A bottle thrown into the ocean could have ended up anywhere. This one ended up washing ashore for Theresa to find in MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE by Nicholas Sparks (1998). It changes her life not only when she reads the message, but when she tries to find the man who had written the beautiful letter that starts with: "My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together...."

Anytime I read a book by Nicholas Sparks I know I will get to experience the beach. I love the fact that he includes his passion for the sea in the majority of his novels. In MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE he not only took us to the beach, he took us on the ocean in a sailboat—beautiful descriptions. (Thanks Nick!)

There was an obvious contrast of city life and small town life. You can feel the difference in each location, through the tempo of the characters lives, the sights and sounds that were described.

I could have been Theresa. I felt her pain. I felt her curiosity. She is pushed into finding Garrett (which I wouldn’t have needed a push.) Garrett was a mystery. I like knowing what people are thinking and look forward to reading books written in omniscient/limited omni. I was glad to know how he felt. It made my heart hurt to watch him struggle with having to move on after the death of his spouse. His struggle seemed so real and even made me struggle with the idea of him moving on.

I love romance stories that are tasteful with strong and original storylines. This is one of those stories. I loved Garrett’s letters. They were filled with truth, passion and intimacy.

Garrett’s dad was such a character. (Nicholas Sparks always writes interesting dads.) He said very little but what he did say was genuine and to the point. He didn’t mess around. Why he didn’t show up more is a mystery to me.