Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks
Release: October 16th 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Amazon
Every Breath Synopsis:
Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she’s been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, she decides to use a week at her family’s cottage. She goes to Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future.
Tru Walls is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother’s early life. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . But in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways.
Review:
Watch my video review of Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVzi3s1eIM[/embedyt]
I am not a big Nicolas Sparks fan, but I have read a few of his novels like “The Notebook” and “A walk to remember”. I remember loving both those books as well as the movie renditions. So, I had high expectations about “Every Breath”. However, after completing it, I ended up with mixed feelings about it.
The main thing I enjoyed about the story was its simplicity. The setting takes place in a quaint, scenic Beach and focuses only on the protagonists falling in love. The story is actually very simple and is nothing unique, and you would think it would be boring. But the author has written it in such a powerful and emotional manner that you hang on to every word. Nicholas Sparks truly has a gift for making even a simple story so interesting and keeping the reader invested.
I also loved the introduction from the author saying that this story was based on true events. It made me feel like I could connect to the characters at a more personal level and empathize with him. In fact, while reading this book, I wanted to go visit North Carolina and read all the letters kept at Kindred Spirit. In addition to the beach, I also loved how the author describes South Africa, and pictures the beautiful landscapes of the Safari, and still manages to show how different the life is there.
The main thing I disliked about this novel was the insta-love. I can believe that Tru and Hope to be infatuated with each other, but I couldn’t imagine them falling instantly in love. But it is hard to believe that Tru gets this undying strong love to be with Hope, even when they are not together for a long period of time, when he only spent 2 days with her.
Secondly, I felt the timeline could have written in a better manner. For most of the book, the story takes place when Tru and Hope meet at the beach. But then, the story-line just rushes past many years and again stops by a weekend when we see them. For some reason, this disconnected me from the characters and their romance, because I felt i knew only bits and pieces of them.
Thirdly, I did not really like the decisions Hope makes about her future and what she wants. I know there has to be drama in the book to make it interesting. But it shouldn’t be done on the core feelings of the character’s feelings for each other, as it spoils the romance. It made me feel like she was too selfish and put her own happiness ahead of Tru, because of his inability to bear a child.
Overall, “Every Breath” had some nice, emotional parts here and there, but it lacked something from making it memorable. The only reason why I enjoyed reading it was because of Spark’s powerful style of writing, more than the content.
