Beth Pattillo Heavens to Betsy

Heavens to Betsy

ISBN: 1400070449

In Nashville, thirty years old Associate Reverend Betsy Blessing is planning to tell the congregation at the Church of the Shepard that she is quitting the pulpit though she remains a staunch believer. Her problem is not doubts, but fear of failure letting down the Congregation. Betsy believes the most difficult task will be to tell her two best friends, Reverends David Swenson and Laronda Mason.

Betsy and David go to a movie together as friends when he reaches over to grab her popcorn and touches her thigh instead. She feels the electricity of his touch and reassess how she feels about her friend. However, Betsy vows not to act on her sudden attraction for David because she believes two reverends in a family always lead to divorce as neither has the time to provide full emotional support to the other. When Reverend Black decides to retire, Betsy takes over the ministry, but besides her fears of failing her flock she fears her feelings for David have grown deeper; could he be falling for her too?

This chick lit goes pulpit is an entertaining contemporary romance starring a likable protagonist who provides a deep understanding into the lifestyle of a reverend. The friendship turning romance will remind the audience of that Bonnie Riatt hit song and the barbs between the pair are amusing but also show how supportive they are of one another. Though her conversion from the queen of frump to enlightened looks seems a stretch, readers will appreciate this insightful look at the romance of two reverends.

Water Brook, Jun 2005, $12.99, 320 pp.

ISBN: 1400070449

Harriet Klausner