[Book Review] Bridges: A Daphne White Novel

Bridges: A Daphne White Novel

Maria Murnane

Chick-Lit, Contemporary Fiction

Rating:

★★★★★

The tipping point in why I’ve decided to review this book is because the main protagonist is a writer. I’ve always found it fascinating when the main character is a writer because it’s interesting to see the character’s writing dilemmas being fleshed out as the story progresses. This is exactly what I got with Daphne in Bridges.

The story is reminiscent of the TV series Sex and the City, complete with fun girlfriends, hijinks along the way, misunderstandings, and love between friends.

I like Daphne, but the way the story began made it feel like she was just going along with everything, even her relationship with Derek, and she had no real endgame in mind. Of course, this is except for her writing, which she embraced like a fish in the water.

Truth be told, as I got to read the montage of her rejection letters one after the other, it was disheartening. The only glimmer of light that kept me going was the thought of vindication in the end. I was rooting for a happy ending that’s why I stuck to the story.

While reading, I briefly wondered if my friends and I could experience the same things that Daphne and her posse went through. I hope we do.
I also really liked the bracelet bit in the story. It was enlightening, profound, and just lovely. Maybe I’ll try to get myself a bracelet like the one they have just to remind me of the little things in between the highs and lows.

The part about Skylar’s stepdaughter was really interesting. I think it highlighted the generational gap between Skylar, Daphne and KC, and Skylar’s stepdaughter. It showed the difference in trends between the teenagers then and the teenagers now, but exactly the same situations, reactions, and social behavior. I’m just really glad that Skylar’s stepdaughter handled it really well, and she grew on me.

*spoiler* While I felt dissatisfied with the fact that Daphne didn’t end up with a man, that’s on me. I think the story had a proper ending even though there was no love interest involved.

All in all, this is a really profound read, and I highly recommend it as a reading material for women and their girlfriends.

Links:

Amazon // Goodreads

It’s a piece of news Daphne never expected to hear: Her globe-trotting friend Skylar, who vowed never to get married, is engaged! Time to celebrate in Manhattan—Skylar’s treat, of course. After years scaling the corporate ladder, she can more than afford it.

Daphne arrives in NYC with news of her own—the novel she’s finally finished appears to be going nowhere but the trash bin of every publishing house around. She’s devastated but plans to keep her disappointment under wraps, something that becomes trickier when she sees Skylar’s spectacular apartment. Could her life have been like this if she’d chosen a different path?

What Daphne doesn’t know is she’s not the only one with a secret. Skylar and their friend KC are also holding something back, but what? As the trip unfolds, the truth about each woman emerges, along with tears.

And laughter. And love.

The fun-loving trio readers fell for in Wait for the Rain is together once more. Here's to the power of friendship!

Maria's road to becoming an author is a little crazy. She used to work in high-tech PR but hated it, so she quit and ended up playing semi-pro soccer in Argentina for a year. While she was down there she decided to write a novel, which was something she'd always dreamed of doing. Fast forward a few years and a LOT of perseverance, and she's now the best-selling author of Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, Chocolate for Two, Cassidy Lane, and Katwalk. Her next book, Wait for the Rain, will be released in Feb 2015. And yes, she still plays a lot of soccer!

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