~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks' NIGHTS IN RODANTHE~

Opening line: "Three years earlier, on a warm November morning Adrienne Willis had returned to the inn and at first glance had thought it unchanged, as if the small inn were impervious to the sun and sand and salted mist."

Even in a book that's only 222 pages long Nicholas Sparks manages to weave his magic. Building a level of suspense as we await breathless to learn of Paul's fate. Reminisent of The Bridges of Madison County this is a quick, easy read but a great story nontheless.

The story begins with Adrienne telling her widowed daughter the tale of her brief love affair fourteen years earlier with a surgeon named Paul. We then alternate between Paul and Adrienne's points of view as we learn the story of their lives and what brought them each to divorce before they found themselves at the inn in Rodanthe.

With a violent storm brewing our protagonists share a walk on the beach and two meals together then fall hopelessly in love. (This did feel a little rushed to me but whatever it's Nicholas Sparks we all know where he's going) After five blissful days together Paul leaves Rodanthe to join his son at the medical clinic in Ecuador. Promising to return to Adrienne at Christmas so they can have their HEA but...well it's Nicholas Sparks isn't it.

This is a quick, smooth read with well developed characters and the typical tugging of the heartstrings we have all come to expect from Sparks. Cheers

“The greater the love, the greater the tragedy when it’s over those two elements always go together”

~REVIEW of NIcholas Sparks' THE RESCUE~

~WORTH RE-READING~

Opening Line: "Why had this happened? Why, of all the children was Kyle the one?"

I first read THE RESCUE in 2002 and enjoyed it just as much with it's rediscovery. As soon as I opened the first page I was lost, reading continuously for the next 24 hours. Thinking to myself, damn that Nicholas Sparks' he's done it again, sucking me right back into one of the best love stories I've ever read.

Due to a horrific childhood trauma volunteer firefighter Taylor McAden is driven to take disturbing heroic risks while on the job, trying to somehow put his world right. He has few friends and all of his past relationships have resulted from rescuing troubled women in one way or another. All of whom he inevitably leaves as soon as they want more from him then he can give. It seems that there's just one leap Taylor can't make; that of allowing himself to fall in love.

Denise Holden is a single mother of a handicapped child. Due to a lack of finances she has been forced to move back to her mother's hometown and live in the inherited home. At the moment she's barely scraping by, her son Kyle taking up most of her time, energy and resources. Love is the last thing on Denise's mind as she drives home from her job at the local diner. As fate would have it though a terrible storm hit's the small southern town that night, contriving to bring our couple together. As the storm rages Denise crashes her car and upon regaining consciousness finds herself staring into the handsome face of risk taker extraordinaire Taylor. Before she can acknowledge him as her potential life partner though panic takes over as she realizes that her son is no longer in the car and is feared to be lost in the nearby swamp.

I won't be giving anything away by telling you that Taylor rescues both Denise and her son and together they forge into a relationship. But as wonderful as the relationship seems in the beginning it doesn't take long for the cracks to show and the harder Denise tries to help Taylor the more he pulls away. Shutting down emotionally and taking greater and greater risks with the fire department (For a small town they sure have a lot of fires.)

As with every Nicholas Sparks' novel we are never guaranteed a HEA which aids in a degree of tension throughout this story. For me the relationship and its sudden decline is so well written that it seemed a page from my own past, tugging at my heart with its familiarity. Taylor is a mystery throughout and the whys of this aren't revealed until the very end. THE RESCUE contains some fabulous secondary characters and you will fall in love with every one of them. It's also full of action, suspense and melodrama. There were a couple of moments when I actually gasped, unable to believe what I'd just read. Have some Kleenex handy, this is great yet as always with Sparks bittersweet love story. Cheers!

~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks': A BEND IN THE ROAD~



~SPARKS DELIVERS...YET AGAIN~

Opening Line: “On the morning of August 29, 1988, a little more than two years after his wife had passed away, Miles Ryan stood on the back porch of his house, smoking a cigarette, watching as the rising sun slowly changed the morning sky from dusky grey to orange.”

