Du bist nie allein

by Nicholas Sparks, Ulrike Thiesmeyer (Translator)

Die junge Witwe Julie muss sich zwischen zwei Männern entscheiden: dem charmanten Richard und dem schüchternen Mike. Als sie schließlich ihre Wahl trifft, glaubt sie, ihr Glück gefunden zu haben. Doch bald kommen ihr Zweifel an ihrem Verehrer: Seine Liebe wird mehr und mehr zur Besessenheit.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction

415 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 130 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 92 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), The Longest Ride (2013), See Me (2015), Two by Two (2016), Every Breath (2018), The Return (2020), The Wish (2021), and Dreamland (2022), as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His twenty-fourth novel, Counting Miracles, will be published on September 24, 2024.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars. The Notebook has also been adapted into a Broadway musical, featuring music and lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4×400 meters, as well as US High School National Records in the 800 Medley and 1600 Medley. Click to watch the Runner’s World video with Nicholas.

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in 2011, to provide scholarships and fund educational programs for underprivileged and disadvantaged youth. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.

Reviews

[Mo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author's note at end of the book ... brace yourselves, you might fall of the chair, laughing. I know I nearly did.

"From first to final draft, the novel went through eight major revisions until my editor and I were finally satisfied that the novel accomplished what it set out to do, that is, be a love story first and foremost, and secondly - in a way that sneaks up on the reader - a compelling thriller."

"A COMPELLING THRILLER"!! This author needs to either sack the editor or read some "compelling thrillers" himself. Such a half-baked plot. It was SO OBVIOUS what was going to happen. Ended up skimming but, even so, I got the gist of it. And Mike - seriously, he came across as a bit of a simpleton. I thought maybe this was one of this author's early books or even his first book but, no, he wrote a few prior to this one.

[Kelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

I admit, Nicholas Sparks got me with The Notebook. I was 22, sitting alone in the back of my parents car coming home to Pennsylvania after visiting relatives in Illinois, and I devoured the whole thing, sobbing so much my parents almost pulled over the car. He totally got me, reeled me in. Hook. Line. Sinker.

The man is smart. He knows his prey...er, audience very well, knows exactly what "bait" to dangle in front of them. People fall in love, BIG, GRAND, EPIC ROMANCE LOVE. Throw in some horrible tragedy/obstacle/terminal illness. Add a bunch of corny, cheesy platitudes. Then drop thousand pound anvil of Major Life Lesson That Must Be Learned...over and over and over...and over again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Voila! Best-selling author.

I would be lying if I said I didn't fall for this kind of formulaic writing. It's needed. Sometimes you just need predictable, romantic cheese. Obviously, or Nick Sparks wouldn't be a gazillion-jazillion-aire, or whatever. I won't pretend to be a literary snob who looks down on this genre of books. I have guilty pleasures, and I indulge. You all know you do, too.

HOWEVER. This book is UNNECESSARY. And EVIL. PURE EVIL.

And here's the part where I also won't pretend to be a rational human being when it comes to animals, or more specifically, animals of the canine variety. My husband and I have no children. Instead, we have three dogs. All rescues. I am one of Those Crazy Dog People. So, I will forewarn you, and fully admit, that my Absolute Hate of this book is fueled by my completely irrational and 5 year-old belief that Dogs Do Not Die. EVER. AT ALL. Even happily from old age (MARLEY I AM LOOKING AT YOU).

I mean, at 5 years-old, I bawled and my mom had to remove me from the movie theater during The Fox and the Hound because "We'll always be friends. FOREVER.". Except when I get older and have to hunt you down and kill you. LIES. ALL LIES. And no animals, dog or fox, were even killed in that movie.

So I'm assuming, if you've read this book, you get (from my looooong disclaimer) why I hurled it across the room when Nicholas Sparks went and MURDERED THE DOG. It's not enough to POISON him. No, to just make this book even that much more DRAMATIC, let's SHOOT HIM TOO. But, it'll be okay, because he died protecting his humans from a crazy stalker and his humans get to live Happily Ever After because of how brave the dog was. And that just makes it all better, doesn't it?

Um, no?

