BOOK REVIEW

TITLE: Remain

AUTHOR: Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan

PUBLISHER: Random House

RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2025

GENRE: Romance, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy

BUY LINKS: AMAZON | B&N

A one-of-a-kind novel that grapples with the supernatural mysteries of life, death, and human connection—an unprecedented collaboration between the globally bestselling author of love stories like The Notebook and the renowned writer and director of blockbuster thrillers like The Sixth Sense

When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

A story about the power of transcendent emotion, Remain asks us all: Can love set us free not only from our greatest sorrows, but even from the boundaries of life and death? (Description from Goodreads.com)

MY THOUGHTS

(***Please note that this review may contain spoilers***)

I absolutely loved Remain and devoured it in less than 24 hours. As with all Nicholas Sparks books, I made sure to start reading it on a Friday, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to put it down. It was going on 2am Saturday when my husband asked if we could go to sleep, so I reluctantly set it aside to finish when I woke up.

I was a little skeptical with Sparks doing a co-written novel with M. Night Shyamalan. Spark’s novels have typically been set in reality with the exception of a  few elements in some books like Safe Haven. There’s comfort in that because I can relate to characters more, but I have read books and watched movies with supernatural elements I’ve connected with as well. So I went into the book with an open mind knowing I will likely still enjoy it because it’s a Nicholas Sparks book.

I’ve seen Shyamalan’s films and they can get scary sometimes, but they wrote a very balanced supernatural love story. There were some scarier parts to Remain, but it never crossed the line into a horror book and the scary moments added some really good suspense and tension. I was getting hints of Shyamalan’s film The Sixth Sense where the ghosts don’t know they are dead, but are somehow trying to tell the main character what happened to them.

Sparks and Shyamalan also did a great job keeping you guessing on who Wren’s killers were. Just when I was sure it was one person, something another character said or did lead me in another direction. Once Tate mentioned Wren’s locket towards the end, I knew who it was and connected several dots about interactions with those characters.

As for the love story portion, I was completely heartbroken for Tate. Just as he knew nothing could happen with Wren, the reader knows this as well. I did hope there would be some additional supernatural elements that bring Wren back to life for him or maybe it could have been like the movie Bedazzled, where he ends up with another version of his love interest at the end (slightly different look, but essentially the same person). However, the way it ended was very good and if ghosts are real then this would likely be the most realistic scenario.

There were some really good quotes from the book that I earmarked. They were both really sad and romantic to think about, but gave a perfect explanation to being with someone and loving someone completely.

“Along with ordinary pleasures, like making dinner together or snuggling while bingeing a TV show….That’s what love really is…It’s the simple, tender moments reserved just for the two of you. There’s beauty in that kind of everyday commitment”

“I’d rather be married to you for a single day than live a hundred lifetimes without you.”

Overall, I really enjoyed Remain and highly recommend reading it. I’m also looking forward to seeing the film when it’s completed. As of this post, it’s supposed to be released in October 2026. Watch out for my Book vs Movie post after I watch the film.

Also, I still can’t believe I was able to meet Nicholas Sparks in person. He’s my favorite author. Check out my post: Book Events | Nicholas Sparks Remain Book Tour – Update for more info.

OVERALL RATING

ABOUT NICHOLAS SPARKS

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Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.

Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), and The Longest Ride (2013) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His eighteenth novel, See Me, published on October 12, 2015. His newest book, Two by Two, will be published on October 4, 2016.

Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars.

In 2012, Sparks and his publishing agent and creative partner Theresa Park, launched Nicholas Sparks Productions, with Park as President of Production. A film version of The Guardian is currently in development, as is a film based on Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers’s friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo.

Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4 x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands. (Bio found on NicholasSparks.com)

ABOUT M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN

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Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan, known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian American writer-director of major studio films, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that usually climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies (and staging his plots) in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Shyamalan released his first film, Praying with Anger, in 1992 while he was a New York University student. His second movie, the major feature film Wide Awake, made in 1995 but not released until 3 years later, failed to find financial success. Shyamalan gained international recognition when he wrote and directed 1999’s The Sixth Sense, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. He followed The Sixth Sense by writing and directing Unbreakable, released in 2000, which received mixed reviews and performed poorly during its domestic release. His 2002 film Signs gained both critical and financial success, but The Village (2004) was a critical and commercial disappointment, and Lady in the Water (2006) was a commercial failure receiving mostly negative reviews. His latest movie The Happening was also a critical failure. (Bio from Goodreads)

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BOOK REVIEW

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling

PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury (Original)

RELEASE DATE: June 26, 1997

GENRE: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

BUY LINKS: AMAZON | B&N

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin! (Description from Goodreads.com)

MY THOUGHTS

After all this time…I finally decided to start reading the Harry Potter series.

Unlike most Harry Potter fans, I have only seen the movies. Seeing the movies first, I have the same skepticism of those that read the books first. My thoughts going into the book were, “I love the movies; will I even like the books” or “will the books ruin the movies for me”? Thankfully I liked the book, but I’m still a bigger fan of the movie.

Since many people likely know the overall story I won’t get into that in this review, but I’ll just point out a few things I liked and disliked that were in the book and not the films.

I really enjoyed reading more about Neville Longbottom and that he is a more prominent character in the book. I also enjoyed the potions riddle that Snape had put together to get to the sorcerers stone. I felt Hermione was able to shine a lot more with that challenge.

Contrary to popular opinion, I am happy that the character Peeves the Poltergeist was not in the movie. It was quite an annoying character.

Just like the film, the book is definitely more geared towards children, but I still enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one.

OVERALL RATING

ABOUT J.K. ROWLING

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J.K.Rowling is a British author, best known for her seven-book Harry Potter series, which became a global media franchise. Born Joanne Rowling on July 31, 1965, in Yate, England, she studied French and Classics at the University of Exeter before conceiving the idea for Harry Potter on a delayed train journey in 1990. After her first marriage ended and she moved to Scotland, she struggled financially before publishing the first Harry Potter book in 1997, eventually achieving worldwide success. She also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith and is known for her philanthropic work and controversial public views on transgender issues.

(Bio and photo found on Goodreads & Online)

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BOOK REVIEW 

TITLE: The Lost Bookshop

AUTHOR: Evie Woods

PUBLISHER: One More Chapter/HarperCollins UK

RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2023

GENRE: Fantasy, Fiction

BUY LINKS: Amazon; Barnes & Noble; Audible

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found…For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems (Description from Goodreads).

MY THOUGHTS

(***Please note that this review may contain spoilers***)

The Lost Bookshop is told in three points of view; Opaline, Martha and Henry. All three stories are woven together by the end and there are many other interesting side characters throughout.

Opaline’s story was my favorite part of the book. In 1922, she was trying to escape a life she didn’t want. Just when it seemed like she was settled and finding her way in the world, her horrible brother would find her and destroy it all. Her story was so interesting and so painful to read. My heart ached for her and she suffered so much at the hands of her brother.

Then there’s Martha’s story which is also heartbreaking and we later find out she’s connected to Opaline in more ways than just the lost bookshop. In present day, Martha has run away to Dublin from an extremely abusive husband and stumbles upon a help wanted ad for a live in maid. She’s hired and discovers that the house is more than it seems eventually turning out to be the lost bookshop that had been Opaline’s.

Henry’s story served the purpose of being the reason that Martha gets interested in finding out Opaline’s story, but I felt that he didn’t need his own POV in the book. However, I think he deserved to find the manuscript he had been searching for throughout the book.

The magic of the bookshop is pretty low key throughout the book and slowly builds. Small magical things happen like random books showing up for Martha to read then sometimes it felt like the shop was trying to play matchmaker a few times.  It isn’t until the end of the book that you get the extent of the magic when the bookshop finally reveals itself to Martha and Henry. I do wish there were more magical elements though.

Overall, I would recommend this book! It gives you an idea of how women were treated in Opaline’s time and sheds light on those suffering from abuse like Martha. Those who love books will also enjoy the overarching theme of books and a magical bookshop as well.

OVERALL RATING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Evie Woods is the author of The Lost Bookshop, the #1 Wall Street Journal and Amazon Kindle and Sunday Times bestseller, which has now sold over half a million copies. She is also the author of The Story Collector, The Heirloom and The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris under her real name, Evie Gaughan.

Living on the West Coast of Ireland, Evie escapes the inclement weather by writing her stories in a converted attic, where she dreams of underfloor heating. Her books tread the intriguing line between the everyday and the otherworldly, revealing the magic that exists in our ordinary lives.

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BOOK REVIEW

TITLE: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

AUTHOR: Gabrielle Zevin

PUBLISHER: Algonquin Books

RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

GENRE: Fiction, Women’s Fiction

BUY LINKS: AMAZON | B&N

A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island—from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who’s always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.’s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.

