Safe Haven
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: 2010
Book Description (from Good Reads): 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.
Thoughts:
The characters are mostly very realistic:
Katie is a hurt woman who is running and ignoring her past, but she cannot escape it not really. She is affected by it on the way she keeps her distance from others, on the way she keeps remembering her past, on the way she does not open herself to new people. She is still feeling guilty. Yes, it does not make sense for the person to feel responsible but it is realistic to feel so.
Alex is also marked by the past of his own. He is feeling lonely but also wants to find someone. Initially, it seemed like he picked at random a person to feel interested in based on availability. So not perfect. He is an awesome parent and does show he cares about his children.
The children are so sweet, even if they are sparsely mentioned they are enough to make you love them.
The romance does start off slow and tentative like you expect from tow people who care too much too fast but with their own baggage.
There is two main points of view, the one where Katie is letting us know about the start of her new life and the one where her husband is out trying to find her. He is in the past for the most part of the story, retelling how he has been tracking her.
But there is also a few memory lanes, where Katie is telling how life was for her during her marriage and how she accomplished to get away.
There are very little other people mentioned and they are very flat, their existence is simply for the moving of the plot. One or two people here, then they move along the storyline and are not mentioned again.
Good points and not so good points.
The husband, he is very realistic. He has a few radical ideas and he is convinced that he is right and all the bad things that happen to him are because (the blame/fault) of Erin his wife. He never accepts what his faults are, he blames things on other people, he has a few religious ideas that are obviously twisted to fit his situations. He is an awful man, but he is a good liar and manipulator but eventually when reality comes to slap him in the face letting him he know he is not the best man out there.... He does not accept the reality check.
The ending feels a bit convenient and yet it makes perfect sense So as you can tell there is a jumble of things. I love this story but it is not perfect, but still, it is amazing.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: 2010
Book Description (from Good Reads): 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.
Thoughts:
The characters are mostly very realistic:
Katie is a hurt woman who is running and ignoring her past, but she cannot escape it not really. She is affected by it on the way she keeps her distance from others, on the way she keeps remembering her past, on the way she does not open herself to new people. She is still feeling guilty. Yes, it does not make sense for the person to feel responsible but it is realistic to feel so.
Alex is also marked by the past of his own. He is feeling lonely but also wants to find someone. Initially, it seemed like he picked at random a person to feel interested in based on availability. So not perfect. He is an awesome parent and does show he cares about his children.
The children are so sweet, even if they are sparsely mentioned they are enough to make you love them.
The romance does start off slow and tentative like you expect from tow people who care too much too fast but with their own baggage.
There is two main points of view, the one where Katie is letting us know about the start of her new life and the one where her husband is out trying to find her. He is in the past for the most part of the story, retelling how he has been tracking her.
But there is also a few memory lanes, where Katie is telling how life was for her during her marriage and how she accomplished to get away.
There are very little other people mentioned and they are very flat, their existence is simply for the moving of the plot. One or two people here, then they move along the storyline and are not mentioned again.
Good points and not so good points.
The husband, he is very realistic. He has a few radical ideas and he is convinced that he is right and all the bad things that happen to him are because (the blame/fault) of Erin his wife. He never accepts what his faults are, he blames things on other people, he has a few religious ideas that are obviously twisted to fit his situations. He is an awful man, but he is a good liar and manipulator but eventually when reality comes to slap him in the face letting him he know he is not the best man out there.... He does not accept the reality check.
The ending feels a bit convenient and yet it makes perfect sense So as you can tell there is a jumble of things. I love this story but it is not perfect, but still, it is amazing.
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