Is it wrong that I've rewritten the ending in my head where all the humans (It's been so long since I've read this, I've forgotten names)--Main Character, Love Interest, Crazy Stalker--all end up dead because they are humans and adults and they all should know better than to allow THEMSELVES, let alone an innocent dog, to get mixed up in all this stupid drama. And the dog MIRACULOUSLY lives and gets HIS Happily Ever After with a nice, stable family, who are smart enough not to get mixed up with Crazy Stalkers, and who have two children for him to play with and a big, fenced-in backyard.

That might be wrong of me, but I've already admitted my irrational love of dogs so my alternate ending shouldn't have been a surprise.

I apologize because I can't really offer any rational critique of this book. That all went out the window the moment he MURDERED THE DOG. I am way too blinded by my hate of this to offer anything else even remotely constructive or informative.

I haven't read another Nick Sparks book since The Guardian. And that was about seven or eight years ago. Have I mentioned I also hold irrational grudges against authors who murder dogs? This Grudge is so strong, I don't care what kind of cheesy bait he dangles, I will never bite again. Completely irrational, I know. But I like living in Irrational City. Dogs don't die there.

[Mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never written a review before, but I thought that this book really qualifies for one.
Sometimes you just want something that you can indulge yourself into without the analysis and critical thinking, and this one was perfect for it.
I love the whole story between Mike and Julie and the slow realization of Julie as she comes to love Mike.
and of course I love Singer, The Guardian.
This book is full of twists that I didnt expect at all.
I was surprised by the ending, But I loved it.
This is the first time I read to Sparks and I'm really glad that I did.
The book is just beautiful. Brought tears to my eyes. ♥

[chantalsbookstuff · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Rounded Up. This one brings us a Stalker obsessed. The story was really good but had a few holes. I loved how protective Singer was and the walk up between Julie and Mike. That ending could have used some work.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Nicholas Sparks' books. The main character falls in love with her long time friend after losing her husband at a very young age. I love the romance concept of the book and the slow realization of Julie as she comes to love Mike. It is also a nice concept of her lost husband watching over her and letting go when he sees she is finally at peace without him. Romance stories are more fascinating to me when the main characters are already friends who fall in love.

[Books Ring Mah Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

yeah, there's a spoiler in here. so stop reading if you don't wanna know.

yep. sparks does it again, sucks, that is.
he kills off a dog this time, if memory serves me right. I think that's all he's got... try to make a love story so sweet you need insulin. and then WHAM! Death! yeah, get out your kleenex you sorry bastards!

that's right Sparks, kill 'em all! must be a metallica fan.

[Debbie Petersen Wolven · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes, belonging to a book club (or two, or in my case, three) means that you are introduced to something that you would have never read on your own, that turns out to stretch your mind and lead to interesting discoveries...and other times, you are so aghast by someone's favorite that you avoid the discussion of the book so as not to hurt the person's feelings who suggested it. Here on Goodreads, I will pull no punches. This book reads like a Hallmark card, or a serial in a woman's magazine, or worse yet--a Lifetime movie. The premise is lame and unbelievable...how many dying husbands make pre-death arrangements for a dirty puppy to be delivered to the grieving widow on Christmas--in a cardboard box, no less? Why was the pup in such sad shape? Was the husband so ill that he ordered the pup from a substandard puppy mill? Ah, but with the wisdom that people about to die seem to have, he has chosen well, and she is thrilled to have the responsibility of training and caring for an enormous dog instead of being able to choose for herself if she wants to take this on, or perhaps choose a nice low maintenance goldfish instead. The rest of the story is so much like others of this genre that you may feel like you've already read it. The charming, handsome man who turns out to be psychotic, the man she thinks of as a "friend" who is really in love with her (and, of course, ends up being her savior at the end and she loves him too...yawn.) In stories like this, good people rarely die, even after being beaten to a pulp and left for dead in a ditch for two days (slutty hairdresser who isn't very bright); a cop found shot in the head, lying face-down with his head in a pool of blood near the end of the story is out of the hospital in a few days instead of being six feet under; a dog who has been poisoned with enough rat poison to kill six dogs, who moments before was gasping his last breath on the ground and unable to stand, suddenly flies through the air and attacks psycho dude, saving his owner, only to finally die of gunshot wounds inflicted by psycho dude. Weepy dog death scene follows, but psycho dude is dead and doggie has fulfilled being her guardian as in the book title, and everyone else goes off happily into the sunset. This is basically the song "My Life Will Go On" by Celine Dion mixed with a touch of "Old Yeller."

