Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

From Goodreads: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

I would have to say that this was not what I expected from Nicholas Sparks and then, a little bit of it was exactly what I expected. When I think of Sparks I think of love stories that are a bit over the top, too sappy for my taste but this book, Safe Haven,  had a bit of an edge to it. Sparks was able to write about domestic violence in such a convincing way that he had me scared. It was the same "edge of you seat, biting your fingernails" feeling I got with Backseat Saints, where you just want to scream at the woman, "Look out!" That suspense was a great surprise and made for an exciting read. But....it is still after all Nicholas Sparks so, yes, there was some drippy sentimentality at times that just made me want to puncture my own ear drum so it would stop. I am a married woman, I know a lot of other married women, none of us talk about our husbands with the gooey awe that the heroines in Sparks' books employ - we love them, we just don't worship them. I will be eager to hear what devoted Sparks fans think of this one.

Another one that counts for all sorts of challenges....

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy an Okra Pick

From Goodreads: Bestselling author Pat Conroy acknowledges the books that have shaped him and celebrates the profound effect reading has had on his life. Pat Conroy, the beloved American storyteller, is also a vora­cious reader. He has for years kept a notebook in which he notes words or phrases, just from a love of language. But read­ing for him is not simply a pleasure to be enjoyed in off-hours or a source of inspiration for his own writing. It would hardly be an exaggeration to claim that reading has saved his life, and if not his life then surely his sanity. In My Life in Books, Conroy revisits a life of passionate reading. He includes wonderful anecdotes from his school days, mov­ing accounts of how reading pulled him through dark times, and even lists of books that particularly influenced him at vari­ous stages of his life, including grammar school, high school, and college.

I wanted to love this one because I love Pat Conroy but, unfortunately, I didn't. I was not able to reconcile what I expect from Conroy - a novel - with what this was - essays. I hold myself to blame for that. I needed to read more slowly, to let one story finish and be done before I started the next one, but I just couldn't stop myself from plowing through so then the disconnectedness felt more acute. Each story is meant to be savored on it's own; there are stories set here in Beaufort, others in Atlanta, even Paris, there are stories from his childhood, his years as a young author, and anecdotes about his later years, but I wanted them all to be connected in a more linear way and that's not the way this book is laid out. It didn't help that I haven't read most of the books that greatly influenced Conroy's life - Gone with the Wind - no, War and Peace - no, anything by James Dickey (haven't even heard of James Dickey!) - no, Look, Homeward Angel - no,no, no - it just goes on and on highlighting my lack of literary knowledge! So in the words of George Kastanza, "It's not you, Pat, it's me." (And yes, I fully expect next year, some ambitions blogger will host a Pat Conroy My Reading Life Challenge - I can see it coming!)

This book is an Okra Picks and counts towards the challenge being hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion. By reading just this one book, I acheive the level of Goober!

Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

From Goodreads: Elizabeth "Betts" McGee loved those lazy afternoons on pristine Bulls Island in the Carolina Lowcountry. But everything came crashing down when tragic fate—coupled with nasty rumor and innuendo—ended her engagement to Charleston golden boy J.D. Langley of the fabulously wealthy (and fabulously snooty) Langley clan. Betts left soon after, and she hasn't been back in nearly twenty years. Successfully reinventing herself in New York City, Betts is now a top banking executive and heading up the most important project of her career, but it'll transform the untouched island she loved in her youth into something unrecognizable. And it's forcing her to return to the bosom of her estranged family, where she may not be welcomed with open arms. Worse still, it's uniting her with ex-flame J.D., who's changed . . . but perhaps not enough.

This one was just alright for me. I've read a couple of Dorothea Benton Franks books lately, Isle of Palms which I did not like and Lowcountry Summer which I did like. This one would fall somewhere in the middle. I didn't actively dislike it but I wasn't all that thrilled either. She does a great job capturing the Lowcountry feel by using actual places, descriptions of native plants, regionally appropriate architecture, and realistic accents for the characters speech. But perhaps I was a bit jaded about it all because it is so familiar to me, hard to get too excited about an alligator in the story when we live with an alligator in our pond like most people on the islands around here do. The key conflict was a "ripped from the headlines" style plot about developers versus environmentalist, that's a pretty constant issue here as well. Everyone decries the loss of natural habitats but at the same time they'd all like a house on the water. So when the things that are supposed to make the story special just don't feel that special you are left with the bare bones of the romance and relationship to carry you through and those were just okay for me. I was displeased with the lack of repercussions for the resolution of one major plot line. Frank did that in Isle of Palms as well, set up a great big secret with all sorts of tension and then everyone just says, "Oh, okay, it's okay." and we're done. I still have another of hers in my TBR pile, The Land of Mango Sunsets, I'm curious how much I will like it.

This one will count towards the Southern Literature Challenge hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader.  Click on the logo to see my progress.

Southern Literature Reading Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader.  She says..."Read a book(s)--non-fiction or fiction of any genre, adult or young adult--written by an author from the South and set mostly in the South." I'm signing up for Level 4--Y'all come back now, y'hear! to read 4 books -  should be a piece of cake because I've got three already lined up to read so I just need one more!

Here's where I'll keep track of my books...
1. Bull's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank
2. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
3. Miss Hildreth Wore Brown by Olivia deBelle Byrd
4. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks