Book #45 - The Lucky One

The Lucky One
Nicholas Sparks

Blurb: 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.

Length: Medium- 326 pages (Audio Version - 10.5 hours)

Notes: Ok, so I don't know if this should really count towards books that I've read this year, because I actually listened to this one, I didn't read it. But this is my blog, and my list of books, so I'm counting it!! I have a love/hate relationship with audio books. I love them if I am spending lots of time in the car - I love listening to music, but a book seems to pass the time by faster. But I have a harder time formulating how the characters and the story look in my mind when it is an audio book rather than reading an actual book. Like in this audio version, a man read it, and whenever he would read the parts of Beth, he sounded like a man trying to sound like a woman. So it was hard for me to picture this beautiful, feminine woman instead of a cross dresser. My other hate with audio books is that my mind tends to wander more when I am listening than when I am actually reading. So I had to rewind several times because I would miss things, but I guess that's not the book's fault!!

Besides all that, this was exactly what I was expecting. I can't believe how many of the books I have on my list this year so far have been Nicholas Sparks' books. I'm not a crazed fan, I promise! I do like his books, although I did find this one a bit predictable and unrealistic. I liked the characters, though - except Clayton - total creep. I definitely wouldn't classify it under my top 10 books of the year, but I didn't feel like it was a waste of time, either.

Random quote : "She was struck by the simple truth that sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people."

Recommend: Yes, if you are a Nicholas Sparks fan.

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!