Just when I thought after reading half a dozen books from Nicholas Sparks back to back that all that mush isn't working anymore for me, he blows my mind off with a solid Bang in this one. A very sweet love story with a twist and a cute Dog thrown in pretty good measure as "The Guardian" :) and he is back with a bang in my favorite romance writers list. What a change this one books is from his usual writing and indeed super thrilling it was, I just couldn't believe once it picked up the pace that it actually is a Nicholas Sparks novel and not from a writer who specializes in thrillers. Even the detective work thrown in with a Trainee Cop (super intelligent Romanel o) was too good and totally kept me hooked to it. The book reminded me so much of the movie "PS: I love you" but the similarity ends when Julie gets two gifts from her young husband after his death, a puppy who she names singer as he whines a lot and a promise that he will always watch her over. The ugly dog as she puts it across in the story turns out to be a great Dane :) its more of a Donkey if you ask me than a Dog but a terrific one at that. One of my friend had one and I usually stayed a mile away from his home always just because of his mammoth size. Here, he is the savior for beautiful Julie.
What amazed me about this story is the real life like characters, where Julie is a simple hair dresser in the sleepy town of Swansboro (North Carolina), she moves there because of her husband Jim and never moves out even after his death. Her support system is Jim's best friend Mike, a happy go lucky local mechanic. He is not only Jim's best friend but a great friend of Julie too and that made me think (just like Julie) that why is it so complicated when you simply fall in love with your own best friend but you are afraid of crossing the line and taking it to the next level? I too had a (girl) friend long ago and this book made me think hard that what if I had proposed her then and who knows we might have got married and lived happily ever after, but what if she had turned me down like the way Julie thinks. What if Mike says No? that ways she is going to lose a great friend too. Now coming back to my story, we still are great friends and are still in touch and now we do laugh and wonder at times why we never approached each other then :). Although both of us are happily married and love our spouses very much (vice-versa too). I so much wished that Julie, should tell the guy that she loved him and he was perfect for her but she had to fall for another guy who happens to be an Intelligent (white collared), good looking Engineer who is totally opposite of Mike. But the way this guy wins her over is terrific, the weekend she spends with him is a dream come true (as long as it lasts) and there comes a twist. Everything isn't as rosy in real life as it looks from outside and the way story takes a turn and the Guardian comes in the picture is too good. I so much now want a dog for myself after this one that I just cant tell you but not a great Dane for sure.
The small town life, the regular people, Mike's hilarious conversations with his brother Henry who is always bullying him for not approaching Julie even after loving her big time for so long, repairing her Jeep (CJ7) always free of cost and how he tries it after his coaxing, makes up for a hilarious read. All the characters are so well written that they leave a big mark on reader like Henry's wife Emma, who is in close contact with Julie and what all they gossip about. Amanda the Salon owner for whom Julie works and her colleague who always keeps falling for the wrong guys. I wish they made a movie on this :). The book as almost all the Nich Sparks books usually are, is a breeze to read and I was able to read it in a couple of days, the suspense kept me glued and Julie's confusion of who to go along with kept me in dilemma too. How it all ends, is totally unbelievable as from Sparks standards it was shocking for me yet very well done. I will recommend it big time to romance lovers specially if you like it with a twist :) do read it and if you already have, do tell me if you like it?
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