Nicholas Sparks Read-A-Thon #3: The Longest Ride

Thursday, August 20, 2015






Handwritten love letters will never get old.
It's still the sweetest gift anyone can ever offer to someone.

Every after reading a book that has a movie adaptation, I usually end up watching the movie right after I stop staring into space pondering.

This isn't the first "based on Nicholas Sparks novel" movie that I have watched and from what I have experienced, when you read the book first, you should be ready for the changes that you will encounter in the movie. That's just the way it is, and I've long since accepted that fact with his novels and movie adaptations.

I was one of those book nerds who always get angry and disappointed when the book is not same with the movie. Wait, I still am, because in my eyes, if they are going to change, not some, but most part of the movie, they should do a better job in making those scenes better. But, hey, I found myself approving the movie adaptations of Mr. Sparks' novels. The changes made the movie better and as memorable as the book itself.

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BOOK REVIEW

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18296133

 Title: The Longest Ride
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published by: Grand Central Publishing, May 6th 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: North Carolina
Format: MM Paperback, 416 pages
My Copy Source: Bought
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | Amazon | B & N
Rating: 5 Roses

In the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the remarkable story of two couples whose lives intersect in profound and surprising ways.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.


Man, I don't think I would ever get tired of reading his novels.

The Longest Ride is a tale of two love stories that blossomed at different time and generation. Ira and Ruth's and Luke and Sophia's, both are different yet intertwined by the same love and passion.


IRA and RUTH


Ira and Ruth's love story is sweet yet heart breaking at the same time. Being able to witness their love story from the start until they grew old just made my heart clench. Ira is a very quiet man from the start, but as the story goes on, I found him the sweetest and most romantic man ever.

By this time, our generation has a different way of being romantic, that's why I was swooning every time I flip the page to find that I was again at Ira's POV. My most favorite part was the tradition that they started during their anniversary, where Ira will write Ruth letter that they will read only at Lake Eden. That was freaking sweet!

I feel like stories that took place on a time of war makes great impact to people who reads or watch them, for one, because it's heart breaking and it's different and I don't know, they just cast a light that makes you squint just to see clearly, and besides, for a person who never was in the past to experience things first hand, the past is a wonder; the past is interesting. I also admired women's faith in that time. They never know when their love will come back but they hold on to a picture and the hope that the promise to come back alive will never ever be broken.


LUKE and SOPHIA


I like that there was this palpable attraction between them and it did not take like 4 seconds for them to fall in love, that's great, but I guess I should give in to the fact that kisses were given freely on certain books or whatever so I am not going to rant about the kiss on their second or third meeting? I don't remember but whatever, this thing between Luke and Sophia? Yes, girl, super swoon!

I love that Luke is a total gentleman and a hot cowboy and Sophia is a college chick who is not all fame and fortune and has the brains and the beauty that any man would fall for, that's why jerks like her ex boyfriends should die.

Both lived different worlds and they must struggle to find a way to keep bridging the gap. "Love requires sacrifice", I don't remember if this is from the book or from the movie, but it's all they have to give in order to save their relationship-- sacrifice.

Gee, I love how in the end, the two stories managed to intersect (not in the way I wanted, though). It's a happy ending for both stories, and I love happy endings.

This is a contrast of two different love story that showed the old and the new generation's kind of love but begged to portray us that ways may change but love is still love and yesterday and tomorrow will not really be different because love in all its forms and ways will forever be love in the eyes and hearts of people in love.

I love this book so much that everytime I get to Ira's part I just want to cry because it's like this feeling you get when you see old couple still together. It's a nostalgic feeling and it's so touching, it tugs at your heart in all the right places.

In the end, I really was hoping for a lot of things to happen, and I was impatient for the two stories to intersect, because this for certain, of course, will happen at some point and when it did, I found myself quite disappointed. "That's it? That's just it? Just the letter read by Sophia and then that's it? Ugh, Ira could have been telling his story to Sophia at the end, but no, THAT'S IT! She could also have had a museum of her own with those art collections! Ugggh". Yep, guys, I ranted right after reading it, because I was always plotting an ending to every story. I always want to predict, but damn, it didn't happen. That's why I was so thankful that all of the things that I've waited to happen in the book happened in the movie! Again, I felt no disappointment with the movie adaptation because the changes made it a bit better for me because all my predictions were in the movie.

