If I tell you that the main character of HEAVENS TO BETSY is a minister, I'm afraid you are going to arrive at an erroneous conclusion about the flavor of this book before you have a chance to learn otherwise. Stereotypes aside, Beth Pattillo has written a thoroughly entertaining and fast-moving story of one Betsy Blessing who happens to be a reverend, but first and foremost she is a woman.

Betsy is thirty years old, single, and suddenly questioning her choices in life. Her journey of self-discovery is made more difficult because Betsy sees everything but her true feelings. And Betsy's true feelings are hidden about more than just whether she belongs in the ministry—her strong bond with a fellow pastor and longtime friend, David Swenson, seems evident to everyone except this perplexed young woman.

Being a female minister has its own unique challenges, but what Betsy discovers is that it is her own internal conflicts and fears that are driving her and making her feel inadequate. She makes application to law school; her father always wanted her to be an attorney. She goes through a personal makeover—a “Holy to Hottie” transformation. She allows herself to realize she has long been in love with David, but has never told him, or herself before. Should she act on her feelings now? What if he doesn't return them? Is it worth the cost of their friendship to express her feelings?

In the meantime, someone has been making obscene phone calls to her, sent numerous ominous deliveries, and there is a particular church matriarch that seems determined to bounce Betsy Blessing out of her interim pastor position.

This story has a little bit of everything, but definitely a lightness and a humor that keeps even the sadder situations from seeming maudlin. The words and the story flow smoothly and gracefully. Betsy is not a pious saint, but a woman with a call to serve her Higher Power. I started this book at bedtime, thinking to fall asleep with—I turned the last page some hours later—it was that enjoyable a reading experience.

I suggest HEAVENS TO BETSY to all, and perhaps particularly when you need a refreshing getaway from the real world for a bit.