Here is the complete list of books published by Nicholas Sparks, a screenwriter, and famous American romance novel author.
Nicholas Sparks’ novels went on to be international bestsellers, with some even adapted to films that received box office success.
Who Is Nicholas Sparks?
Born on December 31, 1965, in Omaha, Nebraska, Nicholas Sparks spent the majority of his childhood moving from state to state until he and his family settled down in Fair Oaks, California.
Sparks was athletic. After graduating class valedictorian in high school, he went to the University of Notre Dame for college and got offered a full scholarship for track. However, his athletic career hit a bump when he suffered an Achilles tendon injury in his freshman year.
While recuperating, Sparks tried his hand at writing. He managed to write a full novel, which was never published. After graduating from university with honors, he met and married his wife, Catherine Cote.
Sparks and his wife settled in Sacramento, California, where Sparks took on odd jobs just to make ends meet. However, he didn’t stop writing and got his first break publishing Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding, where he teamed up with his friend Billy Mills, an Olympic medalist. The book was picked up by Random House and sold well.
After venturing in pharmaceutical sales in 1992, Sparks began a new manuscript that would eventually be The Notebook. That time, he was already living in South Carolina and met an agent who found him a publisher.
The book gained massive success. And in just a short amount of time, Nicholas Sparks’ name as a romance writer boomed, got a book deal, and a million dollars worth of movie rights contract.
In 1997, Sparks was already writing full time and quit his job making pharmaceutical sales. In the next years, he wrote more bestselling novels and more film adaptations of his work, such as A Walk to Remember (1999) featuring Shane West and Mandy Moore, and Message in a Bottle (1999), starring Paul Newman and Kevin Costner.
Nicholas Sparks Complete Booklist & Summary
Here is Nicholas Sparks’ complete list of works along with a short summary:
1) Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding – 1990 (Nonfiction Book of Nicholas Sparks and Billy Mills)
Book Summary: Wokini, translated from Lakota, means “seeing a new beginning” or seeking a new vision.” This book will teach you about yourself, show you what it means to be happy and lead you on a journey to feel more satisfied in your life.- Book Reviews:
2) The Notebook – 1996 (Third Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2004)
Book Summary: Experience the unforgettable, heartbreaking love story set in post-World War II North Carolina about a young socialite and the boy who once stole her heart — one of PBS’s “Great American Reads”.
Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story-it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again…
At thirty-one, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle…
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3) Message in a Bottle – 1998 (First Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 1999)
Book Summary: In this New York Times bestseller, a single mother sets out to find the North Carolina man who sent a message meant for someone else . . . and the journey may change her life forever.Divorced and disillusioned about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to “Catherine,” signed simply “Garrett.” Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn’t fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous-an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting…. Nicholas Sparks exquisitely chronicles the human heart. In his first bestselling novel, The Notebook, he created a testament to romantic love that touched readers around the world. Now in this New York Times bestseller, he renews our faith in destiny, in the ability of lovers to find each other no matter where, no matter when…
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4) A Walk to Remember – 1999 (Second Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2002)
Book Summary: A high school rebel and a minister’s daughter find strength in each other in this star-crossed tale of “young but everlasting love” (Chicago Sun-Times).There was a time when the world was sweeter….when the women in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses, and the men donned hats…. Every April, when the wind smells of both the sea and lilacs, Landon Carter remembers 1958, his last year at Beaufort High. Landon had dated a girl or two, and even once sworn that he’d been in love. Certainly the last person he thought he’d fall for was Jamie, the shy, almost ethereal daughter of the town’s Baptist minister….Jamie, who was destined to show him the depths of the human heart-and the joy and pain of living. The inspiration for this novel came from Nicholas Sparks’s sister: her life and her courage. From the internationally bestselling author Nicholas Sparks, comes his most moving story yet….
