Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Bridge to Haven  By  cover art

Bridge to Haven

By: Francine Rivers
Narrated by: Kate Forbes
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.79

Buy for $25.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she' s paid to finally feel like she' s somebody. To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven.

Zeke and his son, Joshua - Abra' s closest friend - watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what' s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes.

But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home. In this riveting and highly anticipated tale of temptation, grace, and unconditional love, New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.

©2014 Francine Rivers (P)2014 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Bridge to Haven

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,656
  • 4 Stars
    643
  • 3 Stars
    218
  • 2 Stars
    75
  • 1 Stars
    48
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,357
  • 4 Stars
    594
  • 3 Stars
    210
  • 2 Stars
    59
  • 1 Stars
    36
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,392
  • 4 Stars
    533
  • 3 Stars
    197
  • 2 Stars
    79
  • 1 Stars
    45

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Francine Rivers is the best for a reason.

As a HUGE Francine Rivers fan, I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed in her two latest books (The Marta's Legacy Series). While good books, I felt they lacked the connection to the characters that I'd come to love about her other books. Whether it was the narration or the writing, I felt disconnected and disappointed.

Bridge to Haven is back to the Francine Rivers I adore. Redeeming Love and the Mark of the Lion series are my favorites by her, and Bridge to Haven is in their caliber. I laughed out loud, I cried, and I sang along with the Hymns that I recognized. The setting is fantastic, 40s-50s California, with references to all the old stars. Aubra will connect to so many girls/women of today, who feel they need to change themselves in order to be loved, that they have to be perfect or be discarded. It's a wonderful, touching, at times tragic, and at times lusty (did I just say lusty in reference to a Christian romance!?).

Francine finds a way to describe what Aubra goes through in regards to her search for love (ie: what normally are referred to as sex scenes but really aren't in this book). You experiences what she does, and are in the situation, without the graphic-ness that a secular book would have. If that's an issue, please don't let it deter you from the book. It's integral to the story, and is very tastefully written.

It's the best book I've read in a very long time. Francine Rivers books are always a cut above the rest and have a realness to them, and a way of the workings of God that a lot of other Christian fiction books tend to ignore in place of their own agendas. Francine's books are there to show us God's love for us, and Bridge to Haven does just that in a well written, hauntingly beautiful tale of a young girl searching for love and her place in the world.

HIGHLY recommended. Well worth your time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

105 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite Francine Rivers book so far.

I started this book on the day it came out and I couldn't put it down. Each time I read one of Francine's novels, I'm reminded why she is my favorite Christian Fiction author. My first read from Francine was Redeeming Love, and I thought that one was really good, but this one has to be my favorite. The characters really move you. Like I say, I couldn't put it down. In fact, I went over my lunch break by 15 minutes one day this week because I got caught up in the story. Five stars all the way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I really Really REALLY wanted to love this

Where does Bridge to Haven rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm very picky when it comes to narrators- I can't count how many audiobooks I've returned because I couldn't stand the narrator. Kate Forbes does a good job-sometimes I was very aware of how slowly she speaks. Maybe it was because the story lagged at times in the middle It is near the bottom of my list of Francine Rivers books but better than most of the books in my library.

What was most disappointing about Francine Rivers’s story?

It just wasn't as good as some of her other books-it is probably compared to Redeeming Love more than the other books. It just feels to me to be too much like that book's plot-damaged, lost soul of a fallen women saved by a godly Christ-like man. The thing that appeals to me about Francine Rivers is the diversity of her books: Mark of the Lion, Redeeming Love, The Last Sin Eater, The Scarlet Thread and Loeta's Garden and the Lineage of Grace books are some of my favorite books and are all wonderful but so different. This book just didn't have the same impact on me as some of her others have. I also got weary hearing how many ways Abra was abused and taken advantage of-this book had more "sex scenes" than other books of hers I have read. They didn't offend me as being inappropriate, there were just so many of them! I inwardly cringed every time I started listening in the middle of the book ( as in " what terrible things are going to happen to her now?") The "Big Reveal" at the end wasn't a surprise and was kind of obvious.

