Review: Wait for the Rain and Bridges by Maria Murnane

by Susan Roberts

Last spring, Maria Murnane shared with our readers how her book Bridges came about. Today, I review both Wait for the Rain and Bridges.
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February 2015; Lake Union Publishing
978-1477827413; audio, ebook, print (272 pages)
women's fiction, romantic comedy

Wait for the Rain by Maria Murnane

Everyone has goals in life that they plan to meet by the time they are 40. The three friends in this book had goals and this book is written in the pov of Daphne who felt like she had fallen far short of her goals especially when compared to her friends.

Daphne has plans to meet her two best friends KC and Skylar at an island in the Caribbean. Even though they kept in touch, this was the first time they'd seen each other in ten years. At first Daphne tries to keep her disappointments in her life from her friends but finally breaks down and confesses to them that she feels like a failure - her divorced husband is marrying a younger women, her teenage daughter is a typical teenager who doesn't want to spend time at home, her goal of being a writer hasn't happened because she's spent her entire life being a wife and a mother and burying her dreams.

This is a wonderful book about female friendships and about finding out who you are and learning how to enjoy life again.

Buy Wait for the Rain at Amazon

Bridges by Maria Murnane

April 2017; Wink's Ink; 978-0980042511
audio, ebook, print (264 pages)
women's fiction

This is the second book about Daphne White and even though you can read it as a stand-alone, I think it's a good idea to learn more about Daphne's life from the first book Wait for the Rain.

Daphne, KC, and Skylar meet in New York City to celebrate Skylar's engagement. They all have big news - Daphne has submitted her just-completed first book to 36 agents, KC is pregnant and Skylar after years of being single is engaged to the perfect man for her. As the friends tour NYC and talk with each other - the reveal their worries to each other.   Daphne has been getting rejection letters, KC is worried about being a mother in her 40s with a child the same age as her step-grandchild and Syklar is concerned that she will be unable to settle down in married life despite how wonderful her fiancé is.

This is a wonderful book about the friendship between longtime friends. It's always refreshing to read a book with main characters who are over 40 and this one fits the bill!

Buy Bridges at Amazon

About the Author:

The way Maria became an author is a little crazy. She used to work in high-tech PR but hated it, so one day she quit and ended up playing semi-pro soccer in Argentina for a year. While she was down there she decided to write a novel, which was something she'd always dreamed of doing. Fast forward a few years and she's now the best-selling author of Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, Chocolate for Two, Cassidy Lane, Katwalk, Wait for the Rain, and Bridges. And yes, she still plays a lot of soccer!

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads,  or Twitter.

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