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5) The Rescue – 2000
Book Summary: In this heartfelt Southern love story from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Notebook, a daring fireman rescues a single mom — and learns that falling in love is the greatest risk of all.When confronted by raging fires or deadly accidents, volunteer fireman Taylor McAden feels compelled to take terrifying risks to save lives. But there is one leap of faith Taylor can’t bring himself to make: he can’t fall in love. For all his adult years, Taylor has sought out women who need to be rescued, women he leaves as soon as their crisis is over and the relationship starts to become truly intimate.When a raging storm hits his small Southern town, single mother Denise Holton’s car skids off the road. The young mom is with her four-year-old son Kyle, a boy with severe learning disabilities and for whom she has sacrificed everything. Taylor McAden finds her unconscious and bleeding, but does not find Kyle. When Denise wakes, the chilling truth becomes clear to both of them. Kyle is gone. During the search for Kyle, a connection between Taylor and Denise takes root. Taylor doesn’t know that this rescue will be different from all the others.
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6) A Bend in the Road – 2001
Book Summary: Fall in love with this small-town love story about a widower sheriff and a divorced schoolteacher who are searching for second chances — only to be threatened by long-held secrets of the past.
Miles Ryan’s life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. As deputy sheriff of New Bern, North Carolina, he not only grieves for her and worries about their young son Jonah but longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews, Jonah’s second-grade teacher. A young woman recovering from a difficult divorce, Sarah moved to New Bern hoping to start over. Tentatively, Miles and Sarah reach out to each other…soon they are falling in love. But what neither realizes is that they are also bound together by a shocking secret, one that will force them to reexamine everything they believe in-including their love.
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7) Nights in Rodanthe – 2002 (Fourth Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2008)
Book Summary: At 45, Adrienne Willis must rethink her entire life when her husband abandons her for a younger woman. Reeling with heartache, and in search of a respite, she flees to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina, to tend to a friend’s inn for the weekend.But when a major storm starts moving in, it appears that Adrienne’s perfect getaway will be ruined – until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At 54, Paul has just sold his medical practice and come to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past. Now, with the storm closing in, two wounded people will turn to each other for comfort – and in one weekend set in motion feelings that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.
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8) The Guardian – 2003
Book Summary: After her husband’s death, a young widow with a faithful Great Dane must decide between two men — but as new love blossoms, jealousy turns deadly in this suspenseful New York Times bestseller.Julie Barenson’s young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died – a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, twenty-nine-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who?Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband’s best friend? Choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she’s had in years. Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire…
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9) The Wedding – 2003
Book Summary: In this stunning New York Times bestselling follow-up to The Notebook, a hardworking but distant husband vows to win back the love of his life by looking to Noah and Allie’s legendary romance.
After thirty years, Wilson Lewis is forced to face a painful truth: the romance has gone out of his marriage. His wife, Jane, has fallen out of love with him, and it is entirely his fault. Despite the shining example of his in-laws, Noah and Allie Calhoun, and their fifty-year love affair, Wilson himself is a man unable to express his true feelings. He has spent too little time at home and too much at the office, leaving the responsibility of raising their children to Jane. Now his daughter is about to marry, and his wife is thinking about leaving him. But if Wilson is sure of anything, it is this: His love for Jane has only grown over the years, and he will do everything he can to save their marriage. With the memories of Noah and Allie’s inspiring life together as his guide, he vows to find a way to make his wife fall in love with him…all over again.
In this powerfully moving tale of love lost, rediscovered, and renewed, Nicholas Sparks once again brings readers his unique insight into the only emotion that ultimately really matters.
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10) Safe Haven – 2004 (Eighth Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2013)
Book Summary: In a small North Carolina town, a mysterious and beautiful woman running from her past slowly falls for a kind-hearted store owner . . . until dark secrets begin to threaten her new life.
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 empathetic 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.
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11) Three Weeks with My Brother – 2004 (Nonfiction Book of Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks)
Book Summary: In this New York Times bestseller, follow the author of The Notebook as he travels the world with his brother learning about faith, loss, connection, and hope.
