The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
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Book Reviews of The Lucky One
Book Review: Such a good 5 Stars
This is the first Nicholas Sparks novel that I have read, and I am glad to say, it lived up to my expectations. I expected a well-written, romantic read. And while it wasn't quite as romantic as I expected, it was the right amount of romance for the story that was told..This is mainly a story about Logan Thibault, an ex-Marine that walks across the country in search of an unknown woman from a picture he found while deployed in Iraq. There are different flash backs of his various deployments that tell the backstory of how he gets this photograph. Those parts also tell how he finally comes to believe his best friend Victor's claims that the picture is his fate, his good luck charm.
After a fishing trip with Victor, Logan decides to try and find the woman in the picture. Using clues from the background of the photo, he figures out where it was taken and decides to start there. He sets off on foot from Colorado, with his German Shepherd Zeus, and ends up in Hampton, North Carolina.
Once in Hampton, he starts asking around, showing the photo, and learns the woman's name is Elizabeth and she's a school teacher. After getting her address, he shows up at the house she lives in with her grandmother, Nana, and her ten year old son, Ben. Spotting a help wanted sign in the office window of the kennel that Nana runs on the property, he approaches Beth under the guise of wanting to apply for the job.
Beth is leery of him and his story that he walked from Colorado, and just decided to stay in tiny Hampton. But after Nana talks to him, he starts working there.
He doesn't disclose to them his real reason for being there, but after a while, he and Beth become close and fall in love. Logan is also accepted by Nana, and looked up to by Ben.
Enter Beth's ex, and Ben's father, deputy Keith Clayton. Ever since he and Beth divorced, he's secretly been scaring off every guy she's dated, telling himself that he's just trying to protect her. Also not very tolerant of his son not being the athlete Keith wants him to be, there is a lot of strain between them. So when he sees Beth with Logan, he immediately sets to work trying to end it. Also fueling his fire, he and Logan had a run-in just outside of town when Logan witnessed the deputy committing an abuse of power.
All the conflicts between the characters in this story, and the realness of their faults, made this a very believable novel. I really enjoyed seeing what each character was going through, and seeing how Beth would react when she finally learned the whole truth about why Logan was there. After reading this novel, I see why Nicholas Sparks is such a popular author, and I will definitely be checking out more of Mr. Sparks work.
Book Review: Another Great Sparks Read!
Summary: 5 Stars
I found The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks, captivating. Nicholas Sparks is a #1 New York Times best-selling author with over fifty million copies of his books in print worldwide and translated into over forty languages. Other titles include: The Rescue, A Bend in the Road, The Guardian, The Wedding, True Believer, At First Sight, Dear John, The Choice, and Three Weeks With My Brother. Nicholas Sparks has also had four of his novels adapted into major motion pictures including: Message in a Bottle, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Nights in Rodanthe. Nicholas Sparks resides in North Carolina with his wife and family.
While in his third tour of duty in Iraq, U.S. Marine Logan Thibault happens upon a half-buried photograph of a beautiful young woman, simply known as E. After no one has claimed it, Logan finds himself drawn to it and carrying it in his pocket wherever he goes. More importantly, he discovers it brings him luck. His friend, Victor, seems to think it was his fate to find it and calls it his lucky charm. Once he is back home in Colorado, Logan can't seem to get the woman out of his mind. Understanding just how crazy it was, he sets forth on foot from Colorado to North Carolina in search of what very well may be his destiny. He didn't have any illusions of what might await him, but he sure wasn't expecting the instant attraction to Elizabeth, the sincere fondness for her Nana, the friction with her ex, Clayton, or to fall immediately in love with her ten-year-old son, Ben. Pursuing the path he chose and attraction for Beth, they ignite a passionate affair of the heart, never knowing that the secret of how he came about the photo could destroy everything he had waited his entire life to find.
True to form, and with a power-house ending, it's no secret why Nicholas Sparks has captivated readers worldwide for some time now. How rare it is to find a man who can craft a story in this genre with so much insight in the human condition, affairs of the heart, the importance of family- and to do it in a manner that always seems new and unique. I find that to be the best part of this author, that when he has you crying, laughing, or ready to spit nails, he has the power to make you believe that anything is possible- that fate and destiny are not myths, after all. (Insert sigh here), Another great read from a true gem in this genre.
The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks, is an engaging, charming, and witty tale, determined to restore your faith in happily ever after again.
Kelly Moran
Author and Reviewer
Book Review: A Satisfying Read
Summary: 5 Stars
For years Nicholas Sparks has been happily pumping out love stories on a yearly basis. His body of work has made him one of the most recognizable authors out there. The Lucky One is one of his better books in a while and shows just how Nicholas Sparks has grown as a writer. Fans of his work will enjoy it save for a few slight hitches.
The Lucky One focuses on Logan Thibault. While serving in Iraq he comes across a photo of a beautiful woman. As soon as that happens his luck begins to change. In moments where he should've died he lives. In the poker games he has with his buddies he's suddenly winning. Things turn in his favor. His friend comes to the conclusion that the photo must give him luck. After he's done serving in Iraq, he eventually decides to find this woman. His search leads him to North Carolina where he meets the woman in the photo. A woman named Elizabeth. The love that blossoms isn't without its own little secrets and dangers, however, and Logan and Elizabeth will both discover that.
One of the things Nicholas Sparks has been able to do really well is create good characters. The characters really come into their own and show their personalities. Sparks does a great job because each chapter is from a different point of view. This makes it easier to get to know the main characters throughout the novel. Each chapter begins with a number and the name of the character whose eyes we are seeing through. This lets the focus really narrow in on character thoughts and motivations. It brings the characters to life a lot more.
The story is also fairly well paced, each and everything falling into place rather well. If there was anything bothersome about the story it would be the book's final moments. After such an intense build up the final moments fly by in a flash. There's nothing wrong with a swift climax. It's how it all comes together that makes little sense. The final chapter, and the epilogue might take a reread just to make sure you didn't miss anything.
It doesn't stop The Lucky One from being a great read. It keeps up the momentum for the most part. While the ending doesn't fall flat, it's hard not to desire a little more after such a strong build up given the actions of the characters throughout.
The Lucky One is a good novel with lovable characters and a well paced story. It is among Sparks best books, even if it isn't one that'll drive you to tears.
Book Review: A meaningful novel for the romantic in all of us
Summary: 5 Stars
Nicholas Sparks has been captivating readers with unforgettable love stories for over a decade. His new release, The Lucky One, comes next after Nights in Rodanthe, an earlier Spark's novel adapted into a screen play that is currently showing and starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane.
The hero of this story is Logan Thibault, a United States Marine, who served three tours of duty in Iraq. On his last tour in Iraq, he finds a photo of a beautiful young lady in the sand. He displays the picture on the base bulletin board, but no one claims it. Since there was no claimant for the picture, he carries it in his pocket.
Victor, his best Marine buddy, insists the photo is Logan's lucky charm that will bring him good luck and he should carry it always. After winning poker games, surviving deadly battles, and then losing his closest friends, he returns home to Colorado with his lucky photo intact. Later, Logan cannot get the photo out of his mind and with his dog Zeus; he embarks on a adventurous cross country trek on foot to discover his destiny.
During his travels he analyzes the photo and notices three extremely large pine trees in the background which lead him to Hampton, North Carolina where he meets Elizabeth Clayton and her son Ben. Elizabeth is the woman in the picture. Logan's secret of the photo stays with him during the beginnings of their relationship.
Logan obtains work as a dog trainer for Elizabeth and her mother. He befriends Ben and replaces the father-son relationship which formerly had been with his real dad. This bond waned because Ben did not live up to the father's expectations of a jock, as he liked to play chess and the violin.
As Thibault' s relationship turns to love, Elizabeth's ex-husband, Keith Clayton, the Sheriff of Hampton, interferes and manipulates their lives to his benefit. Conflict abounds in this love story with an exciting conclusion for these three main characters that invigorate the human heart. The Lucky One is a meaningful novel for the romantic in all of us which would make an inspiring movie.
Clark Isaacs
Reviewer
Book Review: Great characters, great story! Full of romance and suspense.
Summary: 5 Stars
As I read Nicholas Sparks' newest novel THE LUCKY ONE, I, as usual, found myself drawn into the characters, the love story and the conflict. As I neared the last 70 pages, I thought, this could be one of the best novels I'v read, not just from Sparks, but from anybody. Sparks had set up everything perfectly, but could he create a satisfying ending?
For reasons that will be explained later in the novel, Logan Thibault decides to walk from Colorado to Hamtpon, North Carolina with his German Shepard, Zeus. He is on a journey to find a woman in a photo. While serving in Iraq, Logan found the photo half buried in the sand. Unable to find the owner of the picture, Logan kept it. And through three tours of duty, he survived many brushes with death. He didn't want to admit it, but he believed the picture may have been why he survived.
Beth is a single mom. Her ex-husband Keith is a jerk who is dissapointed that their son Ben isn't the athletic adventurer type. Logan shows up in Hamton and begins working at the dog kennel where Beth lives and helps out her grandma. This is a Sparks novel, so of course you're going to see a romance develop. But there is a lot more. All the characters have secrets, and the revealing of the secrets has the potential to do a lot of harm. A highlight for me was the relationship between Ben and Logan.
So, did the ending of THE LUCKY ONE uphold the promise of the beginning? I believe it did and I highly recommend this novel. Sparks is on record saying he writes "love stories" and not romances, meaning readers aren't always guaranteed a happy, tidy ending. This novel has more of suspense element than other Sparks novels, stemming from the fact that the conflict comes from the immature, irrational Keith Clayton. The conflict in this book is notable in that it doesn't come from a natural disaster or a sickness, but from the characters.
This is one Sparks book I'd love to see made into a movie.