All in all, this was a great book. In my opinion, something that is more beautifully crafted than The Notebook, if I may say. Something that is also timeless and romantic that contains a lot of qualities that the modern generation yearns for. I fell in love with the book and will continue to fall in love with it as long as I remember both Ira and Ruth's and Luke and Sophia's love story.


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MOVIE REVIEW

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The movie and the book are both great in their own ways even though the movie created something more powerful than the book's portrayal. The book made a great picture of both stories but the movie created a strong link between them that's why I love the movie too. 100% approved movie adaptation. There were a lot of changes but the changes are all for the better viewing experience and I found that I really love the bits that the moviemakers added and subtracted.

I found that this is something I would totally watch over and over again like I did in The Notebook and A Walk to Remember. With gorgeous characters, what could I ask for, right? Especially Luke, o-m-g so H-O-T. I didn't know him before but I'm definitely an admirer right now.

You guys should definitely watch the movie. It is so lovely and I can assure you, I've never heard a negative review about it and I've never read any too(or I just never read one?). All my friends and family all have their thumbs up over this movie, they all wanted me to watch it as soon as possible but I didn't budge. Gotta read first, right? Right.


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The Longest Ride Book Reviews

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*INSTAGRAM BOOK PHOTOGRAPHY*



A photo posted by Melody 🌻 (@theliteraryowl) on




CONFESS by Colleen Hoover Book Review

Sunday, August 2, 2015


I found the book VERY beautiful and when I bought the ebook on Amazon and read the first few pages, which captivated me because of the way Colleen Hoover lay down her words, I said to myself, "Stop reading, buy the book and stare at the book cover for a long time". For a long time, I planned on buying the book because I want that beauty in my bookshelf, but damn girl, the book is price-y! Anyway, I never got myself to buying it and found myself at the last page of the ebook one day but I think I am still going to buy the book any time in the future when I do a Colleen Hoover Read-A-Thon.

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BOOK REVIEW
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Confess

Title: Confess
Author: Colleen Hoover
Published by: Atria Books on 10th March 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: Dallas, Texas (USA)
Format: Kindle, 320 pages
My Copy Source: Bought (Amazon)
Purchase: NBS [PH] | Fully Booked [PH] | Amazon | B & N
Rating: 3 Roses

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…
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BOOK REVIEW
Confession Style
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I CONFESS that this is a freaking beautiful book, and I am talking only physically. I can't even describe how beautiful and artistic the book cover is. IT IS FREAKING LOVELY. To be honest... I mean, I am honest, because this is a confession, right? So, yeah, to be honest, I was drawn to this book because of the artistic sense embedded in it, especially in the beginning where there are pictures of Owen's paintings that are inspired by true people's confessions. TRUE PEOPLE'S CONFESSIONS! LIKE, THEY'RE REAL. AND THE PAINTINGS? SPELL BEAUTIFUL, DEARIES!

I CONFESS that I love the way Colleen Hoover writes. Her writing style is captivating in a way that you just want to read through and through but then I found myself a bit disappointed because despite the CoHo praises, this book lack depth. I guess I was really interested with the idea of the confessions itself but I just wasn't impressed with the way it turned out in the end.

I CONFESS that I was really curious about Owen. I love the mystery that surrounded this confession thingy and all that was unknown to Auburn and to us as well. I mean, no one wants to be kept in the dark, right? Us readers know that there's something Owen is hiding and we all want to know what that is! At first I even thought that Owen is AJ, the dead boyfriend of Auburn, but then again, it's a mystery until it unfolds on the last few chapters.

I CONFESS that I didn't really love Auburn as a character. Even though one can love a weak character, Auburn was a weak one that I dislike so much, she is just cringe worthy all the way.

I CONFESS that Owen is really loveable and sweet and Trey and his mother are plain evil. Ugh, stupid selfish people, rot in hell.

I CONFESS that I didn't love the ending even though I have come to the page where everything is unraveled. I wasn't actually surprised at all the revelations and I was not impressed with the connection of Owen with Auburn. I don't know why but it just seemed "meh" and I cringed again. Ugh.

I CONFESS that I only loved the art, the confessions, the idea of the book, the mystery, the writing, the chemistry and electricity between Owen and Auburn and Owen. That's where my feelings end and the rest wasn't all that great to me.

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Gee, so wacha think guys? :D

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