Ninety-one-year-old Ira Levinson is in trouble. Struggling to stay conscious after a car crash, an image of his adored - and long-dead - wife Ruth appears. Urging him to hang on, she lovingly recounts the joys and sorrows of their life together: how they met, the dark days of WWII and its unrelenting effect on their families.
A few miles away, college student Sophia Danko's life is about to change when she meets the young, rugged Luke and is thrown into a world far removed from her privileged school life. Sophia sees a tantalising future for herself, but Luke is keeping a secret that could destroy it all.
Over the years I've read most of the books that Nicholas Sparks has written, just got a couple of his older ones to read, and watched ALL the film adaptations so when I saw that The Longest Ride was coming out I knew I wanted to read it so was extremely grateful when I received a copy to review from Jo at Sphere.
There are two parallel storylines going on within the book, the first involving 91-year-old Ira Levinson whose car has veered off the road whilst making one last visit to one of his favourite places. Whilst he's struggling to retain consciousness he starts to see and talk to his beloved late wife Ruth and reminisces about certain events in their long happy life together. He knows that she's not really there with him but the fact that he feels that she is is a great comfort and strength to him.
Elsewhere college student Sophia and cowboy Luke meet at a bar when he comes to her rescue when he witnesses her being hassled by her ex boyfriend Brian. There's an initial attraction between the two but when their lives are so completely different how could they possibly make a relationship work. As they fall in love there are many obstacles they have to overcome not least the secret that Luke is keeping from her that threatens their whole future together...
To me it was pretty obvious how the two stories would intercept so when it happened I wasn't surprised but despite this predictability it didn't detract from what was a charming love story which any hopeless romantics like me will enjoy reading.
I can already see how this could so easily be adapted into a film so it was no surprise to me to then discover that the film rights had been optioned and that a film version is likely is to hit our screens in 2015. I cannot wait to see who is cast to play Luke ;-)
This sounds good. I've read other good reviews of Nicholas Sparks books by different bloggers, but haven't read him yet. I guess 'The Notebook' is the one to start with? SD
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