The Bridge Tender by Marybeth Whalen

Emily Shaw’s life has not gone as she expected. She did not expect to lose her husband to get sick. She did not expect to become a widow after five years of marriage. Now she doesn’t know what to do. She wants to bury her head and block out the world, but Ryan, her husband, leaves her a gift that will not her to do that. His last request, a request she buy a house in the place where he grew up and took her for one week on their honeymoon, is something Emily doesn’t want to even consider.

When Emily’s best friend reminds her of the request a year after she learned about the gift, she decides to honor her late husband’s request and go to Seaside, North Carolina to find a house. While there, she is drawn in by a few of the residents of the town—a lonely teenage girl she meets at a hotel, the mother and two children who live in the house next to the one she buys, and the bridge tender (a man who she remembers well from her teenage years). As Emily becomes closer to these people, she finds herself starting to heal and believe she might be able to continue on without the love of her life.

Marybeth Whalen creates engaging characters. You want to hear their stories and you want them to be successful and their dreams to come true. The Bridge Tender is actually a very small part of this book. He is a part, but the relationships between Emily and the teenage girl, her neighbor, and her best friend are much more engaging in this story. Kick up your feet (it will work even better if you are anywhere near sand) and dive into this delightful book of love, loss, friendship, and hope.

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