Review Tour - - The Christmas Bridge

The Christmas Bridge
By Elyse Douglas
Release Date: September 15, 2015

Olivia never expected to be a widow at forty. A year after her husband Carl's unexpected death, Olivia is still trying to find her footing and move forward with her life. Twenty years ago, as a college student in New York City, she fell deeply in love with Andrew and envisioned a completely different life but a difficult decision led her back to her hometown sweetheart and a comfortable, if unexciting, marriage. When a business trip takes her back to NYC for the first time since those exciting college days, she impulsively reaches out to the man who once held her heart. After the way their relationship ended, is a second chance possible?

Arriving in New York before Andrew returns from a business trip, Olivia spends her first day visiting those spots that were special to her when she lived there before. It's at one of those places, a bridge in Central Park, that she encounters Brett, a well-known, professional baseball player at a crossroads in his career. He's younger, handsome, full of joy and enthusiasm and she has no idea who he is but the attraction is immediate...and mutual. Has fate given her a second chance with her first love or steered her to a new, unexpected path?

This was my first book by Elyse Douglas but it won't be my last. It's on the short side - 183 pages - but is no less enthralling for its length. I was captivated by this richly emotional story of Olivia's journey of self-discovery and love. I think we've all probably second-guessed a decision at some point in our lives or wondered "what if?" I know I have. Douglas skillfully steers Olivia through those questions as she travels the path of discovery to who she is and who she wants to be. The characters are fully dimensional, vibrant and brought to life by the author. I could feel their emotions: the sorrow, confusion, anger, and joy that are all important facets of the journeys they travel. The secondary characters are also richly drawn and realistic, especially Olivia's supportive father-in-law, Taylor Scott and her college-age daughter, Emily.

If you're looking for a feel-good contemporary romance that will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for happy endings, I highly recommend The Christmas Bridge.

~PJ

A First Love. A Second Chance.

A young widow travels to New York on business a few days before Christmas. She has reluctantly made a date with a lover she hasn’t seen in 20 years, and she is nervous and apprehensive. Twenty years before, she made a difficult decision that has both troubled and haunted her ever since. She knows she’s about to come face-to-face with her past and she’s hoping for some redemption and resolution. She also wonders if she can somehow pick up where she left off 20 years ago and start again.

An exciting chance encounter changes everything. Now, not only will she face the past with hope to rekindle an old romance, but there is the possibility that this chance meeting will bring her love and happiness she never thought possible.

Once again, she will have to choose. She will have to make the right decision. She will have to believe that Christmas miracles can still happen.

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