What do you think?
Rate this book
Maple Notch #2
Bridge To Love
HER FATHER IS DETERMINED SHE MARRY SOMEONE WORTHY
A man who has worked hard to gain his own wealth, banker Hiram Bailey is not about to let his only daughter marry a farmer. He knows how hard the life of a farmer’s wife can be and wants something better for Beatrice. But Beatrice has always had eyes only for Calvin Tuttle, a young farmer full of innovative ideas.
Calvin cannot believe the challenges he is facing. In the Year of No Summer, repeated plantings of crops are freezing before they bear fruit. His family and friends may run out of food. And Hiram Bailey is doing everything he can to keep his daughter away from Calvin.
Both Calvin and Beatrice trust that God will have His way in their lives. But against these obstacles, how will they ever build a bridge to love?
A man who has worked hard to gain his own wealth, banker Hiram Bailey is not about to let his only daughter marry a farmer. He knows how hard the life of a farmer’s wife can be and wants something better for Beatrice. But Beatrice has always had eyes only for Calvin Tuttle, a young farmer full of innovative ideas.
Calvin cannot believe the challenges he is facing. In the Year of No Summer, repeated plantings of crops are freezing before they bear fruit. His family and friends may run out of food. And Hiram Bailey is doing everything he can to keep his daughter away from Calvin.
Both Calvin and Beatrice trust that God will have His way in their lives. But against these obstacles, how will they ever build a bridge to love?
- GenresChristian Fiction
170 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2010
About the author
Darlene Franklin
183 books105 followersAward-winning author and speaker Darlene Franklin lives in cowboy country—Oklahoma and loves writing about the American West. Oklahoma also has the benefit of being the home to her son, his wife, and their four beautiful children. Darlene loves music, needlework, reading and reality tv. Talia, a Lynx point Siamese cat, proudly claims Darlene as her person. Darlene is the author of seventeen contracted books and novellas, as well as several hundred short pieces. Two of her books have finaled in ACFW’s Book of the Year (now the Carol award) contest: her novella, Dressed in Scarlet, and her cozy mystery, A String of Murders.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 14, 2022
Beatrice Bailey comes from a well-to-do family, and her father intends for her to wed a well-to-do man. But Beatrice loves everything about Maple Notch and does not want to leave her small town in Vermont. She admires Calvin Tuttle and his ingenuity in overcoming his crop problems when Vermont suffers from one snow storm after another. Can she ever convince her father that Calvin is the man of her dreams?
The thing I like best about Darlene Franklin novels is they always contain a strong faith thread throughout the story line. Her characters are always well-developed and, though not perfect, definitely have a lot of good character qualities. I loved the way that Beatrice continued throughout the story as well as Calvin to convince her dad that they were a good match.
The thing I like best about Darlene Franklin novels is they always contain a strong faith thread throughout the story line. Her characters are always well-developed and, though not perfect, definitely have a lot of good character qualities. I loved the way that Beatrice continued throughout the story as well as Calvin to convince her dad that they were a good match.
April 10, 2026
Bridge to Love by Darlene Franklin is a historical romance set in the 19th century.
It tells the story of a man determined to repay a loan he owes to a banker—who also is the father of the woman he loves, Beatrice Bailey. Despite his hard work and persistence, winning her father’s approval proves difficult, as the man believes a simple farmer is not worthy of his daughter.
As if his struggles were not enough, an unusual disaster occurred: the year without summer. Snow falls in May, June, and even August, something unheard of in a town like Maple Notch.
With no summer and no harvest, the question becomes: how can a farmer earn enough to survive, repay his debt, and prove himself worthy of love?
I loved what the author did with the tone of this book. It made it easy to connect with the characters, understand their struggles, and stay engaged until the end.
I give Bridge To Love a 4 out of 5 star rating, for it continues connection to faith and trusting God through every storm, even in a year without summer, it an interesting one if you love clean romance and a can’t miss diving into a journey of perseverance and hope.
It tells the story of a man determined to repay a loan he owes to a banker—who also is the father of the woman he loves, Beatrice Bailey. Despite his hard work and persistence, winning her father’s approval proves difficult, as the man believes a simple farmer is not worthy of his daughter.
As if his struggles were not enough, an unusual disaster occurred: the year without summer. Snow falls in May, June, and even August, something unheard of in a town like Maple Notch.
With no summer and no harvest, the question becomes: how can a farmer earn enough to survive, repay his debt, and prove himself worthy of love?
I loved what the author did with the tone of this book. It made it easy to connect with the characters, understand their struggles, and stay engaged until the end.
I give Bridge To Love a 4 out of 5 star rating, for it continues connection to faith and trusting God through every storm, even in a year without summer, it an interesting one if you love clean romance and a can’t miss diving into a journey of perseverance and hope.
October 24, 2019
Good read
November 18, 2025
A romantic read. It also gave insight into farming practices of the 1800s.
