Opening Line: “On the morning of August 29, 1988, a little more than two years after his wife had passed away, Miles Ryan stood on the back porch of his house, smoking a cigarette, watching as the rising sun slowly changed the morning sky from dusky grey to orange.”Nicholas Sparks is like comfort food, I always know going in the kind of emotional love story I’m going to get and I can count on being sucked into the lives, loves and heartache of his small town characters. They’re written realistically, I mean I feel like I know them, flaws and all and I usually want to move to whatever town it is he’s describing. Sure sometimes the stories are predictable and I find that the couple de jour spouts the “I love you’s” too soon for my liking or realism’s sake but still his stories are always a pleasure to read, which is what keeps me coming back for more.A BEND IN THE ROAD was a surprise in that it keeps a sense of mystery going throughout, often leaving the main couples love story and allowing us into the mind of the anonymous “bad guy”. Slowly unravelling their story until the shocking big reveal at the end. I honestly didn’t know how Sparks was going to wrap things up here, his couples doesn’t always end up together and that too added to the mystery.Sheriff’s deputy Miles Ryan is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his beloved wife in a hit-and-run accident nearly two years ago. High school sweethearts, theirs was a love destined to last and Miles can’t seem to let go of the grief or the fact that as an officer of the law he’s been unable to find the person responsible. If it weren’t for their young son Jonah it’s unlikely that Miles would find the strength to get through the day. Which brings into play Jonah’s second grade teacher Sarah Andrews. When Jonah begins having trouble keeping up in school Sarah offers to tutor him and a tentative relationship begins to form. Sarah is running away from a bad divorce (is there a good one?) and has a few skeletons in her closet as well. Our couple fall in love pretty fast (from one page to the next) and are just beginning to see a real future together when Miles’ past comes back, tearing everything apart. Unwilling to let go of his dead wife and obsessed with finding her killer and ultimately closure I can honestly say that I was surprised by events I didn’t see coming. As I hinted at earlier I really enjoyed getting inside the head of the hit-and-run driver and slowly discovering who it was, becoming very sympathetic towards their situation. However I could have done without spending so much time running around with county sheriff Charlie and subsequently the middle parts of this story lagged. Still a recommended read. Cheers!
I liked it but it was a very uncomfortable read. I remember when I read Dear John, I was completely in love with the characters, John and Savannah. I was completely engrossed in the book as if Nicholas Sparks was telling my own story. A bend in the Road, however was different and I confess, as much as I was sympathetic towards the characters' situations, I didn't fall in love with them. It is the story about the true love and forgiveness. Miles Ryan, a local sheriff's life has turned into hell since his beloved wife, Missy was killed by hit-and-run vehicle. What is making Miles' life worst is, the driver of the vehicle is not known yet. Then he meets his 7 years old son's teacher Sarah Andrews, who has recently moved in the town after a terrible divorce. Through his son, Miles meets Sarah and before they know, they are in love. So far, story sounds good. Now, let me tell you what was the thing that was making me uncomfortable throughout the book. Miles, who was deeply and madly in love with his wife is not letting her memory go off. So, even when he is with Sarah, he is remembering her, talking about her. I understand he wants to find the killer but thinking about Sarah, poor girl was not even getting a full attention from him. When I think about Sarah, I go like 'Who would want a guy like that?' but when I think about Missy, I go like 'Awww, he is so cute. Missy was so lucky :D'. Anyway, this is a girl talking but whenever I read Nicholas Sparks, I keep wondering "Are there really guys out there who would love one girl forever?" All of his male characters are like this :). Anyway going back to being uncomfortable, so throughout the whole book, Missy is remembered but he is dating Sarah. Obviously he wants to move on. He wants to find someone new but seriously, it was just too much. I felt really sorry for Sarah. Oh! by the way, the book was quite predictable as well. The killer is kept suspense until last minute but before half way through I knew who the killer was. Not many characters in the book. So, it was an easy guess. Anyway, one thing is for sure, Nicholas Sparks certainly knows how to describe love.Here is my favourite paragraph from the book:'We used to spend hours just talking about everything, or about nothing. It didn't really matter. She loved books and she used to tell me all the stories she was reading, and she could do it in a way that made me want to read them, too. I remember she used to read in bed and sometimes I'd wake up in the middle of the night and she'd be sound asleep with the book on the end table with her reading light still on'.published on http://pchhantyal.blogspot.de/2014/11...
What do You think about A Bend In The Road (2005)?
A Bend in the Road is a book about a sherif named Miles Ryan who lost hope in almost everything after losing his true love, his wife Missy in a tragic accident. He did not want to live anymore after his loss, however he had his son Jonah to look after. A few years later after Jonah started the second grade, he had a lot of difficulties with his classes so by the request of his teacher Miss Sarah Andrews to meet Miles Ryan everything they both were struggling and living changed.I loved this story so much because it was written first of all by my favorite author Nicholas Sparks. Second, it is based on a true story that happened to either a family member or a close friend to Nicholas. Third, all his stories are based in North Carolina, which in my opinion shows how much he truly loves his hometown. Finally, the language was really easy to understand, and by the end of every chapter you're very curious to want to know what would happen next.
—Amna_am_240526
Finally!! This is the kind of book I wanted from Mr. Sparks!! The difference between this and his other books (I read til date) is all books started peacefully and ended with tragedy but here it is vice versa!!The emotional bondage between the lead characters during their different times was narrated so touchingly!! And yeah there is always the sparks kind of romance which is always a worth read!! The death of his wife and the repercussions were narrated in a wonderful way!! The pinch of sentiment, as usual in sparks' books, is a bit on higher note yet it is required for this subject!!This plot is a mixed narration, sometimes first person and sometimes third person!! The relation of the third person with the leads will be revealed slowly once the plot begins to thicken!!On the whole this is a different kind of work , narration wise!! A worth read and definitely a page turner!!
—Harish Kumar Sarma Challapalli
wow! i just can't get enough of the love stories Nicholas Sparks beautifully writes, he really does tug at the heart strings.i love this book, it is definately something i would recomend! at first when it was talking about Miles' wife, i was sad already knowing she later died leave him and Johan to live their lives alone and in pain. i don't like think about people upset even if it is only a book, but then came along sarah, oh the wonderfull sarah! they both deserved each other, hell they more than needed happiness in there life.i was so happy when i knew sarah came alone not replacing but providing much needed love to the family. i need to stop telling you about the story because you've probably it, silly me.so anyway, nichlos sparks really did make the story a mistory for most of the time, i mean i couldn't stop turning the pages untill i knew i knew who killed missy.but anyway i this this well deserves the 5 stars, it had me in tears yet again like all his stories and especially with the ending.. two candles in the window, true love really does exsist.thankyou once again Nicholas, and don't stop writing those incredible tales that make my heart sink.
—Alex Robinson
