At First Sight

Author: Nicholas Sparks 

List Price: $24.95 

Pages: 288

Publisher: Warner Books (October 18, 2005)

Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.0

ISBN: 0446532428    

The relationship between journalist Jeremy Marsh¹ and librarian Lexie Darnell that began in True Believer (2005) has now progressed. Jeremy is moving from New York to Boone Creek², North Carolina, as they plan for their wedding and the birth of their child. A friend of Jeremy's warns him that he really doesn't know Lexie, and asks him if he's sure that he's in love.

With the seeds of suspicion planted, Jeremy starts receiving mysterious e-mails that also cast doubt on their relationship. Add to that the fact that he is dealing³ with writer's block and that he has to come to terms with a change in lifestyle as an urbanite⁴ now living in the rural South. This is a man under duress⁵. To avoid gossip, he and Lexie are maintaining separate residences and keeping the pregnancy⁶ a secret. Lexie is comfortable with the town's rules of behavior, but Jeremy is at a loss and finds himself tense and unsure about the future of what he thought was the perfect match.

With his trademark⁷ sensitivity, Sparks delves⁸ into the nitty-gritty of relationships, and considers the sacrifices that each partner has to make in order to have a successful marriage. And readers beware: this is multiple-hankie romance.

Book review

Written in that special way that only Nicholas Sparks can, At First Sight is a must read. If you and your love are contemplating⁹ marriage, you can learn a lot from this book. I especially liked Jeremy's father's advice to him and Doris's advice to her granddaughter, Lexie. To get the full effect of this story, I recommend that you read True Believer by Sparks. It is the precursor¹⁰ to this book and by reading it you will better understand what happens in the continuing love story between big city (New York) boy, Jeremy Marsh, and small town (Boone Creek, North Carolina) girl, Lexie Darnell. I learned to like Lexie much better in AFS. When she listens to her grandmother, she grows.

Nicholas Sparks's writing seems to come so naturally. His dialog is believable and well thought out. The scenes he describes come to life and he can make the reader laugh, sigh or cry as appropriate to the moment about which he's writing. I don't want to give away any of this story other than to say it's about the struggle to adjust to one another when a couple that knows each other only a short time decides to marry. They have so much to learn about one another (which is why it is generally believed that couples know each other a couple of years before taking that long walk down the aisle). There is love, devoted¹¹ friendship, anger, jealousy¹², betrayal, and deep sadness in this story. When I finished it, I just sat for a time and reflected on all it meant: its beauty; the ah-hahs I felt when I read sequences that I could identify with personally...the ones that made me laugh or sigh, and those that brought tears to my eyes.

If you're thinking about a gift for the holidays, I'd recommend giving True Believer and At First Sight as a package to a good friend who enjoys stories of life, love and romance.

Author introduction

Nicholas Sparks is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Rescue and Nights in Rodanthe, as well as The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, A Bend in the Road, The Guardian¹³, The Wedding, and his moving memoir¹⁴, Three Weeks with My Brother, written with his brother, Micah. All his books were New York Times and international bestsellers translated into more than thirty languages, and Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, and The Notebook were adapted into major motion pictures. Nicholas Sparks lives in North Carolina with his wife and family.