Review of HER SECRET HOPE by Shelley Shepard Gray

About the Book

ISBN-13:9780800741693

Publication date:11/07/2023

Pages:304

Synopsis

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?

My Thoughts

Another visit to the Amish in Pinecraft is just what I needed to get me out of a reading funk! Lilly Kurtz goes to Pinecraft, carrying a baggage of secrets that she left behind in Ohio, but determined to start her life again on the beaches of Pinecraft. There she meets Eddie Byler, a hard working farmer from the area that she left behind. Although the two are attracted to each other, both have trouble developing relationships because they don’t want to be open with each other. The way the romance progresses is so realistic and heart-warming, with some false starts and several stops before it moved along. The characters are charming, witty and kind. My favorite characters was Eddie’s grandmother, an elderly lady with a lot of wisdom and one who wants to live the end of her life on her own terms. Independent and sassy, she added a lot of humor to the story. I enjoyed the pace of the plot as it was just right for the rhythm of the courtship that was just getting started, but my favorite part of the book was getting to read about characters that I had gotten to know in previous Pinecraft books and how they were thriving together. This book can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend that readers enjoy the entire series because each book is uplifting and faith-filled.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray writes Amish and Inspirational romances for Simon & Schuster, and Kensington, Harlequin, and contemporary women’s fiction for Blackstone Publishing. With over a million books in print, and translated into more than a dozen languages, her novels have been Holt Medallion winners and Inspirational Readers Choice and Carol finalists.

Shelley has been featured in the Philadelphia Enquirer, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and USA Today. She has also been interviewed on NPR as well as numerous regional radio stations. Publishers Weeklycalls her Walnut Creek series “A slow-burning, enjoyable romance… Embedded in this quaint story is a poignant message about the importance of community, compassion, and doing what’s right rather than what’s easy.”

Shelley has hosted several well-attended ‘Girlfriend Getaways’ for Amish reading fans. Her most recent Girlfriend Getaway, hosted with bestselling novelists Amy Clipston and Suzanne Woods Fisher in Sugarcreek, Ohio, was filmed by BuzzFeed and highlighted on NetFlix’s Follow Thisepisode on the popularity of Amish fiction.

Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature and later obtained her master’s degree in educational administration. She now lives in southern Colorado near her grown children, walks her dachshunds, bakes too much, and writes full time.