Magic pebbles

‘A Secret Gift’ – Amanda James

Three years ago, Joy Pentire lost her firefighter husband and she still hasn’t returned to the woman she once was. But then she meets Hope, one of the residents at the nursing home where she’s a carer.

Hope has a secret gift that she wants to pass on.
And Joy’s life is forever changed.

Surrounded by the community in her Cornish hometown, Joy’s unexpected inheritance soon leads to new opportunities, new friends, new love, and the part of herself she’d thought forever lost … her joy.

This was a gentle narrative that is all about the healing process… and some magical pebbles too. It was slow and sweet but I did struggle with the fakery of the magic pebbles and the temporary influence they had on all those that Joy encounters.

I was surprised by this magical twist and it definitely made for a more interesting story. As a grieving widow, Joy had changed jobs from the classroom to an elderly care home and it is here that she inherits this skill as being a collector. Joy has the power to see people’s auras: to physically see the emotions that other people are feeling and can collect some of this to pass on to others in need. During the course of the story, Joy encounters strangers from all walks of life with a range of personal problems. She uses her super-powers to improve their lives for the better.

Most of the characters were willing to open up to Joy. I found this unexpected and a bit predictable, the more it happened. Very little encouragement is needed and Joy became more of a counsellor than a friend. As a result, I think it slowed the plot down a fair amount as the detail for each character’s emotions became quite prolonged. Yet, Joy does have their best interests at heart and frequently she puts other people’s happiness before her own. This reaches a climax in the novel where her own heart and love is at risk and I enjoyed seeing how she overcame this dilemma.

Upon receiving the magic pebble full of good emotions, the recipient suddenly feels the impact and Joy watches them become more positive and confident. However, I found this a bit unsettling because it didn’t feel natural to the characters: let’s face it, they are all being influenced by something that is not a reflection of their true personality. The brief confidence, happiness or desire to do better felt artificial and it made me wonder whether Joy would interfere again, the next time the character was feeling a bit low. Surely there needed to be the opportunity for the characters to learn individually, without the influence of magic?

Maybe I have read into this too much, but I couldn’t escape that feeling and it unsettled me a bit. I think because so many of the characters responded positively to Joy’s influence that it didn’t feel realistic (although I did accept you can collect emotions and transfer them to pebbles!). Without this feature, it was still a pleasant story to read and I enjoyed escaping to the Cornish coast, watching the protagonist move on from the loss of her husband and making friends along the way as she returns to the classroom once more.

With thanks to One More Chapter, Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Bingo 2024 category completed: Set in a school.