Her Secret Hope ~ Review

Her Secret Hope

A Season in Pinecraft #3

By Shelley Shepard Gray

Lilly Kurtz wants to reset her life, leaving her past and her sense inferiority behind.  Pinecraft, Florida, is the perfect place to start over. She has friends there and it's comfortable.  

With a job at the Bed and Breakfast that she first stayed in two years ago, Lilly's new life is on track. What Lilly never expected was to find the possibility of love so soon after leaving Ohio behind. 

Eddie Byler has taken time from his busy life as a farmer to bring his grandmother on a vacation to Florida. But Eddie is in more need of a break from his busy life than his grandmother. Since his plans for the future and a family were shattered he's been all about work. Lilly has managed to make an impact on him with her sweet and caring personality. And the time she's given to his grandmother is even more important to him.

But Lilly has a secret, one she knows will change everything. One that she's afraid to share. One that shows she's not worthy of love.

Her Secret Hope is an excellent read. This book delves into the feelings that can plague someone who has been adopted. Not knowing why has a way of affecting the way one thinks, feels, and interacts with and around others. This book is moving and in a way explains Lilly desire to please and do her best. When an incident occurs and her new life is thrown into disarray, Lilly is faced with a choice - run from the past yet again or face it. 

 I really enjoyed this book. The depths of emotion that were presented as Lilly faced new challenges were moving. One could feel her anguish when accusations were made against her. Her shock at being treated as she was. The adage of the customer is always right even when they are wrong is on full display here and such a policy is most definitely wrong if absolutely enforced all the time. Let's just say I would have been in tears too. 

This is the best book in the series, and can be read as a standalone title if you haven't read the previous two books. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys contemporary or Amish fiction.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Almost two years after Lilly Kurtz first traveled to Pinecraft, Florida, with friends, she's decided to make a fresh start there. She's ready to be new-and-improved Lilly, a Lilly without a past, a Lilly with no secrets. At first, everything goes well. She gets a job, her coworkers feel like family, and she enjoys reconnecting with her friends. But it turns out the past is reluctant to be left behind.

When Lilly meets hardworking farmer Eddie Byler, she can't get him off of her mind. But then she discovers that Eddie actually lives just a few miles from her hometown in Ohio. Lilly knows that he's not going to like it when he finds out what secrets she's been running from. And she knows she could never follow the man she's falling in love with back to a place where she's never felt accepted.

Will Lilly have to give up on love in order to find peace? Or could it be that love is actually the solution to all of her problems?