Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: 5 Prince Publishing
Format: Kindle/Mobi given by author for review
Mallory Westerman is a full-figured, successful, young business woman living in Yorkshire, England. Though very career minded, she is extremely self-conscious about her ample curves and so her love life tends to pay the price. Concentrating solely on her business, she has almost given up on finding someone to love. That is until she literally trips into the arms of a stranger who becomes her Knight in shining armour. The immediate sexual and romantic spark that blossoms into love and the events that follow, irrevocably change Mallory’s life-path and self-image forever, but only go to prove that the road to true love is never smooth and that things don’t always turn out how you expect… 
MY TAKE:
Bridge Over The Atlantic is a story about love and loss and finding happiness again amidst the pain. Wow! I don't even know where to begin because I literally have so many things to say about this wonderful story. I guess first I will say if you have seen the movie P.S. I Love you and bawled your eyes out for days like I did, then get ready for this book. It's heartbreaking, emotional and funny.
When the story begins we find Mallory and her fiance Sam gearing up for a big move to Scotland to start their newly engaged lives together. Sam gets called away on business the day they are to leave so Mallory has to go alone to meet the movers and get settled. After several hours of not hearing from him she goes into the local pub and tries to phone him and is met with the sickening news that he died in a car accident. As the news sets in and Sam is laid to rest Mallory must try to move on in a new place alone. With the help of her friends and Sam's family she gets settled in her new home while grieving the loss of her beloved Sam. As she gets back on her feet she is befriended by a gruff Scotsman named Greg McBradden whom she discovers is grieving his own loss.
As Mallory and Greg help each other heal and Mallory starts her new life an unwelcome spark of attraction begins to bloom between them. Mallory is devastated that she is feeling something for someone else so soon after her fiance's death and let's Greg know that they can only be friends. As their friendship deepens Greg can no longer just be friends and does his best to start to move on from her. It's not until a trip back home that Mallory finally acknowledges her feelings for Greg but when she returns home it may be too late.
There aren't enough adjectives to properly describe the amazing and beautiful story that is The Bridge Over The Atlantic. It was beautiful, it was heartbreaking, it was sad and it was WONDERFUL! Like I said it was reminiscent of the move P.S. I Love You and tat movie left me a sobbing mess when it was over. Thankfully though this one didn't leave me so sad because the way it wrapped up was... Undesrcibable! I absolutely adored this book and I can't believe it drew out such an emotional response in me. Mallory having lost the love of her life and trying to move on without them is something I could absolutely relate to. Throughout the story she has flashbacks of how they met, how they got engaged and little snippets of their life together which added back story without dragging the book down.
The male lead in this book Greg was such a multi dimensional character that you couldn't help but love him. One minute he was gruff and ornery and the next he was laughing and making jokes. Not in a Bi-Polar way but in the way of a man fighting his feelings for someone he can't have. Not only did it break my heart that Mallory's fiance died but I had to watch Greg, whom I fell head over heels for, suffer with his growing feelings for a woman who was grieving and couldn't be with him. The relationship between Mallory and Greg went from sweet and loving to tense and nerve wracking several times. The push and pull from both of them having these feelings and neither acting on them was frustrating in a good way because you just knew they would be good together.
Mallory was written so strong in the wake of her tragedy. To be able to stick it out in a new place where she hardly knew anyone and start over was brave and endearing. Honestly, watching her grieve was really hard. I had to put the book down because I had a huge lump in my throat and cried myself to sleep a few times. This was such a character driven story and before his death we get to see Sam and Mallory from flashbacks and present day enough to fall in love with him. It's a very emotional story but it's not all sad I promise, because watching Mallory heal with the help of her friends and Sam's family was so well done and well timed that you felt like you were healing with her. Even though I loved Sam and Mallory together, I loved watching her slowly develop feelings for Greg because I swear I was rooting for them the entire time! They both know what it was like to lose a loved one suddenly and it was fulfilling to watch them help each other out. I was extremely happy with the way the book wrapped up and by the end I was crying happy tears and trying to book a flight to Scotland to find my own Greg.
For anyone who is barely literate in American English like myself, I will warn you that this book was written about an English woman and therefore there are some references I didn't understand fully that you may have to google from time to time but other than that it wasn't as English as some books I have attempted to read before. For the most part it was Americanized enough to not get lost in translation. I honestly can't recommend this book enough. It was more than everything you would want in a good read and had so many beautiful moments it was hard to capture all the aspects in one review. It is definitely a story that will sit with you long after you finish it. If you love books like The Sea Of Tranquility or Hopeless then I know you will love this book too!
FAVORITE QUOTES:
~Every time I see that girl I seem to put ma fuckin’ size ten in my mouth. Loc 1617
~Aye, well maybe you’re one of those weird types. You know, the ones who don’t need alcohol to have a good time. Loc 2624
~You saw me. You saw the light inside me and you made it glow brighter than ever simply by being with me. Loc 3148
~I tolerate being only friends. If I’m completely honest, I want more. Much more. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. Can’t you find room for me in your heart? Loc 3713
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa is a happily married Mum of one with two crazy dogs. She especially enjoys being creative; has worked as a singer and now writes almost full time! In 2012 Lisa and her family relocated from Yorkshire, England to their beloved Scotland; a place of happy holidays and memories for them. Writing has always been something Lisa has enjoyed, although in the past it has centered on poetry and song lyrics. Some of which appear in her stories. The story in her debut novel, Bridge Over the Atlantic, has been building in her mind for a long while but until the move, she never had the time to put it down in black and white; working full time as a High School Science Learning Mentor and studying swallowed up any spare time she had. Making the move north of the border has given Lisa the opportunity to spread her wings and fulfill her dream. Writing is now a deep passion and she has enjoyed every minute of working towards being published. Lisa is working with a wonderful editor who is a best selling author in her own right. Novel number two is now complete and currently with Lisa's Beta Readers; three and four are works in progress so watch this space!
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