New Release Review: The Return by Nicholas Sparks
About the Book
In the romantic tradition of Dear John, an injured Navy doctor meets two extremely important women whose secrets will change the course of his life in this #1 New York Times bestseller.
Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he'd inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.
Tending to his grandfather's beloved beehives, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local . . . yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can't ignore. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding.
Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road. Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues—until a crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have imagined.
In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.
Review
Nicholas Sparks is one of my favourite authors and I am always eager to read his new releases. I think there are certain expectations when it comes to a Sparks book. I know I am one of those long-time fans who loves his emotional, great love stories, like The Notebook and A Walk to Remember. If those are your expectations when considering reading The Return, just know it isn't exactly like his usual style. There is romance, but it's about more than that. I thought the plot, character building, and research that went into this novel was well done and overall I did enjoy the story, I just didn't fall in love with it.
*Complimentary copy for review provided by Grand Central Publishing. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.
**TW/CW: PTSD, chronic illness
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About the Author
With over 100 million copies of his books sold, Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers. His novels include sixteen #1 New York Times bestsellers, and all of his books, including Three Weeks with My Brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers, and were translated into more than fifty languages. Eleven of Nicholas Sparks's novels—The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle—have been adapted into major motion pictures.
