No. 18 – A book with snow on the cover

The Wish / Nicholas Sparks

Years ago someone tried to shame me for not having read a Nicholas Sparks book. Needless to say, that did not make me run to the library/bookshop for one of his titles any faster.
(Don’t worry, this was a complete stranger and not someone I had to cut out of my life.)
Then during last year’s Christmas break, I treated myself to a trip to the bookshop and ended up at the register with a copy of The Wish. It had a cozy cover with snow which I was in the mood for, and I figured it was about time that I give this author a try after all.
However, the book ended up on my TBR pile and it wasn’t until this weekend, on the hottest days of the year so far, that I picked it up. You can never predict when the mood strikes you.
By the time I finished the book I had half-melted. Unfortunately that wasn’t because of the story, but purely due to the heat.

I’ll try not to give away more than what it says on the preamble on the cover while expressing my reading experience.

This book is a tearjerker with frosting for extra sweetness on top.
It’s set during Christmas time and the main character is Maggie, a successful photographer who shot to fame due to social media.
The gallery she co-owns gets visited by fans who hope to catch a glimpse of her.  
Maggie got pregnant at sixteen and was made to sit out the pregnancy, waiting for the baby to be born so it could be adopted. She does this far away from home, on an island off the North Carolina coast.
There she meets Bryce, who at eighteen is basically superman: he’s cute, non-judgmental, patient, smart, sweet and caring. He helps out anyone; from his mother, to his fisherman grandfather and the ladies running a diner in the only town on the island. He also helps homeschooling Maggie, and he received recommendations from multiple Senators for his West Point application. Oh, and he trains aid dogs.

Over the course of a few days Maggie tells the story of how she and Bryce fell in love during those six months way back when.
She is talking to the gallery’s new sales assistant whom we get to know little about expect that he is very much in love with his girlfriend and can skate really well.

I don’t mind an emotional punch or two and have sobbed over books many a time, but this felt a bit like an attempt to cram as much emotional stuff in there as possible: Adoption. YA angst. Lost loves. Other stuff. Christmas time.
Subtle it is not. As a result nothing of the story came as a surprise to me and it left me with an “is this it?” feeling.
Maybe my expectations were too high after all the praise from friends who read the other books.
Maybe these books just aren’t for me.
Based on this title, I’m not in a rush to try more.