CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Addition: Library hardback

Genre: Romance

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo.

Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

I am really glad I noticed this in the library. This is the latest novel from Nicholas Sparks and it is up to his usual high standard. We see love, fear, friendship, family and a controversial issue of domestic abuse.

The story follows Katie, a new girl to the small town of Southport. She turns up hungry, thin and desperate. She catches the eye of Alex, not only because she is beautiful, but because she looks scared. Alex used to be in the CID department of the Army and had learnt to read people – he saw the fear, although he didn’t know what she was running from. Slowly Katie gets ingrained in the small town, working in the famous diner and regularly shopping at Alex’s store. When his son falls into the canal, Katie is there to comfort his daughter – which starts their friendship. Another person who befriends Katie is her new neighbour Jo. Between Jo and Alex they bring Katie out of her shell and eventually, as she falls in love with Alex, she reveals what she is running from. The story follows her and Alex as they fall in love and Katie slips into the family, spending time with Alex and his children. She is being hunted however, and life might not always be happy or safe.

The blurb hints at a dark secret , but it doesn’t take long to see this is domestic abuse and that she is running from her husband. Around halfway through the book Katie reveals her real name and tells the story of her marriage, and her husband Kevin. What I liked is that after that we then follow Kevin’s story as well. We see what happens to him once he realises Katie is gone, his thoughts and feelings and his actions. I was intrigued that he regularly quoted Bible verses, even when he was in the wrong – it showed a very confused man. However, this does not excuse his actions. I did like that both sides of the story were told, it added depth and meaning to the story.

I liked the characters, especially Katie and Alex. I loved how delicate they were at the beginning, Katie because of her husband and Alex because of the death of his wife. They were careful and I liked how they didn’t just jump into a relationship, especially as there were small children involved. I was impressed that even though Katie had left Kevin she refused to sleep with Alex because she was still married. I thought Sparks was right to do that – it added integrity to the book and characters.

The ending of the book was so exciting! Kevin came and chased Katie. I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down once he discovered where she was. The ending was tense, but really good. There was a twist that I didn’t see coming and I enjoyed the ending. I was satisfied and gripped until the end.

This is a great book. The ending was fast moving and the storyline was lovely. I think Sparks dealt with the issue of domestic abuse and death very well. The characters were so easy to like and I was hooked to this book. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

Every Thursday at eight, four women meet for breakfast – and to talk. To tell their stories, recount their sorrows and their joys. To offer each other encouragement and unstinting support.

Clare has just been through a devastating divorce. She’s driven by anger and revenge . . . until she learns something about her ex-husband that forces her to look deep inside for the forgiveness and compassion she’s rejected – and for the person she used to be.

Elizabeth is widowed, in her late fifties, a successful professional – a woman who’s determined not to waste another second of her life. And if that life should include romantic possibilities – well, why not?

Karen is in her twenties, the years for taking risks, testing your dreams. Her dream is to be an actor. So what if her parents think she should be more like her sister, the very respectable Victoria?

Julia is turning forty this year. Her husband’s career is established, her kids are finally in their teens and she’s just started her own business. Everything’s going according to plan – until she gets pregnant!

This is Debbie Macomber at her finest. Meet Julia, Karen, Liz and Claire – four very different women facing very different problems. They meet at a writing class but continue meeting up every Thursday morning at eight. Julia is a happy mother-of-two who has just opened her own knitting shop. What could go wrong? An unexpected, and unwanted pregnancy. Karen is in her twenties and has been pursuing an acting career for as long as she can remember. But her mother does not approve. In Karen’s opinion, her mother wants her to be like her sister Victoria. Except, Victoria does not have it all worked out, and very soon relies on Karen to help her out of a terrible situation. Liz is a widow. Her husband died unexpectedly. Just when the grief had lessened, her two children move away, leaving her even more lonely. And then she begins to be pursued by a handsome doctor. Is she ready to date? Does she want to be involved with this arrogant man? And Claire. She had been through a hurrendous divorce. Her husband left her for a younger model – leaving her hurt and angry. But through her son she discovers what her ex is going through. She is about to learn there is a fine line between love and hate.

This was a great book, I really enjoyed it. It was easy reading, good chick-lit, but with some deeper issues. Macomber explores cancer, death, premature births and domestic abuse. And in my opinion, she did it well. In some cases, there were no happy endings, which is realistic and made the book more inviting. There were extremely sad moments, moments were I was shocked by the abuse, worried about the baby and cheering on the characters as they walked down paths of love and forgiveness. With all these issues I think Macomber did a great job.

I really liked how this was based on the author’s own life. She has a network of friends that she meets up with regularly. Although the characters and events are fictional, there was an added dimension knowing that it was based on personal experience.

All the characters were great. I connected with all of them on different levels and found myself hoping and wishing for them, and experiences their emotional hardships with them. They all had a different story but they way they helped each other was lovely. This is ultimately a book of friendship, and it is just lovely.

I did feel that some of the characters were not featured as much as others, which was a shame, however, they did cross into each others stories to knit the narrative together. And speaking of knitting, it was interesting that Macomber included that hobby in the book, especially in the form of a knitting shop, as her Blossom Street series also revolves around a knitting shop.

Overall, I just really enjoyed this book. It is a book of friendship and companionship. It is easy to read, well written chick-lit.

9/10