And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It’s a small package, but large in weight. It’s that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. It doesn’t take long for the locals to notice the change overcoming A.J.; or for that determined sales rep, Amelia, to see her curmudgeonly client in a new light; or for the wisdom of all those books to become again the lifeblood of A.J.’s world; or for everything to twist again into a version of his life that he didn’t see coming. As surprising as it is moving, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is an unforgettable tale of transformation and second chances, an irresistible affirmation of why we read, and why we love.(Description from Goodreads.com)

MY THOUGHTS

(***Please note that this review may contain spoilers***)

I have so many books on my “to read” list that I hadn’t been able to read this book until a few years ago. I watched the movie and loved it. Then I read the book and cannot recommend it enough. It’s one of my favorites and will always remain on my bookshelf. I purchased it many years ago, (around the time it was released in 2014) while attending a Women’s National Book Association event in California.

I was able to get Gabrielle to sign it as well. She referenced an “Ice Bucket Challenge” and from what I recall the decor of the event included books being placed in ice buckets (without the ice of course) and in 2014 that challenge was really big on social media hence the funny reference. She talked about her book and read a few pages from it. I instantly connected to it and it was really great meeting Gabrielle in person.

Being a book lover I really enjoyed that the storyline focused on a bookstore, the bookstore owner, and an overall love of books. Each chapter begins with a letter from A.J. to his daughter Maya talking about a specific book/short story and what his thoughts are. It will later be revealed in the book that he was putting this list together at the end of his life. It’s something that’s not in the movie.

It also touched on some relatable topics like losing a loved one, cancer, and adoption. I think losing a loved one was the overarching connector between all the characters because many of them lost someone throughout the book. Maya lost her birth mother then A.J.. Ismay lost her sister and husband. Amelia loses A.J. It’s a lot of loss in one book.

In my opinion, the saddest aspect of the book is A.J.’s story. He lost his wife and the book takes place after his wife passes away. He is depressed and has lost his sense of purpose. Then Maya comes along unexpectedly changing his life forever. Taking care of her mends parts of his heart that had broken with the loss of his wife. Maya gave him purpose again.

Towards the end of the book A.J. is diagnosed with cancer. Something so many people can relate to, myself included. What really got me was the ending when A.J. couldn’t speak anymore and we are reading his inner thoughts. He thinks about how the disease has taken away his ability to read and all he can get through are some short stores. He can’t write a lot anymore either. As someone whose life revolved around books and writing I can’t imagine how difficult it is losing those abilities at the end of your life. Zevin really captured that frustration and sadness at the end.

I did enjoy the relationship between A.J. and Amelia. In some ways it reminded me of my own marriage and husband. A.J. is clearly a high maintenance person to be with, but Amelia really compliments him. She’s more laid back and clam. Having both Amelia and Maya in his life somewhat mellows him out. I do feel that Amelia made a lot of sacrifices to be with A.J. including moving and leaving her job, but you can tell she doesn’t regret it. They truly loved each other.

I do like that Zevin included a brief moment after A.J. is gone showing that life still has to go on after we lose someone. Amelia and Maya move out of the town and have to start a new life somewhere else. Then the bookstore is sold to Ismay and Chief Lambiase keeping the town’s beloved store going. Everyone moves on in their own way, but books still remain.

OVERALL RATING

ABOUT GABRIELLE ZEVIN

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GABRIELLE ZEVIN is a New York Times best-selling novelist whose books have been translated into forty languages.

Her tenth novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was published by Knopf in July of 2022 and was an instant New York Times Best Seller, a Sunday Times Best Seller, a USA Today Best Seller, a #1 National Indie Best Seller, and a selection of the Tonight Show’s Fallon Book Club. Maureen Corrigan of NPR’s Fresh Air called it, “a big beautifully written novel…that succeeds in being both serious art and immersive entertainment.” Following a twenty-five-bidder auction, the feature film rights to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow were acquired by Temple Hill and Paramount Studios.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry spent many months on the New York Times Best Seller List, reached #1 on the National Indie Best Seller List, was a USA Today Best Seller, and has been a best seller all around the world. A.J. Fikry was honored with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Award for Fiction, the Japan Booksellers’ Prize, and was long listed for the International Dublin Literary Award, among other honors. To date, the book has sold over five-million copies worldwide. It is now a feature film with a screenplay by Zevin. Young Jane Young won the Southern Book Prize and was one of the Washington Post’s Fifty Notable Works of Fiction.

She is the screenwriter of Conversations with Other Women (Helena Bonham Carter) for which she received an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best First Screenplay. She has occasionally written criticism for the New York Times Book Review and NPR’s All Things Considered, and she began her writing career, at age fourteen, as a music critic for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Zevin is a graduate of Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles.(Bio and photo found on Goodreads)

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