{"id":32139,"date":"2026-05-06T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=32139"},"modified":"2026-05-06T00:05:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T04:05:03","slug":"review-the-bridge-back-to-you-by-riss-m-neilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/06\/review-the-bridge-back-to-you-by-riss-m-neilson\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. Neilson"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-32139\" data-postid=\"32139\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-32139 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_46cr226 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_4q17226 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_0do8226 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"987\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson.jpg?resize=640%2C987&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-32140\" title=\"the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson\" alt=\"the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_9gxy226 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Olivia owes everything to Celia&#8217;s Place. It\u2019s where she learned how to be a great chef. It\u2019s also where she first fell in love. But at nineteen, Olivia had a wanderlust she couldn\u2019t deny. And Carmello, whose mother owned the restaurant, couldn\u2019t leave Celia&#8217;s Place behind any more than he could force Olivia to stay.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Now, ten years later, Olivia is a successful personal chef. Her job allows her to travel the world, and she has never stayed in the same place for too long. When Carmello learns that his mother left shares of her beloved restaurant to both him\u00a0<span class=\"a-text-italic\">and\u00a0<\/span>Olivia, he plans to buy her portion of the shares back quickly and painlessly.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">That is until Olivia shows up at the restaurant, ready to help run it. Carmello sees an opportunity: drive Olivia away from<span class=\"a-text-italic\">\u00a0his<\/span>\u00a0restaurant so that she will want to sign over her shares. But Olivia sees things a bit differently. She finally has the chance to stay in one place and build a home after years on the move, and perhaps now is the right time to explore whether that home can be with the one who got away.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Soon enough, sparks begin to fly, but can Olivia and Carmello avoid the mistakes of the past?<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_juqj226 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_2iq6226  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25879 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-top-pick-banner-1-2.png?resize=296%2C72&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Mar 31, 2026<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Berkley\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $10.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>Romance with communicative adults&#8230; swoon.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We always talk about romance as a genre where there is character growth, where we see these characters embody what we wish people would be in the real world, even with flaws. Neilson somehow nails this part of the storytelling to perfection. With characters who actually bother to talk, to think, and to communicate their emotions and feelings like adults should, and do so in a way that still stays true to who they are and shows their growth in unexpected ways.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That last paragraph was a mouthful, so let me start with this is a second-chance romance you will swoon for. We have both <strong>Olivia<\/strong> and <strong>Carmello. <\/strong>They grew up together, they shared a ton of firsts, and then life broke them apart. Since then, they\u2019ve both experienced many more firsts. Olivia became a semi-famous and well-traveled pirate chef and is freshly divorced. Carmello had a son, but didn\u2019t marry, and has recently taken over his mother\u2019s restaurant as full owner. That\u2019s where these two converge. At a crossroads point in their lives, Carmello discovers his mother left shares of the restaurant to Olivia, forcing them back into communication. But can they overcome all the old hurts to make owning a restaurant work, if not more?<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is so much depth to this tale, and I love a second-chance romance. The book jumps between flashes of the past to the present, with plenty of detail on how Olivia and Carmello came together, how they broke apart, and ultimately what drives them to find hope and a future again. It\u2019s a romance, so you know there will be an HEA, but there are plenty of thought-provoking moments too that made my heart give a little sigh. Those endorphins were strong about a couple of chapters in, since I had no idea what I was getting into. But Neilson did not disappoint, and I\u2019m looking forward to reading more by this author.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, if you love contemporary, first-person stories that tug at the heartstrings but don\u2019t fall into clich\u00e9 territory, this one is for you. If you enjoy <strong>Kate Clayborn<\/strong> or <strong>Maisey Yates<\/strong> <strong>Happy After All,<\/strong> you need to read <strong>The Bridge Back to You<\/strong>.