Author: Nicholas Sparks
Series: None
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Released: October 11, 2011
Website: http://nicholassparks.com/
Book Summary:
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.
I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks. I've read EVERYTHING he has written and enjoyed all of it. I think he is a great writer. However if you haven't read a Nicholas Sparks book don't start with this one, it's not his best. Try A Walk to Remember, The Notebook or The Last Song as an introduction to his work. If you've read his books and enjoy them then read this one too.
Since I've read all of his books I was totally prepared for the emotional manipulation and classic Nicholas Sparks life is not always the happily ever after we may think it should be ending. Good thing I was prepared because he dished it out in droves in this one. I thought Dawson Cole was a great character but I wasn't as taken with Amanda. I'm a happily ever after ending person and the ending of this one was not the happily ever after I would have liked to have seen. I saw it coming but still wish things could have somehow gone differently.
Sidenote: Prior to starting this one I had just finished reading Anna and the French Kiss. As Anna described the books her father writes I couldn't help but think of Nicholas Sparks.
Rating: 4 Stars - Great Book
Content: Language, violence, implied sex and other mature content that wasn't overly graphic however this is definitely a book for "adults".
Source: Library
i am a fan of Nicholas Sparks too, and have been meaning to read the best of me for since before it came out, but i just don’t want to experience the emotional roller coaster i seem to always find myself when reading one of his books. and it has the not-so-happy-ending! huhu.
ReplyDeleteI love Nicholas Sparks too! He's like the perfect man :) I've heard so much about Anna and the French Kiss and I'd really like to read it, especially if the main character has a father like Nicholas Sparks! :)
ReplyDeleteMegan @ Storybook Love Affair
Im a big fan of Nicholas Sparks books also!
ReplyDeleteThis one sounds great, and its on my To be read list, thanks for the review!
I was thinking the same thing (the 'Anna and the French Kiss' connection). I just finished 'Best of Me' over the weekend, and thought the ending was similar to 'The Keeper' by Suzanne Woods Fisher.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of his books, too. Eventhough I'm a real 'happily every after' person, his books touch me everytime.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of his! and he's been getting pretty good reviews so far. i dont know if the movie depictions of some of his books are as good thought... a review site is here: thecelebritycafe.com/reviews/2012/02/best-me-nicholas-sparks
ReplyDeleteThis book is an emotional roller coaster a la Nicholas Sparks style. I think that's what makes his books best-sellers: the ability to manipulate the reader. I did that in one of my love stories some time ago, and I'd say it was successful (but as not as successful as in this book). I have this book as an autographed copy (he signed it in Miami when I accidentally bumped into him, he is such a nice guy, he even bought me coffee and we discussed about writing in general). Also, it is great that there is a lot of people reading in these times.
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