The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury ~ review

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Howard Books (October 23, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451647018
• ISBN-13: 978-1451647013

This book is also available as an e-book.

Release Date: October 23, 2012

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 take on this book:

Molly Allen grew up in surrounded with affluence and wealth, and because she was an only child her father had plans for her. He wanted to groom her to run his company, and really had plans for whom she would marry. Thing is Molly wanted a bit of freedom, so she convinces her father to allow her to attend college in TN, his only stipulation is that she can't get involved with anyone and she must stay in the house he provides where the hired help can keep an eye or her and report back to him.  When she meets Ryan Kelly they hit it off, even though it's just friendship, after all he has a steady girl back home in Mississippi. One evening, and one kiss changes everything though, that is until the staff reports what they saw, and Molly's father calls Ryan and convinces him that Molly is already engaged. Molly thought the kiss would be the start of something grand, little did she know that her father had contacted Ryan. The one thing they have though is their memories, especially of the time they spent at The Bridge a bookstore where they shared their hopes and dreams, and where they became friends with the owners Donna and Charlie Barton.  When a flood ruins The Bridge, Charlie, who is the eternal optimist loses all hope. When an accident occurs that brings The Bridge's plight to Ryan's attention, he decides to do whatever he can to save The Bridge, but can it be done?

"The Bridge," is a very quick read, that pulled me in with easy to relate to characters and the ability to feel the emotional longing of what might have been. I easily became invested in the story of Charlie and his bookstore, and actually found myself thinking about the little bookstore that I used to frequent that unfortunately couldn't make it. I could feel Charlie's grief, but more than that his sense of being a failure. I loved the character of  Molly as well, she stood up to her father, and became the person she wanted to be, which was to make a difference. I think that's the thing that makes Ms.Kingsbury's stories great, they feel real, and it's easy to feel the emotions that flows off of the pages. A great little story about second chances that is perfect for the holiday season.  The book jacket makes this book visually appealing but the characters and plot make it emotionally satisfying. 

A complimentary copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.