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_oq5p226 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4d1Gw8I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3P5OnKn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson\/1147750121?ean=9780593640524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-bridge-back-to-you\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Riss_M_Neilson_The_Bridge_Back_to_You?id=565pEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Olivia owes everything to Celia&#8217;s Place. It\u2019s where she learned how to be a great chef. It\u2019s also where she first fell in love. But [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,112,128,48],"tags":[153,216,217,404,405,483],"class_list":["post-32139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-berkley","category-landra","category-penguin-group","category-reviews","tag-4-5-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-recommend","tag-recommended-reads","tag-top-pick"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f The Bridge Back to You by Riss M. 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It\u2019s where she learned how to be a great chef. It\u2019s also where she first fell in love. But at nineteen, Olivia had a wanderlust she couldn\u2019t deny. And Carmello, whose mother owned the restaurant, couldn\u2019t leave Celia's Place behind any more than he could force Olivia to stay.<br \/><br \/>Now, ten years later, Olivia is a successful personal chef. Her job allows her to travel the world, and she has never stayed in the same place for too long. When Carmello learns that his mother left shares of her beloved restaurant to both him\u00a0and\u00a0Olivia, he plans to buy her portion of the shares back quickly and painlessly.<br \/><br \/>That is until Olivia shows up at the restaurant, ready to help run it. Carmello sees an opportunity: drive Olivia away from\u00a0his\u00a0restaurant so that she will want to sign over her shares. But Olivia sees things a bit differently. She finally has the chance to stay in one place and build a home after years on the move, and perhaps now is the right time to explore whether that home can be with the one who got away.<br \/><br \/>Soon enough, sparks begin to fly, but can Olivia and Carmello avoid the mistakes of the past?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/smitten-top-pick-banner-1-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"72\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Mar 31, 2026<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Berkley\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $10.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>Romance with communicative adults... swoon.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We always talk about romance as a genre where there is character growth, where we see these characters embody what we wish people would be in the real world, even with flaws. Neilson somehow nails this part of the storytelling to perfection. With characters who actually bother to talk, to think, and to communicate their emotions and feelings like adults should, and do so in a way that still stays true to who they are and shows their growth in unexpected ways.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That last paragraph was a mouthful, so let me start with this is a second-chance romance you will swoon for. We have both <strong>Olivia<\/strong> and <strong>Carmello. <\/strong>They grew up together, they shared a ton of firsts, and then life broke them apart. Since then, they\u2019ve both experienced many more firsts. Olivia became a semi-famous and well-traveled pirate chef and is freshly divorced. Carmello had a son, but didn\u2019t marry, and has recently taken over his mother\u2019s restaurant as full owner. That\u2019s where these two converge. At a crossroads point in their lives, Carmello discovers his mother left shares of the restaurant to Olivia, forcing them back into communication. But can they overcome all the old hurts to make owning a restaurant work, if not more?<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There is so much depth to this tale, and I love a second-chance romance. The book jumps between flashes of the past to the present, with plenty of detail on how Olivia and Carmello came together, how they broke apart, and ultimately what drives them to find hope and a future again. It\u2019s a romance, so you know there will be an HEA, but there are plenty of thought-provoking moments too that made my heart give a little sigh. Those endorphins were strong about a couple of chapters in, since I had no idea what I was getting into. But Neilson did not disappoint, and I\u2019m looking forward to reading more by this author.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Overall, if you love contemporary, first-person stories that tug at the heartstrings but don\u2019t fall into clich\u00e9 territory, this one is for you. If you enjoy <strong>Kate Clayborn<\/strong> or <strong>Maisey Yates<\/strong> <strong>Happy After All,<\/strong> you need to read <strong>The Bridge Back to You<\/strong>.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4d1Gw8I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3P5OnKn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-bridge-back-to-you-riss-m-neilson\/1147750121?ean=9780593640524\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-bridge-back-to-you\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Riss_M_Neilson_The_Bridge_Back_to_You?id=565pEQAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32139"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32146,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32139\/revisions\/32146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}