The Return is a book I had to buy and read for the simple fact that I read everything by Nicholas Sparks.

Like his others, this one did not disappoint.

It also had some mystery elements that kept me turning the pages, including the main character investigating the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather and the elderly man’s passing and the true nature of a young girl named Callie and what brought her to the small town.

The Return by Nicholas Sparks Book Summary and Review

The Return Book Summary

Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina.

But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he’d inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.

Tending to his grandfather’s beloved beehives, Trevor isn’t prepared to fall in love with a local . . . yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can’t ignore.

But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she’s hiding.

Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road.

Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather’s death, but she offers few clues — until a crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie’s past, one more intertwined with the elderly man’s passing than Trevor could ever have imagined.

In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie’s secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.

Click here to buy The Return on Amazon

My Book Review for The Return

The Return is a classic Nicholas Sparks book, a powerful new love story, and New York Times bestseller.

It has the romance, and like his recent books, has an element of mystery. I like the mystery parts in this book because I can get a little bored with just romance. For me, the mystery elements weren’t too entertaining until more than halfway through. By the time you realized there was a lot more to find out, it got more exciting and was a faster read.

This was a great book… and classic Nicholas Sparks – same setting in rural North Carolina on the North Carolina coast, a death, romantic elements, and a happy ending. You’ll learn more about the elderly man and what went on through the course of his life in his later years in the end. That’s a big part of the mystery.

So are Callie’s secrets in and around the grandfather’s cabin near Sunset Beach. What is the true nature of Callie’s secrets? Read to the final page to find out!

Oh, and one thing that I’ve never seen before but thought was the coolest about this new novel was the fact that this book came with two covers – one regular and one for the holidays! You could just reverse it depending on the time of year or which one you liked better.

The only thing I would’ve changed was adding a flying bee or jar of honey sitting on the porch to the cover as a tip to the grandfather’s beloved beehives in the new book.

My The Return Book Recommendation

If you like any book or movie by Nicholas Sparks, like the romantic tradition of Dear John, Safe Haven, Last Song, The Longest Ride, At First Sight, True Believer, etc., this is one to add to your list. Like all other Nicholas Sparks novels, I’d love to see this one in a movie adaptation.

Mix in the story of an injured Navy doctor, some family drama, a mysterious teenage girl, a beekeeping grandfather, and a married police office… that’s the making for a major motion picture.

My The Return Rating

I give The Return 4 out of 5 stars. 

If I did halves, it’d be 4.5 stars, but let’s not complicate things here with decimal points 😉

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