Cliché but good read

Maria Sanchez is an extremely successful lawyer. She recently moved back to her hometown to escape a difficult situation at her job and to be closer to her tight-knit family. In the middle of a stormy night, Maria is assisted by a man who couldn’t be more different from her, Colin Hancock.

Colin, who is nearing 30, has just started back to college and couldn’t be more distant from his family. Colin has wasted much of his life, unlike driven Maria.

When Maria’s sister reintroduces her to Colin, they start to realize they may care more about each other than they care about their differences. But Colin and Maria both have darkness in their pasts. Darkness that threatens to consume them or at least force them apart.

If you’ve been reading my book reviews a while you know that I enjoy a Nicholas Sparks novel from time to time. They’re usually quick, fun reads that almost always leave you feeling good when you’re done. “See Me” is no different.

I really related to how driven Maria is and I fell in love with quirky, bad boy Colin. There are smaller characters who were slightly more flat than Maria and Colin. Though the side characters were a little one dimensional, they were still fun and had relatable aspects and were usually good for a laugh.

The darkness in both Maria and Colin’s pasts is completely fascinating. Once you figure out what it is and just exactly what could be happening, you’re hooked. I don’t want to give too much away, but the way Sparks seamlessly weaves a romance plot with a little crime makes the novel really difficult to put down.

But Sparks has found a formula that works and he sticks to it. This novel reads like almost every other Sparks novel: couple forms, couple takes a break and then circumstances force the couple back together. It’s just the couple and the circumstances that change and even then those components never differ that much.

That said, I’m still going to read every Nicholas Sparks novel I can get my hands on. If you want just a quick, fun and marginally tense read, “See Me” is perfect.