The Matchmakers of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine

This is the second book in the series. I didn’t read the first book, but don’t think it was necessary to keep up with the story in the second book. 

The Widows have been working to find a wife for Pastor Adam. They believe they have found the right woman in Gussie Milton. Adam would love to court Gussie, but Gussie has a traumatic event in her life that she has refused to deal with. For 13 years Gussie has been able to keep men at arm’s length, but she is finding that Adam is the first man that she would really like to get close to and that scares her to death. 

Although Pastor Adam and Gussie’s story are the main thrust of the novel there are other people in Butternut Creek that also captured my attention. Ouida and George Kowalski, neighbors to Adam, are having some marital issues. When George is forced out of his staid routine will it strengthen or crumble their marriage? 

Hector and his sister Janey are living with Adam while their father is in prison. Adam loves these two and tries his best to bring Janey out of her shell and be a father figure for Hector. 

Then there are The Widows! Oh my, they are a hoot! Especially “The Pillar” Miss Birdie, When she’s on the scene she’s sure to bring a smile! Adam would like the Widows to invite Blossom Brown to join their group. Blossom isn’t technically a widow though. Her husband has left her and she is on her own. Miss Birdie isn’t too happy at the idea of inviting this young woman to be a widow, but soon grudgingly finds that Blossom does add to their group. 

For the most part I enjoyed The Matchmakers of Butternut Creek. I found the events of small town life to be entertaining. I did have some issues with a few things. The author chose to make her characters more “real” by throwing in a curse word here and there. Even though Adam’s character was a pastor it almost seemed like he would have been willing to hop into bed with Gussie before marriage except for the fact that “pastor’s are held to a higher moral code” than others. So for the most part I enjoyed The Matchmakers of Butternut Creek and found the book entertaining. It brought a smile to my face several times and kept me turning the pages to see if the Widows’ plots and schemes to marry the pastor off would work.