[Jen Holman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saccharine! Predictable! This is the first Sparks novel I've read and I don't understand (from this first exposure anyway) WHY this man is a bestselling author. I just didn't get the appeal... Spoiler: the "Guardian" is the dog. THE DOG. I mean, anytime the dog has to save the day, is this good?

[Angiee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speachless.. Literally speachless.. Nicholas Sparks is a natural!! Every time I finish a book of his, I keep on saying it's the best, but ALL OF THEM ARE BEAUTIFULY AMAZING!!!! Mike, Richard, singer, jim.. Everything was soo beautiful.. Richard was sexy, seductive,yet somehow pshycopathic. Mike such a darling sweetheart, every girl would die to have such a boyfriend who loves you so much to the extent that at the last second of his life, when he was one step away from death, he gathered himself because he didn't want to die and leave Julia and realization struck him that if he dies, Julie will get killed by Richard (Robert). Nicholas, ur books give me great emotion.. At the end of every book I read from Nicholas, I was always left breathless and with tears rolling down my face.. I'd hug the book and stare into space.. Amazing.. Nicholas Sparks, you're the best <3

[zainab]

Julie lives with her dog Singer in a small town in North Carolina where she meets Richard, who is hiding a dark secret. Her friends, especially Mike, try to protect her, but Richard knows no boundaries. In the end, she loses a faithful friend and with him the connected love for her husband Jim. This book was a little bit different than the other love books of Nicholas Sparks, although it was less heartbreaking, the book is totally exciting and full of love.

[Michelle (Witchy Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stars: 5

I'll write a review when i stop crying.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish that I could give this book 3 stars. I really wish that I could. I mean there are a lot of parts of the book that I really liked. But in general the story was a little familiar...I read a book earlier this year that was almost exactly the same plot line but of course was not as well put together as a Nicholas Sparks' book! And up until the last chapter and epilogue, I was going to give it 3 stars. But that last bit ruined it for me. Not to spoil anything for any readers, but seriously, the guardian is not at all what I, being a reader, wanted it to be. I mean, the book is based around a love story with a thrilling secondary plot, and the love story in the end has nothing to do with the ending. What the heck?!? It left me incredibly underwhelmed.

[إبراهيم عادل · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية جميلة وشيقة ..
يبدو أني أدركت مبكرًا أن هذه الرواية ستعجبني
و يبدو أيضًا أني أحب قراءة الأفلام الأجنبية .. وليس مشاهدتها فحسب
.
على الرغم من أن "تيمة" الرواية تبدو معتادة .. إلا أن سباركس استطاع بلغته وتفاصيل روايته أن يجذبني إلأى عالم هذه الرواية الخاص، وإن بدا لي أن عنوان "الحارس" لم يكن هو الأنسب للرواية ..
.
هناك كوارث إنسانية قامت بها المترجمة دعد سيحاسبها عليها القانون
وإن كانت الترجمة جيدة، ولكن الأخطـاء مثيرة (أقصد كثيرة) وقابلة (قاتلة) ا
....
.

