by Nicholas Sparks

Another brilliant work from my favorite author Nicholas Sparks, comes a story that rooted from tragedy.

Miles Ryan regretted the day that he disappointed his wife Missy, causing a heated confrontation that ended with the latter walking out. That night was the last time they saw each other as Missy was killed in a hit-and-run accident, leaving him and his son Jonah alone. Two years later and still no answer, Miles was desperate to seek justice for his wife's killer even so considering that he is the town's sheriff.

Everything was set aside when she meets Sarah Andrews, a charming young woman who moved in the little town of New Bern hoping to build a fresh start after coping up from a bad marriage that ended in a divorce. She then teaches at the local preschool where Jonah studies and this sparks up a connection with the boy's father. Miles and Sarah seem to hit it off, but little did they know that they are bound by a shocking secret that will compel them to re-evaluate everything that they had especially their love.

I had expected it to be all out on romance but this one's different from the Nicholas Sparks novels I've read. Mixed with both romance and suspense, it's also a delight for me to know it's a bit on the criminal investigation side. If you're fan of police investigations and mysteries, surely you'd want to consider reading this book.

Rating: 4 stars

by Nicholas Sparks
In the beginning, there is a man in a hospital, faithfully reading a faded notebook to refresh his wife's memory who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease - theirs is a love story that will prove love can cross beyond boundaries. As the old man reads the notebook, another story unfolds between young lovers Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson.

Set around summer in the beautiful quaint town of North Carolina in 1946, Noah and Allie were teenagers madly in love. Allie's parents liked Noah as a person but they were downright blunt saying he wasn't fit for her because of his social status. They want someone from a well-known family and has a stable lifestyle that could sustain Allie's future life. When the Nelsons leave the town (they stayed there just for a vacation), Allie has also left her image impressed in Noah's heart. Little did they know that the old house in the place they frequently visit will change the course of their life forever.

Years later, Allie got engaged to a man named Lon while Noah who still remained in North Carolina renovated the old house to perfection. He was the talk-of-the-town in the newspapers and so one day, as Allie was preparing for her wedding she saw a clip ad on the newspaper heralding Noah's success.

Now the question for this is, "will Allie give in to the call of love's second chance? And how will Noah react if Allie comes back to town?"

I had watched the film first before reading the book and I must say that it had given me a decent amount of visuals to help me imagine how the whole atmosphere should be. Reading the context however, was more detailed - the town is as beautiful as it was in the movie, but Allie and Noah (Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling) were much alive now in my mind thanks to the film. I cried, laughed, ached and rejoiced all throughout. There was easy connection with the characters as Allie was a painter (I deal with the field of arts) and Noah was a poet (I used to be a writer way back when I was in highschool) so to say, I had a smooth ride reading the story.

As the climax builds up, the flow of narration will hold your breath in suspense and surely you'll end up cheering for both love stories (the old couple + Noah & Allie) which are intertwined by the notebook.

Rating: 5 stars - Nicholas Sparks has done it again. He has been my favorite author and based from the handful of novels I read from him he doesn't disappoint. If you haven't seen the film, the movie or whichever, I recommend you to start with this or A Walk To Remember to give you a clear idea of how great of a writer he is.

by Kay Hooper

This has been on my book pile for more than a year and it's only this vacation that I got the chance of reading it. Somehow it never failed me - in the sense that the story did agitate me to turn the pages and get no sleep.

Cassie Neill is bestowed with supernatural ability to tap into the minds of killers being hunted by the L.A. police - it seems with her help it is a gift but the backfire of this responsibility is a curse for her. When she made a huge error on a wrong forecast, causing the death of an innocent child, she makes up her mind to leave L.A. to move to a small town in North Carolina in the hope of a fresh start.

She is then startled with multiple killings in the town of Ryan's Bluff and so offered her help to solve the baffling case. Things get complicated when the sheriff didn't want to believe what she claims as 'precognition' and that she, herself, is a suspect responsible for the numerous crimes in town - some people have even believed that she was a 'witch'. The case moves rapidly, townspeople are panicking and the authority is getting desperate which leaves Cassie the burden to enter the killer's mind the soonest time possible.

I wasn't upset due to the thickness of the book, in fact the story kept me on a good pace while maintaining suspense. The praises for this book lived up to my expectations, though I sometimes find myself rolling my eyes with how Cassie narrates her 'entry' to the killer's mind (the narration kinda pushed me off but it's okay). The height of the story's climax made me grip the book and feverishly read it until early morning: you will find yourself fallen for the red herrings thrown in the plot! But when the case of the serial killer in Ryan's Bluff was over, I felt a bit down for the thrill of the story because it somehow died as it swung the spotlight on romance.

Rating: 4 stars - supposedly I'm gonna make this 4 1/2 stars but because I'm not such a fan of suspense and love story mixed together (it rarely happens for me) I decided this better be just four out of five. If you love a good story to make you gasp in excitement of what's gonna happen next, here's the book you should try.

by Nicholas Sparks

Have you ever once lost faith in the power of love? Nicholas Sparks proves to you that love conquers all in this spectacular love story after his bestselling novel, The Notebook. Theresa Osbourne is a Boston Times writer and the type of woman who believes that once hurt you'll be more likely to get hurt again. She's a single mother, divorced and has a 12-year-old son named Kevin whom her other dates tend to take for granted. But Theresa never took another risky leap for love because no one had ever gave her serious chances. That is until she finds the bottle.

Washed up along the Cape Cod beach while jogging, a mysterious bottle sticking out of the seashore caught Theresa's attention. She takes it, only to find a heart-gripping letter addressed to Catherine, written by someone whose name is Garrett. Having read this and after finding two more letters in bottles washed up along beaches somewhere, Theresa is determined to find Garrett in search of also something which she hopes to revive her lost belief in romance.

She intended only to meet and greet the wonderful author of the mysterious love letters. But little did Theresa know that the letters would be the keys to her journey to love.

I could say that this book took my heart away. This was one book you couldn't put down - unless you really have to go to the bathroom. But even though, I still took this book to the bathroom because the story is heartwarming that even if you think that it is likely to be predictable, you would still find yourself holding the book till the end, determined to finish it. The plot is greatly arranged and small details weren't left out. However, the tempo of the story seemed to be a bit fast especially at the point where Garrett and Theresa fell in love with each other. You couldn't believe how fast the events were given that Garrett was a husband who just lost his wife to some accident three years ago.

Given the characters and over-all score, this book gets two thumbs up! The characters were well-casted and the story tickles the human interest for bottles travelling the ocean. You will even see yourself believing Sparks' narration about bottles.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars