Books for Christian Girls: "The Bridge to Belle Island" by Julie Klassen

About this book:

  “After a humiliating mistake, lawyer Benjamin Booker resolves to never again trust a beautiful woman. When an old friend is killed, the senior partner isn't satisfied with Bow Street's efforts and asks Benjamin to investigate. Eager to leave London for a while, Benjamin agrees. Evidence takes him to a remote island on the Thames, a world unto itself, shrouded in mist and mystery. Soon he finds himself falling for the main suspect—a woman who claims not to have left the island in ten years. But should he trust her?
    On Belle Island, Isabelle feels safe and leads a productive life, but fear keeps her trapped there. When Mr. Booker arrives with news of her trustee's murder in London, Isabelle is stunned. She has not left the island, yet she has a recurring dream about the man's death. Or is it a memory? She had been furious with him, but she never intended...this.
    When a second person dies, and evidence shockingly points to her, Isabelle doesn't know who to trust: the attractive lawyer or the admirer and friends who assemble on the island, each with grudges against the victim. Can she even trust her own mind? While they search for the truth, secrets come to light and danger comes calling.”

Series: No, a stand-alone novel.

Spiritual Content- Psalm 32:6 at the beginning; Scriptures are read, remembered, mentioned, quoted, & thought over; Bible reading; Prayers & Thanking God; Going to a chapel & reading a book of sermons and praying; Talks about God & Him watching over us; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Isabelle thinks that God may be loving, but doesn’t trust Him with the lives of her loved ones (she wants to trust, but fear and worry often win and wishes she would trust God and not worry); Isabelle hasn’t prayed much in recent years, but tries to do better; Benjamin realizes he’s neglected prayer lately and does better; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Bibles (and copies of the New Testament and Psalms) & Bible reading; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, vicars/clergymen, services, hymns, worship, communion, & sermons; A few mentions of thanking God; A couple mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of plaques with the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostle’s Creed on them; A couple mentions of people being called saints; A couple mentions of sins (including not blaming a son for the sins of his father); A mention of thinking someone had prophetic dreams; A mention of a blessing; A mention of a religious conviction about drinking; A mention of Easter; A mention of Benjamin’s keen sense of smell being a blessing or a curse;
             *Note: Mentions of a curse on the Wilder family that those who were born on the island and then leave, die young (Isabelle says it isn’t logical, but still worries about it and has anxiety about going over the bridge out of the island; *Spoiler* Isabelle at the end realizes that it’s superstition and that God alone holds her fate in His hands *End of Spoiler*); A few mentions of different men being called a devil & looking like a devil; A couple mentions of a devilishly handsome man; A mention of the phrase “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”; A mention of someone’s injury burning “like hades”; A mention of a woman casting a spell on a man.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bah’, a ‘blasted’, a ‘hurt like the blazes’, a form of ‘idiot’, a ‘good night!’, a ‘thunder and turf’, a ‘what the…’, two ‘merciful heaven’s, three ‘dash it’s, three ‘dashed’s (replacement for darned or stronger), four forms of ‘stupid’, and five ‘good heavens’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written; including Benjamin stifling one); A little bit of eye rolling & sarcasm; Seeing a murdered body (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Isabelle has anxiety about crossing the bridge out of the island and nearly faints when trying to go over it (similar to a panic attack, she describes it and it also happens, someone else calls it “some sort of hysteria” and another says that in her mental state, he would recommend an asylum for her, semi-detailed); Passing out & Benjamin struggles with vertigo (up to semi-detailed); Being pushed/attacked, Pain, & Injuries (up to semi-detailed); Isabelle wakes up with a bad headache after drinking a lot of wine the night before (she doesn’t typically drink that much, but she was sad, though she regrets it the next day; *Major Spoiler* it’s revealed towards the end that she was also drugged which explains how terrible she felt and that her friend that did it because he would wanted to “cure” her worry/anxiety *End of Spoiler*; After a failing case, Benjamin craves a strong drink, but refrained since he knows that the relief would be temporary and would have painful consequences; Benjamin goes into a taproom, but does not drink; Seeing others drink & social drinking (wine and champagne); A dog is nearly ran-over by a carriage (but is saved, up to semi-detailed); Isabelle is sad over the death of a pet dog (barely-above-not-detailed); Benjamin doesn’t see eye-to-eye with his father and can be disrespectful/harsh to him (he does regret some of his words *Spoiler* towards the end of the book, he plans to do better to his parents and does *End of Spoiler*; All about many, many mentions of a murder/deaths, the body, how it happened, the murderer, alcohol, drinking, a heavy drinker, being drunk, poison, & being poisoned (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of robberies, thieves, smuggling, stealing, stolen items, & a thief possibly being shot; Many mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of deaths (including at sea, a bad carriage accident and the drunk driver, & a son grieving the death of his parent, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars, battles, fighting, & deaths; Mentions of an abduction (not done with evil intentions); Mentions of hangings and executions; Mentions of jails/prisons, arrests, crimes, criminals, break-ins, & a possible fight; Mentions of threats & threatening someone; Mentions of gunshots, being shot at, someone being shot, & someone being threatened with a gun (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fights, pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a young boy cutting his finger badly, stitching it, the boy passing out, & all the blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a doctor’s experiments with mice, animal body parts, and animal skulls (portrayed as creepy and Isabelle doesn’t approve, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of someone being drugged (*Spoiler* Isabelle *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of a flood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of cigars, pipes, tobacco, & smoking; Mentions of hunters & poachers; Mentions of manure & animal droppings; Mentions of the death of a beloved dog (Isabelle is concerned he was poisoned, but most think it was due to his old age); A few mentions of potential drownings; A few mentions of a man wanting to punch another man & grabbing his collar (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of debts & a vengeful moneylender; A few mentions of gambling & a father not wanting to gamble so he donated his winnings of a game; A few mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of nightmares of people dying; A couple mentions of a woman thinking a man is going to hit her; A couple mentions of a divorce & a man charging his wife with bigamy to get a divorce; A mention of a dead body; A mention of a dead body being topped overboard a ship (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of children becoming addicted to opium; A mention of a man being slapped; A mention of hatred; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a dead sheep (barely-above-not-detailed);