[Sofia Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Na intenção de escrever algo diferente do seu registo habitual, Nicholas Sparks contemplou-nos com esta história emocionante, recheada de amor e perigo em simultâneo.
Laços que Perduram retrata a história de Julie, uma rapariga que fica viúva com apenas 25 anos, pois o marido, Jim, morre com cancro.
Contudo, antes de morrer, Jim prepara uma surpresa para fazer companhia a Julie num momento de tanto sofrimento, um cão! Singer será, assim, o novo companheiro de Julie e consequentemente, o seu guardião!
Julie vê em Singer uma extensão de Jim, uma companhia diária que a ligará eternamente ao seu falecido marido.
E tal como Jim pede na carta que se fez acompanhar a Singer, Julie sente-se preparada para seguir em frente na sua vida e tentar encontrar alguém com quem partilhar o seu amor.
Mike é um dos fortes candidatos. Melhor amigo de Jim, conhece Julie à imensos anos e mesmo que esse sentimento estivesse "adormecido" até à morte de Jim, Mike sente algo mais do que amizade por Julie.
No entanto, Richard Franklin atravessa-se no meio desta amizade e Julie pensa que encontrou o homem ideal.
Durante uma viagem de Richard, Julie vai a um bar tomar café com Mike e é ai que o seu verdadeiro amor é revelado. Julie vê-se ao lado de Mike e não de Richard, e quando este volta da viagem é essa mesma informação que Julie acaba por lhe transmitir.
Mas Richard não tenciona deixar Julie, a mulher que lhe faz lembrar a sua esposa que ele próprio matou.
Richard revela-se um verdadeiro psicopata, acabando por prosseguir Julie.
Mike, aliado de Singer, torna-se então a peça chave nesta historia, será a pessoa que ajudará Julie a enfrentar uma pessoa má em todos os sentidos, capaz de cometer a maior loucura para ficar com ela.
Um livro verdadeiramente emocionante, recheado de acção e suspense.
Com um final que nos deixa divididos... tristes por um motivo mas alegres por outro! 🤍✨

[Ceceliaₓₒₓₒ | hotforbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long time since I read this, that one night flight, and silently sobbed. 😭 🐾

[Rsoeffker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know what your thinking... How can Reed read a nicholas sparks book... very simple... I don't think you can bad mouth something until you have tried it. so I read a sparks novel. I have to admit it was entertaining. It was also very cheesy and the very end was about the biggest pile of tripe i have ever layed eyes on.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars
This book a really good and it was a great love story. I am happy the Richard and Julie never ended up together at the end because I feel like Richard was not really a good match for Julie. He is way different then Mike. Mike and Julie and great together. Mike is a down to earth kind of guy that cares for Julie and Richard is a person that has money and treats her like royalty, but in a way he seems like he cares for Julie. Through out this book I thought that Mike and Julie are perfect for each other. My thoughts about them never changed. Towards the end I would change is that Julie's dog Singer passes away because of old age. If I had written this book I would have Singer live, even Singer had a great home and parents and also a great life. It was well written that I felt like that I was in Julie's place and I could feel the way she did and their connection between each other. I really cried during that part on a good way.

[Serena Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐
Me ha gustado toda la historia, la trama... pero mi gran pega ha sido la narración que ha sido demasiado plana. No distinguía los personajes entre ellos la entonación era bastante defectuosa y es mi mayor pega

[Vale198 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stelle

Molto emozionante 😭 stile Sparks…Singer che amore 😭🥰

[Celeste Velocci (bookrecs_by_celeste) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid story. It was pretty predictable but packed an emotional punch. This is a good mix of romantic suspense.

When a young widow begins dating again she doesn’t realize that not everyone in this world is who they say they are. With her late husband in her heart and his final gift to her - a Great Dane used to be her guardian to protect her throughout her life - she tackles life’s ups and downs through grief and hopefully finding love again after all. A love between a dog and its human is like no other bond in this life.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So those who know me, know that I can be hard on Mr. Nicholas Sparks. I find his books quite predictable and I don't always buy into the "love story" that runs central in all his plots. However, this is one of the few books that I will definitely without hesitation recommend. Perhaps it is because he decided to make this one have a little bit of a thriller aspect to it.

The book is about a Great Dane named Singer( my favorite character) who is the pet of a widow named Julie who is trying to find a new life partner. Among those she considers are Mike, an old friend of hers, and Richard, a successful manager. I also enjoyed that we are offered different perspectives from many characters and I admit that I liked quite a few of the secondary characters in this one.


Goodreads review published 25/07/22

[Swissmiss · Rating 1 out of 5]

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:

======
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.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The guardian is another great book by Nicholas Sparks. Though I must say he has done better work I still enjoyed reading this one. Like the majority of his books the sadness of death is expressed through his writing. I must say though, at the beginning of the book the story was pretty slow and didn't completely have my attention unlike say The Last Song or Dear John. But by the middle of the book it had me completely captivated! I just couldn't put it down. The whole mysterious Richard story and true self becoming unveiled. It is also not just about love between people, but the bond between a girl and her dog. It tells about the true loyalty and friendship between Julie and her dog Singer. And how he fought tp save her to the very end. This book though slow in the beginning was pretty good and I recommend it to others whom enjoy thrillers, with romance etc.

