Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and s...
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reviews
Nov 07, 2011
TheSecretWriter
rated it: 
‘String Bridge’ is the debut novel from the very artistic writer Jessica Bell. If you enjoy stories that involve characters who experience adversity within their lives and that explores the frailty that can exist within some human relationships, then this is a book that should be added to your reading list!
This particular story tells the tale of Melody, an aggravated wife and mother who somehow finds herself separated from the person she felt she used to be and also the individual that More...
This particular story tells the tale of Melody, an aggravated wife and mother who somehow finds herself separated from the person she felt she used to be and also the individual that More...
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Aug 15, 2011
Angela
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Lucky press sent me the arc of this book last week, and the moment I took it from the mailbox, I was dying to start reading. Jessica is a poet, so it's not surprising that she employs good use of imagery, metaphor, and other poetic devices from the very beginning.
The preface is gorgeous and reads more like poetry than any other part of the book. It gets you into the mindset of 30-year-old Melody almost immediately, and paints her as a woman who loves music, but has chosen to give it More...
The preface is gorgeous and reads more like poetry than any other part of the book. It gets you into the mindset of 30-year-old Melody almost immediately, and paints her as a woman who loves music, but has chosen to give it More...
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Dec 08, 2011
Robyn
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String Bridge explodes with emotional conflicts to the very end. Melody’s story is an exercise in decision making, guilt, and in yearning.
Melody’s bipolar mother and her own self worth all threaten to send Melody off the deep, deep end. She believes that she is living a socially acceptable existence. But the strong desire to play her guitar is overwhelming at times. From panic attacks to believing there is a family curse, Melody must come to terms with what she really wants out of life and More...
Melody’s bipolar mother and her own self worth all threaten to send Melody off the deep, deep end. She believes that she is living a socially acceptable existence. But the strong desire to play her guitar is overwhelming at times. From panic attacks to believing there is a family curse, Melody must come to terms with what she really wants out of life and More...
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Nov 19, 2011
Chris
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String Bridge is author Jessica Bell's debut offering. It is a terrific portrayal of Melody, a career oriented mom who longs for more. With semi-dashed dreams, an unappreciative spouse, and unbalanced parents, an uncertainty about a promotion at work and her husband's secretive behavior drive 'Mel' to an emotional boiling point.
I enjoyed every minute and appreciate the way Bell wrote about very relatable topics. I'm not much for Women's lit, but I will be checking out future boo More...
I enjoyed every minute and appreciate the way Bell wrote about very relatable topics. I'm not much for Women's lit, but I will be checking out future boo More...
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Nov 18, 2011
Mel
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I have to say when Jessica first asked me to read the book for a review, I was slightly hesitant because ... well, I'm not much of a women's fiction sort of gal. But upon reading the very first sentence, I was hooked. Which is yet another thing that doesn't usually happen to me.
By the end of the first chapter, I had bonded with Melody in a way I have rarely bonded with a character before. At least not one that wasn't of my own creation. Jessica packed a pretty solid punch. Melody, or M More...
By the end of the first chapter, I had bonded with Melody in a way I have rarely bonded with a character before. At least not one that wasn't of my own creation. Jessica packed a pretty solid punch. Melody, or M More...
Nov 17, 2011
Matt
rated it:
As someone who is normally a reader of strictly horror, I found myself wanting to branch out a bit. I couldn't have picked a better novel to do that with. I've seen the term "chick-lit" thrown around a lot, but if String Bridge is indicative of what "chick-lit" is, I may just have to add it as one of my new favorite genres.
I do have to say that if you are a man who has a wife that has given up a lot for the sake of family and marriage, you may want to put on your to More...
I do have to say that if you are a man who has a wife that has given up a lot for the sake of family and marriage, you may want to put on your to More...
Nov 14, 2011
Stephen
rated it:
If this is Ms. Bell's debut novel, I can't wait to read the next one she writes. Mundane events like a job promotion are treated as high drama and are presented in a way that keeps the reader turning pages. The suspicious behavior of the husband, the nature of which is apparent to the reader but just beyond the protagonist's perception, is especially well done. Every great story is made of conflict. String Bridge, scenic and deftly written, is oozing with it.
What I enjoyed most, More...
What I enjoyed most, More...
