Review: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown 
Pages:292
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: October 11th 2011
Author Website 
Available for Order: Amazon|Barnes and Noble

Source: Library

THE BEST OF ME is the heart-rending story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they've taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past.

My Take:

Ever wish you could have one more shot with the first person you fell in love with. For Dawson life was never really easy because of his last name and where he lived, everyone knew his kind would end up in prison. What changed for him was finding Amanda who he didn't see was also looking for him. Amanda was from a well known family and expected to be with someone her parents were proud of, but falling for Dawson Cole was the easiest thing  for Amanda. She knew he would always be their for her, and the thing was she didn't care what his last name was and what reputation it came with. But with great love comes a heart stopping breakup and for Dawson finding someone else was never in the cards, it would always be Ananda. With years passed and both of them grown up, things have changed but, one thing was constant over the years, that was staying in touch with Tuck Hostetler. Tuck was the one to let Dawson in when his own father didn't want to see his face. For Amanda, spending time with Tuck was something she looked forward to even after so many years went by. She told him all her secrets and he just listened which was something Amanda desperately needed.

But life goes on and getting one single phone call can change everything, for Dawson it was traveling back home, the one place he doesn't like going to. With the family hating him and of course his cousins hell bent on killing him going home should have been the last thing for him to do, but for Tuck he would venture into the one place he thought he would be. For Amanda finding out that the one man who gave you something without actually giving you anything wasn't really easy, she knew her mom would of course find out she was in town. But she had to pay her respects, what seemed like a one weekend getaway, turned out to be a trip to the past. Because when two people love each other like they did its hard not to look to past and hope for a better future. Emotions run high and sometimes the things in reality escape the mind for Amanda seeing Dawson again brought back all her feelings, getting to know someone who you knew all those years ago had never felt so easy. She trusted Dawson and repeatedly said she was married, but with lingering eyes and his soft touch its hard not to think about reality and to just live in the now.

This was a roller coaster for me because it touched my heart, I knew because it's a Nicholas Sparks book that I would get emotionally attached with both characters and hope for a brighter ending. While reading though I could guess the ending because of the fact that she was married, even though it broke my heart when they broke up the first time. The second time toke my heart and split it in two. Love was evident, with the way he spoke to her and was even evident when she spoke to him. Yes they were basically strangers but love never really leaves it just lingers until they can't feel it. These two had it all that time ago and for a brief moment they had it again in that weekend. What my favorite thing was that he really did give her his best of himself and she gave him the same. After reading though I needed a pick me up because when it comes to Sparks you need something just incase.

5/5 stars

Review: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Lucky One

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Pages:326
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: September 30th 2008
Author Website
Available for Order: Amazon|Barnes and Noble

When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, The Lucky One is Nicholas Sparks at his best—an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love.

My Take:

When you read a Nicholas Sparks book its hard to not cry by the end, because of this man I've cried plenty of times and while reading The Lucky One for the second time I couldn't hold back the tears when they came because of the realness of this story. 

Logan Thibault is marine who didn't feel luck was something that came to him, but ever since he found this photograph he has been well lucky. Now finally back home the one thing he gained from war was that his best friend always believed his lucky charm was that photo and that Logan had to find the person in the photo. Beth is a single parent just trying to maintain a kennel and her actual job as a teacher. She lives with her grandma and her son Ben. Finding help in a small town in North Carolina is hard and when she finally has a potential candidate for the job she is at first skeptical because he is not only a stranger but because of the way he brought himself to be there. When Logan left Colorado he went with just a backpack and his german shepard Zeus. When he finally knows her name by passing around the photo he had he sees the help wanted sign and sees it as his way to get to know who the women in the photo really is. 

This story captured my heart because it felt believable because to think that any charm can bring back a solider is something short of a miracle. I loved that even though Beth was unsure of Thibault at first she came around and opened up her heart. Because its a Sparks novel there are a few ups and downs but the end is all up to think what is and I loved this so much. The first time I read this I had a feeling that it would keep effecting me the same and it has I wish there was a photo out there of me that was a lucky charm to someone who needed the luck of the charm. Plus as an added bonus its becoming a movie yay!!!!!!!! With who Zac Efron yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5/5 stars

Review: Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

From the author that brought you The Notebook and A Walk To Remember, brings us Safe Haven.

"When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven."

My take:

Sparks has done it again he has captured my heart and gave me some hope in that women can leave the darkness and start over i love this man thank you for this nick really thank you. The story is written so well that I felt what Katie was going through and I wanted to hold her and tell her that everything was okay and that she was safe. This book is different than his others because the characters involved had to have over come some hard times to get the where the story took place. I'm in love with Alex because he didn't care about Katie's background all he needed was the now I really cared about that because women need someone who will be that person I give it 5/5 because it actually made me cry at the end, and it touched my heart in so many ways. Go and see for yourself because it will change your mind about Nicholas and his type of writing.