

**See the bottom of this posting for details on Judy’s giveaway!**

About the Book:

An Unlikely Blessing is a heartfelt story about a new pastor and life-long city dweller Alex Armstrong, who reluctantly accepts his first assignment, a two-point parish in the wilds of North Dakota . Hilltop Township , a farming community, blooms from the prairie like a wild pink rose—lovely and prickly all at once, much like the people who live there.

Unlikely

Alex quickly finds that this lovely place is in quiet peril. Farmers are struggling to make ends meet: Jonas Owens, a faithful member of Hilltop parish, is on the brink of losing the farm. Alex believes that part of why God called him to Hilltop was to help turn things around, and steps in with ideas for saving the Owens’ land. But can even God’s minister help save this rural community?

There are a lot of firsts for the new pastor—the annual Hunter’s Breakfast, julebukking (also called Christmas fooling), King Oscar’s fish balls, and the melody of the musical saw. And the new, single pastor creates remarkable excitement among the unmarried women in the community. If you could die of hot dish overdose, Alex would be a dead man. Whether performing weddings, counseling his flock, or herding cattle by snowmobile, Alex soon discovers that his new church home has as much to teach him as he will teach them. Day by day, he falls more in love with the people of Hilltop Church . People may leave Hilltop, but Hilltop never leaves them.

About the Author:
Judy Baer is the author of over seventy-five books for adults and teens. She has won the Romance Writer of America Bronze Medallion and has been a RITA finalist twice. She lives in Elk River , Minnesota with her husband. Follow the Hilltop characters on Judy’s blog and find out more about Judy and her books at https://www.judykbaer.com

My Review:
This was a likable surprise for me. At first, when I sat down to read, I thought it started off a bit slow, but once I pushed past the first few pages, I fell in love with Grassy Valley, Hilltop Church and Alex!!! I loved how Judy Baer made the main character solely a male character. Usually, when you read a book, it is about a female character with a male character secondary. Nope. Not this time! She made Alex’s sweet, lovable character the man character and boy, was he awesome!

The plot line was interesting. A single 42 year old man received the “calling” to become a preacher. Well, once he did that he received a second “calling” from the call committee of Grassy Valley to preach at their two churches in Hilltop. So, once again, he did that. Only he wasn’t sure what to expect when him and his nephew arrived, in this, um, well, small little town. Boy, was that city guy in for a treat! Through some laugh out loud bits and some sweet, tender moments, Judy Baer really captured this reader’s heart. It was an unlikely blessing all the way around, for Alex-who loved to just listen and help his new found friends, for all the ladies of Hilltop who had some one to cook for(this is where the laugh out loud bits come in!) , and for me….the amazed reader who has fallen in love with Hilltop, and of course, Alex’s character! Oh, and did I mention that Twinkle Toes???? She’s a character that you’ll love!

Well done, Judy! This is a book worthy of recommendation and 4 stars. It is one that I will keep on my book shelf for some time to come, as well as, I will be anxiously awaiting more Guideposts books in this sweet series!

Visit the other stops on this tour here.

You can purchase your copy here.

*This book was provided for review by LitFuse Group*

Judy’s Giveaway:

In celebration of the release of An Unlikely Blessing, Judy is giving away a KINDLE prize package worth over $175.

One lucky winner will receive:

Brand New KINDLE with Wi-Fi
A $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com

To enter just click HERE and then tell your friends! Winner will be announced on February 21st on Judy’s blog, https://www.judykbaer.com/wordpress