Flag Day in the Square: - a Holidays in Hillview novel -

Holidays in Hillview #2

by Erynn Mangum

Dani McGrady is finally back in her hometown of Hillview and wants nothing more than to make the festivals at the town square just as magical now as they were when she was growing up there. But the giant hailstorm that hits the same week she gets back seems to have ruined all chance of that. Or has it?

After getting hired as the Hillview event planner for all the town square festivals, Dani is determined to make everything perfect for the town she loves. But on the exact same week she gets hired, a massive hailstorm takes out not only most of the windows and roofs in the town, but also the beloved gazebo in the square. Suddenly, Flag Day in the Square goes from being an easy, low-key beginning of her Hillview career to a headache the size of one of the hailstones. Everything seems to be harder than it should be, especially once her sisters find out about the attractive city planner she is working with and the cute contractor who can't seem to ever show up on time.

Dani is a fixer at heart and the last thing she wants to do is quit. But with everything mounting at once and nothing going as planned, what does the Lord even want from her? Does He need her help to get things taken care of? Or is Dani trying to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed after all?

With the help of her close-knit, crazy family, her faith in Jesus and lots of coffee from Tiny's coffeeshop, Dani is about to find out there are some things you just can't plan.

Flag Day in the Square is a sweet, clean romance that keeps Jesus first always.

Book #2 in the new Holidays in Hillview series!

Genres: Christian Fiction

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2025

Reviews

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, personally ⭐️ Christian Fiction - Contemporary (Rom-Com)


About this book:

“Dani McGrady is finally back in her hometown of Hillview and wants nothing more than to make the festivals at the town square just as magical now as they were when she was growing up there. But the giant hailstorm that hits the same week she gets back seems to have ruined all chance of that. Or has it?
After getting hired as the Hillview event planner for all the town square festivals, Dani is determined to make everything perfect for the town she loves. But on the exact same week she gets hired, a massive hailstorm takes out not only most of the windows and roofs in the town, but also the beloved gazebo in the square. Suddenly, Flag Day in the Square goes from being an easy, low-key beginning of her Hillview career to a headache the size of one of the hailstones. Everything seems to be harder than it should be, especially once her sisters find out about the attractive city planner she is working with and the cute contractor who can't seem to ever show up on time.
Dani is a fixer at heart and the last thing she wants to do is quit. But with everything mounting at once and nothing going as planned, what does the Lord even want from her? Does He need her help to get things taken care of? Or is Dani trying to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed after all?
With the help of her close-knit, crazy family, her faith in Jesus and lots of coffee from Tiny's coffeeshop, Dani is about to find out there are some things you just can't plan.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Holidays in Hillview” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, quoted, mentioned, discussed, & thought about; Bible reading & Quiet time; Prayers; Church going, going to Bible study, & lessons/sermons (which are written out a few times); Many talks about God, Him being our Shepherd, & trusting Him; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of God, Jesus, & Him being our Shepherd; Many mentions of churches, church going, pastors, services, sermons, Bible studies, & ministries; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & praising God; Mentions of books, people, & events in the Bible; Mentions of Christians; A few mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of a Christian school; A couple mentions of testimonies; A mention of missionaries; A quote from both Elisabeth Elliot & C.S. Lewis are shared;
*Note: A mention of the phrase “God helps those who help themselves” which Dani recalls hearing as a kid and later found out that it’s not in the Bible (but a Ben Franklin quote); A few mentions of luck.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘crap’, a ‘crud’, a ‘darn’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘shut up’, a form of ‘stupid’, a ‘ticked’, a ‘what the heck’, two ‘dang it’s, two ‘gosh’s, five ‘good grief’s, and nine ‘oh my gosh’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Dani lies a couple times (saying she’s fine when she’s not); A bad storm & damage (semi-detailed); Mentions of tornadoes, bad storms, & damages (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of injuries; A couple mentions of being bullied/teased in high school; A mention of murder; A mention of the lottery;
*Note: Mentions of brand names (Motrin, Sharpie, Air BnB, & Polo); Mentions of celebrities, movies, TV shows, & fictional characters (Chuck Norris, Rocky, Hayley Mills, The Olsen Twins, Lindsay Lohan, Mother Theresa, Ben Franklin, The Devil Wears Prada, The Wedding Planner, Twisters, Sound of Music, Beauty and the Beast, Pollyanna, Parent Trap, Freaky Friday, It Takes Two, Princess Bride, Gone With The Wind, A Christmas Story, Walker Texas Ranger, Bob the Builder, Daffy Duck, Frozone, Snoopy, Jack Sparrow, & Barbossa); Mentions of places/stores (Starbucks, Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, IKEA, & Disney World); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media & apps (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, & ChatGPT); A couple mentions of songs and singers (‘Proud To Be An American’ by Lee Greenwood & ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ by Miley Cyrus); A couple mentions of Hallmark movies; A mention of Disney Channel; A mention of zombies; A mention of Big Foot.


