The Trouble with Bridges

by Emma Goldrick

He had a strange effect on her
Get the facts straight and the names right, her foreign correspondent father had advised Samantha when she began reporting. And Sam did.

Somehow, though, every story featuring James Clarke, the engineer hired to fix the New England town's old bridge, came out making James look like a fool.

It probably had something to do with the personal misconceptions Sam and James had of each other. It probably had something to do with love. Though Sam could never explain it, the air around them positively crackled!

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Emma Goldrick is the penname used by the marriage formed by Emma Elizabeth Jean Sutcliffe, borned 7 February 1923 in Puerto Rico, and Robert N. Goldrick, borned on 22 March 1919 in Massachusetts, USA. They met in Puerto Rico, where married. She was a licensed practical nurse, volunteered with American Red Cross and she taught American Sign Language and he was a career USA military man. Thirty years and 4 children later they retired, and in 1980 they started to write in collaboration, and their first novel was accepted and published in 1983 by Mills & Boon. They continued publishing 40 novels until Robert passed away at 76, in 22 January 1996. After her husband death, she published her last novel and retired. Emma Goldrick passed away at 85, in 20 November 2008.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars ~ Samantha is a junior freelance reporter for the Providence Gazette and often covers the fluffy events of her area. Arriving late for a press conference for the proposed high-rise suspension bridge that is to replace the existing 80 yr old swing bridge over the Acushnet River, Sam only got the tale end of the details. And as she's just a tiny 5 ft. nothing, she had to stand up on her chair to gain attention to ask her questions. But her chair teetered and she flew into the arms of a very nice young engineer with the most gorgeous smile. And from there on Sam's life would never be the same. James is immediately smitten but is disconcerted to learn that Sam has an eight year old daughter with no past or present husband in sight. What he doesn't know is that Vicky is actually Sam's dead sister's child and though Vicky knows that Sam is not her birth mother, the child insists on calling her mother. The story Sam files about the bridge ends up painting James as a bit of a bumbling fool, even though it's actually a truthful account. Her editor loves Sam's story and asks her to write follow-ups on a weekly basis, which means she needs to keep interviewing James. The old bridge is notoriously getting stuck either open or closed, and so the first priority for James is to fix it. With each story Sam files, James continues to look foolish, so when the repairs are finally completed and the bridge is set to reopen, he insists on Sam seeing it operating for herself. But there's a hurricane storm brewing and they end up stuck on the bridge while it malfunctions. Forced to spend the night in the bridge's operator's hut, they wake to huge media attention over their Coast Guard rescue. Once again James is seen as a bumbling fool in the news but also Sam's in the spotlight, which results in her grandfather and mother insisting that James must marry her.

I'm finding the stories penned by Emma Goldrick to be wonderfully crafted. The wonderful cast of characters, both primary and secondary, are quirky and flawed but people I'd love to get to know. There's even a loveable sheepdog, whose antics adds hilarious charm. There's no doubt that James is smitten with Sam from the moment he caught her. Sam can't understand what it is about James that keeps her off kilter; never before has a man had such an volatile effect on her. When James grasps at her grandfather's insistence they marry and actually lies about sleeping with Sam, she feels tremendously betrayed. The poignant events that follow are written with intense emotion and brought me to tears. This is a love story I'm sure I'll be reading again and again.

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Trouble with Bridges" is the story of Samantha and James.

Our heroine is a reporter for an famous newspaper, told to write a story on the town's old bridge. She meets the engineer hired to fix it, and somehow ends up sheltering his dog. Soon he establishes himself in her life, much to the delight of her "daughter" and family, but not to her own inhibitions. There are many foot-in-the-mouth moments, as the heroine jumps to conclusions and has wild display of emotions, ie crying on every turn. The hero is so obviously smitten and puts up with all her drama and shenanigans. I really wanted to tell her to suck it up LOL.

Could have been better!

Safe
3/5

[Meghin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. I normally love cheesy romance novels but this one is infuriating. The love interest is terrible. He's always yelling, never listens to the main character and in the end, lies to her family so she is forced to marry him. She literally remarks that she cries every time they meet

And somehow the last two pages are her happily marrying this manipulative jerk. This book is written in the 80s and idk if it's a sign of the times but he repeatedly violates her consent and it's played as laughable, as him being a flirt. Terrible.