The Wedding

Nicholas Sparks has done it again... He has suprised me with a heart-warming story about long-term love and life.
Whenever I pick up a Nicholas Sparks book, I am always looking forward to the little secrets the characters harbor and the little twists and turns along the way until fate puts everything into place to create big droplets coming out of my eyes.

The Wedding is exactly that, a seemingly ordinary love story with a big bang at the end.
The story revolves around one of Allie and Noah Calhoun's children named Jane. She has been married to Wilson Lewis for 30 years and their marriage has turned rocky over the years.
To top the whole situation off, Wilson even forgot their Anniversay and as a result, Jane started to emotionally disconnect form him.

Wilson startet seeking help from Noah, who was known to be a true romantic. Wilson soon starts to make daily efforts in getting back together emotionally and physically. It takes him one year to prepare for the
biggest surprise that Jane will ever receive and in the end he succeeds and wins back the heart of his wife.

What I loved about this story aside from the climax were the little things that Wilson tried to do to get closer to Jane. Nicholas Sparks had written it with great care, elaborating how difficult the process of reclaiming a relationship really is. I felt this book, that is the only way I can explain how the book touched me. This book taught me patience and repairing the seeminlgy irreparable.


Excerpt from The Wedding:

"Okay," Jane said as we stood in the drive. "I guess that's it."
Anna was waiting in the car.
"You'll call, right? I mean, if anything comes up."
"I promise," I said. "And say hey to Leslie for me."
As I opened the car door for her, I could already feel the heat of the day bearing down on me.
The air was thick and heavy, making the homes up the street look hazy.
Another scorcher, I thought. "Have a good time today," I said, missing her already.
Jane nodded and took a step toward the open door. Watching her, I knew she could still turn the head of any man. How had I become middle-aged while the ravages of time ignored her?
I didn't know and didn't care, and before I could stop then, the words were already out.
"You're beautiful," I murmured.
Jane turned back with a look of faint surprise. By her expression, I knew she was trying to figure out
whether she'd heard me correctly. I suppose I could have waited for her to respond, but instead I did what was once as natural to me as breathing. Moving close before she could turn away, I kissed her gently, her lips soft against my own. 
This wasn't like any of the other kisses we'd shared recently, quick and perfunctory, like acquaintances greeting each other. I didn't pull back and neither did she, and the kiss took on a life of its own. And when we finally drew apart and I saw her expression, I knew with certainty that I'd done exactly the right thing.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

This is yet another enchanted novel by Sarah Addison Allen. I have enjoyed reading Garden Spells so much and I did enjoy this particular book even more. Every character had its quirks and secrets yet again and everything in that story seemed dipped in magic.

The story revolves around two women living in the town of Mullaby in North Carolina. Emily Benedict just moved into Mullaby hoping to uncover secrets her late mother seemingly had. She moves into her Grandfathers house who was litterally a giant at almost eight feet. Her room used to be that of her mother and the wallpapers change and adapt to the mood of the person within.

She soon meets Julia, who also just returned to Mullaby to restore her fathers grill. Her plan was to sell the grill because her father past away and take off to restart her life in the big city. She adds sweetness to the grill with her cakes and pastries. Julia hides yet another secret that she shares with her teenage love Sawyer.

Emily meets Win Coffey who is instantly attracted to her but who also hides another secret. Both Julia and Emily fall in love and discover themselves in the process. In the end, all is good where some secrets were grave mistakes that have been done in the past and other secrets are little magical traits shared by members of a family or a skill.

I really loved reading this book because it tickles my fantasy nerve and it still stays real. I can relate to the characters and the small town environment just made me feel like home. I am already looking forward to reading Peach Keeper.

Of course I didn't forget to include an excerpt for your guys:


The Girl Who Chased The Moon

'I've been thinking about you a lot this past week,' Emily said, and it came out a lot more moony than she intended. He lowered his gaze from the sky and met her eyes. His smile was mischievous. 'Oh?'
'Not like that,' she said, laughing. She stopped laughing when their seat swayed back and forth in the wind. She grabbed the safety bar in front of them. Of course he didn't seem afraid to be up this high. 'I just can't get my mind around something.'
'What is it?' 'You wouldn't happen to be a werewolf, would you?' 'Excuse me?' he said.
She slowly loosened her holds on the bar and sat back. 'There are only two reasons I can think of for why you don't come out at night: night blindness of werewolf.'
'And you decided to go with werewolf?'
'It was a toss-up.' Win didn't answer for a few moments. He finally said, 'It's tradition. It's gone on for centuries.'
'Why?'
'That's a good question. I guess because that's what traditions do.'