Steph Reads: 'The Guardian' by Nicholas Sparks

   I was looking for a good book to read while on my cruise a couple weeks ago and stumbled across this Nicholas Sparks novel at my local thrift shop.  I had never read a Nicholas Sparks book before but thought this would be exactly the type of fluffy read I would enjoy while getting some sun in Mexico, so I made the $0.50 splurge!
   This book follows young widow Julie who receives the gift of a Great Dane from her late husband and the promise that he will always watch over her. Julie decides she is ready to date again and that decision comes with some serious complications: a romance with a best friend, new love, and a crazed stalker.
   This book was Nicholas Sparks' first attempt at a thriller, branching away from his normal romance novels (The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Lucky One... to name just a few!) and I certainly found this to be a page turner. This book had realistic characters who I could connect with and a plot line that made me at times feel just as helpless as our protagonist, Julie.  Overall I really enjoyed this suspenseful novel and was even emotionally invested enough to well up a little at the end (shhhhh don't tell anyone!).

What's your favorite Nicholas Sparks novel??

xxSJ

Check out my other Steph Reads posts!
Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
The Husband's Secret by Lianne Moriarty
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
Splintered by AG Howard
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler