by Karen Kingsbury
Christian Fiction / Contemporary / Romance
Available October 23, 2012
Howard Books
272 pages
About the Book
Number one New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury delivers an instant classic with this heartwarming Christmas story about a hundred-year flood, lost love, and the beauty of enduring friendships.
Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee with a man she walked away from five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.
Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. He can still hear Molly’s voice encouraging him to follow his dreams; Molly, whose memory stays with him. At least he can visit The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—and remember the hours he and Molly once spent there.
For thirty years, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing the people of middle Tennessee with coffee, conversation, and shelves of good books—even through dismal book sales and the rise of digital books. Then in May, the hundred-year flood swept through Franklin and destroyed nearly every book in the store.
Now the bank is pulling the lease on The Bridge. Despondent and without answers, Charlie considers the unthinkable. Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly, everything changes. In the face of desperate brokenness and lost opportunities, could the miracle of a second chance actually unfold?
The Bridge is a love story set against the struggle of the American bookstore, a love story you will never forget.
My Thoughts
The Bridge is Karen Kingsbury's first Christmas novella. The story features the Bartons who run Franklin, Tennessee's oldest book store. When the bookstore is flooded, Charlie Barton must figure out to rebuild. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes before Charlie can repoen, and the customers whom the Bartons have long-considered family must rally together to try to save the store and Charlie's legacy.
It's a quick read, but the story is delightful and well-worth the time to read it. Typical of Kingsbury's other novels, The Bridge is an emotional story with characters who have struggles. It was wonderful to see how all of the characters were each praying for a second chance of some kind and how their stories worked together. Plus, the story is about saving a bookstore, what could be better than that?!
My only "complaint" is that after reading the short story prequel last month (The Beginning), I was a little surprised by some of the interactions between Charlie and Donna. The store almost seemed like Charlie's rather than theirs, and I could tell that a lot had changed in the 30-year interim. It would have been good to see some of that background explained.
Overall, this was a wonderful, heart-warming story for the Christmas season! [4 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from Howard Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.
You can read the first chapter here.
The Bridge is Karen Kingsbury's first Christmas novella. The story features the Bartons who run Franklin, Tennessee's oldest book store. When the bookstore is flooded, Charlie Barton must figure out to rebuild. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes before Charlie can repoen, and the customers whom the Bartons have long-considered family must rally together to try to save the store and Charlie's legacy.
It's a quick read, but the story is delightful and well-worth the time to read it. Typical of Kingsbury's other novels, The Bridge is an emotional story with characters who have struggles. It was wonderful to see how all of the characters were each praying for a second chance of some kind and how their stories worked together. Plus, the story is about saving a bookstore, what could be better than that?!
My only "complaint" is that after reading the short story prequel last month (The Beginning), I was a little surprised by some of the interactions between Charlie and Donna. The store almost seemed like Charlie's rather than theirs, and I could tell that a lot had changed in the 30-year interim. It would have been good to see some of that background explained.
Overall, this was a wonderful, heart-warming story for the Christmas season! [4 stars]
I received a free copy of this book from Howard Books in exchange for my fair and honest review.
You can read the first chapter here.
About the Author
#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s favorite inspirational novelist, with more than 20 million copies of her award-winning books in print. Karen has written more than fifty novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists. She lives in Tennessee with her husband Don and their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their daughter Kelsey is married to Christian artist Kyle Kupecky.
Karen Kingsbury Online
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