"What do you think of September in Hilltop?"
"Better every day," Alex said honestly. "I never thought I'd say this, but it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It's a quiet beauty. A gentle wind blowing across a field of ripe grain, or the sun sinking in the west is more beautiful than I ever imagined. Hilltop is a diamond in the rough. I even understand why the people here keep talking about the horrible winters and fifty degrees below zero wind chills."
"Why? You haven't experienced that yet."
"This place is a secret you want to keep to yourself. Peaceful, beautiful, authentic, friendly...Winchester Holmquist told me that he liked to exaggerate the weather extremes to 'keep the riffraff out.'"
The township of Hilltop in North Dakota is all that and more. A bit of Mayberry from the old Andy Griffith show, only it is the only home for the residents that live there and ones you will be delighted to meet in Forever Hilltop by Judy Baer.
In this delightful, two book set, the reader gets to experience the beauty and family that makes Hilltop unique. In An Unlikely Blessing, the town is in need of a pastor and has placed an ad, for which Alex Armstrong answers. What he comes to find out however, is that he is the only person who has ever answered the ad. Considering it a bit odd, until the residents of the town become part of his very own church family.
Knowing that the Pastor is single, it makes him the prime target for all the single ladies looking to settle down. Hot meals are a constant stream inside the church parsonage as Alex begins to understand what has divided the once blended town between two churches, All Saints and Hilltop Community. Alex is hoping and praying that God will give him the strength to unite the two and in the process show him if he truly does belong in the town of Hilltop.
In the second book, Surprising Grace, the story of Alex's life continues as the residents of the town become more real to the reader, from the organized and very talkative church secretary Gandy, to the red-haired-ten-year-old boy Will who is organizing a Hoomain Society in the shed on the church property saving every known animal from certain death; Nancy Hubbard who is converting her three story over-sized home into a Bed & Breakfast; and Tilly Tanner, one of the oldest residents in town who refuses to acknowledge she's eighty and wants everyone to remember she's only sixty-five. There are so many delightful characters we get to meet this time around in Hilltop Township that you can't help but fall in love with them all.
Along the way the rift between the town churches will begin to heal thanks to the quilting bee idea formed by the ladies in both churches. There isn't perfect peace in this township, but what you do come to realize is that when people come together to help out, the problems become much smaller and it draws people closer together. Perhaps God did have a purpose after all for Pastor Alex being the only one to answer the ad for the church.
I received this wonderful collection of Forever Hilltop by Judy Baer compliments of Litfuse Publicity for my honest review and I am hoping that there is still one more novel in this series yet to be written. It is delightful and peaceful to remember that some towns remain small but seem larger than life by the people living there and this one will simply take your breath away. I rate this one a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend this one as the perfect summer getaway read! This book is available at your local book retailer in paperback and eBook formats.
For more information about Forever Hilltop, Judy Baer or where to pick up this book today, please click on the links below:
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- Paperback: 576 pages
- Publisher: Guideposts Books (May 1, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0824945298
- ISBN-13: 978-0824945299
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