The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

"During his third mission in Iraq, Logan Thibault American soldier is a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the sand. At the base, no one claims it and he just saving it. Logan suddenly starts to get lucky: winning in poker games, survives an attack that killed two of his companions? Back to the U.S., women seek Logan portrayed but certainly not expected to strong but vulnerable person with whom he meets in Hampton, North Carolina. The attraction to her catches him off guard and just keeping the history of photography, his charm, a secret. A secret that can end up destroying the wonderful love story that just begun."

 Summary 

U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his first tour of duty in Iraq. He carries the photo in his pocket and soon wins a streak of poker games, then survives a battle that kills two of his closest buddies. His best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph, his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault begins to believe that the woman in the photo somehow holds the key to his destiny. He sets out on a journey across the country with his dog Zeus to find her and eventually encounters Elizabeth Green, a divorced mother with a young son Ben, in Hampton, North Carolina.

Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo and his luck a secret. He and Elizabeth begin a passionate love affair, but the secret of the photo will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their deep and true passionate love, but also their very lives.

 Themes 

The novel deals with the themes of fate and destiny. Despite the allusions to such themes made in the novel, Sparks admitted that he does not necessarily believe in either. He adds, however, that he is "a big believer in the fact that people have the ability to influence the future in a way that seems coincidental and when that happens, the feeling of fate or destiny is amplified. [...] In the end, when writing The Lucky One, I wanted to explore the subject of fate or destiny, but in a way that reflected the reality of the world."

 Review 

"Over the past few years I have have come to realize that I am a hopeless romantic. I love reading stories about two people having a chance meeting and just knowing from that moment that they were meant to be together, no matter how much their relationship gets tested. That is why this week's selection happens to be from the man that I like to call the King of Romance Novels, Nicholas Sparks.

I liked this book. I have read several books on it, "A Walk To Remember", "Dear John", "The last song", "The notebook" and enjoyed them, even though they both had sad endings. And although they all have sad endings, I have loved so much.
The book drags in certain spots because there is a lot of back story about each character that needs to be told, but there are also moments of action. Now, keep in mind because this is a romance novel the action scenes are few and far between, but the few that do exist leave an impact on the reader, especially the ending.
Sparks writes from the perspective of the main love triangle - Logan, Beth, and Beth's ex-husband, Keith. As I've mentioned before, I am not the biggest fan of multiple points of view, but this method helps push the plot along. It also shows the readers how the characters are connected. This book is great for anyone, especially those who love a great love story every now and then. I enjoyed reading it and I hope you do too. Maybe someday we will have that chance meeting where we meet the right person."

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