From the author of Rise and Shine Benedict Stone, soon to be a an original movie on Hallmark. “Patrick blends romance, mystery, and quirkiness to highly entertaining effect.” –Booklist “A wonderfully hope-filled story.” –Sarah Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of The Cactus A single father gets an unexpected second chance at love. It’s summer in the city and passions are … love.
It’s summer in the city and passions are soaring along with the temperature–for everyone but Mitchell Fisher, who hates all things romance. He relishes his job cutting off the padlocks that couples fasten to the famous “love story” bridge. Only his young daughter, Poppy, knows that behind his prickly veneer, Mitchell still grieves the loss of her mother.
Then one hot day, everything changes when Mitchell courageously rescues a woman who falls from the bridge into the river. He’s surprised to feel an unexpected connection to her, but she disappears before he can ask her name. Desperate to find out her identity, Mitchell is shocked to learn she’s been missing for almost a year. He teams up with her spirited sister, Liza, on a quest to find her again. However, she’s left only one clue behind–a message on the padlock she hung on the bridge.
Brimming with Phaedra Patrick’s signature charm and a sparkling cast of characters, The Secrets of Love Story Bridge follows one man’s journey to unlock his heart and discover new beginnings in the unlikeliest places.
Check out these other heartwarming stories from Phaedra Patrick.
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone
The Library of Lost and Found
Book People
more
Both a mystery and a romance, this story is about one man’s journey from grief to a new beginning. Set among the bridges of Paris, this charming book is full of hope, heartwarming moments, and a bit of suspense.
A wonderful light read without being too sappy.
Mitchell went from his job as an engineer to the job of removing padlocks placed by lovers on bridge railings and padlocks that were starting to weigh down the bridges.
Mitchell lived alone with his daughter since his wife died, and he had a difficult time making ends meet, keeping her entertained, and trying to not think about love since he still grieved for his wife.
One day as Mitchell was removing the padlocks, he saw a woman falling over the edge of the railing. He jumped in after her and rescued her.
Of course he didn’t like the attention he received from his rescue, but he did keep thinking about this girl. His only regret was that he never got her name.
We follow Mitchell as he looks for this woman and finds out that her sister is his daughter’s music teacher and that she had disappeared a year ago. He then becomes involved in the family’s search for Yvette. He also finds out that there are some secrets in this family.
Besides helping the family search for Yvette, Mitchell is pulled into a journalist’s story about his heroics when the journalist asked readers to write to him. His involvement is to read the hundreds of handwritten letters that have made their way to her desk.
Ms. Patrick has written another heartwarming book with characters you will fall in love with and a story line that will keep you turning the pages.
I always enjoy Ms. Patrick’s books because they are uplifting and sweet.
THE SECRETS OF LOVE STORY BRIDGE will warm your heart just as all of her books.
A truly enjoyable read. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher and BookBrowse in exchange for an honest review.
The Secrets of Love Story Bridge tugged at my heart. It’s the kind of story that’s already set up to have you feel a special sense of protectiveness and care for the protagonist. Mitchell is a single dad who’s lost his belief in love and romance since his partner, Anita died. Now caring for their nine year-old daughter, Mitchell has become a more practical and regimented person, looking for ways to occupy all the minutes of the day so that there’s no room to think about her passing. He left a promising but time-consuming career as an architect to work for his local council where he removes padlocks on bridges placed there by couples who are hopelessly in love or people remembering their loved ones. It’s decidedly less challenging and less money but it gives him the opportunity to focus on being a dad. He’s going about his work one morning when he notices a woman attach a padlock to the bridge – much to Mitchell’s dismay – but there’s something alluring about her. As he watches her, he sees her fall off the bridge and he quickly jumps in after her. Once she’s safe, they part ways though fate isn’t done with them yet. In an unexpected coincidence it turns out the mysterious woman is connected to someone he knows. This person enlists Mitchell’s help in finding her with what little information they can gleam from the incident and the publicity it has garnered. Now Mitchell, who has only craved the quiet, ordered life with his daughter, is thrust into another kind of life where he interacts with people again, and he can’t seem to escape being the good guy or be the recipient of people’s good intentions.
I have noticed the comparisons to Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and I can see why. Much like Ove, Mitchell just wants to go about his life without having to deal with others but never the less gets caught up in it all. Since he’s forced to interact with others, his introverted lifestyle has to make room for others now. It’s the subtle way that these new interactions infiltrate his life and open him up again that makes this story so powerful. Patrick manages a delicate balancing act between demonstrating Mitchell’s grief which gradually shifts towards slight trepidation befor moving on and finally accepting that there’s still much to be a part of and celebrate in his life.
I liked the tender way Mitchell’s story is told. There’s something calming, kind of matter-of-fact about it that made me feel like I was invited into Mitchell’s world. Those moments of grief were done tenderly. The moments of levity saw him reconnecting with the past and also welcoming new beginnings. I loved Patrick’s other novel, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, and much like that The Secret of Love Story Bridge is insightful, uplifting and heartfelt.