Did Kate Forbes do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

A pet peeve of mine is when female narrators try to lower their voices and sound like men narrating men's characters. Kate Forbes lowers her voice a bit when reading male characters but she also changes HOW the talk-slower and with different accents. It is one of her strengths as a narrator.

If you could rename Bridge to Haven, what would you call it?

I hate this question-I'm not a publisher or author. I have no idea.

Any additional comments?

This isn't an awful book and I don't hate it and I don't regret spending 17 hours listening to it. I just doesn't have the impact some of her other books have had on me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Broken People, Aching Souls, God of Grace and Love

Born in 1936, left under a bridge, abandoned and found by Pastor Zeke, Abra began life alone. Then loved and treasured by Zeke, his wife Marianne, and their son Joshua, Abra feels safe . . . for five years. Widowed, grief stricken and weighed down by the demands of his church ministry, Pastor Zeke allows the Matthews family from his parish to adopt Abra. Brokenhearted, Abra doesn't trust anyone . . . let alone a God who would take Marianne, the only mother she had ever known away. At seventeen, Abra runs off with a good looking rich boy, mistaking his attentions for love, leading her on a five year search to "find herself". But as far and as hard as she could run, she couldn't outrun God. Bridge to Haven is a well written, honest look at broken people in need of a loving God. All of us Christians would do well to listen and learn . . . to love as Christ loves, to extend grace as Christ does, and to be His hands and feet in a world in much need of acceptance and care.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspirational as usual

Francine Rivers has always been one of my favourite authors. This much anticipated book did not disappoint. Inspiring story, showing God's love and commitment to us, even when we feel like all hope is lost. Thank you Ms Rivers!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I LOVE Francine Rivers

I absolutely love Francine Rivers. She is my favorite author. Redeeming Love was such an amazing story of redemption, forgiveness, and love. Because I love Francine Rivers as much as I do, I was so excited to see that her new book was out. I rushed to add it to my queue and I started listening right away. I have to say, this is the first book that I was really disappointed with. The writing seemed sloppy, not her usual style or ability displayed. I was amazed at all the general catch phrases she used. I was actually waiting for this one to end so that I could pick something else. I was very disappointed in the quality of this book and the narrator. It felt like a quota book instead of a book written out of passion. This was certainly a miss for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story—Narrator Lessened the Impact

Francine Rivers gave us a fantastic story of how our choices impact our lives and the lives of those who care about us; and how God is with us even when we do not see him weaving a trail out of the darkness back into the light. Anyone can relate a character to his or her own life experience(s).

That being said, while the story itself is great, the narrator greatly decreases the fullness of Rivers’ words because she reads the book, she does not perform the story. I gave rated the way I did largely due to the performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Gave up after 14 chapters

Would you ever listen to anything by Francine Rivers again?

Never

Would you be willing to try another one of Kate Forbes’s performances?

She wasn't terrible and given better material, she is probably fine.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that I wasted so many hours on such dreck.

Any additional comments?

The heroine is the most self pitying, passive ingenue I have ever encountered in literature. Meanwhile, the hero was just too good to be true. I guess the author is a very devout Christian and is trying to make her characters fit a stereotype. There was an extreme creep factor in the idea that two individuals raised as essentially as brother and sister then become lovers and he is supposed to be the good Christian hero. Don't know if I can finish this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story! Could have been read in less time.

What did you love best about Bridge to Haven?

It was Christian fiction, but not a religious book. The characters seemed like real people, with real flaws, not cookie cutter Christians, all alike.

What other book might you compare Bridge to Haven to and why?

None come to mind. I like Christian fiction where Christians aren't presented as super spiritual, but more like us real life Christians. People who love the Lord but still make bad choices and have to face life's problems.

What aspect of Kate Forbes’s performance would you have changed?

She could have shortened the audio time by reading a little faster. I almost gave up early in the book, I was so put out at how slowly she read. Glad I didn't....would have missed a good book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

bridge to Haven

Great inspirational book! Listened to it on my 9.5 hour trip home from spring break.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful