Across The Bridge Review and Giveaway!

Posted by abakersp in Contemporary / 6 Comments

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Across the Bridge by Kristin Neva with JustRead Publicity Tours! Don’t you wish you were in the field on the cover? I do! It’s been so rainy here, I can’t remember the last time it didn’t rain. Our lawn looks like this cover in fact, minus the flowers. Ha! But rainy days been reading time. YAY!

About the Book

Title: Across the Bridge
Series: Copper Island, Book 3
Author: Kristin Neva
Publisher: The Christmas Tree House
Release Date: November 4, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Fiction from the Ragged Edge of Faith

When Marcella Seppa meets her new tenant, widower Drew Smith, a spark ignites, but she won’t consider dating him. She doesn’t want his son, AJ, to experience the hurt she felt when her dad remarried shortly after her mom died. Her faith unraveled, and she threw herself into exercise and gardening instead of forming trusting relationships.

When Drew finds out he may not be AJ’s biological father, his first instinct is to leave Copper Island, but he wants to find out the truth. He seeks out Marcella’s support.

Is it possible their friendship could become more? But how would that affect AJ? Could love help make peace with the past?

Love weaves its way through the messiness of life on Copper Island.

Across the Bridge is part of the Copper Island series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel.

Across the Bridge will make you laugh and cry. Deep, meaningful themes are woven into a fast-paced storyline.

After Marcella Seppa lost her mother when she was fifteen years old, her father quickly remarried, and her stepmother pushed too hard to foster a relationship with Marcella. Well-meaning people used Christian clichés in an attempt to comfort her, but it resulted in Marcella having a faith crisis. Is love worth the risk of loss, and how can you hold on to faith when questioning the idea of a puppet-master God?

Drew Smith moves to the small town of Quincy so that his in-laws can help raise his son, and he plugs into a local church where the leader of a boys group — and his deceased wife’s high school boyfriend — looks strikingly like his son. Drew fears losing part of his son’s heart to a man who even he admires for his height, charm, and cool job as a State Trooper. What does it mean to be a father, and what is the balance between protecting and preparing your child?

Across the Bridge also contains a theme dealing with ALS, a terminal disease that requires a team of caregivers. Readers who’ve met Grandma Lou in Snow Country will want to be with her again.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

My Perspective

There was so much going on in the book that it was hard to break away from it. The characters were intriguing, the setting was beautiful, and the problems that the characters dealt with were realistic. I should also point out, this is book three in a series that I have not read. Even so, I didn’t feel lost at any point. I’m not sure if all the characters are new, or the author just did a wonderful job of filling in the blanks where needed, but I felt it could definitely be read as a stand alone.

Three things stood out to me the most – dealing with ALS, finding out AJ’s dad was someone else, and Marcella’s walk with the Lord. Three things that don’t seem to have anything to do with the other, and yet Neva was able to weave the storylines together seamlessly, as if they belonged together the entire time. Marcella’s walk with the Lord is really what captured my attention the most. From the moment she received a bible in the very beginning, but almost immediately tried to give it away, I was zoned in on her character. Obviously there was some hurt in there somewhere (you learn about it later on), and I found myself wondering if I would be able to hold strong onto my faith in a similar situation, or I would run far away. Her journey was thought provoking and my favorite part of the entire story.

I think different people will get different things about of this book. The way Drew and AJ’s story unraveled will touch some. Having to take care of someone with ALS will certainly touch the hearts of many. Or, if you’re like me, it’s seeing a person learn and grow in their walk with the Lord. It might even be all of the above. My point is, this is a book I think many will enjoy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Kristin Neva grew up in an old farmhouse on Copper Island in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula where the hard-working, rugged residents persevere through harsh winter weather, sustained by friendship and family, surrounded by natural beauty. As an adult, she lived in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas for seventeen years before returning to the her hometown with her husband and two children.

Kristin’s first book, Heavy, co-authored with her husband, Todd, journeys through the first year after Todd’s ALS diagnosis as the Nevas struggle to find meaning, hold on to faith, and discover joy in the midst of pain.

It is this life experience that brings authenticity to Kristin’s fictional works as she explores themes of love, loss, and faith on Copper Island. Her quirky characters are endearing and wholesome. But they are also full of healthy grit, humor, flaws, and appetites.

Learn more about Kristin and explore Copper Island at KristinNeva.com.

CONNECT WITH KRISTIN: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway

(1) winner will win a Copper Island Gift Pack containing:

a Signed Copy of Across the Bridge

Scandinavian Dish Towel

Garden Note Cards

Locally Hand Crafted Bird’s Eye Maple Spatula

Rishi Loose Leaf Tea and Tea Ball

Keweenaw Mug

Most items are from Copper World, A Copper Island Gift Shop.

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight May 6, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm May 13, 2019. US only. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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