(…) Gdziekolwiek sie znajde, bede Cie strzegl. Zostane twoim aniolem strozem, kochanie. Mozesz mi zaufac, postaram sie, zebys zawsze byla bezpieczna…

I'm always so torn when it comes to Nicholas Sparks books. Especially with this book because I was really torn between 3 or 4 stars.

The Guardian was a pretty good story about finding a new love after an unexpected death. Julie was left two things after his untimely death: a puppy and a promise. After mourning for a handful of years, Julie has decided it's time to dip her toes into the love pool again. One day she meets Richard and there's an instant attraction. After a couple of dates, Richard believes he loves her. Meanwhile. Julie is seeing this other guy named Mike.

Unfortunately things aren't all happy go lucky for Julie. Once she turns down Richard because she is with Mike, who is one of her late husband's best friends.. well, let's just say that he doesn't handle it well. I mean, no one handles rejection well.. but damn, this guy was crazy.

Richard was probably a great villain because he was one creepy dude. He made me cringe so many times.. I loved it! He would call her all the time and just hang up.. it reminded me of like middle school or maybe even elementary school. When you would get with your friends and prank call you crush but instead of saying anything just hang up.

Overall, this book was good. I don't really know why I was so hesitant about the star rating.. but then again I'm weird.

A very beautiful story about love, lost and found.

The characters were magnificent and fun to watch. Great to have a romancd where people dont hop in bed on the first date. The ending was unrealistic cheese

Після втрати чоловіка Джулі шукає нове щастя, але зустрічає зраду. Історія про кохання, втрату та зраду, розказана ніжно і чутливо. Tмоції героїні, змушували мене переживати разом з нею. Особливе місце в романі займає Сінгер – вірний друг і помічник Джулі. Незважаючи на передбачуваність сюжету, книга залишає приємне відчуття.

I seriously cannot believe that the average rating on this is nearly 4 stars. That must mean that there is a sizable number of people who have given it 5 stars, which just makes me sad for the state of our country.

This book sucked so bad I didn't even finish it. I would give it zero stars if I could and still have it register an entry.

Seriously, the author must have gotten an advance on this sight unseen and then the publishers just decided, well, we've sunk this much money into it already, let's just publish the thing and see how many poor sods buy it. And it's standard-priced at only 7.50 right there on the cover, which has to tell you something. (And no, I didn't pay 7.50 for it; I got it for free when an expat was leaving Switzerland and needed to get rid of some books.)

Okay, why did I dislike this so much? First of all, the cover says that '...Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire...' Sounds interesting, right? Well, I lasted until page 260 (out of 494 pages) and there was neither nightmare nor deception in sight. To be absolutely fair, it could be that things picked up on page 261, but Julie and her merry band of undereducated yet homespun and well-meaning service industry workers had more than worn out their welcome with me by that point.

The entire first 100 pages or so was full of drivel like this:

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Mabel removed two plastic glasses from the bottom drawer and made herself more comfortable on the couch. By the time Julie joined her, Mabel had kicked off her shoes, propped her feet on the table, and already taken a drink. With her eyes closed and her head leaned back, it seemed almost as if she believed she was sitting in a chaise longue on a distant beach, basking beneath a tropical sun.

'So what's Mike up to these days?' she asked, her eyes still closed. 'He hasn't come around here much lately.'

'Nothing too exciting. Working, feuding with Henry, the usual. Other than that, not much.'

======

Yeah, just like the entire book. I mean, the writing isn't necessarily embarrassingly amateur and inane (I would rather say straightforward and uninspired), it's just that.... nothing happens. Ever. Which wouldn't be so terrible if the book had been billed as the daily life of a boring hairdresser in Podunk, USA. I simply wouldn't have picked it up in that case. But I did pick it up on the strength of the author's name (Nicholas Sparks, 'the author of some of the most memorable love stories of our time') and the blurb on the back, part of which I quoted above.

Aside from the complete and total lack of plot, the characters were flat and uninteresting; I didn't care who Julie ended up with, which seemed to be the actual point of the book (up to where I read anyway). There was no suspense, nothing driving me to turn the next page. There was no sense of atmosphere. It was stated that this was in some small town, but I never really got a feeling for the town at all. The supporting characters were likewise completely lacking in sympathy, spark, or individuality.

I suppose the one thing I can say is, the book was believable. Most people's lives are exactly this boring. Don't waste your time.

Slow to start but I couldn’t put the book down for the suspenseful ending!!

Vorige zomer las ik mijn eerste boek Nicolas Sparks. Dat beviel zodanig goed, dat ik niet na hoefde te denken om een tweede op de vakantiestapel te leggen.

Nietsvermoedend begon ik aan deze roman welke al vrij snel een thrillerachtige verhaallijn bevatte. Een leuke verrassing als je de achterflappen niet altijd (meer) leest. In het nawoord las ik dat Sparks zo'n soort boek al lange tijd wilde schrijven. Wat mij betreft meer dan goed gelukt.

Graag gelezen, goed verhaal, spannend, hartverwarmend en liefdevol, fijne personages. En hond. Ik heb weinig met honden, maar deze hond was... speciaal.

3.5 stars. I like that Nicholas sparks stepped outside his usual style a little bit to add in the stalker aspect, which was very intense! Definitely gave the book a thriller vibe.

Primera toma de contacto con este autor.
Lectura ágil, personajes trabajados e historia bastante predecible, quizás esperaba más de la novela.
Me ha gustado la historia de amor con tintes de suspense. Sobre todo, como Nicolás elige a un perro llamado Singer como el eterno compañero de viaje de Julie.

Just finished the Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. The Guardian is a romantic thriller and according me the first book by Sparks in which one of the characters is a loving dog. The book is firstly about love. The love between Julie Barenson and Mike Harris and secondly about danger. The danger of Richard Franklin the Jealous stalker who Julie once dated and then there is the love of the singer the dog a great Dane who was a gift from Julie's husband Jim after his death, who later proved to be the real Guradian of Julie's life. The story is full of twist and turns with the revelation of the real identity of Richard Franklin. The Guardian is a love story turn nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire.
The only problem I had was that it has a very predictable end. I was waiting for something different, but overall a interesting book which keeps its audience hooked till the very end.

Rating: 4.5 Stars!!
Review:
This one was so so for me!! I wanted to love this one so much but i was a little disappointed by the ending and other parts of this book even tho i usually love all of this books!!

The Characters were interesting to read about and the setting was beautifully described!!

I wish the ending would of been different tho but overall another good read by Nicholas Sparks!!