theresidentbookworm's reviews
3256 reviews

I love sequels and short stories of books I love, I really do, but A Beautiful Wedding has to be the most unnecessary follow-up I have ever read. In both Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster, we get glimpses of the wedding and Abby and Travis's time in Las Vegas. Personally, I was happy with those glimpses. I didn't need more. I think most fans would agree with me on that one. If anything, I would've liked more about Travis and Abby's life after getting married (graduation, jobs, kids, etc.) But no, Jamie McGuire had to write this book.

My main problem with A Beautiful Wedding is Abby's motives for marrying Travis. It's much more underhanded in this one, and while I appreciate what she was trying to do, I didn't like it. The aftermath of the fight they barely escaped was also highlighted here, and while it is bound to have an impact on both of them, I grew tired of it after a while. My favorite part of this was the end when they had a real wedding with friends and family. That would've been enough for me. There were some funny and genuine moments in A Beautiful Wedding, but most of it felt familiar. Frankly, I expect more of Jamie McGuire.

Another really cute James Patterson novel. Exactly what I was expecting, but cute all the same. Sam's Letters to Jennifer was better if only because the plot outside the letters was more developed. This isn't really Katie's story. Suzanne steals the show, and you fall in love with her very quickly. For me, this ended too nicely and abruptly. Life just doesn't work like that. I think I need a break from romance. It's starting to get to me. Pick up if you want your happy ending wrapped up in a nice neat bow!

Like Nicholas Sparks, I'm starting to think every James Patterson romance is the same. That doesn't stop it from being delightful, of course, but it gets boring. It seems like someone (usually the guy) has to almost die in the end. Otherwise, I enjoyed this. The plot was light. I really enjoyed the persepctive on imaginary friends because I used to have several as a kid. My mom, though she can never remember where her keys are, can still remember some of their names. I can't. They're sort of a hazy memory, something I can remember vainly. Jane must've really had a connection with hers to remember him so many years later. The characters were relatble, though as usual the girl seemed to be a mess and the guy too good to be true. I did like the storyline between Jane and her mother, and I really appreciated how it eventually wrapped up. I hated Jane's boyfriend, just hated him. The pacing of the story was good, if not predictable. I'd recommend if you're looking for a light romance or just like James Patterson.

I hate to say this, but... Actually, I don't hate to say this at all. I am not ashamed to read Nicholas Sparks novels. I have a lot of them, and sometimes I like them. That's okay. It's also okay when I doubt. That being said, The Best of Me has to be the cheesiest of Sparks's more recent attempts. I'm not trying to be a hater (though it is fun), but if we're going to recycle The Notebook's plotline somewhat (rich girl, boy from wrong side of the tracks, parents disapprove, couple splits dramatically, reunites years later as adults because of what can only be described as fate, they fall in love again, drama ensues because of girl's newer romantic interest, etc.) can we at least have better writing? I know Sparks isn't Hemingway (thank God), but I expect better from a guy that graduated from Notre Dame. (I only bring that up because my best friend goes to Notre Dame and I like to tease.)

The stuff that is in the past with Dawson and Amanda in high school is fairly good. I actually liked Dawson, who had a bit of dark past a la John Tyree from Dear John, which is always fun. They seemed to be genuinely in love, and it did help carry some of the later stuff. I guess I couldn't stand Amanda. I wanted her to make decisions and do what she wanted, but I could see how she didn't want to hurt her kids. The ending was just straight up terrible. I felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie. One of the last lines of the book feels like something Nicholas Sparks probably thought was really profound and deep when he wrote it, but it just feels like something that would be on a sympathy card.

Overall, I'd skip the book and watch the movie. It tightens the plot up a little bit in essential places, and it's just more fun. The young Dawson and Amanda have serious chemistry, and young Dawson is very nice to look at. Plus, James Marsden is in this movie. How can you go wrong?

A completely unnecessary but pleasant sequel. I'm not sure what Sparks was trying to achieve here other than a larger check from "The Notebook's sequel". Not bad, but not that fun either.

Hmm... I think Nicholas Sparks needs to stick to his trademark: sappy romances with amazingly unreal guys and soppy decelerations of love that make my heart swoon. The Guardian was okay, but it felt too familiar after reading Safe Haven (published AFTER The Guardian). Looks like someone is recycling plot-lines... The book itself started a little slow. There was a lot of internal dialogue for both Julie and Mike, which wasn't always that interesting. Richard, on the other hand, was a much more interesting character, but his internal dialogues were well-spaced out. What really frustrated me was how long it took for Julie to realize she's in love with Mike. Yeah, I get that she's still moving on and blah blah blah, but still. I didn't understand why she was so willing to shake off Richard's odd behavior at first. If that I had been me, I would've gotten out immediately. Once you get to the halfway point, the plot-line picks up. The real action, however, starts in the later chapters. I thought the end itself was abrupt. Not the whole ending, but the last chapter. There wasn't much closure, and I felt like it was needed. Not Nicholas Spark's best, but we all have off days. If I could forgive him for the utter cheesiness that was The Best of Me, I can forgive him for this. Still, not sure about recommending it. If you're a die-hard Sparks fan like moi, go for it! If not, pick up The Last Song or The Notebook if you haven't already. (In which case you probably live under a rock somewhere.)

Got to be my least favorite Nicholas Sparks book, and I'm not sure why. The writing and pacingwere good, and I liked Thersea. Garrett came off as desperate, but I think that was sort of the point. Maybe it was the resemblance to Suzanne's Letters to Nicholas by James Patterson. I don't like reading books I felt like I've read before, something that sometimes happens when it comes to romance. Or maybe it was the letters, the letters that were supposed to be the point of the story but that I just found too cheesy. Either way, this was just a miss for me. Not recommended!

As with most Nicholas Sparks works, I saw the movie before I read the book. I loved the movie. Scott Eastwood is just a dreamboat, and I really liked looking at him. I'm not ashamed to admit that. I think I saw this at least twice in theaters. I have it on DVD now, and I do enjoy watching it. I bought the book in an airport in Florida and read it when I was in France last summer. It was definitely the perfect size (and price) for traveling.

I tend to enjoy the movie adaptions of Nicholas Sparks books more than the books themselves. I feel like the editing that no one seemed to do on his books is evident in the films. All the dumb or unnecessary plotlines are eliminated in the film versions, and sometimes the storyline itself is improved for the better. I feel that is especially true with The Longest Ride. Involving Sophia and Luke more deeply with Ira in the film makes it a better story. I was a little disappointed when I found that Ira and Ruth's story and Sophia and Luke's story did not intersect until much later in the book. It just felt like the two stories were tied together by a very loose string connecting them together in the novel rather than being tightly woven together as they are in the film.

Long story short, skip the book and watch the movie. I will rarely ever give this advice, but today I do.