“Allie McGrady has always sworn she would NEVER move back to her tiny hometown of Hillview, Texas, and yet, here she is - buying a house in Hillview. But this isn't an ordinary house and doesn't take long before Allie realizes that maybe she bit off more than she can chew with this particular fixer-upper. Add in the pressure to get it done before the town's annual Harvest Day in the Square and Allie is starting to panic.
Enter Harris, a pastor at Allie's sisters' church. He is a lifesaver for Allie and ends up helping at the house as much as possible, which instantly turns Allie's sisters into a bunch of matchmakers. This is completely terrible because Allie really likes Harris as a friend only, so everything is now just awkward and awful. In the midst of all of this, Allie is confronted over and over again with her identity and who she is - not just to herself or others, but who she is to Jesus.”
Series: Book #3 in the “Holidays in Hillview” series. Reviews of Book #1 Here and Book #2 Here!
Spiritual Content- Many Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, discussed, & thought about; Going to Bible study (x4, with lessons/conversations shared) & Bible reading; Prayers & Blessings over food; Many talks about God, Christians, & having worth in the Lord; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God, Jesus, God working on someone’s heart, how God views us, & Christians; Many mentions of churches, church going, pastors, Bible studies, & services; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, Bible studies, & devotionals; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of sin/sinners; A couple mentions of missionaries; A mention of the Holy Spirit; A mention of Heaven; A mention of being blessed; A mention of a Christian school; A mention of rabbis;
*Note: A Bible study lesson comments about how meditation and manifestation is commonly said nowadays & the pastor discusses what the Bible really says about it (saying not taking advice or counsel from the wicked, but taking counsel from the Word of God); A couple mentions of luck & being lucky; A couple mentions of a house looking haunted; A mention of a horror movie with a ghost; A mention of a fate.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crappy’, a ‘dang’, a ‘darn’, a ‘duh’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘holy cow’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘what the heck’, two ‘good grief’s, three ‘holy smokes’s, four ‘stupid’s, five ‘gosh’s, and twelve ‘oh my gosh’s; Lots of eye rolling & sarcasm; Allie exclaims other phrases like “buttered biscuits” a few times; Mentions of a curse being written in graffiti (not written); Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of wars; A few mentions of injuries; A few mentions of a house looking like it belongs in a horror movie & people being murdered by a ghost; A few mentions of envy; A mention of hatred; A mention of gossip; A mention of tattoos;
*Note: Mentions of movies, TV shows, fictional characters (Cinderella, Gone with the Wind, Sleepless in Seattle, Zootopia, Lord of the Rings, Twilight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Wicked, Full House, Home Improvement, Psych, Home Town, Disney princesses, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Olaf, & Hulk); Mentions of brand names & places/restaurants (iPad, Sterno, Formica, Pyrex, Elmer’s Glue, Operation, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Goodwill, In-N-Out, & Cracker Barrel; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media platforms/websites (YouTube, ChatGPT, Facebook Marketplace, & Weight Watcher’s); Mentions of HGTV & Hallmark; Mentions of vampires, werewolves, wizards, & aliens; A few mention of celebrities and actors (Steve Jobs, Orlando Bloom, The Pioneer Woman).
Sexual Content- Two head kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and two border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Flutters, & Nearness (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Five ‘babe’s; Mentions of couples kissing, embracing, & showing PDA; Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, exes, & break-ups; Mentions of flirting, blushes, & winks; A mention of staring at lips; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
-Alexandra “Allie” McGrady, age 30
P.O.V. of Allie
355 pages
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My personal Rating-
I cleared my schedule today to read this book in a few hours because 1- when your favorite author releases a new book, you should try to do that (10/10 recommended) and 2- I’m been so excited for this book and needed to know what would happen in it!
I love the big family with all the girls' chaos that is in this series—the McGrady family are just dears and I love being a fly-on-the-wall in their lives. Each girl (Sam, Dani, Allie, & Lucy) has their own personalities (with some that become even crazier when being highly over-caffeinated) and interests, but they are such good sisters to each other. Honestly, I’m pretty sure I will cry at the end of the fourth and final book when it releases because I just love this group so much. 🥹 Major props to Mama and Papa McGrady because they’ve raised some wonderful girls who love the Lord and each other. ❤️
I’ve loved seeing Harris in the previous two books of this series—the Bible studies they’ve all done together as he taught have me reaching to take notes—but getting to see him and his personality even more? Aww, yes please! Harris and Allie balanced each other well and she friend-zones him pretty hard, but I loved how it all worked out. Allie had one moment in this book that stressed me out with a bad decision/thought, but I could see where she was coming from when making it. Again, the ending was perfect in more ways than one—now I just need Sam’s story, especially after all the hints we’ve gotten!
What else can I say? I laughed out loud multiple times, made lots of highlights at different parts I loved, sighed over the sweetest romance, and felt encouraged and convicted while reading the scenes of the characters at the Bible study. So, so, so many parts I enjoyed and I cannot wait for the fourth book—though, I think I need to reread all of the prior books again first so I can enjoy it even more!
See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
