Anyone who has read a book written by Nicholas Sparks knows that they are going to be immersed in a wonderful story; one where you can get lost and enjoy immensely. His books are filled with wonderful descriptive passages about the geographical settings of the stories. In this book, “The Lucky One”, the reader is again transported directly to the stage, as if the characters are familiar and feel everything that they are feeling and experiencing. The reader also feels the range of emotions experienced by the characters, laughing, missing, cheering and crying along with the people in Nicholas Sparks’ book and the feeling stays with you long after reading the last page.
I was recently looking for a new book to read and decided to give Sparks’ “The Lucky One” a try and I will say that it was a lucky decision as I was captivated from the first page to the end. This is definitely a book you will want to add to your collection of Nicholas Sparks novels.
This Nicholas Sparks novel is a love story, but also a story about fate, luck, and a blind belief in the wisdom of a true friend.
the history
While stationed in Iraq, Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph lost in the sand of a beautiful young woman. He posts her photo on the bulletin board there, but no one claims it, so he retrieves it and later carries it with him through her three tours of duty. Logan’s best friend, Victor, strongly believes the photo is a good luck charm, something Logan isn’t so sure about. But it seems that Logan is the lucky one, as both he and Victor survive and return home to start their lives anew.
After a series of defining events after leaving the Marines a few years later, Logan decides to find the young woman in that photo and return it to her. Searching for distinct clues within the photo itself, he narrows down the possible locations where the photo was taken and decides to look first in Hampton, South Carolina. He sets off on foot from Colorado, with his amazing companion, a German shepherd named Zeus. The walk seems to be part of a healing journey for Logan himself as well.
From the picture, Logan knows that the woman’s name starts with an E along with a few other details, so when he finally gets to Hampton, he decides to show the picture at a local bar, to people his own age. Her her name is Elizabeth, her name is Beth, and she lives in town with her grandmother, her son her Ben, and together they run a dog training and kennel on the property and are looking for a worker for the kennel Logan gets the job, but Beth is suspicious of Logan, why he walked all the way from Colorado, why he settled in Hampton, and why he was content with a minimum wage job at the pound. He doesn’t talk much about her past, the demons of Iraq, and she’s wary of men in general after divorcing Keith, a man whose family pretty much owned and ran the city.
As Beth’s grandmother approves and her son befriends Logan and especially his dog, Beth is attracted to him as well. Slowly a relationship begins, both discover trust, find themselves believing in fate and fate. Beth’s ex-husband, a city cop and bit of a bully, plays a role in the novel, trying to control and manipulate Beth and her fate. You’ll find yourself rooting for Logan and admiring his quiet strength.
Throughout the novel, Logan and Keith run into each other and Keith feels threatened by Logan’s presence and role in Ben’s life. Logan himself, in love with Beth, questions his decision to find Beth and the role she plays in photography. Life becomes precious for all of them when an accident threatens to change everything.
This book is feel good and exciting and you owe it to yourself. Get ready to snuggle up and read page after page as Beth and Logan’s story unfolds, twists, and turns, taking you through a hot South Carolina season, porch swings, homemade ice cream, and the promise of love. , new beginnings and demons being put to rest. Fate, Destiny, and what is meant to be really comes true in this story.
