The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

The Book:

Gabby is a physician assistant who just moved to Beaufort, North Carolina so she could spend more time with her golf obsessed boyfriend Kevin. Her neighbor is Travis, a vet by profession who spends the weekends with his three friends, their spouses and kids. Gabby’s first encounter with Travis is when she storms to his house in rage assuming that her pet Molly had been impregnated by his dog. Travis handles the situation calmly and insists that she take her pet to a vet.

Gabby is surprised and shocked when the vet is none other than the neighbor she accused. They meet more often and soon she spends a weekend with Travis and his friends. Love blossoms but what about the other man in her life. Will she choose Travis over Kevin or just brush this off as a weekend fling?

The View:

If I am in the mood to read a romantic book I always search for Nicholas Sparks in my bookshelf. His books leave me teary-eyed (either over a tragedy or a sweet successful love) and I don’t really mind sitting in my couch and wiping away tears with a book in hand.

‘The Choice’ is yet another great book. I was going to classify it as an average book; that is till I read the second part. I hate to give out spoilers so I will try to keep as much of the plot away as possible. The first half is a typical Sparks book – Handsome successful man, meets beautiful independent neighbor and immediately takes a liking to her. Circumstances (in the form of her pet) forces them to meet very often and soon enough they realize they are in love. The only complication being that she is already in a steady relationship with another man. Fast forward to a decade from that weekend and the story takes a drastic turn of events.

Travis is like-able from the very first page. He is a typical Sparks hero, smart and sexy on the outside and soft and sensitive on the inside. When Gabby was introduced all I could see were her flaws. I wondered what Travis liked about her and what captivated him so much. I also thought it was unfair to Kevin when she slowly falls in love with Travis over a weekend. Wasn’t she in love with Kevin and hoping desperately for him to propose to her just a few days ago? As their relationship progresses I started understanding her better and thereon even liking her.

Rated a 4 on 5 for the enjoyable read and the subtle yet interesting lessons taught about love, hope and obviously faith.

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