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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I loved this book it was charming and sweet and sad and happy. It shows true love and friendship and it is a great romance book.
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book for the first time when I was 13 and honestly probably too young to be reading it but in hindsight, this is probably where my love of small town romance and friends to lovers actually started... 20+ years later it's still a comfort read and I just picked it up again so I'm adding and reviewing it for my 2024 book count mostly š š«”
This romance was not my favorite book by this author. I usually love a good Nicholas Sparks heartwrenching romance, but I feel like this one fell flat. The first quarter of the book was strong, but it dragged on from there.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
I don't cry easily, but he knows how to make me weep. This isn't a page-turner, but the beginning rescue and end scenes are very good.
Nostalgia goggles hard on this one because this was one of the first adult books I read as a kid that helped open my love for reading up even more.
Now re-reading, I can see *why* people love romance novels and Sparks and this book. I like it still. But I definitely as an adult on a re-read see the flaws nowā¦like her trying to do her own childās speech therapy and then shitting on the past professionals that diagnosed him. Autism is not linear. Mental illness is not linear. If he just has a speech problem fine but he miraculously does better with ONLY his mom working on his speech? And all sheās doing is having him repeat things? Also it didnāt seem like just a speech thing because she implied he didnāt understand things either, so itās either a receptive language thing or maybe a cognitive thing? Ugh. Also Denise is sooo pretty and everything about her is perfect- no. Also some of it was so wordy, like Taylorās stories about the town, which I understand why they were included and the point but could have had a better execution.
Taylor has hardcore PTSD, and I donāt blame him, the only thing I really was pissed about was him āforgettingā the baseball game he said heād take Kyle toā- bullshit, you didnāt and screwed with a kidās feelings and you SHOULD feel bad.
His story with his father was awful and how he reacts pulling away is a testament to how hard grief and mental illness can affect someone. And Sparks killing off Mitch was heart wrenching of course.
Now re-reading, I can see *why* people love romance novels and Sparks and this book. I like it still. But I definitely as an adult on a re-read see the flaws nowā¦like her trying to do her own childās speech therapy and then shitting on the past professionals that diagnosed him. Autism is not linear. Mental illness is not linear. If he just has a speech problem fine but he miraculously does better with ONLY his mom working on his speech? And all sheās doing is having him repeat things? Also it didnāt seem like just a speech thing because she implied he didnāt understand things either, so itās either a receptive language thing or maybe a cognitive thing? Ugh. Also Denise is sooo pretty and everything about her is perfect- no. Also some of it was so wordy, like Taylorās stories about the town, which I understand why they were included and the point but could have had a better execution.
Taylor has hardcore PTSD, and I donāt blame him, the only thing I really was pissed about was him āforgettingā the baseball game he said heād take Kyle toā- bullshit, you didnāt and screwed with a kidās feelings and you SHOULD feel bad.
His story with his father was awful and how he reacts pulling away is a testament to how hard grief and mental illness can affect someone. And Sparks killing off Mitch was heart wrenching of course.
