See Me

Honestly, the book is exactly what you think it’s going to be, and, it’s still good. It’s actually, really good, with a high readability and passes the time quickly.

I will be upfront; I’ve never seen a Nicholas Sparks movie, nor read a Nicholas Sparks book before; I’ve been doing my best to read a variety of books this year and changed genres. This was a pleasant read, quick, and moved fairly fast. I’m not much of a romance type of person, but even as someone who’s not into guys, the main protagonist Colin, was kind of dreamy. No, really, he actually was really dreamy. As a bad boy, MMA fighter, turned good, I thought that the character was a bit over played out in the initial chapters, but as it progressed, I found that he maintained likability and still kept my attention.

A piece of me wanted to dislike the whole story; knowing that it was hitting on many of the romantic elements that I had stereotyped all of Nicholas Sparks books to be, but…it was good. Really good. Even the stereotypical family friend, with a fiancé, who embraces the bad boy, who said bad boy has a soft spot for, and vows that now harm will come to them, even they were perfectly written, well developed, and offered humor to the story in very genuine and sweet ways. I laughed out loud at them…I don’t do that, but they were so cute and added a dimension to the character of Colin.

The female protagonist is well developed with some levels of depth that creates a significant amount of buy-in from the reader. I found myself rooting for her, and was happy with all of her resolutions that occurred in ways that support her character and kept rather true to who she was throughout the book. Maria has some fleeting encounters with sexual harassment, which comes up right away in the story. Sparks actually does a good job of mirroring oft-occurring responses, and does so in a really good way that stays away from self-blame, but also frames the emotional discomfort that (unfortunately) many women have felt in some work situations.

Maria’s story is one that plays into the “thriller” aspect of the story, but, the book isn’t a “thriller,” it’s more like, a plot dimension with some action? I mean, it’s not really a thriller, there is foreshadowing very early on that gives background context to Maria’s past employment as a city prosecutor and some disgruntled individuals due to her work. I’m not really giving anything away, but the reader gets a “pool” of two/three individuals who are affiliated with the same case. Since the case is so far removed and buy-in to the persons affiliated with the case is minimal, in my opinion, it was more so a matter of, “Well…it’s one of them” without really needing a distinction of who it was; as they all were a blur associated with the same issue. However, the thriller aspects lets us spend more time with Colin making himself a bit dreamier and developing as a person.

If I had only one piece of criticism; Colin is an MMA fighter, and it’s initially very central to his figure. However, I actually watch and follow a lot of MMA, and there is a disconnect between some of the training components and what Colin is doing. I had given up some hope that Nicholas Sparks really knew anything about MMA, but then he made a comment about an amateur fight sometimes getting a bit more brawl-like, which made me happy, as it’s true, but the relationships between fights and coaches and even training partners are really strong; so that aspect maybe a bit under played. Again, that’s just me, having that familiarity. I still liked it a lot.

From my blog: [...]

Today is my day to catch up on writing all of my reviews! I’ve been slacking lately with the holidays, but it’s a new year and I’ve made a promise to myself to get better about posting on my blog and I intend to do just that! I bought this book this past October when it was released. Actually I think I had preordered it if I’m remembering correctly.

I’ve only read three Nicholas Sparks novels. The Last Song, The Longest Ride and The Best of Me. So far The Longest Ride has been my favorite, probably because it’s country themed and I’m a country girl at heart. lol. Although I did like all of the others as well as See Me. When I read the summary for this book I immediately preordered it. I’m not a huge fan of really sappy romances which is why I like Sparks books because they usually have an underlying twist to them somewhere along the way that makes things a bit more interesting verse just boy meets girl.

See Me by Nicholas Sparks

See me just as I see you . . .IMG_2221.JPG

Colin Hancock is giving his second chance his best shot. With a history of violence and bad decisions behind him and the threat of prison dogging his every step, he’s determined to walk a straight line. To Colin, that means applying himself single-mindedly toward his teaching degree and avoiding everything that proved destructive in his earlier life. Reminding himself daily of his hard-earned lessons, the last thing he is looking for is a serious relationship.

