Reviews

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

planningwithgrammy's review

3.0

Typical Nicholas Sparks ending. Otherwise it was a good read. But left me feeling frustrated.

mattyzmom's review

2.0

The king of romance strikes again. After reading a few books they all seem the same. I was such a fan at one point but not anymore. He finds a formula and runs with it.
This is the story of Amanda and Dawson who met as teens. One from the wrong side of the tracks. There are twists and turns but easy to figure out.

thenerdymom's review

4.0

The book really developed only towards the end.

julit3r's review

2.0

Difficult to relate to the characters due to the constant switch from one characters story to the other. It reads more like a screenplay than a book. The end was far too predictable. It was more painful to read than the actual events.

Nicholas Sparks's work is far too repetitive. I understand the whole concept of why change something that sells, but come on. He produces better movies than books; I'll give him that. I've read and enjoyed Safe Haven, but reading this one I felt like I'm reading the Notebook, A walk to Remember, Dear john, and Safe Haven put together. It was a burden and reading should never be one. Perhaps I'm not the right audience for this book.

jessthemess107's review

medium-paced

5.0

hzcyr's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

lori_loves_reading's review

5.0

If you've ever read a book by Nicholas Sparks you know what kind of books he writes. If you don't like them, stop reading them! I really like his novels and will continue to read them.

agustinap's review

4.0

I like NS and this one was not different.

tania_lourenco's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lucy_qhuay's review

4.0

I have read most of Nicholas Sparks's books and, until this moment, I had lost all hope of ever seeing in his works the magic a lot of people see.

However, this book was able to do something the others couldn't - it touched my heart and hit me right where it hurts.

I've come to expect some sort of tragedy from this author, therefore I thought I was prepared for this. Boy, how I was wrong!

This is a sad, sad story.

I would say The Best Of Me is a journey of pain and loneliness. Of love. In this case, they are one and the same and you can't tell them apart.

Because if Dawson didn't love Amanda so, he wouldn't be that alone and hurting. Loving her set him free and brought some colour to what was a very grey existence, but it also imprisoned him and took him away from the real world, if that makes sense.

Amanda remained with him as a ghost of what he should have had the chance to have, an everlasting memory of what he could have had if he was someone else, someone less...selfless.

I thought Dawson was a very unique character. He was a quiet, reserved guy, but he felt so deeply it hurt and that transpired to the pages and called to me like a bittersweet song.

I wished time and time again I could make it better, but I felt as alone and chained to the ever-growing pit of darkness that was his love for her.

I am so torn. Sometimes I feel that if he had just allowed himself to love a little less or if he hadn't met her at all, he would be in a better place in life and I immediately feel guilty, because I'm a lot like him and I think I wouldn't be able to stop myself from giving my all, by best to that one person I knew was the better part of me as well.

Gosh, this is just difficult!

I wasn't even able to hate Amanda, which is what usually happens.

I suppose I resented her (and still do), for moving on with her life and leaving Dawson behind so irrevocably chained to her and what they were together. But I can't find it in me to truly hate her.

After all, she didn't really know the extent of his suffering and she was also in a difficult situation, trying to be selfless and thinking of others instead of what would make her happy.

This is why I take some comfort from Dawson's fate. He didn't deserve that, but I think it was the most merciful thing that could happen to him. He suffered no more.

Anyway, I am still astounded with the way Sparks hit me right in the feels and I don't understand how that happened yet. All I know is that, although there are still some things that bothered me, they aren't as important anymore.

This book deserves the highest rating. Read it!