Sexual Content- A forehead kiss and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Tingles/Sparks, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Remembering touches, hand holding, & nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Winks, Blushes, & Flirting (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating (including a misunderstanding about a girl dating two guys at the same time), dates, couples, breakups, & exes; Mentions of cute guys; Mentions of sparks; Mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of kisses; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A mention of periods.

-Dani McGrady, age 32
1st person P.O.V. of Dani
266 pages

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Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Four Stars
Older High School Teens- Five Stars
My personal Rating- Four Stars (and a half)

I love this family so much. Can I just leave it at that? Because honestly, the parents are great and I just love the four sisters so much 🥹 Their banter and humor are top notch, but then their caring and faith scenes are wonderful too and make the book have such a great family to read about.

I think some readers might find Dani a little intense at the beginning, but I related to her in a lot of ways—particularly about the love of organizing and also being a sheep that keeps trying to help the Shepherd. 😅 I wasn’t sure who the love interest was at first, so I ended up a little surprised and I really liked him by the end. The romance in this book was nice and sweet—their faith conversations made me so happy because they were discussing an important aspect of their lives and it added such a depth to their relationship.

Another winner by my favorite author and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series! I definitely let out a squeak at that final page and teaser!

Allie comes down the hall and I grin at my roommate. “Well, you still talk in your sleep.” “Do I really?” “Yep. Had a nice long conversation with you last night about beagles.”

Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...




*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

[Izzy Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have I told anyone how much I love Erynn Mangum’s books?

[Alayna | Literarily Persuaded · Rating 5 out of 5]

It should come as no surprise that I loved this so much!This newest release was such an enjoyable and entertaining read!

Something I really love about Erynn’s books is her ability to write fantastic family dynamics. She adds in those random out of the blue family discussions that always go completely out of hand with everyone ending in hysterics. I’ve never seen someone able to captures those moments in writing as good before, and it’s probably one of my favourite aspects of her books!


And as always, and most importantly, this book was filled with the gospel. It’s hard to find christian romcoms (for me at least) and with Erynn Mangum, I know I can find exactly what I’m looking for. The enjoyable romcom that centres around Jesus rather than the romance.

In spite of the fact that I’m not American, so the whole red white and blue patriotic festival thing isn’t me, I couldn’t find a single part I didn’t enjoy of this book.

[Sarah L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uhmmm so I don’t rlly get the ending?

[RebekahAshleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one quite writes a book like Erynn Mangum! Her books are so amazing, there’s a reason she’s one of my favorite authors. Her characters are so much fun and very relatable. Flag Day in the Square was no exception! This is book 2 in the Holidays in Hillview series and it follows Dani, one of the four McGrady sisters. I enjoyed this story so much and I am eagerly awaiting book 3!

[Brittany Byers · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun!

This series has been so fun. I love the dynamic between the sisters and family. The plot is strong and easy to follow.