Maria Sanchez, the hardworking daughter of Mexican immigrants, is the picture of conventional success. With a degree from Duke Law School and a job at a prestigious firm in Wilmington, she is a dark-haired beauty with a seemingly flawless professional track record. And yet Maria has a traumatic history of her own, one that compelled her to return to her hometown and left her questioning so much of what she once believed.

A chance encounter on a rain-swept road will alter the course of both Colin and Maria’s lives, challenging deeply held assumptions about each other and ultimately, themselves. As love unexpectedly takes hold between them, they dare to envision what a future together could possibly look like . . . until menacing reminders of events in Maria’s past begin to surface.

As a series of threatening incidents wreaks chaos in Maria’s life, Maria and Colin will be tested in increasingly terrifying ways. Will demons from their past destroy the tenuous relationship they’ve begun to build, or will their love protect them, even in the darkest hour?

Rich in emotion and fueled with suspense, SEE ME reminds us that love is sometimes forged in the crises that threaten to shatter us . . . and that those who see us for who we truly are may not always be the ones easiest to recognize.

My Thoughts: 4 Stars

See Me follows the lives of Collin Hancock, a twenty eight year old, MMA fighter with a difficult past and Maria Sanchez, a young gentle lawyer who’s always been on the right side of the law. Collins life hasn’t been easy considering his many brushes with the law in the past and his mounting anger issues he’s had since he was child.

Given a second chance to walk to the straight and narrow Collin vows to stay out of trouble and focus on weight training and getting his degree to become a teacher. All those promises to himself seem to drift away when Maria comes into Collins life after he helps her with a flat tire one stormy night on the way back from a competition.

Maria is a smart lawyer with a huge loving wonderful Mexican family. She’s never been in trouble or really taken many risks in her life, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a haunting past of her own. After receiving threats from a previous client Maria decides it’s time to move back closer to her family and start somewhere brand new hoping the threats would stop when she left, and they did. Welcoming the straightforward honest to a fault Collin into her life is the biggest risk Maria has ever taken and probably the best one too.

The attraction between Maria and Collin was quite obvious even though they are sorta polar opposites. They never planned on falling in love, but they did. But even before they can start a future together Maria’s past catches up to her threatening to derail everything. Collins instinct is to protect Maria everyway he knows how but ultimately puts his life and future in jeopardy.

The suspense in the story was great towards the end, but it did seem like it took a while for things in the story to pick up pace a bit. I had no idea who the stalker was until more towards the ending when everything clicked into place.

I really liked Collin, probably because I’m a sucker for the bad boys gone good kind of characters. I liked Maria too. I loved her family and how close she was to her sister Serena, and how real their sibling relationship came across in the story. Collins bestfriend Evan and his fiancé Lily were amazing as well! I swear if this book becomes a movie they need to cast Jaime King (CW’s Hart of Dixie) as Lily because that’s who popped into my head during her parts and she’d be PERFECT!!!

Overall, I liked this novel a lot. It was a nice quick read with a great storyline and set of characters. What’s your favorite Nicholas Sparks book? Let me know in the comments!

It is easy to understand the appeal many people (mostly women I am sure) have for the romance novels of Nicholas Sparks. This particular tale (See Me: a novel by Nicholas Sparks) is somewhat different in that it mixes mystery and suspense with romance making it an interesting and fun read. For me, the hero in this book (Colin Hancock) has made too many bad decisions to really relate too; however, on the up side, he is trying to amend for his past mistakes as he has a history of violence.

The story centers on a chance meeting of Maria Sanchez, who is a graduate of Duke Law School, on a rainy road that will eventually change their lives as in time their romance blossoms. I never give away too much information when reviewing a novel because I feel too much information can spoil the story for the reader; however, if you are a fan of the romance novels of Nicholas Sparks you may want to read this book. Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Zen poetry moments: Haiku and Senryu for special occasions).