[Briley · Rating 5 out of 5]

September10, 2008
Edit: Septmeber 22, 2008-
The Gaurdian by Nicholas Sparks, is a touching love story of death and a leap a faith. Julie Barenson's husbands death left her with to unexpected gifts, a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would be watching over her always. After, four years of mourning Julie is now finally emotionally ready to begin the journey of finding Mr. Right again. While working one day in the small hair salon of her mother-like friend Mable, Richard Franklin walks in. In his dress suit, dark hazel eyes, perfect tan, and nice smile Julie finds herrself attracted to the stranger. After dating a few times Richard falls madly in love while Julie falls for another man, Mike Harris, her late husband best friend. Unfortunately, the rejection is too much for Richard to handle and he just can't cut his losses and be friends with her. This is where the pace of the book really gains momentum. Instead of being a gentleman about the whole thing, Richard turns into a menacing creep and calling Julie over and over and hanging up the phone when she answers. Will Julie make it out or have to live with her consequences.


Text to Text:

The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks shows similarities to many love stories however, the book reminded me greatly of the book P.S. I love you!. The two main characters both share the tragic lose of their young husbands to horrible fights with brain cancer. Left alone the two women both struggle to perceiver in every day life. Then one day unexpected love comes knocking at both the women's door. The main event that connected the two stories together however is that both of the women’s husband leave letters and objects to help the women move on with life. The two stories both share the plot that “one that truly loves wants you to love again.”

[Denisse ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, me encantó el libro. Tiene muchos elementos que te mantendrán atrapada/o: amor, risa (el gran danés, Singer) y suspenso. La primera vez que Sparks se adentra en el suspenso/romance. Lo mas que amé del libro fue Singer.

Julie a los 25 años pierde a su esposo y poco después recibe un regalo de su parte: un cachorro, Singer. Pasan cuatro años y ella decide que es tiempo de darse una nueva oportunidad en el amor. Conoce algunos hombres, sin saber que frente a ella tiene a Mike, el mejor amigo de su esposo. Aunque también está Richard, un hombre muy apuesto que esconde algo. Y no contaré más para evitar el spoiler. En el libro pasan muchas cosas interesantes, que hará que sea casi imposible despegarte de la lectura, en mi caso del audiolibro. Creo que seguiré leyendo a Nicholas Sparks. Nunca lo había leído, pero si he visto sus películas.

[julia cudney · Rating 3 out of 5]

for a second there, i was going to rate this four stars, but i’d like to have a word with nicholas about the ending

[Casey Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was about the dumbest book I think I've ever read. I know with Nicholas Sparks novels not to expect anything earth shattering, they're mostly just good for some heart-stringy escapism, but COME ON, DUDE.

The two main characters had no redeeming value. He *talked* about how strong Julie, the protagonist, is and how she overcame this super tough childhood, blah blah, etc., but then a bad dude starts doing bad things to her and she cannot even deal. She does NOTHING intelligent as she realizes she's being stalked. Pretty much she cries a lot and thinks about how awful everything is (except for when she finally changes her phone number, and then she laments about how no one ever calls her anymore...I AM NOT KIDDING).

Her main love interest, Mike? Is hands-down THE WORST leading male in the history of time. He's no more of a grown man than my 4-year-old. He conducts himself like a moody teenager, at one point LEAVING HER ALONE in her home when she's in the midst of being actively stalked by a crazy dude, one they just found out probably broke INTO her home, because he's upset about something she did BEFORE THEY STARTED DATING.

Long story short, the writing was poor (we were "told" pretty much EVERYTHING in this book, not "shown" one single thing), characters were crappy, plot was trite (which I'll forgive him on, because I went into it with this expectation), and I'm really not sure why I finished it.

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My goodness! I need to revisit Nicholas Sparks. I recall more of the movie with this one, and that is not at all a good thing. I own a T-shirt that says ‘The book is better’. Get a grip, Suzanne! I again, as with a lot of my go to authors, do have more of Sparks left on my physical shelf.

