Cute short queer love story! Could use more exposure, hope it will be discovered even post publication!

Review Excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2021/07/01/a-bridge-to-love-by-lee-colgin/)

My Rating: 4.0 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library Romance, Fantasy/Paranormal Romance, and/or LGBTQIA collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.


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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Medium burn

Relationship dynamics: The Wolf Shifter (H1) / The Bridge Troll (H2); Friends to Lovers

Sexual content: Some; on and off-page, explicit and semi-explicit

Gender Identity: Cis (H1) / Cis (H2)

Sexual Identity: Gay (H1) / Gay (H2)

Triggers: none.

Acceptance Rating: 5.0 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: Love is love.

Grammar/Editing: My ARC had a few typos. There are also internal inconsistencies at the beginning that lead me to believe that there may have been a scene inserted, but that the text was not checked for continuity.

Review: This fast-paced novella is very YA in tone, and also very “simple pleasures in life” oriented. Because it is very short, the story is fairly episodic and skips over large amounts of time between each scene which takes away from the relationship building, for me. That being said, while the world building is limited in scope, it is at least well-done for the small portion of the fantasy world that the story takes place in.

The main characters in this tale are Tobias (aka Toby) and Arlo. Toby is a wok shifter and is very family-oriented. Arlo is a bridge troll and is very unlike other trolls, in that he is happier with company than without. They meet, eventually become friends and then more than friends, although the awareness between them starts immediately. As mentioned above, because the story takes place over a year with large gaps between the characters’ interactions, their relationship doesn’t seem as realistic as in similar, longer stories. Perhaps this is because there isn’t a whole lot of tension in the story (indeed, the characters are insta-smitten), but I found the story to be more cute than complex. The supporting characters are limited to Toby’s family and Liosa, the water nymph. They aren’t very significant characters in the narrative, except in the “family acceptance” sense.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a book that's hard to categorise, and if I'm completely honest I don't really know what to make of this one. I've never read anything by the author before, but I'm all about new experiences, and it sounded like an interesting read. And it was! But it's definitely a book that's hard to describe. I think for me the thing I found strange was the tone

✨A Bridge To Love✨

Thank you to netgalley, nine star press and Lee Colgin for a copy!


Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review:
Well if this isn’t the cutest, fluffiest little love story I’ve ever read with that last minute dash of spice. A bridge to love is a m/m relationship between a troll and a wolf shifter and how they both overcome their duties and anxieties to embrace a relationship together. It was a fairly short book but i love the slow burn over the months that came together for Christmas. I highly recommend this book. Short, sweet and if it doesn’t give you the warm and fuzzies then I don’t know what to say to you.

This is a perfect love story and a lovely friends to lovers romance. If you like sweet and comforting stories, this one is for you. It is just right for dark wintery nights indoors with hot cocoa and cake.

Arlo is a bridge troll and he guards his bridge passionately, asking for tributes from those who use his bridge. He meets Toby a wolfshifter who uses the bridge to travel to his sister's village. Toby is rather surprised to meet a troll but soon the two become polite passers-by, and then friends, and eventually lovers.

As they journey to true love, each of them finds their deepest needs met in the other. Toby finds acceptance and Arlo finds family. Both of them find love.

I enjoyed reading this. It is a beautifully simple story that overflows with feeling and it is the kind of story that the reader won't forget. This is definitely going on my 2021 list of exquisite reads.

Copy provided by Nine Star press via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I enjoyed this title very much, even if I would have preferred a more profound connection with the readers through the writing style: at times, I felt like it was a bit too "light".
I loved the two main characters, their personal stories and their meaningful friendship (and love), as well as the setting: I could see, through the pages, the bridge and the forest and the magical aura around them.

A solid 3.5 stars for me. Highly recommended if you're looking for a fluff and cute reading!

I was so close to give this book the five star rating it deserves - and then there was the last scene. So, I am heavy-heartedly are left with giving this book four and a half amazing stars.
I think this was the first book EVER I read featuring a troll and I most definetly never before read a book like this. So full of magic. So beautiful. So pure. So fluff. I fell in love with the characters after the very first sentence; exploring the friendship between Toby and Arlo, which eventually bloomed into romance - it was amazing. I could keep praising and praising this book and it would never be enough. The only issue I had was the sex scene, especially the last one. I simply wasn't somfortbale with that, but I am uncomfortable with pretty much any sex scene these days, so I am not thinking too much on that. I hope the author is exploring more books of this kind; I enjoyed spending a whole year with Arlo and Toby.

