In Blackston's debut novel, Flabbergasted, readers were introduced to the zany town of Greenville, S.C., "a huge, boiling pot of relational gumbo" where singles play "denominational hopscotch" on Sunday mornings to meet eligible men and women. Blackston picks up his tale in this less sparkling sophomore novel as told through the eyes of 29-year-old Neil Rucker, a missionary on furlough who is desperate for a date. The harmonica-playing Neil has "sampled a few regrettable grapes" in his life, and when he breaks his dateless streak, he's hoping for a respectable Christian girl he can get serious about. Beatrice Dean, 81, is a senior single who's cruising for a man (dateless streak three years and counting) and provides engaging moments throughout the story. Missionaries, we discover, are never really on furlough, and soon Neil; his new romantic interest, Alexis Demoss; the feisty Beatrice and others are headed to Ecuador to rebuild huts burned down in a village fire. Overwriting creeps in too often (blown napkins are sent "dancing on their corners, fluttering across the lawn in an airy samba of white") and scenes tend to run too long, slowing the pace. The plot is thin, with echoes of the earlier book, but the quirky characters help keep the reader interested. In the end, however, it's Blackston's tongue-in-cheek humor about the lives of Christian singles that will grab the attention of readers of evangelical fiction. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Neil Rucker has been teaching Spanish to missionaries in Ecuador and has not had a date in seven months. So when one of his old students, Jay Jarvis (from last year's Flabbergasted), offers him a place to stay in South Carolina, Neil heads north for eight weeks of sun, sand, and single, churchgoing women. One by one, he meets the "Ladies of the Quest," an email group of local young women who go from church to church scouting for marriageable men. Blackston brings back some of the same quirky cast of characters from Flabbergasted, including larger-than-life blonde Darcy Yeager and unorthodox Alexis Demoss. While this offering lacks the fresh appeal and wit of Blackston's first novel, it does offer the rarely seen perspective of the young, single Christian male trying to balance his emotional and physical needs in the dating world with his spiritual calling and growth. Recommended as light summer reading for public libraries and regional collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.