Message in a Bottle

****SPOILERS****

This was definitely one of the slower Nicholas Sparks books that I have read/seen the movie of. The plot was on the slower side and the insta love was there too, but it was a quick read and enjoyable.

Theresa's actions upon first finding the letter screamed "creepy" and "desperate" and they made me cringe so hard. What she did was wrong, but of course in this novel things worked out eventually.

Garrett was just sad throughout the book. It was obvious that he was not ready to move on from Catherine because he was dreaming and obsessing about her the entire novel. It was that total devotion (bit of obsession?) that eventually lead to his death. The death was incredibly sad though and I was really rooting for him to get back show more to shore and reunite with Theresa, especially after finding out about the letter he sent her. Overall, I think he seemed like an incredibly sweet character. I also feel incredibly bad for Jeb, Garrett's father. He lost his wife when Garrett was young and let that eat at him to the point where he never found someone else to love. Jeb just wanted to see his son find the happiness he never could.

The ending was a sweet though really cheesey way to wrap things up. Writing that letter in a bottle to Garrett must have been hard for Theresa. show less

This is one of the most gut-wrenching books I have read in awhile. I had never read Nicolas Sparks before, and I DID know what I was getting into, but this novel was sad....stab-a-knife-in-your-heart-Bridges-of-Madison-County-sad! Message in a Bottle is the love story of Theresa, a divorced single mom who has given up on finding "the one," and Garrett, a seafaring widower who still pines for his lost love. While on a beach vacation, Theresa stumbles upon a bottle that has a note inside, a beautiful letter that Garrett wrote to his dead wife and threw into the sea. Feeling drawn to the writer, she decides to find this man who was able to love so deeply, and surely enough, she finds him and falls in love with him, and he with her. I will show more read more of Sparks's books, but only when I'm emotionally prepared -- I'd recommend this one to women who need a good looong cry, just be prepared with a FULL box of Kleenex. show less

I would love this book, if only it weren't so sad. Nicholas Sparks is one of the most romantic authors out there, except for that part at the end of each book where he rips your guts out. It's a fatal flaw. I would read more of his work, but I just don't think I can take it - the knowledge of certain and expected pain to come. Guess you have to decide whether it's worth it to you. Gone With the Wind is a great story with a sad ending too. I think it's a question of just deserts. Scarlett and Rhett, at some level, deserved their fate for being willfully stupid throughout so much of the book. Nicholas Sparks' characters are all very nice people who try hard. They never deserve what's coming to them.

Sad, sad, sad. Of course, this author is known for his romantic love stories, but this one is torture to read. It's about finding true love, losing it, and learning to carry on. It's well written and gives fascinating history on messages-in-the-bottle history. While reading this book, you will absorb more than a few sentimental life lessons, but the ending is a little too sad for me.

Most of my friends around these parts are probably wondering what the hell is wrong with me. I don't normally read such... Squishy books. I read a couple Sparks back when I was a heart sick teenager, cried my eyes out, and then moved on. Well, at some point, long long ago (inagalaxyfarfaraway), I apparently bought this book. I then proceeded to place it on my book shelf, where it remained until earlier this week. I had just finished another book, and I knew the perfect book to start next. I grabbed my next book, sat down with it… And stalled. I just wasn’t feeling it. In fact, I wasn’t feeling anything that I had previously planned to read for the next few months (I’m a planner). I needed something completely different, show more completely random.. And that’s when I noticed this book, alone and neglected, tucked into a corner of my “not as cool as the other books” book shelf. The pages were yellow from neglect… It needed some love. So I gave it the reading it always desired, the reading it yearned for. I read it good...

Ok, that got a little weird. For real though. This was just what I needed… It’s not a five star or even a four star, but it’s a solid three. It’s not my favorite Sparks, actually it’s my least favorite of the now four I’ve now read. I have gripes, but it fulfilled my need to change it up a little, and that’s all I asked from it.

This isn’t really a spoiler, but I’m going to mark it just in case, just to protect those who are more picky about spoilers. So Garrett? My main gripe with this book is that he was totally.. I don’t know. I realize he had lost his wife and was learning to love again and all of that.. But he was soooo clingy, it made me feel anxious just to read it. This will get a little more specific, but still not really a spoiler.. Even his memories of conversations with Catherine were creepy. Not that he was remembering her, it would be weird if he wasn’t, just the clinginess he displayed even in his own reminiscence. Don’t leave me, I’ll miss you, waaaaah…. It wasn’t a big deal, because I wasn’t looking to hit that anyway, but it did kind of hamper my ability to lose myself in the story.. A moment would start to get romantic and then he would go all cling on Theresa and it made me feel anxious and set of my *FLEE* instinct.

Other than that, this is DEFINITELY a spoiler… The ending? Sad. I didn’t expect it, though I should have. It’s been so long since I read Sparks, I forgot that it’s not usually a happy ending, all the ones I’ve read have been bittersweet. I can’t say it was a tear jerker for me, mostly because of the stuff I mentioned in the other spoiler.. But it definitely did make me whimper a little. Just a tiny one… Don’t judge me.

That’s about it. I think I’ll read a couple more Sparks to continue to cleanse my palate. Yep, just cleansing the old palate… I don’t like it at all, just gotta be done... Nothing to see here, move along now. show less

(Two stars for the first 60-ish percent and three stars for the last 40-ish percent.)

Not my favorite Nicholas Sparks book. I was relatively bored for about half of it. Maybe more. But it did eventually pick up and I enjoyed the wrap-up.

[SPOILERS BELOW]
I loved Garrett's dad most of all, I think. He was so sweet. I was so sad for him when Theresa missed the Thanksgiving meal he had put so much love and effort into preparing.

I remember getting pissed at Theresa at one point because she was upset with Garret for still being in love with his deceased wife when that's what attracted her to him in the first place... but then her friend called her out on it, so I felt better. Haha.
[END SPOILERS]

There was also a definite overuse of the show more phrase "something tightened in his/her stomach". And when it came time for the inevitable sex scene, I almost scoffed openly (while in line at an amusement park) at the line "They had both waited too long for this moment..." They met, like, 3 days ago. Please.

It did get me thinking about the struggles of dating a widower. I imagine I'd be too insecure. Always thinking "But if he could have her back, he would..." Which then makes me think of Prince Henry's ramblings about love in "Ever After":

"...Let's say God puts two people on Earth and they are lucky enough to find one another. But one of them gets hit by lightning. Well then what? Is that it? Or, perchance, you meet someone new and marry all over again. Is that the lady you're supposed to be with or was it the first? And if so, when the two of them were walking side by side were they both the one for you and you just happened to meet the first one first or, was the second one supposed to be first? And is everything just chance or are some things meant to be?" show less

Wow!! I am not a romance novel fan. This one started out kind of intriguing. The first 100 or so pages were mysterious, wondering who wrote the letter, what was their story. Then I felt disappointed. I thought it was turning into a typical romance story. Boy meets girl, they get together, maybe have a few challenges along the way and then they live happily ever after. Boy was I wrong!!! I never expected this to end the way it did. You want a great tear jerker. This is it! I don't know that I would read this one again tho, because I don't think it would be the same knowing how it ends. Besides, my aunt loaned me this book, so I had better get it back to her. I would definitely recommend it tho!