BOOK REVIEW LAKEBRIDGE: SUMMER by Natasha Troop


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author is giving away a tin of maple syrup and a stuffed moose to one randomly drawn commenter. Click on the banner above to see the other spots on the tour.



Vermont, picturesque and lovely, attracts visitors from across the country in search for the perfect picture, the perfect fall foliage or perhaps a taste of maple syrup. Stansbury is best known for the odd covered bridge that spans Stansbury Lake and goes nowhere, connecting no roads and serving no known purpose. The locals call it the Lakebridge. Very few know of its mysterious origins and fewer care to know more. Those visiting the town perhaps take a few snapshots and leave, their curiosity quelled by an uneasy feeling that they shouldn’t think on it anymore.

The tourists will eventually leave Stansbury, but its residents strangely linger, seemingly held captive by a force they barely recognize. They also do not think about the town’s mysterious artifact much except in passing, all but Gil, his father, Ben, and a few others. They know of the bridge’s dark history and understand that it is responsible for every horror that ever befell the people of Stansbury: the people who fear the bridge but will not speak of it. The bridge makes people do things – bad things – so that it can continue to love and care for them all.

Some have tried to destroy the bridge, but as long as the bridge is fed with the lives of the innocents of Stansbury it will go on – loving the people of Stansbury.

Lakebridge: Spring is the first of a four book cycle revolving around Stansbury and the Lakebridge.
Don't start reading Lakebridge: Spring with the idea that you will be reading a book full of light and love. Yes, there is love--much love between the residents of the town--but there is also darkness in the form of a covered bridge that spans a lake and that has no roads connected to it.

The book is not linear in design, nor is there a clear protagonist. Every "chapter" or episode is told from the POV of one of the characters--including a moose. There's even an episode in first person POV. Oddly enough--it works.

The book could have used some editing as there were some typos that took me out of the story here and there, but even so there is something compelling about the bridge and the story.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but if you are the reader who wants a HEA in her reading, this is not the book for you. However, if you are a reader who doesn't mind a walk on the dark side--you might want to give Lakebridge:Spring a try.

I'm waiting for Lakebridge:Summer to come out to see what happens to the residents of Stansbury next.

Natasha grew up in Southern California and received her Bachelor’s degree from UCLA in Comparative Literature. She also holds Masters Degrees in both Secondary Education and Creative Writing. Natasha currently lives in the Phoenix area with her spouse, son, daughter and menagerie of pets, including a Basset named Moose and a very overprotective collie dog. Aside from writing, she spends her days teaching high school students to love theatre.

Find Natasha online at
www.lakebridgecycle.com
http://stansburyvt.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @lakebridgecycle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lakebridge-Cycle/197939536908880
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lakebridge-Spring-1-Natasha-Troop/dp/1461122503/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304040910&sr=8-1
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lakebridge-natasha-troop/1101557345?ean=9781461122500

Comments

  1. Thank you for hosting today.

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  2. Thank you for hosting today and for your honest review! I wish I knew where you found typos as I thought the book had been scoured free of them, but I will go back and look.

    Okay, readers! Love is an important part of this book. My question is when can too much love be a bad thing?

    Natasha

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  3. Oh, and Lakebridge: Summer is currently on sale and I am currently swimming in the waters of Autumn :D

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  4. As I've read Spring and Summer I can say without a doubt they are books that more people need to know about. Talk about fantastic. Natasha is extremely talented and a total sweetheart.

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  5. Thanks, Jessica! I hope you're enjoying Autumn ;)

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  6. I am drowning in the depths of darkness with Autumn, and loving it! *GRIN* AND YES! Summer is glorious and I loved Spring! Oh Bridge Maiden thank you for showing me the shadows of the bridge in Stansbury!'kriss(at)cabingoddess.com

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  7. Alright. So. I read this book when it first came out. Like. FIRST first came out, smelling new with wet ink and EVERYTHING. It was beautiful. Anyways, my beloved Ash gave me a copy of this hot off the presses book. (Well manuscript, thats really the only way you can get a wet ink copy of a book, but I digress.) I will admit, I was sort of afraid to read it, because what if i didnt like it? Then I would have to say something.... BUT all my fears were totally unfounded, because I love this book. If I could have VOLUNTEERED to write a book report on it, I would have in a heartbeat. And two pages of it would have been praises. Seriously. SERIOUSLY. Needless to say, there's a sequal, and even though I haven't read it, I have no doubt that I will love it as much as the first.

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  8. I haven't read any of the others. Do the "seasons" need to be read in order?
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

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  9. Catherine Lee - I would recommend it. The fundamental story of the books is linear. That being said, some people like to read things out of sequence and then go back and discover how things happened.

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  10. Vermont sounds like a nice place to visit.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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