The Road to Eden's Ridge

by M.L. Rose

Book Overview

"The Road to Eden's Ridge" is a love story evocative of "The Bridges of Madison County." Less than an hour before her wedding, Lindsey Briggs stands in her bedroom in a Maine farmhouse and decides to call off the wedding and pursue her musical dreams in Nashville, Tennessee. When she sings at the Bluebird Cafe, she meets Ben McBride, a country-singing legend and old army buddy of her grandfather. The threat of falling in love with McBride's young...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155853993X
• ISBN13: 9781558539938
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Following your heart when there are forks in the road . . .

The Road to Eden's Ridge by M. L. Rose is a complex yet riveting family saga and romantic novel. It tells the tale of a family from Maine, primarily through the eyes and experiences of Miss Lindsey Briggs. Lindsey is a vivacious and headstrong young woman who is standing up her fiancé at the alter as the novel opens to abandon the traditional life style and follow her heart and dreams by heading off to Nashville to try her hand at country music."Follow your heart" is pretty much the cornerstone of this novel and Lindsey's determination to do just that serves as the prism through which the twists and turns of this novel are reflected and refined. For it is the will and determination to block out all but her dream that brings Lindsey success-and great pain and heartache, as in the process of "following her heart" she loses track of the fact that it's a world with many roads and that one's heart may be destines to travel more than one of them.Heartache has certainly been a facet of the character of her family members and the choices they have made. The whole middle section of the novel provides context for Lindsey's agony as she learns the truth about the previous experiences of the women in her family and the choices they have made and the heartache they have endured.In the end Lindsey must decide whether her laser like focus on her dream is (as her country music mentor and long time family "friend", legendary country music performer Ben McBride wonders) Lindsey's greatest strength or her greatest weakness.This is a richly constructed novel with an array of likeable and well-developed characters. It is realistic in its approach to the striving and struggles of musicians on the make and working to fulfill a dream as well as to the Nashville music scene in general. Most importantly, it is an honest and engaging love story that revolves around what feels to be real people with real emotions-a rarity in this day of mass manufactured "romance" novels consisting of cardboard characters of contrived circumstances that exist merely to titillate the reader and make a buck rather than communicate anything about love or life. This is a novel that will move you and remind you of those bygone days when your own heart was so moved and so full of aching, longing and happiness at the same time. In other words, this is what a romantic novel is supposed to be.

Turning pages on a good story

This is a refreshing story for anyone who believes that we have souls that might be connected and that love exists as part of that connection. Not that Lindsey Briggs necessarily believes it. "No one is destined for anyone else," she tells her grandmother early in the story. But she does call off a wedding that just doesn't feel right and heads to Nashville to pursue an old urge, and as soon as she arrives she falls into a set of friends and a life that seems to be scripted by a fate Lindsay claims not to believe in. But fate, whether one believes in it or not, is a central character in this story. Or was it merely chance that Ben McBride walked into the Bluebird as Lindsey's band was beginning their thrid song. Was it merely chance that Lindsey, in order to relax in his presence, began to talk before she sang that song, unwittingly speaking the words that connected him to her in a way she didn't know.This is a good story. There is an honest feel to the landscape. And the gentle conversation between Ben McBride and Lilly when they are looking at the sunsert and the flowers and talking about Emily Dickinson and birds is as good as it gets. How can one not believe in love and the connection of souls.

This story will resurrect your dream!

The fact that Lindsey left a sure thing behind to follow her dream is quite inspiring. It reminded me how important that is. It doesn't take a songwriter, singer or musician to be captivated by this intriguing story. This one will stay with you. Eden's Ridge needs to be on the big screen.

Adventure, Love and Independence all wrapped up in one!

This book is a webb of stories all mixed together. It keeps you guessing and moves you from character to character, developing each one so carefully! The love stories of two generations and the challenges life brings for all involved kept me intrigued throughout the book. I couldn't put it down except to cry and laugh out loud. I didn't want the book to end. I wanted more...but I was so excited when the last page came and everything was made clear.

True to Nashville; True to those who've ever been in love

An absolutely wonderful read. As a Nashville resident, I'm in complete awe of how well the city is described and how perfectly the authors captured the spirit of those who come here trying to make it big. As for the love story, it elicited tears for all of the right reasons -- true love, missed opportunities, second chances.