Book Review: Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks

“Meeting you and falling in love with you was an experience I would relive a thousand times in a thousand different lives, if I was ever given that chance.”

― Nicholas Sparks, Every Breath

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks is back with a tale about a fortuitous meeting that transforms into a turning point in the lives of two radically different people, spanning decades, continents, and the bittersweet workings of fate, in the romantic vein of The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe.

Every Breath examines the various aspects of love that claim our deepest allegiances while shedding light on life's tragic regrets and persistent optimism. It also poses the question, "How long can a dream survive?"

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she's been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family's cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future.

Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother's early life and recapture memories lost with her death. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . . . but in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways.

My reaction to this novel...

I've been a longtime fan of Nicholas Sparks' writing and bought this book for a while, but I got busy and completely forgot about it. I was only able to begin this two weeks ago, and because I had a lot of errands to go, I was only able to finish it today. In any case, the book cover is great. I was immediately drawn in by the cover's simplicity and could tell that it had something to do with letters. This book intrigued me since I love reading letters. In the hopes of finding a fantastic love story, I opened myself to the story and started reading it with heart.

That being said, I have found that whenever I read one of Nicholas Sparks' works, the book's opening is often dull and uninteresting, leaving the reader to question if the plot will hold together. I persevered, and the book caught me in the third chapter, just as I had anticipated. I'm not sure why, but I found the beginning boring. Perhaps it's because I find the character's life to be quite dull, but I'm not sure. However, as I read the narrative and came to know Tru's personality, I became sad. I'm not sure why, but I think that the story's portrayal of him as genuinely alone and depressed made me feel that way. As a result, I developed an interest in him.

Nicholas Sparks' novels are typically Hallmark-style romances, with the exception of the explicit parts, which I avoid since I happen to be a Christian. I can say that notwithstanding that aspect turned me off, I enjoyed the plot and the idea; it just failed to hook me as some of his previous works did.

I felt that there was no connection between Hope and Tru, and their love appeared forced. Their unexpected love seemed to come out of nowhere as they appeared to be developing a friendship. Their love announcements appeared to come out of nowhere for me. I too wasn't the biggest fan of Hope, even if I can see why she made some of the choices she did. She just struck me as being really conceited and unaccommodating for a man who is purportedly the love of her life. I also lost everything my mind had developed with those two major characters as a result of Part 2's abrupt time leap.

In addition to being confused, I thought the plot got monotonous. I have some ideas in my head that I believe will add additional twists and excitement to the plot, but I don't have the means to come up with them. I was hoping for a satisfying conclusion to this book, something I always look forward to from a Sparks novel, but I'm a little let down because that wasn't the case in this one. Although I believed that the writing style was good, I felt that there was an excessive amount of talking and little doing. Additionally, there were a lot of infos, which I found tedious to read completely.

Even though I wrote a lot of unfavorable criticism about this book, I still want to read another Nicholas Sparks novel. Perhaps this one isn't for me, but I still appreciate the way he conducts his work. I would still like to suggest it to any Nicholas Sparks fans who are searching for a romantic book.

My Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐(3/5)

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