As moving as his bestselling works of fiction, Nicholas Sparks’s unique memoir, written with his brother, chronicles the life-affirming journey of two brothers bound by memories, both humorous and tragic. In January 2003, Nicholas Sparks and his brother, Micah, set off on a three-week trip around the globe. It was to mark a milestone in their lives, for at thirty-seven and thirty-eight respectively, they were now the only surviving members of their family.Against the backdrop of the wonders of the world and often overtaken by their feelings, daredevil Micah and the more serious, introspective Nicholas recalled their rambunctious childhood adventures and the tragedies that tested their faith. And in the process, they discovered startling truths about loss, love, and hope.Narrated with irrepressible humor and rare candor, and including personal photos, THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER reminds us to embrace life with all its uncertainties…and most of all, to cherish the joyful times, both small and momentous, and the wonderful people who make them possible.
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12) True Believer – 2005
Book Summary: Part love story and part ghost story, this is an unforgettable New York Times bestseller about a science journalist and a North Carolina librarian who dare to believe in the impossible.As a science journalist with a regular column in Scientific American, Jeremy Marsh specializes in debunking the supernatural-until he falls in love with the granddaughter of the town psychic.When Jeremy receives a letter from Boone Creek, North Carolina, about ghostly lights appearing in a cemetery, he can’t resist driving down to investigate. Here, in this tightly knit community, Lexie Darnell runs the town’s library. Disappointed by past relationships, she is sure of one thing: her future is in Boone Creek, close to all the people she loves. From the moment Jeremy sets eyes on Lexie, he is intrigued. And Lexie, while hesitating to trust this outsider, finds herself thinking of him more than she cares to admit. Now, if they are to be together, Jeremy must do something he’s never done before-take a giant leap of faith.From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks comes a love story about taking chances and following your heart. True Believer will make you believe in the miracle of love.
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13) At First Sight – 2005
Book Summary: In this #1 New York Times bestselling follow-up to True Believer, a young couple’s love faces the ultimate test when the past disrupts the life and family they’ve built together.
There are a few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he’d never do: he’d never leave New York City; never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage; and, most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever change the course of this young couple’s marriage.
Dramatic, heartbreaking and surprising, this is a story about the love between a man and a woman and between a parent and a child. More than that, it is a story that beautifully portrays how the same emotion that can break your heart is also the one that will ultimately heal it.
While the novel picks up the tale of Lexie Darnell and Jeremy Marsh that started in True Believer and will delight fans of that novel, it stands on its own as one of Nicholas Sparks’s most deeply moving love stories.
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14) Dear John – 2006 (Fifth Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2010)
Book Summary: When a rebel serving in the Army meets the girl of his dreams, he must face an impossible choice as a national tragedy forces them apart in this powerful New York Times bestseller.An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life–until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart.
But 9/11 changes everything.John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. “Dear John,” the letter read…and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love–and face the hardest decision of his life.
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15) The Choice – 2007 (Eleventh Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2016)
Book Summary: Opposites attract in this moving #1 New York Times bestseller of love lost and found between a medical student and the man who captures her heart.Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life – boating, swimming , and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies — he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door.Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, THE CHOICE ultimately confronts us with the most heart-wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
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16) The Last Song – 2009 (Sixth Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2010)
Book Summary: From the author of A Walk to Remember comes a moving tale of redemption and first love when a rebellious teenager decides to spend the summer with her estranged father in a North Carolina beach town.
Seventeen year old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father…until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels–first love, love between parents and children — that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts . . . and heal them.
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17) The Best of Me – 2010 (Ninth Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2014)
Book Summary: In this New York Times bestselling novel of first love and second chances, former high school sweethearts confront the painful truths of their past to build a promising future — together.“Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She’d believed in it once, too, back when she was eighteen.”In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew — about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear — was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?
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18) The Nicholas Sparks Holiday Collection – 2012
Book Summary: Three of Nicholas Sparks’s beloved bestselling novels are now available as a boxed set.TRUE BELIEVER: A skeptical science journalist travels to a small town to investigate ghostly apparitions. When he hopelessly falls in love with a local woman, he must take a giant leap of faith.AT FIRST SIGHT: In this sequel to True Believer, an engaged young couple face their greatest fears-and discover that the emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it.A BEND IN THE ROAD: A widowed deputy sheriff becomes drawn to a young divorcée. But they are bound by a shocking secret that will force them to reexamine everything they believe in-including their love.
