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Rating: 
Summary: Light Christian fun
Review: Ray Jarvis is a young, unmarried stockbroker relocating to Columbia, SC. He asks his realtor where men like him can meet the opposite gender. He is told that Columbia's singles scene revolves around church. So the unreligious Ray goes to church... North Hills Presbyterian to be more exact. What follows is an enjoyable look at the Christian singles scene, Ray's religious experience and a dandy game of hard-to-get with an attractive female missionaries. There is no doubt this is Christian fiction. It has the requisite call to repentance and conversion of one of its main characters. And it employs the worn out analogy that one must choose faith or a career ; but that the two cannot coexist. Despite those shortcomings, this is a fun quick read. Author Bankston turns a cute phrase and obviously understands the single male mind. He litters the book with wholly likable characters who have amusing foibles that make them lovable. The South Carolina coast is described so well that the reader can smell the salt air. A very nice summer read. Is there a sequel in the works?
Rating: 
Summary: Loved It!
Review: Read this book as a fun summer roadtrip story, or open the treasure chest of clever prose, lush imagery, and valuable life lessons. Either way, you can't lose.
Rating:
Summary: Prepare to be flabbergasted!
Review: With colorful cast of quirky characters and a plot that is full of surprises, "Flabbergasted" is truly the feel-good novel of the year. It tells the tale of Jay Jarvis, a young stockbroker who moves from his hometown of Dallas to the unfamiliar Greenville, South Carolina, and decides one day to go to a local church to meet chicks and starts attending the church's singles ministry meetings. It is there that he meets a fascinating young missionary named Allie, as well as a number of other interesting characters, who completely turn Jay's life upside-down. Together they share many adventures which leave them, as well as the reader, truly flabbergasted! I just finished reading this book, and I'm really glad I took the time to read it, considering I rarely ever have time to read for pleasure. This book not only made me laugh, but made me think about life and faith and left me with a really good, satisfying feeling when I was finished. Although it did get a little boring at some times, you just couldn't help but keep reading, wondering what would happen next. This was Ray Blackston's first novel, and I'm so glad he took the leap of faith to leave the security his old job and start writing (a method which he does not recommend to the "faint of heart"); from the looks of "Flabbergasted", I think this could be the start of a great career for him. I'm already looking forward to more books by him in the future; word has it that he's already working on a sequel, and you can be sure I'll be among the first in line to read it!
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