Safe Haven

Written by Nicholas Sparks

Narrated by Rebecca Lowman

Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again you must learn to trust again.

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet unassuming, Katie is determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships.

Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community. But even as Katie starts to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts her . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown (Hachette UK) Audio
• Release date: Dec 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781405522809

Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks nació en Estados Unidos en la Nochevieja de 1965. Su primer éxito fue El cuaderno de Noah, al que siguió Mensaje en una botella, que han sido llevadas al cine, al igual que otros de sus éxitos como Noches de tormenta, Querido John y La última canción. Es autor de más de 20 novelas que han sido traducidas a más de 50 idiomas y publicadas en 25 países.

Reviews for Safe Haven

[desiree_reads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A decent way to pass the time, although predictable and with a stereotypical bad guy.

[carramel0705 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great Book

[sheriawilkinson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Safe Haven By Nicholas SparksSet in a small North Carolina town Alex is a widow with two young children. He is a store owner, trying to raise his children without his wife. Katie is new to town, mysterious, likable but holding secrets. She forms a friendship with a single woman (Jo) and begins to fall in love with Alex. As their love grows, her secrets begin to surface, challenging everything she thought she knew about herself.A fantastic original story moving at a fast pace. With well developed (likable) characters, engaging dialog, attention to detail, I was brought into Katie's world. I was able to feel the raw emotions , engrossed from the first page up until the satisfying end. I highly recommend Safe Haven to all.

[jonimfisher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story flowed well with a few marvelous twists.

[lvstrongpuff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my favorite Nicholas Sparks books. I didn't think I would like it, but the characters were fun to read about and I loved the twist towards the end. This book had me cheering at the end. The whole story is based on a woman on the run from her abuse husband. Can you really find love when you have been hurt so bad and still hiding from someone that is trying to destroy you? Really great read.

[edensteffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Predictable, but good.

[nataliec7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sweet book. One that I read in a couple of days. I liked a lot of things about this book. Katie, the struggles that she has faced and decided she needed to fix it. Alex, widower with 2 sweet kids, trying to so his best. They both live in the same small down. And inevitably they meet. Kevin also an interesting character. It was great to get to see how he thought.I felt that this was a well written book with so much to keep you reading and keep your interest. 4 stars.

[emma_manolis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I stopped being a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks around the time I hit twenty. His writing and story lines used to seem so romantic to me, but then I started to notice trends among each of his books. Someone always dies and it was usually the character I wanted to live. Depressing to say the least.

I read that this novel was different so I thought I would try again. I almost stopped towards the beginning of the novel when the main characters were beginning to "fall" for one another because I literally started to choke due to the mere cheesiness of it all. Luckily, Kevin's first chapter and "Kate's" back story began to emerge. It became interesting and I stuck with it. I liked seeing into Kevin's twisted mind because it is so far from my own. I wanted Kate to kick his trash!

I like it up until the end. Kevin gets incredibly drunk and the narration becomes so hard to follow that I felt as if maybe I was drunk. (Then I realized it was the middle of a work day and I don't drink.) Sparks began to lose me again and then completely lost me with that weird ending. It isn't that I don't believe in spirits, it was just too much for me to handle.

I think this is one of Sparks better novels. (All the people you really like don't randomly die.) I think this will be the last one I pick up for a few years. I need to recover from the cheese factor.

[gogglemiss · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gripping story. Read it,in two days.

[kimsalyers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

loved this book

[melannc-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy the way Nicholas Sparks writes and brings the main characters to life even if the plot is a little predictable - I wanted Katie and Alex to fall in love, but I didn't imagine all the twists of how this would happen.

[erika.d · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was my first Nicholas Sparks novel. I saw the movie preview for this book and it looked good so I decided to read the book before seeing the movie. I liked the book all the way to the last two chapters. The ending was not fulfilling. I would have preferred a romantic happy ending. Overall, it was a decent book and I would recommend it.

[heatherlinc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once against Nicholas Sparks has written an entertaining novel with believable characters. This time, however, the plot is more sinister as it deals with the effects of domestic violence. Kevin is not a nice person as he becomes more and more deluded about his wife and marriage, while Katie herself is fragile, vulnerable and tender-hearted. This is a story of friendship, trust, love and marriage, and whilst I liked the ending I thought the 'twist' rather weak and spoilt the overall tenor of the book.

[0crazykate0 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First off I have to say that I did see the movie, way before I got a chance to pick the book up and finally read it. With that being said like most instances books are way better than the movies and well this novel was no exception. It was definitely way better than the movie and I only wish now that I had gotten a chance to read the novel before hand.This book was hard to put down and even when I had to put it down it was never far from reach. I liked the characters from the beginning with the exception of Kevin; Katie’s husband. But who would like a man like that, character or not. The characters were relatively easy to relate to in their everyday lives. I could feel the fear that Katie felt with the way the author put it all into words. Spark’s painted a setting that I could easily see the characters in. It was like watching a movie, a fantastic movie. The plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat and it was interesting to see gradually mentally insane Kevin got as the story unfolded, while the opposite happened to Katie, it was like they switched roles.I’d have to say that out of the whole novel my favorite character was Jo, the spirit of Alex’s deceased wife. I loved her personality and the way she helped Katie realize that she doesn’t need to keep hiding in fear. It was very interesting in the end to know that she had all along just been a figment of Katie’s imagination and it wasn’t until the end that Katie put all the pieces together and realized it when she read the letter.

[rosetyper9 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is the last NS I am going to attempt. I couldn't get into it, felt so slow to me, and I DNF it.