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19) The Longest Ride – 2013 (Tenth Nicholas Sparks Book with Film Adaptation in 2015)
Book Summary: From the dark days of WWII to present-day North Carolina, this New York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples overcoming destructive secrets — and finding joy together.Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes 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 bull-riding event, 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.
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20) The Notebook: Student Edition – 2014
Book Summary: NOVEL LEARNING SERIES(TM)THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks STUDENT EDITION Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story-it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again . . .At thirty-one, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle . . .With a NOVEL LEARNING SERIES(TM) Student Guide-Questions about the text after every few chapters check your comprehension-Quizzes throughout help you prepare for standardized tests with SAT- and ACT-style questions using vocabulary and grammar from the book-Sample writing prompts and essays at the end guide you through the elements of an above-average, average, and below-average essay-and explain why!
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21) See Me – 2015
Book Summary: In this suspenseful New York Times bestseller, a chance encounter between a successful lawyer and a rebellious bad boy will change life as they know it forever, as their pasts catch up with them . . .
Colin Hancock is giving his second chance his best shot. With a history of violence and bad decisions behind him and the threat of prison dogging his every step, he’s determined to walk a straight line. To Colin, that means applying himself single-mindedly toward his teaching degree and avoiding everything that proved destructive in his earlier life. Reminding himself daily of his hard-earned lessons, the last thing he is looking for is a serious relationship.
Maria Sanchez, the hardworking daughter of Mexican immigrants, is the picture of conventional success. With a degree from Duke Law School and a job at a prestigious firm in Wilmington, she is a dark-haired beauty with a seemingly flawless professional track record. And yet Maria has a traumatic history of her own, one that compelled her to return to her hometown and left her questioning so much of what she once believed.
A chance encounter on a rain-swept road will alter the course of both Colin and Maria’s lives, challenging deeply held assumptions about each other and ultimately, themselves. As love unexpectedly takes hold between them, they dare to envision what a future together could possibly look like . . . until menacing reminders of events in Maria’s past begin to surface.
Rich in emotion and fueled with suspense, SEE ME reminds us that love is sometimes forged in the crises that threaten to shatter us . . . and that those who see us for who we truly are may not always be the ones easiest to recognize.
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22) Two by Two – 2016
Book Summary: In this New York Times bestseller, a single father discovers the true nature of unconditional love when a new chance at happiness turns his world upside down.At 32, Russell Green has it all: a stunning wife, a lovable six year-old daughter, a successful career as an advertising executive, and an expansive home in Charlotte. He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian is at the center of it. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect existence, fault lines are beginning to appear . . . and no one is more surprised than Russ when every aspect of the life he has taken for granted is turned upside down.
In a matter of months, Russ finds himself without a job or a wife, caring for his young daughter while struggling to adapt to a new and baffling reality. Throwing himself into the wilderness of single parenting, Russ embarks on a journey at once terrifying and rewarding — one that will test his abilities and his emotional resources beyond anything he’s ever imagined.
When a chance encounter with an old flame tempts him to take a chance on love again, he will navigate this new opportunity with trepidation and wonder. But with the loyal support of his parents, the wisdom of his older sister, Marge, and in the hard-won lessons of fatherhood, Russ will finally come to understand the true nature of unconditional love — that it is a treasure to be bestowed, not earned.
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23) Every Breath – 2018
Book Summary: Treat yourself to an epic #1 New York Times bestselling love story that spans decades and continents as two people at a crossroads — one from North Carolina and one from Zimbabwe — experience the transcendence and heartbreak of true love.
Hope Anderson has some important choices to make. At thirty-six, she’s been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family’s cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future.Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother’s early life and recapture memories lost with her death. 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.Illuminating heartbreaking regrets and enduring hope, Every Breath explores the many facets of love that lay claim to our deepest loyalties while asking a life-changing question: How long can a dream survive?
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Conclusion
Love these books of Nicholas Sparks? If you are looking for another author, book series or even genre to read next then check out our collection of must reads here.
