About Books #134: The Village Vicar

Getting high expectations is a sure way to get disappointed … No idea who said it, but as it turns out – and much to my sadness, when reading The Village Vicar – they were right…

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story

When Rosa Quinn left her childhood home in Westenbury, she never expected to return over a decade later as the village vicar. But after a health scare and catching her boyfriend cheating, Rosa jumps at the chance to start over and live closer to her triplet sisters Eva and Hannah.

But Rosa’s isn’t the only old face in the village, and when her role in the parish throws her into the path of her ex, she begins to wonder if she’s made a terrible mistake. Meanwhile, Eva and Hannah face their own troubles, as secrets about their family threaten to emerge.

Can Rosa make a life for herself in Westenbury? Or will the sisters discover you can’t run away from the past?

The opinion

First of all: The Village Vicar neither starts out, nor finishes the way its description made it sound. Just so you know.

Now, I’ve read books by Julie Houston before that I really liked. And this one, too, really caught my attention. However, I just couldn’t make myself like these characters – mainly because it didn’t really seem as if any of them really liked each other? I mean, I assume they did – but not enough of that is shown and established, before they all go off constantly trying to one-up each other.

Also, as it turns out, though, there is such a thing as too many plot twists. Who wouldn’ve known, right?

The rating: 2/5

I really wish I’d liked this, but as I said: I just couldn’t… Although I’ll definitely try again with Houston’s next book. I think. (They won’t all be like The Village Vicar, right?) (Goodreads)

-Saar