I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for an eARC of this review.

I absolutely adored this book. It was so dang cute and wholesome! What can I say about this book? Alright, I will start with our main characters. Arlo is so sweet and adorable. I LOVED reading about an unconventional fantasy creature! Like give me more of that! On to Toby. Toby is so fun and full of energy and love. I mean, he was just such a sweet character.

In terms of Christmasy content this book doesn’t solely happen at Christmas, but it starts and ends at Christmas. I actually really liked that we followed the characters throughout the year and only got glimpses of their relationship growing and changing over the year and all the times they meet each other.

Honestly I could have read an entire series about these two characters. I would love to see more from their relationship and lives. It was just so dang wholesome and sweet. I adored this book and I think the only reason it wasn’t a 5 stars was because I wanted more from them.

Rating: 4.5/5

I was granted complimentary access to a review copy of A Bridge to Love by Lee Colgin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a sweet story! A Bridge to Love is a M/M Romance novella about a wolf shifter who falls in love with the troll who shows up under a familiar bridge one day. Both Toby (shifter) and Arlo (troll) are instantly loveable characters and the story is captivating from the first word to the last. It's a story of learning to trust alongside love and learning to let go of traditions that don't make sense.

Besides the main pair, we do meet a handful of other characters, including several members of Toby's pack and a river nymph who visits Arlo. My favourite supporting character is Gran, Toby's grandmother, who's sassy and loving nature reminds me of my own grandmother. My favourite line in the whole book belongs to her: "...I don't have fourteen grandchildren for nothing! If I want to see your den under the bridge, then see it I shall. As to how, that's for them to figure out."

I love the fact that both characters are dealing with lingering feelings of guilt over traditions and expectations they don't meet among their own kind, but none of those things are their sexuality. Sure there's miscommunication between the lovers at points, but not a single soul in this book has even an inkling of a problem with two men falling in love. Arlo is an unusual troll because he's willing to bend the rules. Toby might have been shunned had he been born into another pack because he can't control his change. The fact that Toby is gay and Arlo reciprocates (though I get the feeling he falls under the bi umbrella) doesn't factor into anything. It's refreshing and beautiful.

In case any potential readers are unsure about reading this book due to the potential for... interesting sexy time, rest assured that while these two characters are shown in intimate situations a couple of times it is done tastefully and without unnecessary graphic details. This demisexual reader didn't mind it at all! (So no, no beast sex in any sense of the word beast.)

Thank you to all involved in the process that lead to a copy of this book being sent to my Kindle! It was a heartwarming pleasure to read. I regret that approval timing was so close to release day that my other obligations prevented me from getting this review out before release. I'm less than 2 weeks late, at least?

Oh, this was a sweet one. Toby isn’t a typical wolf and Arlo isn’t a typical troll, but together, they’re kinda perfect. ❤

It wasn’t quite love at first site, but there was definitely some strong infatuation. That grew into friendship, some honest misunderstandings and awkward encounters, but it was obvious that all of that was leading to love. Although it spanned a year, A Bridge to Love began and ended around Christmas, so I’d still categorize this as a Holiday romance. So… if you’re looking for a short, sweet Holiday read, this one should hit the mark. 😉

Thanks to netgalley and NineStar for access to this arc.

Toby is happy-go-lucky and on his way to see family when he arrives at the bridge he must cross from his village to reach them. That’s when he meets Arlo – gray skinned, red haired, and with deep blue eyes. Toby is a friendly sort and when he realizes he has no tribute to pay Arlo, he promises to bring something back. The two slowly begin to develop their friendship from there as told over a years time. Toby is happy-go-lucky while Arlo is more the quiet sort. Toby has a large family while Arlo has been on his own for a while. Neither is at first aware of how the other might be ready for a relationship and once they are, a misunderstanding is pretty much all that stands in their way of falling more deeply in love. Ah, but there is one more thing which they finally overcome through their Christmas gifts to each other, which I will admit are heart felt and deeply meaningful. But beyond that, the story is … fairly bland. Readers looking for basically a warm hug of a book with some sappy declarations of love need look no further but it was kind of like pigging out on way too much holiday candy – sweet but not very sustaining. C

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novella!

Rating: 3.5 stars

I don’t tend to reach for seasonal books, but “A Bridge to Love” sounded so sweet and uplifting that I instantly hit request! I’ve read and enjoyed things by this author before and I love anything paranormal, so this one seemed like a win for me.

