The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Every fall my sisters and I eagerly anticipate when Nicholas Sparks will be releasing his newest work of romantic fiction and mark our calendars accordingly.  I fell in love with NS when I first saw Message In A Bottle in theatres back in 1999 with Kevin Costner and Robin Wright (Penn).  I fell in love with the scenery, the writing, the cast, the music, EVERYTHING.  When I saw the movie was based on a book, I had to know right then who would write such a beautiful love story. And ever since, as soon as one of his new releases hits the shelves, I have my copy reserved & all ready to go.

Last year, he released The Best of Me, which I had a difficult time with.  It's hard for me to get behind a love story when it involves a married man/woman - EVEN if it's a bad situation.  I just get this yucky feeling as I'm reading it.  But the one before that was Safe Haven - which I loved! So it was kind of a coin toss for me this year to pick up The Longest Ride and I didn't have a whole lot of expectations.

But seriously, I so loved it!  Yes, NS is back!  I could imagine every little detail and thought it was such a sweet and endearing story, one in which will be added to his long line of successful films as well.  I thought it was so good I told my sister she needs to pick it up asap and passed it off to my mother-in-law immediately!  If you have never read Nicholas Sparks, I couldn't recommend a better one to start with!  (Well, ok, maybe except for Message In A Bottle and The Notebook. And A Walk to Remember.)  Geez, love him.

Description: Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

Rating: *****

Recommend:  Always.  He's been a longtime favorite of mine!

Let's Do This Thang!

It's been a while since I've gotten the bug for reading and I'm happy to say, I've got my mojo back!

I just recently finished Gone With the Wind - soooo not happy with how that all turned out.  I know it's probably blasphemous in the South to say such a thing - but really?!?!?!  I'm tempted to read Scarlett and hopefully feel some closure about the whole thing. *sighhhhhh*

I'm currently in the middle of The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks - does that man know women or what?  I swear NS needs to just host seminars for husbands on how to understand their wives. I mean this man GETS IT.

 

It's been a tough and distracting season lately.  My best friend here in Nashville was diagnosed with Stage III Metastatic Melanoma and I've been doing all that I can to help her and her family through this difficult time.  To unwind, I've found myself picking up books more rather than the TV remote - so I can't complain about that! 

Here's to a more literary-filled year!

The Returned or Resurrection?

I was graciously sent an advanced reading copy of The Returned by Jason Mott by Harlequin and am just now halfway through it when I came across this trailer link in my BookMovement newsletter for an upcoming new ABC Series called Resurrection.

SO bizarre that the book hasn't even been released yet (scheduled release isn't till August 27th) and yet there is a new show coming out based on this book EXACTLY.  I'm seriously kinda trippin.

Of course we see movies and shows based on books that have already been released, but this was so surreal to see a preview of a book that's not even on the shelves yet.

Is it just me, or is that a bit strange??

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake was a birthday gift from my mother-in-law.  She said she had read it and thoroughly enjoyed it and wanted me to give it a shot as well - knowing full well, that I'm hugely skeptical of Christian fiction.  I was truly hoping I would be pleasantly surprised and would discover a new favorite Christian author and could get lost in some wholesome and well-written fiction.  But alas.....I was pretty bummed by this one.  Honestly, it wasn't the style of writing that I was unhappy with, but more just the storyline that truly disappointed me.  There's two topics that deeply disturb me - animal abuse and molestation of children.  Seriously, I just couldn't get past it - from the feeding of the kittens to the dogs, to the whipping of the horses - to the sexual abuse of a young girl.  Gross.  Seriously?  Yes, there is evil in this world - we're all quite aware of it and yes, Christian fiction shouldn't shy away from it - but do we need to cover every single evil thing in the world within 300 pages?  It was some serious overload and I found it so disturbing and depressing that I couldn't even enjoy the miraculous and uplifting ending that lasted all of a few pages.  Ugh.  I'm actually quite surprised my mother-in-law enjoyed it as much as she did.  If I had any idea there was animal abuse and child molestation all within the same book, I would have never picked this one up.  Bummer.

Description: Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. The children embrace the reunion as a welcome escape from the prying eyes of their father’s congregation; for Willadee it’s a precious opportunity to spend time with her mother and father, Calla and John. But just as the reunion is getting under way, tragedy strikes, jolting the family to their core: John’s untimely death and, soon after, the loss of Samuel’s parish, which set the stage for a summer of crisis and profound change.


In the midst of it all, Samuel and Willadee’s outspoken eleven-year-old daughter, Swan, is a bright light. Her high spirits and fearlessness have alternately seduced and bedeviled three generations of the family. But it is Blade Ballenger, a traumatized eight-year-old neighbor, who soon captures Swan’s undivided attention. Full of righteous anger, and innocent of the peril facing her and those she loves, Swan makes it her mission to keep the boy safe from his terrifying father.

With characters who spring to life as vividly as if they were members of one’s own family, and with the clear-eyed wisdom that illuminates the most tragic—and triumphant—aspects of human nature, Jenny Wingfield emerges as one of the most vital, engaging storytellers writing today. In The Homecoming of Samuel Lake she has created a memorable and lasting work of fiction.

Rating: **
Recommend: Not my cup of tea.