May 28, 2026
Cute and cosy romance that demonstrates God's faithfulness throughout
July 21, 2019
Bridge of Love #2 Maple Notch by Darlene Franklin
(I read this as part of A Soldier's Rest boxed set) Maple Notch, Vermont....May, 1816....Beatrice Bailey loves flowers but this continued freezing and snowing—even into the warming months of spring and into the summer!—has unsettled her. Never has she seen such a summer. And what of the farmers crops? Calvin Tuttle and the other farmers in the community of Maple Notch are concerned, very concerned and rightly so. How can they provide for their families and the community if their crops keep freezing? They certainly can't keep borrowing from the bank in order to replant—again, repeatedly. The whole community is in danger if this unusual weather continues as it has been. Calvin comes up with an innovative idea, but will the other farmers agree to his plan? Will it be enough to save his crops—and possibly the communities—and pay off the bank loan allowing him to court the banker's daughter? Ah, but the banker has other plans for his daughter and they do not include Calvin or any farmer from Maple Notch...oh, no siree. There are some unforeseen surprises just around the bend—or in this case bridge—that could change everything. However bleak things appear, Beatrice and Calvin trust God will have His way in their lives—including love and so they hold onto that hope.
I like how the Bridge to Love follows the same family from Prodigal Patriot. There are some similar problems with the hero and heroine as the father of the heroine is not impressed with the hero and he must prove himself worthy. Arrogance and pridefulness coupled with greed and price gouging, forgiveness, grace, joy, community spirit and I love the historical detail of Vermont and the Year of No Summer...something I had not known before reading this novella.
(I read this as part of A Soldier's Rest boxed set) Maple Notch, Vermont....May, 1816....Beatrice Bailey loves flowers but this continued freezing and snowing—even into the warming months of spring and into the summer!—has unsettled her. Never has she seen such a summer. And what of the farmers crops? Calvin Tuttle and the other farmers in the community of Maple Notch are concerned, very concerned and rightly so. How can they provide for their families and the community if their crops keep freezing? They certainly can't keep borrowing from the bank in order to replant—again, repeatedly. The whole community is in danger if this unusual weather continues as it has been. Calvin comes up with an innovative idea, but will the other farmers agree to his plan? Will it be enough to save his crops—and possibly the communities—and pay off the bank loan allowing him to court the banker's daughter? Ah, but the banker has other plans for his daughter and they do not include Calvin or any farmer from Maple Notch...oh, no siree. There are some unforeseen surprises just around the bend—or in this case bridge—that could change everything. However bleak things appear, Beatrice and Calvin trust God will have His way in their lives—including love and so they hold onto that hope.
I like how the Bridge to Love follows the same family from Prodigal Patriot. There are some similar problems with the hero and heroine as the father of the heroine is not impressed with the hero and he must prove himself worthy. Arrogance and pridefulness coupled with greed and price gouging, forgiveness, grace, joy, community spirit and I love the historical detail of Vermont and the Year of No Summer...something I had not known before reading this novella.
October 24, 2011
Bridge to Love, book two in the series set in Maple Notch, Vermont has so much to recommend itself. It is a story of economic hardship, community spirit, the arrogance of pride, and the overcoming power of faith and love. Beatrice Bailey is the privileged daughter of the town banker destined to marry a successful New York City businessman, but in love with a local farmer. In a year where the crops keep failing due to unseasonably cold weather, all the farmers of Vermont face disaster--all, that is, except Calvin Tuttle. He has concocted a way not only to save his crop, but perhaps also the town of Maple Notch from price gouging and greed in their hour of need.
Calvin Tuttle has adored Bea since school yard days. When the sweet girl he remembers from before the War has become a lovely young lady, he pursues the hope that he could prove himself worthy of her. The plot thickens when her father tells him he isn't good enough and forbids him to see his daughter. Can Calvin's inventiveness and ingenuity elevate him from the dirt farmer her father despises to a man of standing in the community?
This delightful romance full of authentic Vermont history captures the innovative spirit of early America in rich writing and poignant themes of forgiveness, perseverance, and grace. Moving and inspiring, it left me rooting for the underdog, admiring the hero's resilience, and hoping and believing for miracles. A thoroughly satisfying story that I relished to the last word.
Calvin Tuttle has adored Bea since school yard days. When the sweet girl he remembers from before the War has become a lovely young lady, he pursues the hope that he could prove himself worthy of her. The plot thickens when her father tells him he isn't good enough and forbids him to see his daughter. Can Calvin's inventiveness and ingenuity elevate him from the dirt farmer her father despises to a man of standing in the community?
This delightful romance full of authentic Vermont history captures the innovative spirit of early America in rich writing and poignant themes of forgiveness, perseverance, and grace. Moving and inspiring, it left me rooting for the underdog, admiring the hero's resilience, and hoping and believing for miracles. A thoroughly satisfying story that I relished to the last word.
January 14, 2023
This is the second book in the Soldiers Rest anthology!
A sweet story of struggle and faith! Calvin Tuttle is the son of Josiah and Sarah from book 1! He too is in love with a forbidden woman! In many ways this storyline is similar to the first book but their struggles are different and of course the time period is different! I love how the community of Maple Notch, stick together to feed the town in the middle of the Year of no Summer, as well as to see these two lovebirds together despite Bea's father's stubborn resistance!!
A sweet story of struggle and faith! Calvin Tuttle is the son of Josiah and Sarah from book 1! He too is in love with a forbidden woman! In many ways this storyline is similar to the first book but their struggles are different and of course the time period is different! I love how the community of Maple Notch, stick together to feed the town in the middle of the Year of no Summer, as well as to see these two lovebirds together despite Bea's father's stubborn resistance!!
January 15, 2017
What a great story. Calvin and Bea's story is so very wonderful. Parent problems galore but God's will always wins out. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews