The Bridge: A Novel

Kingsbury has written a heartwarming holiday story of faith, love, and second chances. The Bridge is a bookstore in Franklin, Tennessee run by Charlie and Donna Barton. Charlie is struggling to save his store after a flood destroys all of his books. After he gets turned down for any financial assistance Charlie feels like he has nowhere to turn. Molly Allen, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, lives alone in Portland, Oregon. Five years ago Molly spent the best two years of her life at Belmont University, where she met fellow student Ryan Kelly. The two had fallen in love over books and music, but misunderstandings and unspoken words resulted in them both walking away. When they hear of Charlie's struggle they both go to Franklin to discover if God does offer second chances. This short and sweet holiday read starts on Black Friday and ends on Christmas day brining the spirit of holiday to life with family and community coming together in generosity. I would recommend this story to anyone looking for a heartwarming story this holiday season. "He called it The Bridge because that was how he felt about books. They connected the past and the present, the present and the future. Books brought people together and gave them a path to worlds they wouldn't otherwise experience." Appeal Notes (May contain spoilers): Pacing: Medium/Fast Character: The perspective rotates between the four major characters, Megan Allan, Ryan Kelly, Charlie Barton, and Donna Barton. There is a nice balance between these characters, though Charlie and Donna are minor characters compare to Megan and Ryan. Language: Easy to follow, filled with desperation and drama. Location: Franklin, Tennessee, Portland Oregon. Comments: In The Bridge, Kingsbury provides a wonderful holiday inspired story. There was one scene involving Charlie and his "family" that had me crying right along with the characters. This story is unlike many of her other novels in that God and faith are a footnote to the story, which some fans may not like. The end of the novel has a reading group guide and an expert from Kingsbury's next book "The Chance". For more reviews visit my blog [...]

One of my favorite books from Karen Kingsbury. I read the book on my anniversary trip to Franklin. My husband and I watched the Hallmark movie before our trip.

This story follows two main set of people. Molly and Ryan and Donna and Charlie. Donna and Charlie own a book store, the Bridge, where Molly and Ryan spent most afternoons while in college. Unfortunately a great flood has completely ruined the bookstore and Charlie and Donna are on the verge of losing everything. Molly and Ryan now living separate lives are brought back in the common goal of helping save the Bridge. This novel leaves you with the "It's a Wonderful Life" feeling as everything gets tied-up nicely just in time for Christmas. This book was a short book, probably bordering a novella versus a novel. This makes it an easy introduction to Christian novels. It's nice for the beginner Christian novel reader since its not overwhelming with Bible verses and references. I personally felt it could've used more but its good to not have the reader feel "preached" at or overwhelmed. The characters are very connectable. I believe most people can connect to the "one that got away" feeling or the feeling of loss. Unfortunately even the best novels have some downfalls. One for me was it could've been longer. I felt like I was just connecting with the characters and then it abruptly got tied up in a neat little bow and was over. I did miss how she in the other book read had one verse that was the focus of the book. I wish she would have done something like that in this book.Its a very short, sweet novel which captures the Christmas season. I also felt this was slightly overpriced for the length of the book. I bought it from the Kindle for 7.99. Its short enough that this busy mom of 2 small children read it in 3 short settings...maybe a total of 4 hours. In fact approximately the last 15% of my Kindle addition is acknowledgements and group discussion questions. I felt a bit cheated. I do think this one is worth a quick read, especially if you're wanting to try out Christian novels or want a quick read. Its short and sweet and leaves you believing in love and miracles.

As always, Karen draws me in and wraps the story around me, soaking in each heartfelt word and emotion. This is such a sweet story, and I enjoyed it even more because I lived in Nashville during my teen and college years at Belmont, graduated from Belmont, and met and married my husband of now 47 yrs in Nashville. Reading this book was a little like going back in time. It's a beautiful story, so keep a box of tissues nearby.

I was very excited when I bought this book of Karen's because I wasn't sure to expect being that most of the books that I have read by her were in the Baxter series. The book starts out by taking you in the past to when two of the main characters were close friends and how the The Bridge bookstore helped in creating their friendship. What I really liked about the book was that it wasn't centered around the two main characters Molly and Ryan but it also told you the story of Charlie and Donna Barton and how their love story came to be and how the bridge bookstore came to be. It was a quick easy read that made me laugh and cry at time. I am glad to see Karen going beyond just the series books that she can write and touch on other different things that are happening in the world today. The only thing that I would have changed in the book was the ending. I did not like how she left it as to me there was no real closure to the characters stories especially that of Charlie and Donna's other than finding out what happened to the bookstore.

Beim Bücherkauf auf Amazon bewerten manche den Inhalt, andere den Zustand und Versand des Buches. Mir hat beides gleichermaßen gut gefallen und ich kann das Buch nur empfehlen: Es kam schnell, war in gutem Zustand und erzählte eine schöne Geschichte.

Personnel

Oh it was awesome book to read

I have given this book a five star rating because I fell in love. I fell in love with everything about it, the story, the characters, the writing. A real page turner, I don't think I've ever read a book so fast! Karen Kingsbury has a way of writing with so much heart and spirit. If you've never read anything of hers before this is a good book to start on. You will receive joy when you read this book. There is a God of second chances. A peice of Christmassy Brilliance from an inspirational author!

Good Christian love story