The Noel Diary

by Richard Paul Evans

Every November I eagerly await Richard Paul Evans' latest book and he never fails to please. I've read every one of them, and this is one of my favorites, being topped only by Promise Me and The Christmas Box trilogy.

While many of his books are inspired by events in his life, it is my understanding that The Noel Diary is closer than most to the trauma he experienced in his younger years.

The book starts out with Jacob as a successful, but lonely, author. His abusive mother has died years after she placed all his belongs on the front lawn when he was in his late teens. She had never recovered from the death of his older brother, when Jacob was only four years old. As he returns to settle her estate, he finds that she's become a hoarder. Sifting through years and years of accumulation of "stuff" Jacob begins to find answers to questions that have haunted him. He wonders is there a connection with the beautiful woman is of whom he has been dreaming? The girl who stops by to ask about her birth mother reminds him so much of that woman in the dreams who comforts him as a child.

As Jacob searches through his mother's things, I found myself searching with him and wondering what would he find next. I was not disappointed.

I loved the book!

See Me

by Nicholas Sparks

I normally love Nicholas Sparks' novels, but this one was too slow, and didn't get going until about halfway through. The characters were just too perfectly perfect (Maria was the beautiful hispanic lawyer, and Colin the perfectly bad-guy boyfriend. Lily was just not "real" as far as I was concerned), but then maybe I'm jealous of perfection. I like to be able to relate to the characters just a little bit.

Once the story really got started, the book was okay, but definitely not in the same vein as The Lucky One or Nights in Rodanthe, both of which I liked better than even Message in a Bottle.

I'm glad I read the book, but it will go into the Goodwill box.