Safe Haven
by Nicholas Sparks
Published by Grand Central Publishing on September 14th 2010
Genres: Chick Lit
Pages: 340
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.
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.
My Thoughts: This book is easily four stars. I enjoyed the story. Katie (Erin) has such strength and courage. She grows stronger throughout the story. Katie really wants the safety and warmth of a home, complete with a husband and children. She is just afraid to dream a dream she can’t see coming true. In comes Alex. He is smart, witty, and strong. He sees more than most people are aware of when looking and he’s a great friend. Alex has baggage of his own, and yet he is good with his life and dealing with his reality. Their growing relationship and their connection to each other is wonderfully fulfilling.
Kevin is not someone that I would seek out to be friends with. Kevin has serious mental health issues; the alcohol only increases his need to control. When he first mentions a bible verse, I thought to myself, this isn’t going to be pretty. He really thinks that he is everything and a slice of cheese.
My favorite character was Jo, totally loved her. The whole of her, her opinions, leading questions and the truth, she is fabulous. I would like to think that if I were in her position I could be as graceful, loving and have such strong character. She truly loves her family and only wants what is best for them.
The story is dynamic and shows the reality that domestic abuse is and how it affects even the strongest of souls. It also shows that there is that light at the end of the tunnel, even when we don’t believe that there could be.
As with all of Nicholas Sparks’ books the strength of the characters and their realistic love and compassion is so encompassing that it touches your soul. I honestly feel a kinship with the characters in his stories. Nicholas Sparks is such a master storyteller. Whenever I pick up one of his books I know that I will need a box of tissues, but the happiness will be just as strong too.
I am looking forward to the movie. I hope the film crew and actors can meet the expectations that the book has set.
This is a Guest Review for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review a book for your site. ~Jen
**Where to find this book**
** Goodreads **
About Nicholas Sparks
As a child, Nicholas Sparks lived in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, finally settling in Fair Oaks, California at the age of eight. His father was a professor, his mother a homemaker, then optometrist’s assistant. He lived in Fair Oaks through high school, graduated valedictorian in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.
After breaking the Notre Dame school record as part of a relay team in 1985 as a freshman (a record which still stands), he was injured and spent the summer recovering. During that summer, he wrote his first novel, though it was never published. He majored in Business Finance and graduated with high honors in 1988.
He and his wife Catherine, who met on spring break in 1988, were married in July, 1989. While living in Sacramento, he wrote his second novel that same year, though again, it wasn’t published. He worked a variety of jobs over the next three years, including real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone, and started his own small manufacturing business which struggled from the beginning. In 1990, he collaborated on a book with Billy Mills, the Olympic Gold Medalist and it was published by Feather Publishing before later being picked up by Random House. (It was recently re-issued by Hay House Books.) Though it received scant publicity, sales topped 50,000 copies in the first year of release.
He began selling pharmaceuticals and moved from Sacramento, California to North Carolina in 1992. In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The Notebook over a period of six months. In October, 1995, rights to The Notebook were sold to Warner Books. It was published in October, 1996, and he followed that with Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), and Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), Three Weeks with my Brother (2004), True Believer (2005) and At First Sight (2005) all with Warner Books. All were domestic and international best sellers and were translated into more than 35 languages. The movie version of Message in a Bottle was released in 1999, A Walk to Remember was released in 2002, and The Notebook was released in 2004. The average domestic box office gross per film was $56 million — with another $100 million in DVD sales — making the novels by Nicholas Sparks one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood.
The film rights to Nights in Rodanthe, True Believer and At First Sight have been sold, and Nicholas Sparks has written the screenplay for The Guardian, though he has not offered it for sale at this point.
He now has five children: Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and children.
