The Substitute Guest Book Review

This was my last book in my pile for all those Christmas books.  I hadn't heard of the author but I was interested in checking it out.  The Substitute Guest (Grace Livingston Hill #20) by Grace Livingston Hill was one of the last batch of books that I picked up at the library after the holidays that was still wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper.  I was carrying through the Christmas titles into the new year.

When Alan Monteith decides to help a friend in need by delivering a bottle of medicine to a sick woman, he never imagined being stranded in a blizzard. And he never imagined climbing a mountain on foot. But when his car breaks down in front of the Devereaux’s home, that’s just what he ends up doing. Daryl Devereaux was looking forward to a peaceful holiday until Alan Monteith arrives. As the young stranger and her brother trudge into the storm, Daryl is left to pray for their safe return, never realizing that night will change their lives forever.

I enjoyed the book but I don't think that I will check out anything else by this author.  I liked the story and the character development but the focus on the Christian aspect was a little harder to get past.  There are some stories where it adds to the story but it seemed to be pushing and not moving the story along.  I enjoyed reading about Alan and his mission to help his doctor friend deliver the medicine to a women who needed it.  It was amazing to watch a perfect stranger step up and help him deliver it through a snow storm.  There was a lot of tension and stress during that part of the story.  The rest of the story was a little slow after dealing with that when they get back and they are stuck in the house because of the heavy snow.  Although they were stuck, there are lots of family dynamics with the holidays and everything going on although it goes down when Alan goes home from his trip living in the Devereaux home.  I was glad to read the story and enjoyed it but it was very predictable and I know that I won't be reading another one anytime soon.