Two By Two

DNF page 79. Wrong book at the wrong time for sure, though I don't know if there will ever be a right time with this one. I got this from my Bookcase Club romance box - and I know there's some debate whether Sparks actually qualifies as a romance writer - but so far this is not so much a romance as a painful story of two people who are painfully bad at being married and who are on their way to a painful divorce. And look, I just wanted some happy - I'm not currently in my own home, my son is in the NICU (he's doing fine, was just premature, though his long stay is taking its toll on me), and I want to get through the day with as little emotional distress as possible. Maybe when I don't have to drive 20 minutes, get my temperature taken, go to the 14th floor and make a phone call in order to see my baby, I'll be interested in fictional characters doing things other than falling in love.

I can't write this review without spoilers so you are warned from this point forward there will be spoilers so if you haven't read this book yet you should probably skip this review. Reading the synopsis of this book makes you think you are going to be reading a single parent book but that's not the case. Both parents are alive and well they are just going to be going through a divorce. The first half of this book basically goes through Russ and Vivian's lives from when they met up to them getting a divorce. You get glimpses into the past when they first got together and them now. I absolutely hated Vivian. She was an emotionally abusive/manipulative wife and I couldn't stand her. I swear I could only read so much every time I picked this book up because she always made me want to throw my book across the room. That's why it took me over 2 months to finish this book. Russ was a guy who didn't like conflict so he did everything to make Vivian happy including letting her walk all over him which again made me want to throw the book. I want he to grow a pair and put her in her place. The last half of the book while still following along with the divorce it switches gears a little bit because Russ is now having to deal with his sister having Cancer and all that entails. This book put me through the ringer with my emotions. It went from anger in the beginning to crying my eyes out in the end. At first I was thinking I wasn't liking the book because of how much I was hating Vivian but the more I thought about it the more I realized if he's eliciting that much emotion out of me that's a good thing to me that's how someone should react. In the end Sparks has done it again for me and created another amazing book.

What a beautiful and touching story. I was completely intimidated about reading this as it's a 600 page book but it did not disappoint. This story is about love, love lost, and the journey that we have to take when we're no longer living the happy life we envisioned was our future. There's just way to much depth to reduce to a review, but this is a must if you know Nicholas Sparks and the stories he creates.

The Last book I read by Nicolas Sparks was Rescue Me and that one I liked, I dont count the notebook because I read that at least once a year. Russ Vivian and London will make you fall in love with Nicholas Sparks all over again. I found Russ Green a very good character although there is lots less on his looks and lots more on his personality I dont see why many of the reviewers complained. I found the story touching in parts I wanted to shake some sense into Vivian I found her selfish and self absorbed. The supporting cast of characters was AWESOME minus the fact that by the end of the book I wanted to forget the name Walter. All and all I loved this book my bestfriend said that it made me bipolar because my reactions are so all over the place but to me that just means I enjoyed the book

Despite watching many movies based on his books, this is the first Nicholas Sparks novel I've read.

A lovely gentle read, I knew what was coming (being an author makes it hard not to figure out a plot in advance!) yet enjoyed watching it unfold.

Great characterisation and I particularly liked the whole book being first person male POV.