The Return

by Nicholas Sparks

Hardcover, 2020

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Collection

Publication

Grand Central Publishing (2020), 368 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML:In the romantic tradition of Dear John, an injured Navy doctor meets two extremely important women whose secrets will change the course of his life in this #1 New York Times bestseller. Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he'd inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any. Tending to his grandfather's beloved beehives, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local . . . yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can't ignore. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding. Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road. Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues�??until a crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have imagined. In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all beg… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member SimplyKelina
I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

Nicholas Sparks really helped when it comes to my love of reading. His last few books have
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missed the mark for me, but I will still read anything he puts out. I was super excited for The Return and read it the day it released. Sadly, this one just did not live up to what I expect from him either.

This had way too much dialogue. The story was just dragging along. I was not connecting with anything going on and nothing was keeping my interest. I ended up skimming some of the chapters to see if the story would pick up a little.

This was almost two stories in one. I wish it would have followed Callie from the start. I was lost and bored with Trevor and the bee stories. It did not bring anything to the story and took too long to get to the meat of everything. I really started to get interested when the story with Callie started to develop.

Overall, I am glad I pushed through this one as the last ¾ of the book was much better. I would have DNF this if it was any other author though. I would give the first half two stars and the second half three stars.
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LibraryThing member Ronrose1
Nicholas Sparks has once again given us a story that touches the heart strings. He uses the angst of his characters to evoke feelings of pathos in his readers. Down home settings and lovable characters are replete in this tale of love and loss. A sure winner for his legion of fans.
LibraryThing member Twink
The Return is the newest novel from Nicholas Sparks. And for faithful readers of Sparks (me included), The Return is another read in the style we've come to enjoy.

Trevor Benson was a doctor in the Navy, but was bombed in Afghanistan, suffering severe injuries himself. As he's recuperating, he
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learns his beloved grandfather has passed on. And he's left Trevor his cabin in a small town in North Carolina. What better place to recuperate?

Trevor was a very likable lead. His inner dialogue is thoughtful and considered. In addition to his physical injuries, he's also battling PTSD. I think Sparks did a great job detailing this condition, as well as the ways that Trevor uses to cope. Trevor meets Deputy Natalie Masterson in New Bern and the spark he feels for her is undeniable. Could she feel the same? Natalie too seems to be one of the walking wounded, harboring secrets she doesn't want to share. There's one more lost soul that Trevor crosses paths with. Callie is an enigmatic teenager who lives in the trailer park down the road. It seems she was friends with Trevor's grandfather, but doesn't want much to do with Trevor.

How will the lives of these three characters interact? In the trademark way we've come to expect from Sparks. Loss, grief, acceptance, love, hope, faith and fate entwine the fates of Natalie, Trevor and Callie together. I enjoyed the plotlines that Sparks uses to tell this story. We don't have the full story until the end of the book is coming up. I enjoyed the slow, thoughtful, measured pace that Sparks uses to tell this story. Mystery, romance and more are knit together into a comforting read. I enjoy the detailed descriptions that bring the setting to life.

Bees also play a part in The Return. I have to say, I learned quite a bit about beekeeping as well.

The Return is the perfect read for those days when you want to just want to curl up with a good book and a pot of tea. And believe in love. And as with many other Sparks books, I can see this one as a movie.

And this was fun to discover - the dust jacket has a flip side, portraying a winter snow covered porch with a Happy Holidays tag. If you're gifting it for Christmas, make sure to flip the picture.
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LibraryThing member muddyboy
Sure to please his faithful readers as it reads like a harlequin romance. The story centers on a military surgeon who has a career ending injury while serving in the middle east. After coming home he finds out his grandfather has died and he must attend to his affairs in North Carolina. Here, of
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course, he meets an attractive young lady and predictably there are many issues that thwart their relationship. There are a couple other plot lines. The thing that kills me is how perfect the main character (Trevor) is - so courteous, so nice and ALWAYS saying the right thing. A fantasy man.
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LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
Even though I didn't think "The Return" was as good as Sparks' earlier novels, it was certainly better than some of his recent offerings. I enjoyed learning more about bee-keeping and the descriptions of the various locations were lovely. Trevor was a nice guy (but a little obsessive) and I thought
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the relationship he had with Callie, the teenage runaway, was more realistic than the romance between him and Natalie. At times it felt rushed and unbelievable.

However, the biggest disappointment was that "The Return" lacked the emotional intensity that I have come to expect from this author, but still a nice read.
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LibraryThing member Vanessa_Menezes
I'm a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks, so I had high hopes on this book and was eagerly waiting to read it.

Initially it took me some time to actually get into the story and there was also a point when I thought of setting it aside for another day. However, I continued to read on since I was curious to
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know what happens.

The plot moves extremely slow and nothing much really happens until the last few chapters. Also, I felt that chemistry between the main characters, Trevor and Natalie, was slightly missing. The part of the story I did enjoy was learning about bees and beekeeping, it was both educational and fun.

No doubt it is well written book with a gorgeous cover and an apt title to describe it. But it isn’t as good or intense as other Nicholas Sparks books.
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LibraryThing member JoniMFisher
Nickolas Sparks' The Return flowed logically and smoothly with wonderful surprises and tension along the way. Trevor Benson is a lovable, flawed character with a huge heart trying to settle his beloved grandfather's estate in a small town. The locals cannot explain why grandfather died so far from
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home, but Trevor pursues the mystery. Believable, complex characters energize the story.
Another heartwarming peek into the soul by Author Nickolas Sparks.
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LibraryThing member marciablnc
It wasn’t my favorite book by Nicholas Sparks. I thought the story was slow developing.
LibraryThing member hobbitprincess
Predictable book but good enough that I read it in one day.
LibraryThing member jbarr5
The Return by Nicholas Sparks
This story starts out with Charlie and he's getting over PTSD while at his grandfather's house. He had recently passed away and Charlie tries to figure out some clues from their last conversation.
Things don't add up. He meets the deputy Natalie and they hit it off but
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she's far away at times to him.
He also meets a young woman who waitresses at the local store. There are mysteries about her also.
He's healing not only his PTSD but he plans to go back to get a degree himself. Love the travel they do to find out about the missing girl.
Love the beekeeping an all about it, never realized so many things. Love time Charlie and Natalie spend with one another till he agrees to do one thing for her, it's devastating to me but it works for them...
or does it? Medical emergencies bring them back together to work on the case as they find the clues and where they lead.
Undetrstanding different treatments that will work for some with PTSD helps me and my son, the boat is super and info about bees, pricesless.
Didn't expect the ending, usually these types of books are not happy moments at all.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
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LibraryThing member soosthemoose
Didn't enjoy as much as some Sparks books but still a very enjoyable book.
LibraryThing member LVStrongPuff
I liked this one better than Dear John.
LibraryThing member Amzzz
A somewhat predictable but comforting holiday read
LibraryThing member zmagic69
Not as good as many of his other books. Quite predictable. But still very well told.
LibraryThing member IceQueenTN
Another great love story from Nicholas Sparks!

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

8.5 inches

ISBN

1538728575 / 9781538728574
Page: 0.4736 seconds