Awonderful read for those who like to connect with a book and feel the emotion of the characters. Ranks highly in Sparks work.
Travis Parker is a normal man with a normal life, he has a good group of friends and works and lives in a small town in America. Things for Travis are about to change though when he meets his new neighbour. Gabby has recently moved in next door and she has caught Travis’ eye.
Gabby is happy with her new home but not happy with the fact that her dog has been made pregnant by the neighbours dog so she decides to go around and talk to him about it. Gabby shots and gets cross with Travis and makes it known she is not happy but Travis remains calm and suggests she takes the dog to the vets to confirm she is pregnant. Gabby is shocked when she discovers Travis is the vet and that his dog has been ‘done’ so there is no way it was his fault.
Travis tries to befriend Gabby and invites her out on his boat with some of his friends, reluctantly she agrees and finds herself enjoying her time with Travis and starting to have feelings for him. Unfortunately Gabby already has a boyfriend but Travis does not let this put him off and does his best to win her heart.
Can Travis and Gabby become an item and if so how far will he be prepared to go for the love of his life?
The short plot summery which I have given for this book really is only a very brief one and there is so much more to be discovered from reading the book as the story is a lot deeper and there is much more going on so don’t feel that the book has a very basic plot and let it put you off. I really did love this book right from the very beginning, as with all the Nicholas Sparks books I have read, the story was very engaging and easy to read. The way the story was told made it very easy to follow and understand and I did not loose track of the characters or plot at any time during the book.
The lead character of Travis was great, he was easy to get to know and understand, we learnt a little about his past and this helped me to get a better understanding of him and the way he thought. He was gentle with the way he was with the people he loved and his dog but on the other hand he showed great strength with all the activities he enjoyed doing. The way he pursued Gabby was not shown in a bad way as he never did anything she did not want or anything wrong and never put any pressure on her and I felt he was always open and honest with her. Gabby was also a very pleasant character, she was quite the opposite of Travis, she was strong and opinionated and I enjoyed the humour she bought to the story with their first meeting. She seemed younger than Travis in mind and the way she went about things was quite different to the way he did. They were good together and there certainly was a lot of emotion involved when they were together in the story. She was very torn about her feelings and she was not afraid to speak about this and for me this helped me to really get into the book.
We did have a few other characters in the story and they were all introduced in a very good way so we were easily able to understand who they were and what relevance or relationship they had with the lead characters. None of them took anything away from the main story but they did manage to bring just enough to give the story a little depth. My favourite was Steph, Travis’ sister as she always spoke her mind and never cared if she offended as she only ever spoke the truth. She was strong and independent as was much needed in the book towards the second half.
The setting for the book is a small town in America which is slower paced than the cities and one the edge of a river. I~ loved hearing about the places the characters went to and the views they talked about and I got a really good feel for the town just from what was written. For those of you who have read previous books from sparks, you will recognise some of the place names mentioned as they have featured in other books. I think this setting was perfect for the story as I don’t think it would have had the same appeal if it had been set in a fast paced city.
The way the book has been written is very easy to follow, the story spans over 10 years but it has been split into two parts. Personally I found that the second half of the story which showed us the result of Gabby’s decision to be the much more gripping read. This half was packed full of emotion and it did actually bring me to tears at a few points. I love when a book is able to do this as it means I am so engrossed with the story and characters it affects me rather than just a flat emotionless story which is a quick read. Nicholas Sparks never fails to bring me to tears with his work as he puts so much emotion and feeling into the story and characters.
The book which I have is the paperback version and this has a retail price of £7.99 on the back cover. I bought my copy brand new from Amazon for around the £5 price. I think even the full price is good considering how much I enjoyed this book. I was published by Sphere and has a total of 311 pages.
The book has been written by Nicholas Spark who was made more famous by his book, The Notebook which was made into a film, there are several of his books now converted into films, I think this goes to prove just what a superb writer he really is. I think this is ranking highly in the top 3 of his books which I have read. I am so pleased to be giving this book the full 5 stars and I highly recommend it to all reader who enjoy books which move them emotionally and have them so connected with the characters they feel like they have known them forever. The best book I have read for some time.
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