kathrynok's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Medical content
Minor: Death of parent
neleusb's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
i cannot in good conscience rate this higher considering all the bullshit nicholas was pulling in this. check trigger warnings too because they’re around every corner in this book
this is in third person following different characters, usually alex and katie which is great until fucking’s POV gets just far much space on the page. i heard a little too much of the ramblings of a horrifying man. the end of the book flies by because it’s fucking intense the switching POVs/ narrative focus or whatever made it a quick read, but i’ll never return to this book
also WHY was alex randomly, ick
Spoiler
yeah i did cry at carly jo’s letter, wtf is that name aboutthis is in third person following different characters, usually alex and katie which is great until fucking
Spoiler
KEVIN the ABUSIVE HUSBAND ALCOHOLIC COPSpoiler
just waiting for kevin to find her at the carnival or whateveralso WHY was alex
Spoiler
an EX COP
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pedophilia, Car accident, and Blood
lmoeller10's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
rikke_bay's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.5
I am not saying this is a bad book, but I am saying, that I now have a new pet peeve when it comes to romances;
Why is the man with kids ALWAYS a widower? Why can't authors leave the poor wives alone? The idea seems so silly to me, because it is so overused, and I would love for once that it was just an ordinary divorce with a still-existing, normal ex-wife. But apparently nothing is sexier than nuclear families, I guess?
In general I was a bit annoyed throughout the book. I hated the heroine's new BFF - she was a very two-dimensional character and annoying.
I honestly felt really irritated by the plot twist in the end. It was so overdone and cheesy.
What I did like was the flashbacks to the heroine's history and the bad guy's POV. The book was also pleasently fast paced and the point of no return exciting.
But it was not enough to make me particularly like this book. Again not a bad book, but it was definitely not what I hoped for, and now I am ready to quit on Nicholas Sparks forever.
Why is the man with kids ALWAYS a widower? Why can't authors leave the poor wives alone? The idea seems so silly to me, because it is so overused, and I would love for once that it was just an ordinary divorce with a still-existing, normal ex-wife. But apparently nothing is sexier than nuclear families, I guess?
In general I was a bit annoyed throughout the book. I hated the heroine's new BFF - she was a very two-dimensional character and annoying.
I honestly felt really irritated by the plot twist in the end. It was so overdone and cheesy.
What I did like was the flashbacks to the heroine's history and the bad guy's POV. The book was also pleasently fast paced and the point of no return exciting.
But it was not enough to make me particularly like this book. Again not a bad book, but it was definitely not what I hoped for, and now I am ready to quit on Nicholas Sparks forever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief
katwebb's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood and Cancer
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
rayraytaylorr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Reading a Nicholas Sparks book is like eating bread and butter - not quite enough to hit the spot but it does the job when you're desperate. Safe Haven is a beautiful yet heartbreaking tale - the movie was what lead me to reading the novel - but I found it lagged often and I had to push myself to really read it, especially considering the story isn't super dialogue heavy and focuses on lots of exposition. I thoroughly enjoyed reading things from Kevin's point of view - it was so interesting getting into the mind of such an unhinged character - the way he would try and justify his actions based on the bible or his love and was just unable to see the true awfulness of his actions - it just made sense. I really loved how much I despised him. His fast-paced point of view moments really pushed me into the story more as his mental cognition became more and more damaged, compared to slow-paced, questioning everything and learning to live again Katie. I really loved Katie and Jo's relationship though and the ending was hard to read. And of course, yay happy ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
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