             *Note: A mention of a man saying that his pregnant daughter is as “big as a house”.

Sexual Content- A cheek kiss, an almost kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a semi-detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, & Hand holding (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Benjamin tries not to think about or stare at Isabelle’s legs or ankles (barely-above-not-detailed); A man makes Isabelle uncomfortable & she has heard about him being dangerous; Mentions of a woman recalling men having expectations about her since she was a singer, “benefactors”, & one being dangerous when she refused to spend time with him; Mentions of men leaving their wives for another woman; Mentions of chaperones & reputations (including Isabelle isn’t concerned about her reputation at her age, her and a man being alone at night together (nothing sexual happens), & a man helping her to her bedroom, though nothing romantic happens); A few mentions of an unmarried couple rooming together & evidence of their “previous activities”; A few mentions of flirting; A couple mentions of kissing & kisses; A couple mentions of some men boasting about their conquests to impress other men, whether true or not; A mention of a bride being ready for her wedding night (no details, just blushes); A mention of a man stealing a kiss from his intended when her chaperone isn’t nearby; A mention of a couple possibly going off on a romantic assignation; A mention of a woman of “easy virtue”; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: A mention of “women’s troubles” (hinted to be that time of the month); A mention of a woman teasing that she’s seen men in less clothing than a man in his shirt-sleeves (she clarifies that she meant in her years in the theater).

-Isabelle Wilder, age 30
-Benjamin Booker, age 31
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                         Set in 1819-1820
                                                        400 pages
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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve had this novel on my TBR for a time, and while I enjoy reading regencies and mysteries, I kept pushing this one off because of its thick size of 400 pages.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and entertaining reading—some parts more interesting than others, of course. There were parts that…not necessarily dragged, but let’s just say it wasn’t as exciting as the last 25% (100 pages). Once things started to be pieced together and revealed, I had the urge to go back to the beginning of the story to see if I could pick up clues. The last time I felt this way was with “A Midnight Dance” by Joanna Davidson Politano and the mystery found in that historical novel. I was quite satisfied with the ending and there was a decent amount of faith content. I also really liked how the mystery was the focal point of the story, not the romance.

I didn’t dislike nor love Isabelle or Benjamin. They were good characters with flaws and I enjoyed seeing their development as the story continued, but I never felt super connected to them.

There’s some innuendoes (listed in the Sexual Content section of this review), though I would say it was kept pretty clean in terms of the romance and most of those hints would go over a young teen’s head. They are still there, however, as well as many, many mentions of drinking and alcohol.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!