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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
VERY Nicholas Sparks. All the shmarmy, cliché romance stuff. But honestly the ending surprised me and the last few chapters were great. Nice fluffy read if you need it.
Very memorable book. I’m writing the review ages after I read it. I loved how the story unfolds. I could still draw a detailed picture of so many parts of the story (if I could draw!). I just don’t love this author’s books because of the heartstrings factor. Some people like that. I avoid it like the plague. I read The Notebook and SOBBED. I was afraid to try another one but this one sounded like it would be so good. And it is! But for ME, I don’t know if I’ll read another Sparks book. But that’s my issue, not because the book isn’t well written and interesting!!
I really liked how this book looked at a fresh new relationship and a relationship that lasted for so long. The two couples were so different, yet had similar aspects. I absolutely love Luke and think that man is the most perfect man ever. And it was really interesting to look at art in a different perspective. The only reason this did not get five stars is just because it was a little slow at times and I fucking hated Marcia and thought she was a terrible friend to Sophia. Very good ending though.
I enjoyed some of Ira's chapters, particularly the ones dealing with the art collection, but the chapters regarding the bland, generic Sophia and Luke frequently devolved into mindless tedium. Luke is a man so boring that he named his dog "Dog" and his horse "Horse." Sophia is so simplistic that she works through all of her issues with her relationship with her horrible-yet-generic roommate and her breakup with her jealous stalker ex-boyfriend in the time it takes to drive from Wake Forest to King. Narratively, this takes less than a page; in real life, this takes roughly twenty minutes. Seriously, by the end of the page and the exit to King, Sophia is "satisfied that she'd sorted through everything" (Sparks 173). I also feel that Nicholas Sparks, despite being much vaunted around here for being from North Carolina, had never actually been to Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, or King before writing this amateurish excuse for a novel. I slogged through "The Longest Ride" in order to fulfill the requirement for my reading challenge that I read a book that took place in my hometown, my choices for which were fairly limited. I assumed that, given that Sparks is an NC resident, the portrait of my hometown would be accurate, if not flattering. It was neither of those things. Sparks name-checks all of the attractions listed on Winston's tourism website, but that's where the likeness ends. New-Jersey-raised Sophia is consistently surprised when the people who live in the area around Wake are either cultured or nice. Greensboro-native Ira somehow passes the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Clemmons and ends up taking a dirt road directly to 421 past Yadkinville. And since when are there Christmas tree farms in King? I am also confused as to why anyone is surprised (and oh how surprised they are!) about significant collections of American art amassed in North Carolina when Sophia lives within LITERAL WALKING DISTANCE of Reynolda House Museum of American Art. This book enrages me. Clearly Nicholas Sparks does not have enough respect for his readers to do any research beyond looking up Winston-Salem on Wikipedia, and he certainly does not have the skill or talent to write a compelling novel. I will be skipping all of his published works in the future.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Love the way Nicholas sparks write, it’s beautiful!
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
This was a fast, easy read when I was able to carve out some time to read it. It's been years since I've read anything from Nicholas Sparks and this books was a little different than the others. I did enjoy it, it kept my attention and had a good drama going on. A bit after the middle of the book, I figured out that at least Luke was going to find Ira and I realized that the art collection was going to save the ranch somehow, but I couldn't figure out how David was going to play into it. It was all wrapped up very nicely at the end and all is well!