Pretty Sassy Cool All Things Pretty, Sassy, and Cool.
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks Also by this author: See Me
Published by Grand Central Publishing on September 14, 2010
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Character(s): Single Fathers
Pages: 365
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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.
Katie: This is one of the rare instances where I saw the movie before I read the book. That being said, I still feel I enjoyed the book just as much as if I didn’t “know what was coming”.
Katie, a brave and resilient woman, leaves behind a past steeped in darkness for a chance at life outside the shadows. She moves to a new town and tries to keep to herself as she creates a new life. But forces outside of her control push her close to Alex, the kind widowed father who owns his own store.
Katie and Alex share a slow burning connection that leads to love. But Katie has dark secrets that haunt her newfound happiness. Fear of her past colliding with her present, Katie has to choose whether or not her newfound safe haven is worth the risk of settling down.
For about the first third of the book we are getting to know Alex and Katie and how their day to day lives are lived. I feel like the slow building romance causes us to love the characters even before they start to love each other, which is something that is important to me when reading romance.
But once the feelings start to show, oh boy, get ready to be swept away.
It really saddens me to realize that with the completion of this book, there are only 3 Nicholas Sparks’s books left that I have yet to read. Thankfully, those three books are already on my bookshelf waiting patiently to torture me with feels.
If you haven’t read a Nicholas Sparks book yet, this one is a great place to start. If you have but haven’t gotten to this one yet, it’s worth the read, even if you’ve already seen the movie.
Married to a swoony boy of my own 🙂
Mom to two amazing boys.
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| Overall: | 4.5 |
