Message in a Bottle — when she read the message, she found the love of a true man.

This melodrama is about Theresa Osborne, a single mother raising her ten-year-old son, Kevin, in Boston's busy city. While Kevin was away with his father, Theresa decided to go for a short vacation with her colleague named Deanna and her husband, Brian. And that's where she found a message in a bottle by the seashore while jogging. Where her fate changed, knowing someone called Garret and Catherine.

Phew! Let me release my breath. I'm having a bit of trouble writing this review. This book was so damn overwhelming. I loved every single thing about this book. Trust me, I was about to finish reading it in a day, but you know student duties don't allow you sometimes. Hence, it took me two days. What a book, man?!

The characters were so well-written. Theresa, she's so inspiring! She proved a divorced woman can survive for her child. She's in a good job; she's charming, attractive. Everything opposes the formula of "mother to a child". It's just that she wanted the love from someone truly; she missed a guy's gentle touch. But she declined all the affairs arranged by Deanna. She had tough times with her ex-husband, David. But that didn't stop her from finding her true love till she came across this message in the bottle.

Garret. I feel so jealous of this guy. He is calming, ethical, handsome, admiring. I just lost words to describe how amazing is this guy. The way he presents himself is just another level. He has his side of cuteness, where he shows at the right time. It is not overflowing, not cheesy or cringy. It made me smile more than Theresa did. Yes! This man stands right on top of my fav hero list because he made me in awe of how serious a gentleman can be. Imagining myself as a guy who also went speechless about staying loyal, sticking to his words and how wise he thinks. It's just his feeling are crumbly; he overloves someone he cares about and misses.

The storyline went smooth. There's no downtown for me to visit. It was a page-turner book. I just wished these two people got caught in love and wanted to be poetic in a relationship. Both of them were mature, understanding and their character development was just the best. I was speaking about Jeb Blake, also the character that I adored! He was so supportive and wanted the best for his son and Deanna, who was understanding and wanted a happy ending for a friend, Theresa. I love them both!

I don't have words to say how much I love Theresa and Garret. And as well, in the climax, I teared up. I can't stand the way it ended. It was so beautiful. Their souls connected beautifully like life should be.

It started with the message in a bottle; it ended with a message.

Theresa is Garrets forever.

Li este livro quando era mais nova e é com certeza um dos livros da minha vida. No fim fartei me de chorar e lembro me da história marcar me por anos. Gostava de reler.

Another one of Sparks' best books. This one was a little more unpredictable and again - tons better than the lame movie. Another great love story.

short fast and sad as hell

4,25⭐️ Dlaczego tak krzywdzicie moje biedne serce

When I first started reading this book i had a hard time getting into it but I found it started to pick up to the point where it was painfully hard to out down. This book was beautiful, sad, and touching. You can ask anyone who knows me I do not get emotional over romance but this book had me ugly crying, but in a good way. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a lovely story that can be predictable at timea but hard to put down.

i honestly was pleasantly surprised by this book, maybe more of like a 3.8/5 but i’m rounding up anyway. at first i thought it was just going to be super sappy not knowing what to expect from a Nicholas Sparks book. i actually thought it was very sweet and shed light on very real and difficult moments in relationships. the ending caught me OFF GUARD was not expecting that. was trying so hard to hide the tears on the plane.

Cuando comencé a leer este libro, lo primero que pensé fue que no iba a conectar demasiado bien con la historia contada por Theresa. Claramente eso fue solo el comienzo.
Cuando empieza la verdadera acción de la novela (desde que Theresa se decide encontrar a Garret debido a las tres cartas que provenían de él) se me volvió adictiva, porque el romance entre los protagonistas se me hizo real, porque Nicholas Sparks no muestra que es todo color de rosa, porque se empezó de a poco y no de repente, porque para mi sorpresa pude ver la historia desde los puntos de vista de ambos personajes y así entender mejor que sentía cada uno, porque no es tan fácil "sacar a un clavo con otro clavo" pero intentarlo puede traer hermosas consecuencias, como por ejemplo, algo llamado amor.
Sparks creó una historia no demasiado complicada y sin entrar demasiado en detalles innecesarios, pero que aun así, me dio la posibilidad de sentirme como si estuviera ahi y vivir la relación entre Garret y Theresa muy de cerca, lo cual provocó cierta adicción por ver como concluía la historia entre ellos dos. Y creo que fue ese cierre lo que no me gustó demasiado.
En el fondo tenía un presentimiento de que llegaría un final que no sea demasiado de mi agrado, pero eso no quitó que me haya sorprendido lo que sucede a lo largo de las últimas páginas. No sé si fue por bronca o tristeza, pero al terminar el libro lloré, tal vez por bronca o tal vez porque me puse en la piel de los personajes, o tal vez por las dos cosas.
Simplemente dolorosamente emotivo.



