Bridges

This was a May-December romance in a post-WWII historical. Mary Claire was so sweet and innocent but also doing her best to be independent. With his job possibly on the line, Neil befriended and fell in love with Mary Claire. I loved the fact that they were friends first. There were some hurt feelings with the change in their relationship within the secondary characters, but Mary Claire and Neil found their forever love. I received a copy of this story through Goddess Fish Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.

This book is an interesting & intriguing 20th Century historical romance read!! This book starts out with the recent arrival of the main character, Mary Claire, a young, blind, Catholic college student who is in town to visit her grandfather, who is near his death. Neil, the family’s chauffer picks Mary Claire up from the train station & begins an instant click friendship with her as they bond over their love of books, reading, movies, & their different beliefs on religion & faith. While Mary Claire had only planned her visit for a few days, things quickly change after the reading of her grandfather’s will. In a shocking twist, Mary Claire, is left her grandfather’s house & all his remaining possessions & assets. However, there were two stipulations, Mary Claire, must allow her mean Aunt Edna, to remain a resident at the house for the rest of her life, & that she must marry within one year of her grandfather’s passing. If she fails to do so the entire inheritance will be bequeathed to the state of Massachusetts. While Mary Claire seems overwhelmed by her newly discovered inheritance, she contemplates just walking away from it all, going back home; but that would mean her aunt would have no place to live, the horses would be sold off, the workers would all lose their jobs, & so on. After much reluctance, Mary Claire agrees to start considering a marriage to fulfill her inheritance agreement, but fears any suitor would most likely be in it for the money, not her. Her friend Neil, convinces her that she just needs to find someone that will agree to marry her on her terms, that she doesn’t have to love that person or stay married to them forever. Can Mary Claire actually find such a person in time? Is it possible she already knows this certain someone who would be the perfect pretend husband for her? Could Neil be that someone? No spoilers here, but you will definitely want to read this book to find out what happens!! I have many mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed reading this book & as always with Linda Griffin’s writing, I remained intrigued by her talented story telling. This book was able to hold my attention to the last page & I was able to quickly finish it in just a mere few hours. I enjoyed the story line, the plot points, the writing style, the smooth & steady writing flow, etc., - all good!! I just am not quite sure how I feel about it in an overall sense. For example, I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters, namely Neil. I liked Mary Claire for the most part, but found her to be a bit awkward, clingy, immature, insecure, & at times annoying. It seemed strange that she quickly became so obsessed with Neil, consistently seeking him out & arranging it so he had to spend time with her. Plus, her trusting him so quickly after she just met him felt odd. I understand that this is a short read, so things happen quickly, they have to, but there’s a difference between moving the story along & creating an unrealistic immediate bond between two unlikely characters. I think I just felt Mary Claire was this young, sweet, innocent, vulnerable girl that got put in a difficult & tricky situation, but it still felt like Neil took advantage of that & her. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m more old-fashioned & seeing an 18-year-old girl with a disability following a 38-year-old man around like a puppy just feels wrong. I rated this book on the excellent writing style, the creative story line, intriguing plot points, well developed scenes, steady writing flow, etc. My own personal distaste for the characters & their intentions were not included in the score as they don’t factor into the quality of the book or the author’s writing ability. All in all, I enjoyed reading this book & would recommend it!! I think all historical romance readers will like this book too!! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!! **Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**