BLURB:

Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she’s been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family’s cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future.

Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother’s early life and recapture memories lost with her death. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . . . but in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways.

Illuminating life’s heartbreaking regrets and enduring hope, Every Breath explores the many facets of love that lay claim to our deepest loyalties — and asks the question, How long can a dream survive?

First, I have to thank my friend Megan, @themoodymama.reads, for buying me this book and reading Nicholas Sparks’ books with me this April. After reading A Bend in the Road to start our Nicholas Sparks reading month, I was a little nervous about reading Every Breath. I didn’t know if I would enjoy it as much as I hoped to – maybe my tastes had changed too much.

Luckily, Every Breath captured my attention from the very first page and I simply could not put this book down all day long. It didn’t hurt that this story was based on true events, making it all the more heartwarming. I was eager to see where the lives of the characters would take them and I found the familiar cozy feel I’ve come to expect from Nicholas Sparks’ novels. In many ways, I found this story comparable to The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe.

I was impressed with how appealing Sparks was able to make Africa sound to someone who never had an interest in visiting the country. I was able to perfectly envision the setting, the safaris, and the lifestyle Tru faced while living in Zimbabwe. I also appreciated how well he was able to dive into the past lives of the characters and tie them to the present, creating immense amounts of character growth. The choices they faced in their lives were absolutely soul crushing to imagine. Overall, every detail added to the story and made it a wonderful page-turner.

“The disappointments she’d experienced hadn’t hardened into either anger or bitterness, but rather acceptance that life seldom turns out the way that one imagines it will.”

Thankfully, reading this made me realize I haven’t completely outgrown Nicholas Sparks’ novels. Then again, he’s grown substantially as an author in his own right over the years as well. Reading his books feels like coming home after being away for years. I’m thankful I made time to read Every Breath, a book that wasn’t really on my radar until Megan suggested it. It was everything I needed and helped me to feel relaxed after a hectic few weeks.

Rating: 4 stars.

Purchase on Amazon.

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