Sep 07, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
Jessica Bell’s debut novel String Bridge is the story of Melody, an Australian musician, who put down her guitar to raise a family with her Greek husband. Four years later and living on his native soil, Melody realizes she’s become the empty, passionless shell of the person she once was. A return to music is the key to her salvation. But her struggle to decipher her dark feelings, to understand when they are surging from a place of honesty and when they are the result of her own fears or self
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Nov 03, 2011
Bee
rated it:
Taken from HERE
Dare you call this chicklit. And as much as I adore chicklit, this is not the tale of a single girl, lost in the city, romping about to find HER MAN. String Bridge goes beyond that. This is after the girl has found her man, her family and is pushed over as she is made to face the hard realities of life. You could call this the after-the-fairy-tale part of life.
Familial love, marital drudgery, long suppressed dreams - Jessica Bell brings it all i More...
Dare you call this chicklit. And as much as I adore chicklit, this is not the tale of a single girl, lost in the city, romping about to find HER MAN. String Bridge goes beyond that. This is after the girl has found her man, her family and is pushed over as she is made to face the hard realities of life. You could call this the after-the-fairy-tale part of life.
Familial love, marital drudgery, long suppressed dreams - Jessica Bell brings it all i More...
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Aug 03, 2011
Melody is at a crossroads. She's given up her music career for the corporate world of course writing, and motherhood, and her increasingly overbearing Greek husband is trying to keep her in the kitchen and away from both music and management. As Melody inches closer to reinvigorating her stalled dreams and pump up her life, she finds that the obsticles that begin appearing are far more significant and overarching than she could ever imagine. Poet and musician Jessica Bell's debut novel String
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Aug 15, 2011
Karen
rated it:
I got the ARC in the mail on Saturday, started the first chapter that night, and couldn't stop thinking about it. Sunday afternoon I decided would be reading day. It had been a hectic week, I deserved a reading day! I was eager to get completely immersed in the world that Jessica Bell so skillfully created in her debut novel STRING BRIDGE.
The print book is a reader's dream: just the right length, a cover you can keep turning back to, finding meaning in each detail. And nice paper! No More...
The print book is a reader's dream: just the right length, a cover you can keep turning back to, finding meaning in each detail. And nice paper! No More...
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Aug 05, 2011
Glynis
rated it:
Warning: Do not read String Bridge—unless you have plenty of spare time. Jessica Bell hooks the reader with a storyline so powerful it consumes you. I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down.
The POV Melody bares her soul, the descriptive writing is intense and one forgets it is a work of fiction. I was drawn into a storyline so swollen with discontentment that I had to read more. Each page turned I wondered if the ugly side of Melody’s life would emerge and when it di More...
The POV Melody bares her soul, the descriptive writing is intense and one forgets it is a work of fiction. I was drawn into a storyline so swollen with discontentment that I had to read more. Each page turned I wondered if the ugly side of Melody’s life would emerge and when it di More...
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Oct 28, 2011
Hart
rated it:
Jessica has created very real, tangible characters with the kinds of flaws most of us pretend not to have, but deep inside, we know we do. Her exploration of the disillusionment of marriage felt almost like she was in my head at a certain stage in my own—a stage you can work past if you are determined, but nevertheless leaves us somewhat more scarred and fragile. I think she did a brilliant job with tugging emotion and heartstrings... providing a portrait of temptation and regret.
The l More...
The l More...
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Nov 11, 2011
Madeline
rated it:
From the outside it would appear Melody Hill, the main character and narrator of Jessica Bell’s debut novel, String Bridge, has a perfect life. She lives in Athens with her charming Greek music promoter husband, she has an adorably precocious daughter, and she has a dream job as an editor for a publishing company with a promotion and raise in the offing.
But getting deeper into her story, the reader finds what’s hidden behind this façade and her wanting-to-please-everyone persona. She More...
But getting deeper into her story, the reader finds what’s hidden behind this façade and her wanting-to-please-everyone persona. She More...
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Jan 11, 2012
Trisha
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 18, 2011
Phanee
rated it:
Rating: 7/10
String Bridge tells the story of Melody, an Australian musician, who came to Greece to sing and ended up getting married to a Greek music promoter, Alex. But life in Athens is not what she expected it to be. She is not doing any gigs, but instead has sort-of settled into the roles of businesswoman, mother and wife. Over the years, she has come to miss that feeling she got when she was creating and performing and it has instead been substituted by the dreary monotone of do More...
