Blog Tour: The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick

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Amazon UK link is an affiliate

Hi!

I hope this review finds you all well, and that you're finding a way to cope with the current situation. I've well and truly gotten my reading mojo back, so I'm really enjoying the escape into worlds that don't involve quarantines and lockdowns. 

The Secrets of Love Story Bridge was released on April 28th, and focuses on the story of Mitchell Fisher. 

"The lovers who attached their padlocks to the bridges of Upchester might see it as a fun or romantic gesture, but to Mitchell it is was an act of vandilism."

It's single dad Mitchell Fisher's job to cut these locks off the bridges of Upchester - he sees no sentimentality in defacing historic architecture. Only his young daughter Poppy sees through his gruff exterior to the man underneath, still grieving the loss of his wife. 

When a young woman falls from the bridge while attaching a padlock, Mitchell dives in to save her - not realising who she is and that her family have been looking for her for almost a year. 

Mitchell is hailed as a local hero - but can he find the woman? Does he even want to? 

We've all seen the pictures of bridges all over the world covered in padlocks, left by people for a plethora of reasons - to celebrate love, to remember someone, to grieve. In this book, letters are important - we get to read some letters from people who have affixed padlocks to the bridge, and we get to see how letter writing is used by Mitchell as a coping mechanism. 

Image by analogicus from Pixabay

When I read the words "Basildon Bond" on the very first page, I almost had an out - of - body experience - my Nana used to use that paper (and only that paper) to write letters to her sister in America up to a few months before she died. I was tasked with buying it, and in the late 1990s it was becoming increasingly harder to find locally - I haven't thought of that little writing pad in years, and it brought me a feeling of comfort and warmth that made me immediately delighted that I had chosen to read this book. So thank you, Ms. Patrick, for that lovely memory.

Mitchell is a lovely character, we really get a sense of who he is and how he's feeling. He's carrying around a huge amount of guilt, and I found myself rooting for him straight away. I really enjoyed how the book flowed, and I liked Liza a lot - she was fun, colourful, and I felt like I knew her straight away.

I hate comparing authors, but if you like books like Elizabeth is Missing or The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I think you may really enjoy this. I thought it was a lovely, easy read with lots of emotion and a good storyline.

The Secrets of Love Story Bridge can be purchased via any good bookshop, requested at your local library, or bought via the links below:

Amazon UK
Book Depository

Harlequin
Barnes & Noble
Amazon US
Books-a-Million
Powell's

You can catch up with the author via her website, or social media @PhaedraPatrick.

A massive thank you to the publishers for having me as a part of the blog tour.

Blog Tour: Sunrise on Half Moon Bay by Robyn Carr

ARC
Not Paid or Sponsored
Amazon link is an Affiliate

Hi,

Today I'm bringing you a recently released novel about sisters. My sister is my best friend on the whole planet, so I always love a good sister story - this one is set in a beautiful location, a coastal town in California called Half Moon Bay.

Sometimes, the happiness we're looking for has been there all along.

Adele and Justine have never been close. Born twenty years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other but they don't really know each other. 

When Addie dropped out of University to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women.

Addie had great plans for her life but has been worn down by the pressures of being a caregiver and doesn't know how to live for herself. And Justine's success has come at a price. Her marriage is falling apart despite her best efforts.

Neither woman knows how to start life over but both realize they can and must support each other the way only sisters can. Together they find the strength to accept their failures and overcome their challenges. Happiness is within reach, if only they have the courage to fight for it.

After a recent spate of reading fast-paced thrillers, this was a very welcome change of pace. This isn't an action-packed romp, it's a slow, meandering journey through the lives of two sisters, both coming to terms with very different life-altering events. The setting is stunning - Half Moon Bay is indeed a real place, and I was overjoyed to discover that it looks exactly the same in reality as it did when I imagined it while reading:

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Addie and Justine have two very different situations happening - Addie is learning how to be herself again after caring for her sick parents up to their death. This is something I know a lot of people will be able to identify with, and it's something that's not spoken about enough so I applaud the author for making Addie a real, well-rounded character with real emotions. Personally, I could have done without so much mention of weight loss or weight loss support, but I appreciate that self image is something that can suffer while taking care of others and that this was a part of Addie's journey to getting back to the woman she was before she dropped out of Uni and to do something for herself to make herself feel good.

Justine's story was the one that hooked me in a little more, I just felt like I had a real handle on who she was and I enjoyed the presence of her two teenage daughters. I could feel her getting stronger and stronger as the story went on and I was really rooting for her by the time I was half way through.

As I said - this really isn't a fast-paced, action-packed read. It's a slow, relaxing, Summery story about the bond between sisters and about how different events can completely change your life no matter your age or situation. 

I haven't read anything by this author previously, but I will now keep her in mind for when I want some escapism, don't we all need some of that at the moment?

Virgin River, a series based on this authors series of the same name, is also available to watch on Netflix right now and is perfect Quarantine viewing (I actually searched for it just for this post and ended up bingeing the first four episodes). 

Sunrise on Half Moon Bay was published by MIRA on April 14th and is available from all good bookshops, plus at the links below. 

Amazon

Book Depository

Google Books

Harlequin

Indiebound

Barnes and Noble

Target

Walmart

iBooks

Kobo

You can keep up to date with Robyn Carr at 

www.robyncarr.com

Thank you to MIRA/Harper Collins for having me as part of the blog tour!