The Best of Me

** spoiler alert **
            ★★★★☆
4.00 STARS

 I gave you the best of me... 

Dawson Cole. The purest human being... 

This is one of the saddest love stories I've ever come across with. The purity of love it depicted. The painful sacrifice Amanda and most especially Dawson have to endure. The most genuine love that even though it can be the most powerful emotions of all, it can also be the most vulnerable and painful,too, in so many ways. The reality of it that this book had shown me crushed me so hard. 

I just hoped Sparks provided a lot more about Dawson's love for Amanda right before his cruel fate finally ended him. It was so abrupt that he died without even finishing his thoughts about Amanda. It just felt like he was suddenly robbed off his chance to ponder his feelings for his true love. It felt so unfair doing this to him after living his whole life with so much sadness and emptiness. My heart will always cry for Dawson. 

Prior to this book, I've read a few works of Nicholas Sparks since last year. Each of those provided different kinds of ending. Satisfying, heartbreaking, overwhelming, hopeful and a lot more things. But even with all those different ways of ending his stories, I've come to realized that no matter what Sparks had in mind about the flow and the ending of his works, I will always read each of them and love them with all my heart. That is how much I respect Sparks so much. Personally, he's one of the greatest storyteller. No one can ever argue with me about that.

Lauren Grey

I am a Nicholas Sparks fan and have been an avid reader of his books for about five or so years now. I had especially high hopes for this novel, not only because I have liked most of the books I’ve read by him, but also because of the quote on the back of the books I have: “A classic… I could not put it down… The Best of Me will rank with Message in a Bottle and The Notebook – it was that good.” After reading that I was wowed, but once I started reading it I have to say that I was not so wowed.

First I thought it was extremely slow. I liked the whole idea of them being long lost high school sweethearts, but getting to their first meeting seemed to take ages. Then it was like they were never going to kiss (and yes *spoiler* she was married and I’m not one for committing adultery, but seriously!).

I really couldn’t stand Amanda’s husband either. Any time it referred to him or talked about him I cringed. Her kids were cute and backstory sad, but I just couldn’t really get into this book.

Dawson was by far my favorite character and I felt for him, but they couldn’t do this whole ‘I’m the boy from the poor side of town and your rich” deal forever or the ‘I’m married, but I love you and I’ve always loved you’…. I just wished something would happen with them or between them. I wanted the story to get somewhere.

Being an avid Sparks reader, I know the ending will be sad and someone will die. But I have to admit I wasn’t sure what he was planning for this one. I will also admit that the story picked up when the sad part started. Dragging her son into it was a great plot twist and I did generate a few tears. I was figured it out that Jared received Dawson’s heart which was soooo sweet, but sooooo sad, but I was also glad that Jared got to live. Even though he became sober, I really kind of wished that something would have happened to the husband.

Overall it wasn’t horrible, but definitely not my favorite. I definitely wouldn’t say it was The Notebook level, but definitely check out some other Sparks novels before writing him off.

Kathleen Tom

5 Stars ★★★★★‌

HI BOOKLOVERS,

This second romance hit differently. I don't know but Nicholas Sparks romance always hit me differently from any other romance books. The heart break just literality shattered my already fragile heart to pieces.

You want to read about true love, this is the book I recommend! I'm sure by now everybody already read and watch the movie so I'm not going to elaborate long on this but to those who hasn't you have to read this. 

Highly Recommended!

xoxo. Kath!

Allison Garrett

Amazing book, it made me cry and that is something that not many books have accomplished

Stefanie Sugia

"As he sat alone in Tuck's garage, he knew he'd been lying to himself in thinking that he'd moved on as well. He hadn't. He always assumed she'd left him behind, but it was confirmed now. Somewhere deep inside, he felt something shift and break loose....
It was one thing, after all, to know his feelings for Amanda hadn't changed; it was another thing entirely to face the future with the certainty that they never would."
Dawson Cole's life was a complete ruin because of his last name. He was born in a family full of criminals, and so people in the small town of Oriental always had a judgment about him. As a child, Dawson was constantly abused physically by his father but at the age of sixteen he can finally stood up against his father. He left home and took refuge in Tuck Hostetler's garage, an old man who lives alone and fixed cars for a living. And Dawson's life changed when Amanda Collier became his lab partner. She lived a completely different life from Dawson; Amanda was born in a rich family and a popular girl at school. When their relationship progressed to something deeper, everyone was against it - especially Amanda's parents. And even though their relationship ended due to various reasons, both Dawson and Amanda never thought they would see each other again....

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2014/0...

Jade Flynn

“I gave you the best of me, he'd told her once, and with every beat of her son's heart, she knew he'd done exactly that.” 

My fourth Nicholas Sparks novel! Gahhhhh!!! These are just so good!