Secret at Pebble Creek

Secret at Pebble Creek by Lisa Jones Baker is the fourth novel in Hope Chest of Dreams series. Jessica Beachy has come to Arthur, Illinois to fix-up the house she has inherited from her great-uncle, Sam Beachy. Jessica was surprised by the inheritance since she had never met Sam. She has managed to take four weeks off from work to fix up the house and get is listed for sale. Jessica needs a carpenter to work on the house and Eli Miller was recommended. Eli is surprised to learn that Jessica is going to sell the property because it has special meaning for his family. Eli shares the story of how his parents fell in love on the property and the special place on the hill where they talked for hours. While working on the home, Eli shares stories of Sam and his strong faith in God. Jessica had not had a relationship with God and asks Eli questions. Eli is drawn is to Jessica, but, as an Englisher, she is off limits to him. While cleaning the cottage, Jessica finds a hidden envelope. Inside is a letter from Sam to his wife along with a key. It seems he had made a special gift for their sixtieth wedding anniversary, but Esther passed away before the occasion. Jessica sets out on a quest to find the handmade gift and learns so much more along the way. Secret at Pebble Creek can be read alone. The other characters from the series are mentioned along with Sam Beachy, the hope chest maker. The author provided their backstories, so readers will not be lost. Jessica learns about God while fixing up the cottage. The stories from Eli about Sam helped to teach Jessica about God and being a Christian. Eli’s strong faith and that of those in the community played a big part. Lisa Jones Baker has a nice writing style that makes Secret at Pebble Creek easy to read. I did feel the pace was too slow. But part of it was a lack of solid content. The story is very light. The attraction between Jessica and Eli was instantaneous (of course). The romance portion of the story was predictable. It was obvious how this pair’s tale would play out. The Christian element was abundant with numerous scripture passages (too many) along with discussions about God, faith, love, hope, importance of family and good friends. I wish the author had taken the time to establish the characters (give us more background on them). Jessica was a hard character to like. She has trouble handling stress, frequent panic attacks and has yet to address the issue of growing up with an alcoholic father. I did like how Jessica came to know God and develop a relationship with Him. My rating for Secret at Pebble Creek is 3 out of 5 stars. Secret at Pebble Creek is a simple yet sweet romance novel that will appeal to a younger audience or those looking for a nice escape novel.