Reviews

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks

birchcanread's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked it! It was fast paced, and a lot of action coming from Nicholas Sparks. Not what I expected and I loved it!

amyldun's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lesleyo's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

katiesdoolin's review against another edition

3.0

Definitely not my favorite Nicholas Sparks book, but it was worth a read.

It became predictable as I read it who the driver was. I feel like that character was introduced in a way that was unnatural and I knew right away.

bookhoarder76's review against another edition

3.0

Not my fave Sparks book at all. VERY slow going for me in the beginning but it is a good story. I'd give it more of a 3.5 stars.

tanashea07's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book! It took me about 3 days to read. This man's life changed after his wife was killed in a hit and run when she was out jogging one night. His wife was the light of him and his son's life. Miles is left to pick up the pieces and find out who killed his wife. Even at a time when he thought love was impossible to ever experience again.. life sends him a surprise.

yaya2015's review against another edition

4.0

I've not read many of Sparks' books, but enjoyed the few I have read - including this one. It takes you back to what seem like simpler times, and tells a really good love story. I was able to figure some things out along the way - not sure if it was intended to be that way, or should have been a surprise. I will likely read more of his books.

storyflowsolutions's review against another edition

3.0

A Bend in the Road was good. I finally read it after my mom and sister have been telling me to read it for the past few years. I have to say it was a pretty good book, but not one of my favorites. The twist at the end was great, but predictable.

emmys143's review against another edition

3.0

I don't really feel like writing a review because I am lazy, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Sarah Andrews is an elementary school teacher who moves to New Bern, North Carolina for a fresh start. She had an ugly divorce and wanted to start over, this time by her family.

Miles Ryan is a deputy in the town of New Bern, who also wants life to be worth living. His wife died in a hit-and-run two years ago, and he hasn't been able to put it past him because of one thing: the driver got away. Now, it's just him and his son, Jonah, but he still wants his revenge.

Sarah and Miles meet because of Jonah. He starts falling behind in school, so Sarah and Miles have to discuss how to help him. One parent teacher conference leads to another, and well you get the idea.

The main plot of this story isn't about Sarah and Miles relationship. In my opinion, Nicholas Sparks focuses more on the story line of Mile's deceased wife, Missy. The killer's point of view is what we read in multiple chapters, of how guilty and upset they feel over what they had done. It reminded me of See Me or See Me reminded me of this book, because that novel also focused more on the conflict with Maria and her stalker versus Maria's relationship with Colin. The same thing happened here.

Spoiler

So, I didn't figure out who the killer was until the chapter that told us. I was very upset because I had two guesses, one that would blow people's minds and the other one not so much, but I never thought it was Brian. My first guess was Charlie, but then Charlie was talked about in the killer's perspective. Then I thought it was Sims, because he was hiding from the police, but it wasn't him either. When I read that it was Brian, I had that "ooohhhh" moment that you get when all the pieces finally click together. I wasn't upset that it was Brian, but it was a good surprise because I never would've guessed.

Overall, this was a decent book. It wasn't one of my favorites, but it was a good read and made me very emotional reading about Missy and then when Miles finds out the truth. All in all, it was a decent book.

tidoublegarrr's review against another edition

2.0

Every time I pick up a Nicholas Sparks book I think it's going to be better than it is. (Eternal optimist?) This one hardly had any romance, the lead character had questionable violent behavior, and as usual, it's just downright depressing with the "horrible" thing that happens to one of the characters, which is Sparks' MO.