Book Review: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Welcome to a new book review. I bought this book five days ago and yes, it only took me four days to complete it because I just couldn't put it aside. Due to the fact that I enjoyed reading it so much, I wanted to give you a little review of this book. If you want to know what I think about this book, then keep on reading!

General information: 
Romance, 400 pages, released on September 30, 2008

The plot:
"After U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman buried in the dirt during his tour of duty in Iraq, he experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat. 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 woman in the photograph out of his mind and he sets out on a journey across the country to find her. But Thibault is caught off guard by the strong attraction he feels for the woman he encounters in North Carolina - Elizabeth, a divorced mother -- and he keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate love affair, his secret soon threatens to tear them apart -- destroying not only their love, but also their lives."

My opinion:
The book is a easy-reading and entertaining book and therefore, was great for creating a balance between hard and educating school books and this one. Even though the plot switches between memories of the past and the present, the transitions are so fluid that I really enjoyed getting to know the character with this method. And that's exactly the next point. Sparks did a great job in switching the narrative perspective so that one get to know a few characters which are multifaceted and not too simple. That's the reason why the characters and the whole story appear to be so believable and emotional, also because Sparks shows a realistic progress of the relationship between Logan and Elizabeth.

Nevertheless, one could add that Sparks illustrates an ideal-typical description of a love story consisting of the woman, the protagonist and an antagonist. Additionally, in the middle of the book the plot isn't that action-packed and concentrates on the description of the everyday life as it is typical for a romance. 
However, due to back references to the past and unexpected connections in their lives, the plot isn't boring. Especially at the end of the book with the final, the tension raises its peak point. I seriously couldn't put the book aside for one minute while reading the last 100 pages. Yes, it is a cliché-ridden final between protagonist and antagonist, which was also a bit foreseeable, but it was extremely exciting!

In conclusion, I would say that I would totally recommend reading this book. It is a romance, so the plot isn't that action-packed, but Sparks describes a wonderful love story that has to struggle with problems as normal families do. This book was like an emotional ride on the roller coaster - entertaining, romantic, shocking and heartbreaking! 

Do you like the novels by Nicholas Sparks?

Wish you a wonderful day! Lots of love,