Bridges by Linda Griffin | $25 Giveaway | Review – 20th Century Historical Fiction Novella
A book blog tour from Goddess Fish Promotions.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.
Book Details
Bridges by Linda Griffin Published by The Wild Rose on 04/25/2022
Genres: Fiction, Clean Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 126
In 1963, Neil Vincent, a middle-aged World War II veteran and “Christian atheist,” is working at Westfield Court as a chauffeur. He spends most of his spare time reading.
Mary Claire DeWinter is a young, blind Catholic college student and reluctant heiress. To secure her inheritance, she has to marry within a year, and her aunt is pressuring her to marry a rich man who teased and bullied her when she was a child.
Neil and Mary Claire shouldn’t even be friends, but the gulf between them is bridged by a shared love of books.
Can they cross the bridge to more?
Source: Goddess Fish Promotions
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Excerpt from Bridges
“To my beloved granddaughter, Miss Mary Claire St. James DeWinter, my sole surviving grandchild,”—as if poor, disowned Phillip no longer existed—“the house at Westfield Court and all my remaining possessions and assets—” Edna St. James sat very straight in her chair and glared balefully at her niece, and several of the others gasped, but Mr. Prentice was not finished. “Providing only that she fulfill two necessary stipulations.
Firstly, that she permit my daughter-in-law, Mrs. Edna Carrington St. James, widow of my beloved son Marcus, to remain in residence at Westfield Court for as long as she lives, and secondly, that she, as a young woman in need of protection and guidance, marry within one year of my death and remain married. If she fails to marry within the stipulated time or is divorced or widowed and fails to remarry within a year, Westfield Court and the entire estate is to be bequeathed to the State of Massachusetts, for whatever purposes it may deem fit.”
Everyone stared at Mary Claire. She was so white that her scars were more visible in contrast, and Neil half rose from his chair in case she was about to faint.
“Is that even legal?” Mrs. St. James demanded.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Mr. Prentice. “I believe it is.”
“After all the years I spent managing this house, not to mention his precious Marcus, he’s left me at the mercy of this little—” She rose to her feet, bristling with injured dignity, and stalked out of the room.
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Purchase Links for Bridges
Amazon – OneLink for every country
AppleBooks/iTunes The Book Depository Blackwell’s
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My thoughts on Bridges
Bridges by Linda Griffin is a delightful 20th Century romantic novella. It’s a fast read because of the length and the fact that you quickly become fascinated by the characters.
In 1963, Neil Vincent, a middle-aged World War II veteran and “Christian atheist,” is working at Westfield Court as a chauffeur. He spends most of his spare time reading. Mary Claire DeWinter is a young, blind, Catholic college student and reluctant heiress.
Mary Claire has a sunny disposition despite her blindness and facial scarring from an automobile accident. Neil seems to think he’s a bit older than his 38 years, but war will sometimes do that to people. When the two are thrown together by circumstances, their friendship flourishes.
Books play an essential role in the connection between Neil and Mary Claire. Several characters are instantly likable, while others draw the readers’ ire. The themes of class hierarchy, hatred, duty, and religion are handled with a light touch. I love a story where books are integral to the plot, and Bridges covers that aspect well.
I recommend this tale to readers that enjoy light romance, connections between unlikely characters, and great bookish themes. I wish the story were a bit longer. I wasn’t ready to leave the cast behind, even though the author admirably ties up all the loose ends.
I received a copy of the book for the book tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.
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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!
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About Linda Griffin
Linda Griffin:
I was born and raised in San Diego, California, and earned a BA in English from San Diego State University and an MLS from UCLA. I began my career as a reference and collection development librarian in the Art and Music Section of the San Diego Public Library and then transferred to the Literature and Languages Section, where I had the pleasure of managing the Central Library’s Fiction collection and initiating fiction order lists for the entire library system. Although I also enjoy reading biography, memoir, and history, fiction remains my first love. In addition to the three R’s—reading, writing, and research—I enjoy Scrabble, movies, and travel.
My earliest ambition was to be a “book maker” and I wrote my first story, “Judy and the Fairies,” with a plot stolen from a comic book, at the age of six. I broke into print in college with a story in the San Diego State University literary journal, The Phoenix, but most of my magazine publications came after I left the library to spend more time on my writing
My stories have been published in numerous journals, including Eclectica, Thema Literary Journal, The Binnacle, The Nassau Review, Orbis, and Avalon Literary Review, and in the anthologies Short Story America, Vol. 2, The Captive and the Dead, and Australia Burns. Four stories, including one as yet unpublished, received honorable mention in the Short Story America Prize for Short Fiction contests.
Member of RWA and Authors Guild
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Purchase Bridges online from a local bookstore.
Amazon – OneLink for every country
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Giveaway!
Linda Griffin will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!
Full Tour Schedule:
April 25: The Faerie Review
April 25: The Avid Reader
May 2: Fabulous and Brunette
May 2: Maggie Blackbird
May 9: Gina Rae Mitchell
May 9: Bibliomanaic Aza
May 16: Harlie’s Books
May 16: Iron Canuck Reviews & More
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Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour Host
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[…] Bridges by Linda Griffin | $25 Giveaway | Review – 20th Century Historical Fiction Novella […]
I enjoyed the excerpt and Bridges sounds like a wonderful historical romance for me to read, thanks for sharing it with me! Thanks, Gina, for sharing your thoughts! Have a fantastic week!
Thank you for your interest, Eva!
Bridges by author Linda Griffin sounds like a fascinating book with a unique premise and interesting characters.
It is a very entertaining tale. I hope you get a chance to read it.
Thank you, Nancy!
Looks like a very interesting book.
Very much so, Sherry. I hope you get a chance to read it.
Thank you, Sherry!
I liked the excerpt.
Thank you, Rita!
A big congratulations to Linda! This book looks like a winner!
Thanks for stopping by, Jan. It’s a great story. I hope you get a chance to read it.
Thank you, Jan!
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Bridges, I love the cover and the synopsis has intrigued me, I will be adding this book to my TBR pile
Thank you, Bea! If you’d like to vote for Jennifer Greeff’s beautiful cover in the AllAuthor Cover of the Month contest, here is the link: https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/13371/
Thanks for the link, Linda. I’ll be sure to vote.
Thanks, Bea. This is such quick, enjoyable book. I hope you get the chance to read it soon.
This book sound interesting …and looking for summer read too! Continued success on your tour and thanks for the contest!
Thank you, Sylvia! Good luck!
Thanks for stopping by Sylvia. Good luck in the contest!
Thank you for the lovely review, Gina!
I’m so happy to have you back on the blog, Linda! I’m looking forward to the next book.