Most importantly, the focus on Psalm 23 was my favorite. The more Jesus, the better.

[Tina Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never pass up a Mangum novel, the banter alone is so brilliant and in THIS book it made me laugh out loud more than once. Just WOW! I swear, Mangum must have these conversations in real life to capture such GREAT moments in her books :)

These four lovely sisters reminded me of a modern day Little Women except with a happy (happier) ending. I have watched three versions of LW in movies numerous times and Mangum simply nails that beloved tale in this Hillview novel. I'm a city girl myself, but Mangum captures the ideal situation of living in a small town and what could be possible. Instead of feeling suffocated, she creates a productive and heartfelt town from one family's perspective that has the reader yearning for more.

There are two potential beaus Mangum provides for Dani, who I loved right away, I didn't like either choice. However, Mangum is SO clever showing which guy suits Dani best and how Dani reacts to both of them with both comical and humbling results.

And of course, there's a coffee store with lots of coffee scenes! Seriously, Starbucks could learn A LOT reading a Mangum novel and it would serve BOTH their customers and employees BETTER :)

One more thing to note about this not long enough and enjoyable story, the storm is SO realistic!! I survived a large hurricane and several tropical storms where I live and she brilliantly describes how a big storm feels before, during and after one has hit! That's one of the few times in my life I united with my neighbors and we all helped one another out, but in Hillview the friendships developed from rebuilding stay active.

There's another Hillview book coming out soon with another sister in this family, am needing that ebook as soon as it's available...can't get enough Mangum stories and grateful they're available when finding a good read becomes more and more challenging for this reader :)

[Tana Stierwalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love every Erynn Mangum novel, and Flag Day in the Square was certainly no exception! I loved getting to know another McGrady sister. Poor Dani can't talk to a guy without her sisters 2 feet away giggling and elbowing each other!
First she gets hired by the attractive and organized city planner and her sisters can't help but gleefully tease her. Then, she meets the contractor in charge of rebuilding the gazebo who does nothing but annoy Dani. Despite Dani's refusal of feelings for either, her sisters gang up and spill any and all details at family dinner. They choose sides between "Walker, Texas Planner" and "Case the Contractor", and I wasn't sure who Dani was going to fall for, if either of the men, until the very end!
I also loved the faith elements of this book. Dani can't believe her pastor is spending week after week on Psalm 23:1 "The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want". Dani believes God needs the sheep to take action, so she grapples with this one verse throughout the whole book.
Flag Day in the Square is a cute clean romance that incorporates faith in every day life. I loved this sequel to Leap Day in the Square and am very excited for Allie's story at the end of the year!

[Gracie Schlabach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good second book to a series I can only assume will be 4 books long, one book per sister. This story focuses on Dani, who decides to quit her big city planning career to move back to Hillview for a more slow and steady way of life. Small town roots were prominent in this tale, as was family bonds and sisterly friendships. The storm that went through really showed a great small town community focus.
The faith content was present throughout and romance was light, hand holding and light kisses only.
Overall rating 4/5 stars.
I could definitely relate to Dani, having spent 10 years of my career working for someone who only cared about me because I was a workaholic. I understood her plight all too clearly. I praise God for allowing me to move away from that place, being a SAHM and extremely part time RVT in a rural clinic has done my body wonders. No longer living in constant flight or fight mode.

[Lexy✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My whole heart!

I absolutely loved this! Erynn did it again😍

I enjoyed the story so much and I just wish there was more. I wanted more of the sisters giving Dani a hard time about the choosing one of the guys. The banter throughout was so great and this is my favorite sister group of all time! I enjoyed how well this story was put together and how we were able to get insight on the other sister’s stories too. The Bible study aspect and how we learn more of God also giving the women a strength to get through real life issues was well put together. Can't wait for Allie's story next!!

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.85 stars ⭐️

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO AMAZING. I love the characters, setting, love triangle, and plot. Dani is the best. I love all Erynn Mangum books. This one was as amazing as the others.