Rating: 
Summary: Oh, I don't know about this one....
Review: I can't tell you how many times I rolled my eyes while reading this book. I wanted to like it but I found myself speed reading to the end. I've read Sparks' "The Notebook" and "A Bend in the Road" - those were pretty good. This one drove me nuts.Taylor finds Denise after her car goes off the highway in a storm. Denise is brought to the hospital and Taylor goes on to find/rescue Denise's son who ran away from the scene. While in the hospital, Taylor's mother Judy comes to visit Denise. She doesn't know Denise but has read about the accident and thought Denise might need somebody by her side. Judy is a popular, well known, compassionate woman from this small town. After Denise puts it together that Judy's son is the man who found her and rescued her son, the scene reads: "Taylor McAden? Judy McAden? She couldn't believe the coincidence..." She couldn't believe the coincidence? Isn't this a small town? Really, what is so coincidental about that? It doesn't stop there. We then get a couple of more lines of babble ending with (again) "Coincidence? Fate? Something else?" Oh come on, please. Unfortunately, this book is packed with excerpts like this one, hence all of the eye rolling.
Rating: 
Summary: This will make you cry...but it's worth it!
Review: Man what a book! I have read this book over and over again and I still can't get it out of my mind. It is so beautifully written. It has everything I look for in a book. Yes, as only Nicholas Sparks can, it will make you cry...I found myself cry uncontrollably at times. But at the end you are just so glad to have read it you forget about the empty box of tissues beside you. This is by far my favorite Sparks books, for so many reasons. One being I feel like you get to know the characters so intimately that by the end you feel like you have known them your whole life. I feel this book tells the whole story and doesn't leave you hanging wondering what happens next. I love this book. I just can't say enough about this awesome piece of work. Please read if only for the reason to read a true love story.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy targets will enjoy this one
Review: This book reads like a movie script with a cookie-cutter plot. In fact, I found obviously borrowed key elements from Top Gun, Frequency and Backdraft in it. If I were more of a movie buff, I am sure I would have found more similarities. The book is glaringly predictable; ... . Though some authors do not thrill the reader by making them guess at what will happen, but rather by taking them on a ride as it happens, I do not think Sparks had this in mind with The Rescue. ... . ... . I cried, alright, but for a different reason. Sparks carefully hand-picks characters and situations which are guaranteed to tug at the heart-strings. This book centers around a pretty, single mother who has been left all alone in the world as she struggles to make ends meet and struggles to guide her four-year-old son through his tragic learning disability. Her young son endears the reader to him with his lovable charm and sad situation, and only our hero steps up and treats him like a normal child. Our hero, by the way, is a well-built, rugged fireman who always seems to say the right things and knows how to fix a leaky sink. ... (Roll the eyes...) There are two stories here: the relationship between the two adults and the child (which I liked), and the relationship just between the two adults (which I grew to dislike as the novel progressed). ...
Rating:
Summary: I Thoroughly Enjoyed It!
Review: Like all of the Nicholas Sparks books, I truely enjoyed this book! Sparks' writing really captures my interest everytime, drawing me into the setting and the characters. I always zip right through his books because once I start, I just can not stop reading until I am finished. I would definitely recommend ALL of his work!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Touching
Review: Sparks is good, but I think we've come to know that. Nothing outstanding in this book, just good stuff. Boy meets girl. Boy dumps girl. Boy and girl get back together. With the usual stuff in between. Denise gets into an auto accident and fireman Taylor comes to the "rescue", but Denise's son Kyle gets lost in the process. Taylor finds him and slowly begins a budding romance. But something is haunting Taylor. Denise's motherly love for Kyle and his disability I found most endearing. Kyle has a learning disability for speaking. Taylor and Kyle get along famously and Denise can't seem to resist the fact that as she is falling for this man so is her son. But what is holding him back? Some tragedy, of course love, and most of all hope. Yes typical, but don't we want that. Sparks does it again, maybe another movie?
Rating: 
Summary: overly sentimental writing ruins story
Review: This is the second book I've read by Nicholas Sparks and all I can say is that I'm glad this wasn't the first one I read. I read "A Bend in the Road" first which is about 10 times better than "The Rescue."
Sparks is a good writer at heart and has great intentions. I love the fact that he's not afraid to write male characters with feelings. Being a male myself, I'm constantly bothered by the macho act so many authors use with their male characters, yes males do have emotions, thanks to Sparks for spreading the word.
But Sparks has hit a rough spot with "The Rescue" the story of a single mother of a speech impaired son who gets rescued by a emotionally wreaked firefighter starts good but suddenly falls into a predictable, over the top emotional roller-a-coaster. Sparks is way over the sentimental line with this novel, which bothers cause the story is a good one but it's weighed down with so much rediculous romantic babble that the characters become less real and are more fitting to a cheesy lifetime movie.
Over all I would say this book was okay, 3 stars okay. But I expected more after reading his amazing book, "A Bend in the Road." This book wasn't a waste of time, but was disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Another winner!
Review: Nicholas Sparks continues his amazing writing in yet another great book, The Rescue. This book makes for a fast read, but it stays with you long after you finish the last page. A tender romance, mixed with drama, this book is sure to tug the heart strings of the reader... But then if you've read any other Nicholas Sparks books, you already know to expect a tear jerker. Other than guaranteed tears, this book is stands on its own and is very unique. All of Nicholas Sparks' books are though. I normally start one of his books with no expectations, except that I will have a great read. This book did not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I bought this book just as something to read on the way to a vacation destination. I wasn't sure I really liked the preview on the back but someone told me that Nicholas Sparks' books were great so I thought I'd try. I started reading and I couldn't put it down. I didn't want to finish reading it because I knew once I finished..there would no more! Every second I had a chance to read it I did and I finished it very quickly. A Bend in the Road had me totally enraptured. I HIGHLY reccomend anyone reading this book. I can't wait to start on another Nicholas Sparks book and hope that one day perhaps there will be a sequal to A Bend in the Road.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This was my first book by Nicholas Sparks, and I must say that I am now looking for more to read. This book keep me very interested, I could not put it down. I really liked the ending. Can't wait to start another.
Rating:
Summary: Victim or volunteer?
Review: As someone who has read all of the books by Nicholas Sparks, I had a hard time feeling the complete mood of this one. Pro:
- The reader is unaware the female perspective is written by a male.
- The writing style is the same as previous books. Con:
- Consistency. (e.g. The main character of the book is portrayed as a wholesome college-educated schoolteacher... then has a one-night-stand and becomes an unwed mother.)
- Loose ends. (e.g. Much detail is given as the main character experiences one problem after another due to being an unwed mother, yet never once contacts the father to involve him in her son's life. The father is a mere mention but a couple times along with the acknowledgement of his whereabouts.)
- Authenticity. (e.g. There is a stigma that follows unwed mothers. The book reflected nothing regarding this. It is unrealistic a person living in a small town, communicating with everyone, was openly accepted without judgment no matter what the circumstances.)
- Predictable...as all of the books by this author are. Overall:
This author writes to tug at the heartstrings of the reader. While he clearly wanted the reader to feel empathy for the main character of the book, I couldn't help but think the choices one makes in life are done with a voluntary notion... to me, she was no victim. Amazon.com ratings scale: 2 stars = Disappointing
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