Nicholas Sparks is like comfort food, I always know going in the kind of emotional love story I’m going to get and I can count on being sucked into the lives, loves and heartache of his small town characters. They’re written realistically, I mean I feel like I know them, flaws and all and I usually want to move to whatever town it is he’s describing. Sure sometimes the stories are predictable and I find that the couple de jour spouts the “I love you’s” too soon for my liking or realism’s sake but still his stories are always a pleasure to read, which is what keeps me coming back for more.

A BEND IN THE ROAD was a surprise in that it keeps a sense of mystery going throughout, often leaving the main couples love story and allowing us into the mind of the anonymous “bad guy”. Slowly unravelling their story until the shocking big reveal at the end. I honestly didn’t know how Sparks was going to wrap things up here, his couples doesn’t always end up together and that too added to the mystery.

Sheriff’s deputy Miles Ryan is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his beloved wife in a hit-and-run accident nearly two years ago. High school sweethearts, theirs was a love destined to last and Miles can’t seem to let go of the grief or the fact that as an officer of the law he’s been unable to find the person responsible. If it weren’t for their young son Jonah it’s unlikely that Miles would find the strength to get through the day.

Which brings into play Jonah’s second grade teacher Sarah Andrews. When Jonah begins having trouble keeping up in school Sarah offers to tutor him and a tentative relationship begins to form. Sarah is running away from a bad divorce (is there a good one?) and has a few skeletons in her closet as well. Our couple fall in love pretty fast (from one page to the next) and are just beginning to see a real future together when Miles’ past comes back, tearing everything apart. Unwilling to let go of his dead wife and obsessed with finding her killer and ultimately closure I can honestly say that I was surprised by events I didn’t see coming.

As I hinted at earlier I really enjoyed getting inside the head of the hit-and-run driver and slowly discovering who it was, becoming very sympathetic towards their situation. However I could have done without spending so much time running around with county sheriff Charlie and subsequently the middle parts of this story lagged. Still a recommended read. Cheers!

~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks': SAFE HAVEN~

~DARKER LESS SAPPY SPARKS= EXCELLENT~

Opening line:“As Katie wound her way among the tables, a breeze from the Atlantic rippled through her hair.

Wow, this is definitely one of the better Sparks books I’ve read, I sure hope he keeps going in this darker, less sappy direction with the next one too. I picked up SAFE HAVEN during a very busy time in my life and still found it unputdownable. Full of twists and turns, mystery and surprise and a HUGE suspense factor throughout. Of course we also get the romance (nicely done) and it again takes place in a small North Carolina town (write what you know) but this was way darker then anything of Sparks’ I’ve read before.

With a slowly and deliciously unravelling story, we don’t ever get a huge background dump with any of the characters multiple POV’s instead their lives, secrets and issues are gradually introduced, which I loved. And the bad guy here, jeez he was horrible, and I mean that in a good way. The kind of character that you love to hate, but I also really enjoyed getting into his head, as he slowly fell apart. Intriguing, creepy and well written. I highly recommended this one even for those non- Nicholas Sparks fans; I think you’ll be surprised.

The story here is somewhat reminiscent of A BEND IN THE ROAD but way better, it also reminded me very much of that older Julia Roberts movie Sleeping With The Enemy but again its better then that too. I won’t give away too much here with the synopsis, its well worth discovering on your own. Cheers.

Katie is on the run, but the good people of Southport don’t know that, they’re too busy wondering what the pretty new waitresses’ story is and why she keeps to herself so much, after all everyone here knows everybody else. For the first time in months Katie is allowing herself to breathe again, she’s found a good paying job, a secluded place to live, and avoiding any personal ties should allow her enough time here to save some real money before she has to move on again. What she hadn’t counted on however was being drawn into the lives of anyone in this small town. First it was her outspoken single neighbour Jo, who only made her realize how much she missed having friends and then it was Alex, the widowed shop owner and his two adorable children. Slowly Katie is letting her guard down, growing attached and falling in love, allowing herself to dream of a future with a man that won’t hurt her. But Kevin is good and he’s on her trail.

I’ve just learned that this is going to be made into a movie, can’t wait. I just got a chill

~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks' DEAR JOHN~

                              

Opening Line: My name is John Tyree. I was born in 1977, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina..."

