Book Review ~ Bridge Of Faith by Catherine West

Review by Catherine Hudson 

 

I received Bridge of Faith as a gift from Andrea Grigg, who knows my love of difficult topics handled well in a fictional setting.

The book opens with a hook that sets up the rest of the story:

He only needed to survive one more day.

Reid Wallace’s comfortable, successful life as the attractive journalist and TV reporter is blown apart, and he finds himself back in his small home town of Bridgewater, despite self assurances he would not return. Here he is forced to face past mistakes, the old Reid — and whoever the new Reid will be. The reason for all this personal introspection and day by day living quickly becomes clear. Julia Hansen.

Julia has returned to Bridgewater with a survival story of her own and the cost has been high—one that continues to take its toll on new relationships, her family, and her two children. Julia and Reid must be in the same physical location—even talk to one another—to get to the bottom of their secrets and grievances.

Something they both loathe, and want to do. Talk about tension.

I found these characters compelling and likeable with an electric attraction that made you want to shift time and sort out their issues for them. I had no trouble turning the page, hoping for healing and the release of truth that they both needed. At each turn it seems almost impossible that these two damaged individuals will find the courage to recover from their past traumas and find a future.

The writing style had slight deviations and there were some short, sharp scenes of unusual lengths, but this did not detract from my enjoyment and I was still drawn into the story. The black moments for this couple were many, but the depth of plot and character meant that I was eager to finish the book. Near the end I encountered one last black moment from Julia that looked set to derail the romance, one that frustrated my suspension of disbelief as a reader and somewhat lessened my enjoyment of an otherwise fantastic ending.

Overall I recommend this book as the story and characters are compelling and the story themes powerful.

Thanks Andrea for another great read.

*****

Catherine Hudson writes Historical and contemporary fiction for the CBA market. She was a finalist in the MARA fiction from the heartland contest 2014 and resides in beautiful New Zealand.