The Lucky One

Synopsis: They say everyone has their own good luck charm. It can be anything from an old rock to a special coin to a sentimental ring. For U.S. Marine Logan Thibault, his lucky charm is none other than a picture of a woman he has never met. He has said that it is how he made it alive and well through a couple of his duty tours in Iraq. When he comes home from his duty, he decides to find the woman in the picture.

Review: Nicholas Sparks has a total of 14 books to date. I have read all of them. Like I said in The Last Song review, to me, a Sparks books is either a hit or a miss. Nothing in between. This statement really is true, in my own personal opinion. For this one, I'll say it right out. It's a bit of a miss. Not too much, but a miss nonetheless.

Let me start with its good points. First off, if you are reading a Sparks book, it is bound to be fast-paced, modern, interesting, and easy to read. The premise is almost always intriguing, and is bound to hold your attention. The setting (which he usually always sets in North Carolina), is also well described and detailed. The dialogues were not juvenile or cliche. And I think the best part about any Sparks novel is his characters. He is able to create these characters that hook you in the story from the very first chapter.
And so, speaking of the characters, I thought that in the beginning, they were well-defined and complex.

Unfortunately, midway through the book, it started to fall apart. The character development just stops almost immediately. And then, they just get stuck in that place somehow, and they didn't develop more than I hoped they would. Also, midway, it got a bit boring. It was dragging, and I felt as if Sparks was just trying way too hard to make the story exciting by being "emotional."
Another big complain is the ending. It was too melodramatic for my taste, and the delivery was not very believable. It was too clean, too tidy--almost as if it was rushed. I had a hard time buying it, because it all of a sudden became too forced.

To sum up my review, I liked the premise. The build up was good. It had a lot of potential. But overall, it just fell short.

I don't really recommend this book, most especially if you are just starting to get into reading Sparks' work. If you want to read a good one for him for your first, this might not be the best option for you.