CLOSED-AN UNLIKELY BLESSING- Book Review and 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.

My Review:

I would love to live in a town like Hilltop, A small church where everyone knows everyone and friendly is very appealing to me. 

It was very easy to connect with the characters in this book and I look forward to reading book #2 in the series. With all the single ladies in the town I'm sure Alex, the pastor, will find love with one lucky lady. The ladies also love to cook for Alex and this recipe sounds so good I plan on trying it soon!

Puppy Chow
From the Kitchen of Gandy Dunn
* ½ cup butter (some people leave this out)
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 2 cups chocolate chips (sometimes I use semisweet chocolate, which is good too)
* Crispy rice or corn cereal squares (9 cups or a box worth)
* 1 pound powdered confectioner's sugar (experiment - you can probably use a little less)
Melt the butter, peanut butter and chocolate in a saucepan. Pour it over the cereal, tossing it gently until it is well coated.

I recommend this book to everyone. I read it in 2 nights...only because I fell asleep...which is my fault because I was so tired, I could have finished it in one night. It was that good.

About Patti: 

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 athttp://www.judykbaer.com

Blog Tour Schedule: 

http://litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/an-unlikely-blessing-by-judy-baer.html )

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

$175.

Click

One lucky winner will receive:

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

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

About the Author:

 Judy Baer Biography    

   

Judy was born and grew up on a farm on the prairies of North Dakota. An only child, she spent most of her days with imaginary people—either those she read about or those she made up in her head. Her most ambitious conjuring did not succeed, however. She kept a clean stall with fresh hay and oats for the horse she imagined would arrive. Unfortunately it didn’t come, at least not until she was an adult. After she was unexpectedly given three horses, she bought even more and began raising foundation quarter horses.  As an adult,  she managed to make that dream come true and raised foundation quarter horses and buffalo for some years. A voracious reader, Judy learned to read with comic books, anything from Little Lulu and Superman to the Rawhide Kid. She sold her first story for $10.00 to a farm magazine. She still has the $10.00.

She graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota with majors in English and education and a minor in religion. At the time, she was simply studying what interested her, but now realizes that she was educating herself for her future career as a Christian writer. Her first book was written with a toddler on her lap. Judy would type a few words and say “Now, Jennifer.” He two year old daughter would hit the space bar so Judy could continue writing. It was’t the fastest way to work but it was a very cozy time.
In 2001 Judy became a certified professional life coach. In 2008 Judy completed her Master’s program. She studied in the areas of writing and coaching. Now certified in three coaching disciplines, Judy coaches primarily professional and aspiring writers. She is also a faculty advisor in the Department of Human Development at St. Mary’s University in Minneapolis, MN.   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, two daughters and three step children.  She grew up in rural North Dakota and has done many of the things her Hilltop characters experience.  Follow the Hilltop characters on Judy’s blog and find out more about Judy and her books at http://www.judykbaer.com
 

I received a free copy of this book to review for the Litfuse Publicity blog tour.

Giveaway

I have 1 slightly used in good condition book to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what type of town you would like to live in....or a favorite recipe!