You can always tell you're reading a great book when you find yourself skipping ahead into the final chapters to see how things will be resolved, even though you've vowed you wouldn't. Love doesn't always have a happy ending (especially when it comes to a Nicholas Sparks novel) and this is a wonderful, albeit quick tear-jerking romance.

Our hero John grew up with a silent, meticulously organized father that he didn't understand. In his teens he began to rebel, hanging out, playing pool and drinking. This continues for a number of years with John working menial jobs, getting several tattoos and going nowhere fast. Eventually John decides its time to grow up and he joins the army. In fact it's during 2 weeks leave that he first meets Savannah, diving into the ocean to rescue her sinking purse. Savannah is your stereotypical good-girl; raised in a stable family she's kind, pretty and hopes to save the world. It's also love at first sight for our couple despite the warnings from her tattoo phobic college friends. Together the pair plans a future together, counting down the days until John's discharge as Savannah helps him understand his father and he in turn feels contentment for the first time in his life.

On Sept 11 everything changes as John in a moment of patriotic loyalty chooses to re-up in the army, putting a hold on their marriage plans while he enters the war in Iraq. The two try to maintain a long distance relationship but the war changes John and the years apart put a strain on their deep love. When John's father grows ill he returns home but will he be too late to save both his relationship with his father and the love of his life?

I fell in love with John's character and surprisingly his father too. Each is well written and they felt like real people. I also enjoyed reading about John's military career and the reasons that take men into a war. Savannah as the heroine was a little too perfect for me but their heartbreaking love story and the regret that they both share will keep you up into the wee hours, and leave you wondering about John long after you've finished reading its bittersweet ending.

Another great read from Nicholas Sparks that I would definitely recommend. Oh, and John if you're out there, I'm single...

~REVIEW of Nicholas Sparks' THE LUCKY ONE~

 ~ROMANTIC, SUSPENSEFUL AND ULTIMATELY HARD TO PUT DOWN~

Opening Line: "Deputy Keith Clayton hadn't heard them approach, and up close, he didn't like the looks of them any more then he had the first time he'd seen them."

 

One of the great (or not so great) things about Nicholas Sparks is that he doesn’t always give you a happy ending and it was with this in mind that about half way through -just as the flood waters started to rise, secrets began boiling to the surface and I was completely invested in the characters and their budding love story, I began to get nervous for the ending. I mean you just knew something bad was going to happen, the clues were all there but the real question that kept me turning pages at a frantic pace was… to who?

Each chapter here has been written from a different characters POV incorporating Elizabeth; a divorced mother with a young son who along with her no-nonsense Nana run a dog kennel in their small North Carolina town, Clayton her ex-husband and the town sheriff (bully) comes from a influential family yet harbours some nasty little secrets and Thibault as our hero. An Iraq war veteran, Logan Thibault alongside his dog Zeus has walked (yes walked) from Colorado in an obsessive search for the unknown woman in a photograph he found during his three harrowing tours of duty in Iraq. He believes the picture to be his good luck charm and directly responsible for keeping him alive. In the end all the characters merge for a predictable yet ultimately nail-biting ending.

The last chapter is very, very sneaky with Sparks keeping you on pins for pages before finally giving up the ending of which I had no clue. I fell in love with all of these well fleshed out characters, each coming with rich personalities and history including several flashbacks. The love story is well done and as I said before not too soppy. Thibault is a quiet, tortured hero and just so damn lovely with Beth perfect as his caring yet tough partner. The antagonist is creepy and also well written yet because of who he is you can’t really wish him dead. Sheesh, I even fell for the boy and the dog. So yeah, I highly recommend another Nicholas Sparks novel.

-It appears that another one of Nicholas Sparks' books is being made into a movie. The Lucky One is filming right now with Zac Efron playing the role of Logan Thibault. Should be good.

THE LUCKY ONE is another great read from Nicholas Sparks. Here we are given a story with a slightly darker edge and far more suspense then his usual soppy romance. Dog lovers and fans of Spark's THE GUARDIAN in particular will appreciate this engaging romantic suspense.