Susan Meissner: A Bridge Across the Ocean

By Kelly Bridgewater

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 Résistance 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.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Let me tell you how much I love Susan Meissner's newest book, A Bridge Across the Ocean. First, it takes place during World War II and present day. The setting, part of the time, takes place on the Queen Mary, which is Titanic's twin sister. I have been obsessed with the story of the Titanic since I was a little girl, so for Meissner to take a World War II novel and twist up with the Queen Mary grabbed my attention. The story is told in four different point of views. At first, it was a little confusing, and I had a hard time figuring out who was talking and what the connection between the three main characters were, but as the story unfolds, I was drawn in so quickly. This story has romance, justice, and a mystery that kept me glued to the page. I finished it in three hours because I couldn't put it down. It was an amazing story! I really enjoyed how Meissner allows me to think that I have the character's personalities down, but then she throws me for a loop and has the characters do something I didn't see coming. Similarly, Meissner does a great job at bringing the horrors to life of World War II, but isn't afraid to share a little light with her engrossing tale. As Meissner ends her tale, she allows a character to state, "Life will send us across a bridge we did not want to cross, but when we finally open our eyes on the other side, we see that there had been nothing to fear after all. " As a word of caution, there is mention of ghosts communicating with the present day character. There is also a descriptive rape scene that I would be cautious of for younger viewers. I highly recommend this book for fans of World War II and/ or fans of the Titanic. This is a story worth coming back to again and again!

I received a complimentary copy of A Bridge Across the Ocean from Berkley Press and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Like A Bridge Across the Ocean, it combines my love of World War II and the "Titanic" era of ships, have you found a book that combines two historical items or genres into one? If so, share some suggestions.