He was the one that many women commend for his stories of love and reality. Nicholas Sparks is back to the big dance with a his book that I actually found to be predictable. This book, Safe Haven is almost like all love stories. Don’t get me wrong, I am always a sap for goo goo eyes, but unless there is twist I will not fall for lovey-dovey cliches that don’t seem to stay in my stomach all the time.
The only reason I ever read Sparks’ is because I have to watch the movies with my mother and share in he sobbing moments. I find this to be a routine lately because after ever hour I pull out a tissue for the tears when the two lovers confess there past or their love for each other. Sparks is not a bad writer. He just goes by an outline that is not hard for me to spot. Safe Haven is not a terrible book, but I believe that it can become better.
The story is about a normal life in Southport, but when a mysterious woman named Katie comes in for a new beginning, the quiet times in this beach town are over. Katie didn’t just want a moment of silence, she also wanted to take refuge from a dark past that she can’t seem to hide from. As she tries to lay low from her past, Katie begins to befriend her neighbor Jo, who doesn’t like “I don’t know” to be an answer for anything.
She begins to take interest in Alex a widowed father of two kids. She begins to love and trust, but as soon as she begins to settle, Katie has to run again from a monster that will never let her go. Alex promises to protect her, but does that mean Katie believes in him.
The characters of this book are similar to the characters from the movie “The Art of Getting By.” This is mainly found in the ways they approach each other. Katie is the one that likes to keep to herself, but the only reason why is because of her past. Alex seems to be open to things only because he is the one that can save Katie. As he gets under her skin, Alex is soon her angel that will help her, and that is how most lovers are. They lean on each other and they are a perfect example of this.
The one things Sparks did good in this book was introduces Katie’s monster in the book. I have never felt as many chills down my spine after I read the monster chapter. It felt like I could actually feel Katie’s pain and desperate plea to get away. Now as a writer I believe that most of my intense scenes are my best ones, because these are the ones that I want people to pay attention to. Sparks caught my attention with this scene. I know it may seem dark, but it was different and I liked that.
Sparks is not a bad writer, instead he is a writers that likes order. Like any outline, he goes in a straight line when it comes to the events in the story. He is completely complex when it comes to his writing. I understand when something means something in a book and I commend him for that. If this book is going to be any good on the big screen, the main guy has to be really hot to keep me from seeing the future. I say see the movie, before criticizing though, because you never know if you like it if you don’t try it.