[jaimelee77 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great work by Nicholas Sparks. Katie is making a new start in a small town called Southport. She has a dark secret past that she's fearful of exposure. She has very little to call her own, but she's safe... for now. She meets two people she befriends and begins to slowly trust amidst her reluctance to grow close to anyone. Her past haunts her and she knows she must face it again one day, but when that happens will she take a stand or will she give up everything she's worked for in Southport?
This was a great read. I enjoyed the way the reader learned about Katie's past in sections until it finally all came out. It was a pretty realistic portrayal of situations some women might find themselves in. This was pretty face paced and full of action towards the end.

[hhaddad1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novel is pretty much a mystery centered around a women named Katie that moves into a new town. She never wants to speak about her past or where she came from. She becomes close with a man named Alex and falls in love with him. In the end, Katie ends up telling her neighbor the horrifying truth of her past and how she is running from her husband who used to abuse her. I personally enjoyed the book because I love mysteries and drama, but I would probably not read it with students because I do not believe it is appropriate. I think it is important to address abuse and domestic violence, but I think other books would address it better educationally.

[judithdcollins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read all Sparks books and have seen all the movies. This was a great book (similar to Sleeping with the Enemy) as a young girl arrives in a small town Southport, NC (where I have visited in the past). She is escaping an abusive husband and rents a small secluded cabin in the woods and works as a waitress in a local diner. She is trying to keep a low profile and meets Alex, who has lost his wife and raising his two children and running a country store. They begin to open up to one another and she begins to trust him. Then her abusive husband (ex-cop) is obsessed with finding her and of course Alex is there to protect her and he ghost of his dead wife always shows up as a friend to Katie.

The book concentrates on loss, love, fears and learning to trust again. A good read and enjoyed the movie with some of my favorite stars. You can never go wrong with a Nicholas Spark’s book. Looking forward to his new book in 2013 “The Longest Ride”!

[amym53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the relationship between katie and alex and admired katie for her strength and intelligence she needed to outwit her husband and get away. Im taking psychology now and i had a huge impression that kevin the husband had schizophrenia. The ending was very sweet and had a little twist I hadn't expected.

[courtney_chance-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book had me intrigued from the getgo. It did take me a while to get into enough that I couldnt put it down. Once I hit about page 60 I.couldnt stop. I feel kevins story was a little drug on with i.sufficient details. I would have liked to know more about him and maybe why he was the way he was. Whether it stemmed from child hood or maybe more. I also would have enjoyed knowing if Katie ever want back to visit her elderly neighbor. The book like I said was good. I gave 4 stars because it was kinda drug on. If the author was going to go so in depth with details I would have liked it being more relevant things. I would have also like to see Kevins outcome a little different. It seemed too easy, he felt like he was playing God I would have liked him to get what he deserved. He got it too easy for what he put katie through. I also would have liked to see him get a littke more than a slap on the wrist from his captain. Seriously nobody had any suspicion about erins whereabout to actually look into?

[ottilieweber-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Yikes really thought I wrote a review for this...

Do you really only get one chance for love? Safe Haven is a book about one woman who thought she was in love, but only ended up scared for her life. And a man who loved and lost. I liked parts of the book better with the build up of her escape instead of the movie.

[krizia_lazaro_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another okay Sparks' book. The same old Sparks' plot with different characters in different circumstances and situations. A woman or man with a past and they fall in love but the other one is hesitant because of the his/her past but what the heck they still fall in love. A man is always present to ruin their relationship but at the end there will always be a confrontation wither verbally or physically and their love becomes stronger. One of them will be a single parent or divorced or both. I've read it all before with "The Lucky One", "True Believer", "Dear John", "The Rescue", etc. Ever since "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember" Sparks haven't written a BETTER novel. I've been waiting for it for so long and I'm always disappointed or left hanging. One thing good about this novel is the twist in the end where Katie's friend Jo is really Carly, Alex's dead wife. Creepy but a really nice touch. The letters she wrote would really affect you and I love how Sparks write letters (remember the letters in "Message in a Bottle"? Really good). I do hope his next novel would be really really good!

[gnicolas-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a compelling love story with a twist of sadistic suspense. It compels you deep into the story but abruptly wipes all your romantic notions in an instant. Though, it does lack consistency in some parts, it alleviates its shortcoming with a different kind of twists that most Nicholas Sparks’ books never left without. If you want to have a different reading experience then you have to include this book on your list but if you want to be starry eyed and fall in love over and over again well this book is definitely not for you.

[laurie.noles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The suspense in this book kept me from putting it down. Not like other Nicholas Sparks books where I was left sobbing. I really enjoyed reading this book. Don't watch the movie. Hollywood didn't do it justice. The book is much better,

[berthashaver · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the suspense toward the end of the book. It was more suspenseful than other Nicholas Sparks I have read. An enjoyable easy relaxing book to sit in the recliner with on a Saturday afternoon.

[mattidw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't think I would like this book but I was shocked that in the end I loved this book. This was the first book by this author that I have read and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the storyline in this book and I loved everything about the ending. I saw parts of the ending coming but the major parts I had no idea was going to happen and I love when books can surprise me.

[sarahlewis-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So goddamn depressing. Good book though. Definitely not my ideal evening read.

[magnolia2_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another wonderful love story by N. Sparks that provides great reading for a rainy weekend or vacation time read. A woman escapes her abusive husband-who also is a cop-to rebuild her life in a new town. Of course her past comes back to haunt her and she must face her abuser.

[butterflykysses · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little slow at the start but then it picked up during the last few chapters. I didn't even go see the movie.

[muffinbutt1027 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While Nicholas Sparks is not a fantastic writer, he does know how to tell a love story any girl will fall for. Overall the writing was predictable and flat, but the more I read, the more I needed to finish.