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A review by sharonleavy
The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick
4.0
"The lovers who attached their padlocks to the bridges of Upchester might see it as a fun or romantic gesture, but to Mitchell it is was an act of vandilism."
It's single dad Mitchell Fisher's job to cut these locks off the bridges of Upchester - he sees no sentimentality in defacing historic architecture. Only his young daughter Poppy sees through his gruff exterior to the man underneath, still grieving the loss of his wife. When a young woman falls from the bridge while attaching a padlock, Mitchell dives in to save her - not realising who she is and that her family have been looking for her for almost a year. Mitchell is hailed as a local hero - but can he find the woman? Does he even want to?
We've all seen the pictures of bridges all over the world covered in padlocks, left by people for a myriad of reasons - to celebrate love, to remember someone, to grieve. In this book, letters are important - we get to read some letters from people who have affixed padlocks to the bridge, and we get to see how letter writing is used by Mitchell as a coping mechanism.
When I read the words "Basildon Bond" on the very first page, I almost had an out - of - body experience - my Nana used to use that paper (and only that paper) to write letters to her sister in America up to a few months before she died. I was tasked with buying it, and in the late 1990s it was becoming increasingly harder to find locally - I haven't thought of that little writing pad in years, and it brought me a feeling of comfort and warmth that made me immediately delighted that I had chosen to read this book. So thank you, Ms. Patrick, for that lovely memory.
Mitchell is a lovely character, we really get a sense of who he is and how he's feeling. He's carrying around a huge amount of guilt, and I found myself rooting for him straight away. I really enjoyed how the book flowed, and I liked Liza a lot - she was fun, colourful, and I felt like I knew her straight away.
I hate comparing authors, but if you like books like [b:Elizabeth Is Missing|18635113|Elizabeth Is Missing|Emma Healey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388883559l/18635113._SY75_.jpg|24946905] or [b:The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry|13227454|The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry, #1)|Rachel Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1335816092l/13227454._SY75_.jpg|18156927], I think you may really enjoy this. I thought it was a lovely, easy read with lots of emotion and a good storyline.
Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an e-copy via Netgalley.
It's single dad Mitchell Fisher's job to cut these locks off the bridges of Upchester - he sees no sentimentality in defacing historic architecture. Only his young daughter Poppy sees through his gruff exterior to the man underneath, still grieving the loss of his wife. When a young woman falls from the bridge while attaching a padlock, Mitchell dives in to save her - not realising who she is and that her family have been looking for her for almost a year. Mitchell is hailed as a local hero - but can he find the woman? Does he even want to?
We've all seen the pictures of bridges all over the world covered in padlocks, left by people for a myriad of reasons - to celebrate love, to remember someone, to grieve. In this book, letters are important - we get to read some letters from people who have affixed padlocks to the bridge, and we get to see how letter writing is used by Mitchell as a coping mechanism.
When I read the words "Basildon Bond" on the very first page, I almost had an out - of - body experience - my Nana used to use that paper (and only that paper) to write letters to her sister in America up to a few months before she died. I was tasked with buying it, and in the late 1990s it was becoming increasingly harder to find locally - I haven't thought of that little writing pad in years, and it brought me a feeling of comfort and warmth that made me immediately delighted that I had chosen to read this book. So thank you, Ms. Patrick, for that lovely memory.
Mitchell is a lovely character, we really get a sense of who he is and how he's feeling. He's carrying around a huge amount of guilt, and I found myself rooting for him straight away. I really enjoyed how the book flowed, and I liked Liza a lot - she was fun, colourful, and I felt like I knew her straight away.
I hate comparing authors, but if you like books like [b:Elizabeth Is Missing|18635113|Elizabeth Is Missing|Emma Healey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388883559l/18635113._SY75_.jpg|24946905] or [b:The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry|13227454|The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry, #1)|Rachel Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1335816092l/13227454._SY75_.jpg|18156927], I think you may really enjoy this. I thought it was a lovely, easy read with lots of emotion and a good storyline.
Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an e-copy via Netgalley.