First of all, thank you for the sweet comments to my post yesterday. Sometimes it can be scary to be raw and open on the blog, but it is nice to know that it is well received. It meant a lot.

Secondly, I am here to announce that finally. FINALLY. my book rut is over. Bring all the books to me.

I just finished The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks last week, and I am already halfway through another book. Yes, yes, and yes.

I knew a book from good ol’ Nick would get me back.

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In true Sparks fashion, this is a book about love.

But what I love about this book in particular is that it is two different stories woven together. One follows a new young couple and their journey to love, but the other follows an elderly couple’s memories of love with flashbacks of sorts.

It was a brilliant way to show how love transcends many different situations and can surprise us in so many different ways but yet be so comforting in it’s normalcy.

You knew that in the end these two couples would be connected, but the plot kept you intrigued until the very end. It was like a carrot being dangled. I just wanted more and wanted to know the why and how.

I don’t want to share too much about the book because the secrets within are really meant to be read, and not summarized by me a little ol blogger. I would hate to ruin it for you.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward — even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans — a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

I love YA books, and Nicholas Sparks happens to be one of my favorite authors. I know he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and some people find that all of his books are the same. I think that he does have some underlying similarities in all of his books, but I think this one was pretty sharp with using two very different couples to show parallel love stories. But hey I am a sucker for a YA love story novel.

This review sums up my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for reading.

Are you a Nicholas Sparks fan? What is your favorite NS book?