The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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 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 photograph—his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem 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 country to 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 Sparks 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.

Did You Know?---

Zeus was modeled after one of Nicholas’s dogs?

Nicholas had to do more research for this novel than any other?

The setting of the novel is fictitious?

This was the first novel Nicholas wrote in the limited third-person omniscient perspective?

My Review:

This was a great story. Both haunting and tender. Of course I was leery of Thibault but soon fell in love with his quiet, confident self. I also immediately came to dislike Clayton. I especially loved Nana. I thought the interactions within the characters had just the right amount of friction. Although the story ended in an exciting but heartbreaking way, I see no other possibility if it were to be a happy ending. I especially liked that the author kept you guessing to the very end as to who survived.

This is not my normal genre, and this is my first Nicholas Sparks book (although I've seen a few of the movies) I was impressed and glad I took a chance - much like Elizabeth.

Read from January 06 to 21, 2014

Top 5 Genres*: Romance, Fiction, Women's Fiction/Chick Lit, Contemporary, Adult
*According to Goodreads
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My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

View all my reviews