Rating: 
Summary: Unpretentious - a "must read"
Review: Nicholas Sparks has done an outstanding job of developing a story which is both fascinating and believable. A moving tale with enough emotional content to evoke a sense of compassion without the typical "stickiness" of comparable novels. Curl up in front of the fire with this book - you won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing plot, but not enough depth to the story
Review: When I read what this book was about, I just had to read it right away. The idea of a woman finding a love letter in a bottle, and becoming obsessed with finding the man who wrote it, really facinated me (OK, I'll admit, I enjoyed Sleepless in Seattle). But the characters and storyline left me feeling a bit flat. It started out good, she found the man fairly easily and they hit it off great. But I didn't think there was very much depth to her character, not that her character was bad or anything, I just felt the author didn't do her justice. Garrett started off as a good character, but it really turned me off that they went to bed the second time they met. A man who is portrayed to be as sensitive and in love with his deceased wife as Garrett was just simply would not do that! It also made me a bit angry that Theresa did not tell Garrett about the letters right away, it made me think that she was deceptive.
Another thing, to me this book seemed extremely sad, even at parts when they were happy, there was some underlying gloom. Because of this, I was able to guess quite easily how the story would end, which was not how I wanted it to end.
Overall, I would say that this was a good way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon, but I don't think I'll read this one again.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was terrible. I should not have wasted my time.
Review: In the first place, if you have seen the movie, skip the book. The stories have a few major similarities but are not the same and the movie is the better story. After reading "The Notebook" I couldn't wait to get into another Nicholas Sparks book but boy was I disappointed. The character development in this novel is so bad that I was unable to "feel" the story. Mr. Sparks spends time showing us Garrett's letters from the bottles to help us get to know this wonderful man who is obviously a very deep-feeling, careful but simple man. Just as you think you know Garrett, the author makes him out as a shallow pig by throwing him into bed after the 2nd date! The Garrett who wrote the moving letters would never have entered so quickly into such a committed relationship. The author never even takes the time to develop the Theresa character and so I felt like she was a shallow, misguided, wanton character. The "love" shared by Garrett and Theresa was never communicated to me in this book and it left me feeling empty, and like I had wasted my time reading it. I guess you could say that i just did not "get it" Because the relationship between the characters did not work for me, the book did not make much sense. It was supposed to be a love story but was a quickly thrown together jumble of thoughts. I like to think that Mr. Sparks did not read it after he wrote it because he surely would have thrown it out and started again. It was such a disappointment after "The Notebook" which was so good.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique Romance
Review: Message in a Bottle is a unique romantic story and a fine novel. It all starts when Theresa Osborne is vacationing in Cape Code and comes across - you guessed it - a message in a bottle. The message is from a man "Garrett" to his wife about his intensely felt love. Osborne, a middle aged divorcee with little romance in her own life is intrigued enough to start searching out others who may have found similar messages. As she collects them, she herself falls in love with Garrett (although she has yet to admit it to herself) and decides to search for him. She finds him in a small, North Carolina town and the romance emerges. But of course - they are such different people that problems crop up. He is a widower feeling guilty and not over his wife and a small town kind of guy. She's a big city gal with a career. But the relationship develops with ups and downs nonetheless.Sparks is excellent in fully developing the personalities of his characters and building empathy in the reader. He has done a fine job here. If you didn't like the movie - read the book anyway. It's much better.
Rating:
Summary: raw grief
Review: I read this book, and felt the raw grief of the character. I was widowed at 22, left with a 7 month old son, and a broken heart. The grief was acurately described and would be a good book for anyone to read who has a friend whom is grieving. It will help you glimse into the sadness. I thought many times as I read, "I felt that..." And yes, when the right time arrives, there is a re-awakening to joy, and new-found love.
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Rating:
Summary: can it get any better
Review: with every nicholas sparks book i read, i think, can he get any better. i'm always thinking that with every one of his books that i read that it's my favorite, but then i read another, and then it becoes my favorit. unlike RESCUE, MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE started off slow, but by the third chapter it gets more interesting. i felt that by the end, i really knew the characters, and when the end came so did the tears, i felt that someone i knew had died and not a character in a book. i would suggest this book to anyone to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to Get Through....
Review: I loved Spark's first book and when I read the cover of Message I felt that this would easily live up. The plot was laid out well - but early on I got concerned when a dialog between Theresa and Deanna was over cards and every card move was brought into their conversation - like the book itself too much unnecessary information was brought into the plot and it was distracting to read. I think it is fair to say that the concept was okay, but the plot really wandered too far off track to the point where I eventually couldn't even finish the book. Good idea but not worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Message in a Bottle is truly a great book, for those readers who enjoy novels along the romance genre. It offers hope to those who feel they can no longer love again, and it offers a way for people to cope with the loss of a loved one. This book reads very smoothly, and its words seem magical as you read along. It's one of those books that's not easy to put down, once you begin reading it!
Rating:
Summary: Sappy? Yep. Enjoyable reading on a rainy afternoon? Maybe.
Review: I don't want to be too hard on this book since I at least enjoyed parts of it (and I thought the basic storyline had promise), but I'm also glad it wasn't any longer or I probably wouldn't have finished reading it. The plot really isn't that convincing, the main characters are almost silly -- the dialogue at times sounds like it was written for day-time television -- and, frankly, it just strives to high heaven to be 'poignant' in capital letters. If you think "The Bridges of Madison County" is one of the best books you've ever read, you'll probably really enjoy this one too.
Rating:
Summary: How did this ever get published
Review: This is one of the most amazingly nothing books I have ever read. What really amazed me was the banality of the characters. Both Garrett and Teresa were totally boring. Their dialogue was so banal that I could never quite understand why or how they could possibly think the other was in anyway interesting. I never read one interesting thing they said to each other, or Sparks would have one of them say something childishly stupid and the other practically foam at the mouth with laughter and think to themselves how funny the other is. It was so unreal. I kept on reading like a moth flies to a flame, thinking to myself this can't continue to be so boring can it? It could. I think the original premise of the book was great, however. The idea of finding a message in a bottle and finding the person was a good one, although i do think it was just another rewrite of "Sleepless in Seattle." I do get bored of books like this one where the two characters involved are always perfect. She was beautiful, smart, long, lean with a great job...thin in her 30s. He was handsome, sensitive, smart, funny and tortured....thin and in his 30s with a great and manly job. How much more interesting if they had been in their 50s or even 60s. But it's always the same. This book was a real disappointment. Banal is the only word for it.
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