String Bridge tells the story of Melody, an Australian musician, who came to Greece to sing and ended up getting married to a Greek music promoter, Alex. But life in Athens is not what she expected it to be. She is not doing any gigs, but instead has sort-of settled into the roles of businesswoman, mother and wife. Over the years, she has come to miss that feeling she got when she was creating and performing and it has instead been substituted by the dreary monotone of do More...
Nov 14, 2011
Karen
rated it:
Jessica Bell tore out my heartstrings.
String Bridge is one of those books. It’s a story that I had to read in one sitting because I felt an immediate connection to the characters. I read Melody’s story and kept thinking, “This could have been written about me.” Minus the adorable daughter, Tessa, and the fact that I’m not married, but all the thoughts, the insecurities, the internalizing, the fights, the emotions—all me. I think that’s what separates the good books from the great boo More...
String Bridge is one of those books. It’s a story that I had to read in one sitting because I felt an immediate connection to the characters. I read Melody’s story and kept thinking, “This could have been written about me.” Minus the adorable daughter, Tessa, and the fact that I’m not married, but all the thoughts, the insecurities, the internalizing, the fights, the emotions—all me. I think that’s what separates the good books from the great boo More...
Nov 18, 2011
Sheri
rated it:
A poignantly written tale of family, marriage, love, betrayal, and the inner strength of one woman's human spirit to find her true place in her world.
I primarily read young adult and middle grade fiction, because of my love for the raw innocence within that age group. Saying that, I found String Bridge to have a similar pureness I look for when reading children's literature. The characters are well developed with meaningful and realistic inner struggles that a reader can easily relate More...
I primarily read young adult and middle grade fiction, because of my love for the raw innocence within that age group. Saying that, I found String Bridge to have a similar pureness I look for when reading children's literature. The characters are well developed with meaningful and realistic inner struggles that a reader can easily relate More...
Aug 29, 2011
Len
rated it:
Definitely gripping. It might be a cliche to say it's 'unputdownable' but there isn't any other way to describe it. Just amazing.
With a storyline so consuming, it felt like being in some sort of a trance reading this book. I couldn't stop. It felt like being on a rollercoaster of emotions. Just when you think Melody is going to make a long-time dream come true, just when everything is all coming together - piece by piece...BANG! Everything shatters. How does Melody put all the More...
With a storyline so consuming, it felt like being in some sort of a trance reading this book. I couldn't stop. It felt like being on a rollercoaster of emotions. Just when you think Melody is going to make a long-time dream come true, just when everything is all coming together - piece by piece...BANG! Everything shatters. How does Melody put all the More...
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Oct 24, 2011
Cherie
rated it:
Jessica Bell’s STRING BRIDGE is a beautifully tragic tale of desire, music, and love.
Melody, an Australian living in Greece, decides she wants it all: to combine who she used to be with who she is now. She’s ready to pick up her guitar again and play gigs as well as pursue a chance to further her editorial career while being a wife and mother. Yet nothing is life is ever so simple. As she searches for the bridge to secure her two halves, she will have to lose it all to find herself.
More...
Melody, an Australian living in Greece, decides she wants it all: to combine who she used to be with who she is now. She’s ready to pick up her guitar again and play gigs as well as pursue a chance to further her editorial career while being a wife and mother. Yet nothing is life is ever so simple. As she searches for the bridge to secure her two halves, she will have to lose it all to find herself.
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Nov 01, 2011
Anary828
rated it:
String Bridge is one of the few contemporary/music-related story I’ve ever find fascinating. It is a story about Melody—a wife, mother, musician, editor—who married a Greek music promoter and soon have a child. Everything seems perfect but she wanted to have her ‘music’ back in her life again, but how can she do it if it means a lot of sacrifices, that even her life and family could be at risk?
As I read the first part of the book, I was somehow lost on the story of Melody, giv More...
As I read the first part of the book, I was somehow lost on the story of Melody, giv More...
Nov 18, 2011
Katrina
rated it:
This is one of the deepest books I've read in a long time. Most of my usual reading list consists of middle-grade and young adult fantasy and whimsy with a touch of the dark. It can be pretty deep in a symbolic way. But not like this book.
This book made me feel.
Perhaps because I'm a mother trying to live out her dream (writing for me, not music), I especially related to Melody's plight. But I think there are many ways in which Melody represents all of us struggling with f More...
This book made me feel.
Perhaps because I'm a mother trying to live out her dream (writing for me, not music), I especially related to Melody's plight. But I think there are many ways in which Melody represents all of us struggling with f More...
Nov 14, 2011
Amie
rated it:
Jessica Bell's literary novel String Bridge is about everyday life and the things we need to give up to live it. The main character, Melody, is a wife and mother who isn't sure she wants to be doing that, she wants to be a musician.
Being as it’s literary fiction there doesn’t seem to be much going on, but the pace is fast. And by not much going on I mean that it’s normal everyday stuff like decisions on what to say to your husband when he does something annoying and whether or not to a More...
Being as it’s literary fiction there doesn’t seem to be much going on, but the pace is fast. And by not much going on I mean that it’s normal everyday stuff like decisions on what to say to your husband when he does something annoying and whether or not to a More...
Nov 18, 2011
Rosie
rated it:
Melody's struggle follows a difficult trajectory, one that the reader struggles through with her. At almost every step, I found myself feeling the same emotions felt by Melody, wanting her to do the things she wanted to do--even when they weren't the best choices for herself or her family. I identified with Melody throughout the entire novel, fighting and crying and yelling when she did.
I love the way that Bell develops her characters. Each of them felt like a real person that could More...
I love the way that Bell develops her characters. Each of them felt like a real person that could More...
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Aug 07, 2011
Talli
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What an engaging read. I started in the morning, and I couldn't put it down until I'd finished. 'String Bridge' follows the story of Melody, a frustrated wife and mother who somehow finds herself miles away from the person she used to be -- and from the person she wants to become. Author Jessica Bell paints a claustrophobic vision of life where domesticity becomes a ever-diminishing prison cell. With gripping prose and terse dialogue, 'String Bridge' is a powerful debut novel from a very talente
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Oct 31, 2011
Sharon
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I have to tell you I love Jessica's voice! She'll make you feel like she ripped your heart out! Her writing tunes you into every feeling you've ever had, both in her poetry book, Twisted Velvet Chains (which I bought about a month ago) and her novel, String Bridges . I was so pleased to find some of her poetry in her newest novel, String Bridges. I asked if I could share one of those poems with you. Of course, she said yes...
Selfish Heartbreak
I used to thrive on hate
un More...
Selfish Heartbreak
I used to thrive on hate
un More...
Aug 16, 2011
Jolene
rated it:
Wow.
Okay.
So Jessica Bell's an incredibly talented poet, and her unique way with words completely translates into fiction. I was so there, in the frustration of unsaid things in relationships, of wanting something you're not sure you'll ever have. I trusted the author from page one, and never felt let down by characters actions.
She made imperfect people, and made us like and love them still. Not an easy feat.
I won't spoil this for you, but the story's int More...
Okay.
So Jessica Bell's an incredibly talented poet, and her unique way with words completely translates into fiction. I was so there, in the frustration of unsaid things in relationships, of wanting something you're not sure you'll ever have. I trusted the author from page one, and never felt let down by characters actions.
She made imperfect people, and made us like and love them still. Not an easy feat.
I won't spoil this for you, but the story's int More...
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Nov 16, 2011
Pamela
rated it:
For a long time I thought I was just a slow reader. Over the years I've come to learn that the sound of words echoing in my head and rolling off my tongue requires a slow pace. Like fine wine and great food, literature is meant to be savored. Jessica's lyrical words and phrases ruminate long after the cover closes. String Bridge is more than a story. When Melody begins listening to her soul, you can't help but feel your own soul harmonizing right along. This touched my heart on so many levels an
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Dec 04, 2011
Clara_w
rated it:
Wow. Just wow.
String Bridge is so good that I almost lost a plane because of it.Seriously.
Melody's story is passionate, heart breaking and anguishing, and you feel all that with her the whole time. The.whole.time. (Get the homage?)
Needless to say not many writers manage to do that.
I don't believe I've ever seen such an incredible relation of love and hate such as Alex's and Mel's. And I do believe Alex goes down as one of my favorite male characters in history. Consideri More...
String Bridge is so good that I almost lost a plane because of it.Seriously.
Melody's story is passionate, heart breaking and anguishing, and you feel all that with her the whole time. The.whole.time. (Get the homage?)
Needless to say not many writers manage to do that.
I don't believe I've ever seen such an incredible relation of love and hate such as Alex's and Mel's. And I do believe Alex goes down as one of my favorite male characters in history. Consideri More...
