Ahh, Nicholas Sparks, you’ve done it again.
Volunteer fireman Taylor McAden is no stranger to taking risks, except when it comes to one thing, women. Born and bred in the small town of Edenton, North Carolina he really is an upstanding southern gentlemen. He works hard in his own contracting business, goes out at all hours of the day to help others, but the one thing he won’t do is let himself fall in love.
Denise Holton gave her heart and her life to her young son Kyle. Life, and parenting, certainly isn’t what she thought it would be, but that doesn’t mean she’s giving up. One night on her way home from work things go terribly wrong. An awful storm has moved in and in her haste to get home has a terrible accident. The last thing she ever thought she’d be doing is looking for her lost son.
This terrible storm brings two poeple who need each other together. (Aweeee) The question is though, will it last? (Duhn Duhn Duhnnn)
My Thoughts:
The Rescue immediately made it to my list of favorites. The primary reason is Kyle. Damn if that kid didn’t have my heart from the get-go. The other reason is everything that the characters had to overcome to get their ultimate happy ending.
Everything about this book was fantastic. I loved Denise to death and praise her for doing all she has for Kyle. She didn’t bargain for becoming a parent the way she did and when she did, but she took it in stride. When it turned out that not everything was as it should be Denise sacrificed her home and her job that she loves to give Kyle everything she can. That is true dedication to your child, and unfortunately it’s too commonly not something that parents are willing to do for their children.
Taylor, ahh Taylor, how I love myself a tortured hero. What a good, hardworking man he is with of course those obligatory skeletons in the closet. Taylor is sooo good to Kyle, one of the reasons I love him as I do. He’s also an idiot at times, but I understand it better after having finished the book than I did in the middle. He’s been incredibly lucky but still isn’t willing to give up his volunteer position at the fire department which also makes him stubborn. Are we seeing a pattern here? But really, you can’t not love him.
I’ll say this also, I knew that there was some huge, pivotal event headed my way. I was waiting to see what would happen, and when it did it knocked me for a loop. It was one of those things that it should’ve been obvious and once I picked up on it I was going, “NO! NO! Don’t you fucking do it Sparks!” Which of course he proceeded to, which of course meant I hopped off the couch pissed off with tears streaming down my face. (This is also about 2 a.m. I can imagine how it would’ve looked had I awoken my mother.)
All of that leads me to my next piece, the warning. This is a tearjerker. If your cold and have no heart then you probably won’t care. If your heart beats then be prepared for tears. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t crying almost constantly for the last 100 pages or so of the book. It was one of those, your tears literally just dried up and something happens bringing new ones out. Awesome.
The bottom line: Great book, amazing read. On my favorites list for good, I’ll be going back to this regularly, I’m sure of it. So curl up in a hoodie and sweatpants with a box of tissues and a cup of hot chocolate or tea or whatever your poison happens to be, and enjoy the story.
Among Stories 