Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Monday, October 11, 2010

Genre: General Fiction - contemporary/romantic
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.

RATING: 3 stars

Review: In Safe Haven, Sparks writes yet again with the same 'romantic-love-storyline.' The writing, the pace, and the flow are still as what you would expect coming from Sparks, and the characters are pretty complex. Unfortunately, the problem with being so familiar with an author, his style, his writing, and his stories, you get tired of it sooner or later if the said writer doesn't change it up. Since I have read all his books, this one just seemed like a repeat of all the other books he wrote; like a mash-up of some sort, if that makes any sense. It has the same style and the same plot lines. Having said that, it is a bit cliche and corny. Now that can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you like and on your mood as well.
If you like those things and if you're a fan of Sparks, you might enjoy this a lot more than I did. But if you're like me, then you probably might get bored with it just because you've seen the same story line multiple times before. Generally, it was entertaining, cute, and a nice read. Not bad, nothing special; just got to admit, I am a little tired of the "same old same old." Lovely cover though.

4 comments:

  1. I just read one book from sparks... and plan to read Dear John. Maybe for me it's OK I guess to read this one, right? Haha...btw, thanks for the honest review Jill. =)

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  2. I got tired of Sparks same old, same old a long time ago. I admit to liking the first couple of books that I read by him, but now I just start to get confused and wonder "haven't I already read this book?"

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  3. I feel ya. Did he break your heart at the end? Not to be a hater, but Nick alllways does that to me ;)

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  4. It's my favorite Nicholas Sparks book so far. I would recommend this! I think it is mostly suited for adults or even teenage girls. It has a wonderful story line that leaves lingering questions in the end.

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