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A review by momwithareadingproblem
The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
5.0
What can I say?! This is [a:Nicholas Sparks|2345|Nicholas Sparks|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1332884095p2/2345.jpg] at his best! It was such a heartwarming and heartbreaking read all at the same time. I left this story feeling content with its conclusion.
The Longest Ride is set in the mountains of North Carolina and revolves around three main characters: Ira Levinson, Luke Collins, and Sophia Danko. As the reader we alternate among these character's POV. We start with Ira and I love his introduction so much, I will let him tell you who he is:
You know Deedee's parents from the Rugrats? Anyways, where was I? Oh! So Ira experiences a near-death accident at the beginning of the book and he nostalgically recalls his life from his parents, to fighting in WWII, to his beautiful life with his wife Ruth (who also is an ancillary character). It's a sweet story and one that I can only hope to be my own romance with my husband.
The next character we are introduced to is Sophia. She is a senior in college, having just broke up with her narcissistic, cheating boyfriend, and is in desperate need of having some fun. At least according to her best friend and roommate who drags her out to a rodeo. Enter Luke who happens to be a full-fledged cowboy and rodeo star. Here's what I picture when I read about his description:
(FYI: This is real cowboy Jory Markiss!) Anyways, Luke comes in being the hero and basically embarrasses Sophia's ex when he is trying to get her to leave with him despite her persistent No's. So two people who couldn't be more different, strike up a friendship that develops into more in true Sparks fashion.
I loved the imagery in this book. Having been raised near the Appalachia mountains I could easily picture Luke's ranch and the beautiful winter that is described. I loved the characters too! They each were described in such detail that by the end of the story I felt these people were real and Sophia could easily be my best friend or a girl I went to college with. Probably my favorite scene in the whole book is Luke taking Sophia horseback riding for the first time. She had never been and her descriptions of the experience made me feel like I was doing it myself! Ugh, And the ending....the way Sparks brings these three characters together and interweaves their lives is something only Sparks can do! It was again heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time!
If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks or romance novels, you will enjoy this book! It was an easy read (I read it in one sitting) and unlike some of Sparks other works, it did not leave me feeling upset and heartbroken, rather it left me content and nostalgic!
The Longest Ride is set in the mountains of North Carolina and revolves around three main characters: Ira Levinson, Luke Collins, and Sophia Danko. As the reader we alternate among these character's POV. We start with Ira and I love his introduction so much, I will let him tell you who he is:
I sometimes think to myself that I'm the last of my kind.In my head I picture some version of this:
My name is Ira Levinson. I'm a southerner and a Jew, and equally proud to have been called both at one time or another. I'm also an old man. I was born in 1920, the year that alcohol was outlawed and women were given the right to vote, and I often wondered if that was the reason my life turned out the way it did. I've never been a drinker, after all, and the woman I married stood in line to cast a ballot for Roosevelt as soon as she reached the appropriate age, so it would be easy to imagine that the year of my birth somehow ordained it all.
You know Deedee's parents from the Rugrats? Anyways, where was I? Oh! So Ira experiences a near-death accident at the beginning of the book and he nostalgically recalls his life from his parents, to fighting in WWII, to his beautiful life with his wife Ruth (who also is an ancillary character). It's a sweet story and one that I can only hope to be my own romance with my husband.
The next character we are introduced to is Sophia. She is a senior in college, having just broke up with her narcissistic, cheating boyfriend, and is in desperate need of having some fun. At least according to her best friend and roommate who drags her out to a rodeo. Enter Luke who happens to be a full-fledged cowboy and rodeo star. Here's what I picture when I read about his description:
(FYI: This is real cowboy Jory Markiss!) Anyways, Luke comes in being the hero and basically embarrasses Sophia's ex when he is trying to get her to leave with him despite her persistent No's. So two people who couldn't be more different, strike up a friendship that develops into more in true Sparks fashion.
I loved the imagery in this book. Having been raised near the Appalachia mountains I could easily picture Luke's ranch and the beautiful winter that is described. I loved the characters too! They each were described in such detail that by the end of the story I felt these people were real and Sophia could easily be my best friend or a girl I went to college with. Probably my favorite scene in the whole book is Luke taking Sophia horseback riding for the first time. She had never been and her descriptions of the experience made me feel like I was doing it myself! Ugh, And the ending....the way Sparks brings these three characters together and interweaves their lives is something only Sparks can do! It was again heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time!
If you are a fan of Nicholas Sparks or romance novels, you will enjoy this book! It was an easy read (I read it in one sitting) and unlike some of Sparks other works, it did not leave me feeling upset and heartbroken, rather it left me content and nostalgic!