~ Bel
(Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review)
An uplifting book about second chances, this book hooked me in with a stodgy but likable hero and a bit of a mystery. The set up was unique, and the method of getting the main character to “wake up” was charming. It took a while to understand Mitchell, but once his background was clear, he became endearing to me. I wanted to root for him. It was nice to have a male protagonist for a change as well. I would certainly recommend this book. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row for a digital ARC of the book.
This is my first book from this author, and I was totally hooked with the book description. I love stories that deal with finding yourself and learning to overcome the big obstacles that life throws at you, and The Secrets of Love Story Bridge seemed to be the kind of story I was looking for in a world that is full of pandemic stress.
Michell lost his wife Anita and is grieving for her. Mitch deals with his grief by sticking to a rigid schedule and protecting his heart by closing himself off emotionally. He spends his days cutting love locks from bridges to protect their structural integrity. What a job to have — to face these love offerings everyday — as he griefs for his wife. When he tries to save a woman from jumping off the bridge after placing a lock there, his life changes because of his actions to save her. There’s a mystery here when it is revealed the woman who jumped off the bridge has been missing for some time.
Mitch is joined on his journey by his nine year daughter Poppy, who provides much relief with her young humor. It’s Poppy’s music teacher Liza who brings more clues to the mysterious bridge jumper mystery. I liked that there was this mystery to help Mitch move on from his grief.
I loved the tone of this story. It’s on the feel-good side considering the subject matter, and Mitch does learn quite a bit through his emotional journey. There’s a really lovely part of this story that has to do with letter writing that I absolutely loved because the power of putting your words down on paper is so important in this electronic world.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s emotional, has great characters and relationships between them and shows the lovely progression of Mitch’s jouney out of grieving, and it was his journey that was the best part of the story. I wouldn’t call this a page-turner, but I was engaged and needed to know how it was all going to turn out for the characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.
Who knows how the notion of placing a padlock on a bridge became a romantic expression of love, but with the addition of one particular heart-shaped lock, an uplifting and sweet story is born in The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick.
The forlorn widower, Mitchell, spends his days removing locks from the various bridges in his quaint English town. This one-time architect has taken on this menial job as a way to have more time with his daughter Poppy. Mitchell is a bit cranky, but he is a devoted father and a good person. I adored Poppy. This delightful, nine-year-old character is not too precocious as to seem affected, but clearly an only child who is comfortable interacting with adults.
Is it Mitchell’s feelings of guilt about his partner’s death that lead him to save a woman who has fallen from the bridge? Regardless of his motivation, his actions have thrust him into the public eye, and in particular the path of one charismatic music teacher named Liza.
Like many of Ms. Patrick’s prior stories, this starts a lovely, quirky journey of rediscovery and renewal after the loss of love. Mitchell’s act of heroism starts a chain of events like a Rube Goldberg machine. He becomes “unstuck” and tumbles from one new situation to the next as he learns that moving forward can be the best tribute to his past.
Author Phaedra Patrick has a knack for storytelling. The character development is good, the plot flows smoothly, there is just the right amount of revelation and comeuppance so that the denouement is fully satisfying.
This is about Mitchell and Poppy going on after Anita’s unexpected death. His job is removing padlocks that lovers hang on a bridge. One day he saves a girls life when she falls from the bridge. Then he meets Liza. It’s an enjoyable book with some quirky people on the fringes. There’s a bit of a mystery too. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
I am so in love with this book. I have to admit, though, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. Which is more than fine. I thought I was going to get a romance but it was so much more. I would definitely put this in the mystery genre though it easily does fit into romance. It also fits into loss and friendships, old and new. There is quite a bit going on but it unfolds so wonderfully that you aren’t overwhelmed in the least.
I love reading about someone’s journey and their growth. This does that with Mitchell. I ached at his love and loss for Anita. His relationship with Poppy is absolutely beautiful. He journey into fatherhood proves that it’s never too late to be a good parent. Then there are his relationships with Graham, Barry, Liza, Yvette and even Carl. I feel like this book could be in a genre called relationships. It is all about them. They all felt real; ordinary yet unique people. I already miss them. There is no dead body yet there is a mystery. I truly enjoyed it. This book has something for everyone.
I won an uncorrected proof of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Reviews are not required. I voluntarily reviewed this book. My review and love for this book is based upon the story. Thank you to Goodreads, the author and the publisher for making this book available in a giveaway.
Can you move forward while being stuck in the past full of guilt? Maybe it can happen, if someone comes along to shake up your world. This is a lovely story of just that situation.
The author does a fantastic job of character development so that I truly care about what happens to the people in this book. The plot was a page turner for me, anxiously hoping for a happy ending.
I am a fan of Phaedra Patrick and have read all of her books. I adore the unique, flawed, lovable characters she creates in each of her stories. I think this book is another gem to add to her collection!
I enjoyed this story so much and recommend it! I want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for allowing me to read the advanced reader copy of this book. My review is my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.
Sweet, but I found boring. None of the characters made me want to care about them so getting through the audiobook was a chore. I don’t believe that I would have finished it I was reading a hard copy. I wanted to like, but nothing and no one really drew me in.