Book Review: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Warning: SPOILER ALERT!!!

Here's the SUMMARY of the book, courtesy of Goodreads:

When U.S Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying a the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photography -- his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seems to get the photo -- and the woman in it -- out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina -- Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son -- to be the girl he's been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart -- destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, The Lucky One is Nicholas at his best - an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love.

*REVIEW:

There are not too many books that leave lasting impressions upon our memories. Books that we think about, remember, and are able to read over and over again. Anybody who has read a book by Nicholas Sparks knows that his novel are books you can't put down and read repeatedly. I'm not a Sparks junkie or anything. But, I'll admit that I am a pretty big Nicholas Sparks fan, even though his novels are basically all the same. In fact, I've only read three of his book until The Lucky One and I did enjoy them. I might even say that A Walk to Remember was a favorite of mine for a time. There's the background, then the first meeting, the tension, the 'first-date-lovey-dovey' setting. That's followed by more time spent together admitting they love each other, conflicts, issues, and then happiness. Yeah! I am aware all his novels are similar, but there's something in there that just draws me in. Everyone knows that Nicholas Sparks is an amazing romantic author. But not many take time to actually read them. His famous warming imagined love stories, gives his fans another reason to adore him with this tale of a once-in-a-lifetime quest for true romance. 

In The Lucky One, the reader is first introduced to Logan Thibault, the main character and his dog, Zeus. A young man who when serving his time in Iraq finds a photo buried in the sand of a young woman. He posts the photo on the bulletin for the owner to find it, but time after time nobody claims the picture. Since no one claimed the picture, he kept it. Soon, he realized that this photo becomes his 'lucky charm'.

Present the despicable ex-husband here. The actions, thoughts and throw in some extra bad ass attitude for good measure. Then, link with mysterious stranger here. Make him extra charming and bold! Oh, and have a little issues because of his past. Finally, connect the beautiful but clueless single mother that no one is willing to date her. Make her appropriately conservative, but secretly ready to get wild. Add in adorable son that the father mistreats but the stranger instantly click with.

The Lucky One developed some excellent characters. The story line is sweet and romantic. It is a beautiful love story and can definitely hold its own to the love story of Allie and Noah, Paul and Adrienne, and Landon and Jamie. It's a basic love story, guy meets girl and they fall in love with some twists and complications. The story does gives us some insight into the mysteries of "fate". The universal question - Do you believe in destiny? Fate? Well, do you? This wonderful story just make you a believer, if you weren't sure before, and it may restore your faith in the adage that "Everything happens for reason."

The pages of this book takes us from extraordinary passion, to frightening suspense and everything in between. However, there are times that it becomes predictable (one of flaws of his books) but a little less so than his others. While reading, I wanted to know what would happen to he wonderful characters in this book, as well as what would happen to the not-so-nice ones. I was caught up in the story right from the start. I wanted to know if the main character was following his destiny, or was he misguided by some evil in his head. The romance was good, but realistic still, to a certain point at least. 

All I can tell you is that it entirely surprised me with its ending. I was expecting something entirely different from what had happened. I did think the way Sparks executed the end was clever. While, he doesn't always shake up the perfect happily-ever-after part, he gives you some serious suspense that keeps you on the edge  of your seat for the last 100 pages at least. And the epilogue gave the readers an ending that isn't normally seen in Sparks book, which was nice. You'll just have to take the journey yourself by reading "The Lucky One". It's a mesmerizing, heart string story, to say the least.

I'm excited for the movie, starring Zac Efron as Logan Thibault and Taylor Schilling. I really hope the movie relates to the book very well. I promise I'll do a movie review after I see it!! I've included the trailer at the bottom and I think it'll be a good adaptation. 

More book review coming soon!! Happy Readings!! :))