A friend let me borrow "Nights in Rodanthe" but said the book was better than the movie (isn't that always the case?). This is a very Sparks formula book but with a very good sense of place. It made me go online and read more about Rodanthe and Sparks description was dead-on accurate. I always find that when a writer starts the storytelling where you know how it will end...the journey in discovery is a different experience than when the ending is unknown. I much prefer the second technique. ( )

NIghts In Rodanthe takes place in a small southern town, in the life of a middle-aged woman- Adrienne. Adrienne's husband left her for a younger woman and years later, she's keeping after her friend's inn for the weekend. Only one man is checked in to stay and over time, they both realize things of their past are quite similar. Will their quick friendship turn into anything more, or will they both become each other's best friends? What happens when the man leaves the inn and goes on to visit his son in a different country? Will Adrienne learn to trust men again, or will he upset her more? Overall, this book is one that's hard to put down. Albeit, it's audience leans more towards middle-aged or elder readers rather teens. ( )

This was a good, quick read, but unfortunately, I had just read Bridges of Madison County and this is SO much like that book! It bothered me to think that the whole time, so I didnt enjoy it as much as I could have. I thought the ending was pretty good though. ( )

popcorn movie-kind book. predictable. No comparison to BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. ( )

How many ways are there to say blegh? From the moment I opened this book, it felt like Sparks was pouring cheap saccharine-heavy syrup down my throat. This tiny book reads more like a movie script than a novel (e.g., walks to window, rinses glass), and honestly I wish Sparks would have skipped the whole thing. Rather than let the story unfold in a genuine and natural way, he just tells you the history of the characters. I felt like I was reading annotated biographies. At one point, I read a few passages to Joshua aloud, and I could barely get through an entire paragraph without bursting out in giggles. Hearing my own voice utter this drivel made me crack up.

This story of interrupted love begins with Adrienne telling her daughter about a love affair she had years earlier. Adrienne decides to share this because her daughter’s husband died recently, and she wants to give her daughter some perspective and let her know that she went through something similar. So right then I knew, this love interest of Adrienne’s is going to die. And that imminent death is basically what made the book bearable. It wasn’t a total horror show, but the first half was pretty bleak.