Book: A Bridge Across the Ocean

Author: Susan Meissner

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Romance/Supernatural

Summary: February 1946. World War II 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 Devereux, the wronged daughter of a French Resistance 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. -Berkley, 2017.

By: Susan Meissner

Three women, three stories, three connected lives.

Annaliese, Brett​e​, and Simone were connected by WWII and ghosts.

A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN takes us from WWII to present day with three intriguing stories.

Annaliese was a German girl, Brett was a present-day American who had inherited an unusual gift, and Simone was a French girl who fell in love with an American during WWII.

Even though ghosts appear in this novel, the ghosts are what connects the present to the past for the three main characters.  It isn't a major theme, but a good one.​  The paranormal aspect didn't detract from the wonderful, detailed story line.​

​The characters were all ones that you couldn't help but sympathize with and love.​

​Annaliese's story was my favorite simply because of the mystery surrounding her.​  

Brette's story was interesting even though I am not interested in paranormal, but her ability to see spirits added another layer to the book and made connections between characters.  

Simone's story was sweet, sad, and very plausible.

​What I enjoyed was learning about the RMS Queen Mary that was first used as a war ship then a ship that brought WWII European brides back to America to be united with their husbands.​

A BRIDGE ACROSS THE OCEAN is another truly enjoyable, emotional book by Ms. Meissner.   

The final pages and revelations are marvelous...loved the book. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

There's a bit of all that I love in this line up for March. The early reviews for these are promising. I've been waiting for The Orphan's Tale and A Bridge Across the Ocean for, it seems like, over a year. Have you heard about any of these and are they on your March TBR list?

March 1

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff

March 2

In The Name of The Family by Sarah Dunant

March 7

Havana: A Subtropical Delirium by Mark Kurlansky

Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato

March 14

Love In An English Garden by Victoria Connelly

A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

The Fall of Lisa Bellow by Susan Perabo

March 28

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole