A Bridge Across the Ocean
Fiction
Penguin
March 14, 2017
Paperback
384
Own copy, and publisher via SheReads
Wartime intrigue spans the lives of three women--past and present--in the latest novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life. February, 1946. World War Two is over, but the recovery from the most intimate of its horrors has only just begun for Annaliese Lange, a German ballerina desperate to escape her past, and Simone Deveraux, the wronged daughter of a French R�sistance spy. Now the two women are joining hundreds of other European war brides aboard the renowned RMS Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic and be reunited with their American husbands. Their new lives in the United States brightly beckon until their tightly-held secrets are laid bare in their shared stateroom. When the voyage ends at New York Harbor, only one of them will disembark... Present day. Facing a crossroads in her own life, Brette Caslake visits the famously haunted Queen Mary at the request of an old friend. What she finds will set her on a course to solve a seventy-year-old tragedy that will draw her into the heartaches and triumphs of the courageous war brides--and will ultimately lead her to reconsider what she has to sacrifice to achieve her own deepest longings.
My review:
Susan Meissner is one of my go to authors. I will purchase and read any book she writes because I adore her writing style! And it doesn't hurt that the covers of her books are always gorgeous! I anxiously awaited this new book, knowing nothing about it except that it had to do with the Queen Mary and some war brides crossing on the ship. It didn't matter to me, I was going to read it anyway, because it was a Meissner book. Imagine my surprise when I hunkered down to read it and discovered part of the plot involved ghosts. WHAT? I have a complete aversion to books having to do with anything not real (as in, in the flesh real). No vampires, fairies, extra-terrestrial, ghosts, etc. I even think long and hard if the word magical realism exists anywhere in the synopsis! With that long intro, suffice it to say that it is a HUGE credit to Meissner that not only did I finish this book, but I actually enjoyed it! There is something so mesmerizing about the back and forth stories in her writing, and the way the words flow off the page. I always feel like I am completely immersed in the story. Her characters are well developed, her historical information is well researched, and I always learn new things while reading. Even though I wasn't enamored with the ghost story part, I loved the story of the war brides making their way to America to be reunited with their soldiers they met and married during WWII.
A wonderful novel (even if you have an aversion to ghosts). Beautiful writing, memorable characters, and interesting history, are what make Susan Meisnner one of my favorites! I can't wait for what she comes up with next......but please don't have it involve aliens ok? 🙂
This book was picked by She Reads as one of their summer reads. To learn more about them click the link.
Oh dear, I don't mind a ghost and I do have this as a possible read, most likely on audio. Great that it had other good things going for it.