"En este mundo que nunca llegaré a entender los vientos del destino soplan cuando menos lo esperamos. A veces soplan con la furia de un huracán, y a veces apenas te acarician la mejilla. Pero no podemos rechazar los vientos, pues a menudo traen un futuro que es imposible ignorar. Tú eres el viento con el que yo no contaba, el viento que ha soplado con más fuerza de la que yo podía imaginar. Tú eres mi destino"

2.5 estrellas
Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro porque, en muchos aspectos, es ambivalente. Tanto en el estilo (es el primer libro que leo de Sparks), que fluctúa entre una narración rica en detalles y muy emocional versus descripciones secas y frías; como en el desarrollo de los personajes y el mensaje que quiere entregar.
Quizá lo más valorable sea el comienzo y el final, con las cartas y todo el tema de la botella y la aceptación de la pérdida. Sin embargo, hacia el medio me fue indiferente: aunque Garrett es un personaje muy comprensible y cercano, Theresa jamás fue santo de mi devoción. Por otro lado, la figura de Catherine quedó un tanto difusa para mi gusto. No bastaron esos pequeños fragmentos introducidos con calzador para conocerla como debía.
En fin, que en sus buenos momentos me ha recordado a Nora Roberts, y eso lo rescato porque últimamente me cuesta conectar con el romance contemporáneo (hasta Nora me ha fallado, en cualquier caso).

*Review contains spoilers*

Wow well I'm probably going to have a headache into tomorrow morning. I just finished reading this book and sobbing my eyes out. Hubby is cooking veggie burgers now so we can watch the movie version (fo free) on Roku after this. I read some other reviews about how this book was loosely based off Nickolas Sparks' parents love story. It is just so heart breaking. I enjoyed also how in this book Sparks had the couple do a long-distance relationship. That hit home for me personally. I also knew Garrett would be upset with Theresa when he figured out the true origin of their meeting...I mean that was predicatable, but I was still happy when we got there. I wanted some drama! I am surprised that we ended the book with them not together...in fact that a year of time had gone by before making the decision to attempt to get back together. Theresa's letter at the end is what did me in. Her thanking him for "showing me that there will come a time when I can eventually let you go" just hit me hard. Garrett at times came off clingy and stupidly dependent on her, but the relationship felt real. I also was annoyed with Theresa sometimes acting like Garrett should be "over her". Same with the father, Jeb...telling his son it's time to "let go and move on". I'm not a widow and I hope to never be one. I wonder though, if this is an accurate thought-process for those dating widows/widowers. In my mind, the person will always love their previous spouse. They really are with you forever. But you, I guess, are able to make room in your heart to love your current life and your previous one with your deceased spouse. IDK let's hope and pray neither of us ever have to figure that out, but I just wonder. I would think you'd be respectful that the other spouse will always be involved in a way. It seems complicated, but that's something I like about Sparks' books - they are always complex and although they are fiction, seem like they could almostttt happen. Garrett passing away shocked me and I was like "nahhhh, Sparks isn't going there", but he did! I flew through this book because I just really enjoyed it. I wanted to know how we were going to deal with the real life issues of where to move, how will this work out, can it just be the two of us, etc. Overall I would recommend to a friend or family member.

P.S. The movie sucks lol.

messages for history

"In a world that I seldom understand, there are winds of destiny that blow when we least expect them. sometimes they gust with the furry of hurricane, sometimes they barely fan one's cheek. but the winds cannot be denied, bringing as they often do a future that is impossible to ignore. you, my darling, are the wind that I didn't anticipate, the wind that has gusted more strongly than I ever imagined possible. You are my destiny"

This book was an enjoyable read due to the simplicity of the plot that was focused primarily on an emotional analysis of the main characters.
We get to see both Theresa’s and Garrett’s internal problems and doubts and reveal their willingness to open themselves to love once again. Sparks did wonderful job in portraying each of them through the eyes of another. Theresa was shook to the core by Garrett’s love for his deceased wife, she admired his passion for diving and love for the ocean and was attracked to him for his strength which arised from the way of life he had chosen. Garrett, on the other hand, was instantly drawn by her beauty and confidence but later also discovered her bright intellect and loving concern.
Moreover, the sceneries and locations were beautifully described and it was easy to imagine the places by the beach in Welmington or venues in the busy Boston.
Lastly, the reason I did not give this book five stars is that I could not wrap my head around the fact that Theresa and Garrett have fallen so deeply in love after so little time spent together.