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son got me a copy of The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks for Christmas. It surprised me he was able to find a dog book I hadn’t heard of. I did not know that Sparks wrote a book with a dog in it, and having enjoyed the movie The Notebook, and knowing he has a lot of popular books out there, my expectation was high. Unfortunately, while I did overall enjoy reading the book, there were elements I did not like.

Mr. Sparks is great at writing about people coming together, forming relationships, and falling in love. Some of the early parts of the relationship between main characters, Julie, and Mike, was not as interesting to me, but I did enjoy when love finally blossomed. The banter between them would make me laugh at times and felt very natural. I especially liked this passage where Mike is thinking about how he fell in love with Julie:

‘He still wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened. After Jim had been gone for a while, he knew that. But he couldn’t pin it down any more than that. It wasn’t as if a light had suddenly blinked on; it was more like a sunrise, where the sky grows lighter and lighter, almost imperceptibly, before you realized it was morning.’

Another thing I liked about the book was how it was set in North Carolina, which I have now made my home. I love North Carolina. At one point the police officer Jennifer talks about what her father thinks of her joining a Police force here:

‘Her father, though proud she was “joining up with the good guys,” was aghast that she was doing it in North Carolina. “They all chew tobacco and eat grits and call every woman darlin’. How’s a nice Italian girl like you going to fit down there?”

Only she had fit in, oddly enough. It was much better than she’d expected so far, especially the people, who—get this—were so friendly that they waved to strangers while driving.’

I can relate to the friendly people, including waving to strangers in cars, although I have yet to see anyone chewing tobacco or call anyone darlin’.

In the Author’s note, he talks about what is different about this book, in that he wanted to write a thriller, a type of book he had not written before, with a theme of love and danger. He goes on to say, ‘The Challenge with The Guardian, then, was the find the right balance between the two elements and to pace the story accordingly, so that the reader never lost sight of what the novel really was – a love story between two regular people who find they’ve crossed paths with the wrong sort of person.’

I think he did get the pacing of the book right. My main problem was there were aspects of the story I just didn’t like.

First, I found the story of a dangerous stalker to just be the same as a lot of thriller shows I have watched in movies on TV. So, I didn’t find anything unique about this thriller.

Second, I think Mr. Sparks did a great job getting into the head of our villain, but that part of the ride was just not pleasant to me.

Third, is that anyone that knows me, knows I am all about reading books on dogs, and while there is one in this book, I didn’t like where they take the dog in the book. Early in the book there is this paragraph where you would think the dog is going to be unrealistically extraordinary:

‘Not that Singer’s behavior had ever been . . . well, ordinary. Except for the peeing thing, the dog had always acted as if he thought he were human. He refused to eat out of a dog bowl, he’d never needed a leash, and when Julie watched television, he would crawl up on the couch and stare at the screen. And when she talked to him—whenever anyone talked to him, for that matter—Singer would stare intently, his head tilted to the side, as if he were following the conversation. And half the time, it did seem as if he understood what she was telling him. No matter what she told him to do, no matter how ridiculous the command, Singer would carry it out. Could you go get my purse from the bedroom? Singer would come trot. ting out with it a moment later. Will you turn off the bedroom light? He’d balance on two legs and flick it with his nose. Put this can of soup in the pantry, okay? He’d carry it in his mouth and set it on the shelf. Sure, other dogs were well trained, but not like this. Besides, Singer hadn’t needed training. Not real training, anyway. All she’d had to do was show him something once and that was it. To others it seemed downright eerie, but since it made Julie feel like a modem day Dr. Dolittle, she kind of liked it.’

Nice paragraph, but they never raise the dog to that height again in the rest of the book. There is Just normal stuff a dog would do to growl or bark at suspicious people or noises. Then an obligatory save in the end with an unrealistic extra challenge thrown in.

There is a lot of people who really don’t like dog books when Kleenex is needed at the end. That doesn’t necessarily bother me when it makes sense, but what does bother me is when things are not unexpected, and when the characters do things that are stupid. For example, if you were worried about someone coming after you, and your dog had protected you from that person in the past, would you allow the dog to go out for a while on his own?

As I mentioned, I enjoyed reading the book, I guess I was just disappointed it wasn’t better.