Overall, I had a great time reading this, it was super adorable, fast-paced, Christmasy and romantic. Perfect for the holiday season!

A Bridge to Love by Lee Colgin
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Genre: LGBTQIA | Romance
Release Date: December 7, 2020

A Bridge to Love by Lee Colgin is a standalone fantasy romance featuring a wolf-shifter and a troll.

It is a beautiful story of love and friendship and got a little steamy towards this end. There is also a wonderful Christmas theme woven into this story.

This a quick read and is captivating. This is definitely different from what I usually read and I really enjoyed it!.

NSFW

I'm so grateful to Lee Colgin, NineStar Press, LLC, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

First of, I love the cover! It's gorgeous, and the title is perfect for the book.
The book is about Arlo, a slightly grumpy troll, Toby, a cheerful wolf shifter, and a whole ton of holiday cheer. This book takes place over a year from December to December. In this time, Arlo and Toby become friends and start to fall in love. Will Toby risk giving his heart to Arlo, who may or may not give up guarding his bridge for love?
This book is filled with so much fluff and holiday cheer. Toby and Arlo are adorable! They had many cute encounters and some steamy ones as well. I like how this book focuses on the relationship, not really on the labels. The relationship blossomed slowly and carefully, which was really nice. This was a quick read to pick you up with some cute romance. It had me smiling and awww-ing constantly! This is exactly the type of book I needed (especially with COVID) to brighten my day. This book didn't have an intricate plot. The plot line was their relationship and how it evolved. I personally liked that because I could really focus my attention on them and nothing else. I recommend this book to anyone who loves fluffy, cute romance and holiday books.
Explicit content 16+
Thanks #netgalley and publishers for the ARC in return for a honest review.

3.75 stars

A Bridge to Love is a sweet feel-good story about an adorable bridge-troll and a sweet wolf-shifter.

Arlo has finally earned his right to guard his very own bridge. The only problem is, it’s a lonely job. As trolls are solitary creatures, Alro has had to leave his family behind, and while he's excited to have his very own bridge he longs for the companionship of family.

Tobias is a wolf shifter that serves as a messenger between packs. One day he stumbles on the new bridge troll on his path between villages and is immediately smitten.

The story of Arlo and Toby is a very sweet, slow burn. Their interactions over the months and seasons slowly develop and grow. It was quite sweet and cute. I love Toby's family and how they accepted Arlo. Oh, and Toby's Christmas present was just the sweetest thing! *sigh*

A Bridge to Love is a short and sweet little paranormal story with a lovely HEA. I quite enjoyed it and look forward to more from the author.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This is a sweet, cute, fluffy and heart warming read.❤

The story revolves around our main couple Arlo - a troll and Toby - a wolf shifter. This is how their story started in a bridge. This is an Adult Romance in a fantasy setting. Don't expect deep plot or amazing world building. One word that can be use to describe the book is simple. It is very straight forward and just a comfortable and calming read.🤗

I love the pacing of the story. Though at first it was a bit slow but gradually picked up. I love the characters and the love story of our main couple. This is a feel good book that focuses on sweet love and a happy family. It's a bit different from the ones I've been reading that are high in tension. This one is just a very comforting read for me.

Recommended if you're in the mood for a short, sweet and cute read.👍❤

***Thanks to NineStar Press, LLC for granting me access of this book via Netgalley for an honest review.***

In which a cute-ass troll and a cute-ass wolf shifter are desperately adorable together.

The fluffiest book of fluff I've read in ages, and what a lovely experience, to be caught up in moments enveloped in love and humour.

I don't want to give too much away, but adorable moments include: handstands, a pile of leaves, family, trinkets, and a water nymph.

Would recommend for a quick, cute pick me up that'll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a super sweet, super quick read. Perfect for just curling up with for a couple hours and forgetting everything negative. It's super low angst and the two main characters are both very cute, accepting and loveable. While the storyline isn't very exciting, I think that's the nice thing about it. If your looking for a cuddly, quick romance this one is perfect.

This book is about the relationship that blossoms between the troll, Arlo, and the wolf shifter, Toby. It is an adorable little book, a really quick read, and leaves the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling to them.

It’s setting made it perfect for the holidays, and made me want to snuggle up with a significant other. The characters are extremely sweet to one another as they get to know each other and cultivate their relationship.

I was a bit concerned about a seeming lack of plot until I realized that the plot was their interactions, and that it was meant to be a slice-of-life in a fantasy world.

The writing was lovely, and although the dialogue could be a bit cheesy at times, it had me hooked.