I always look forward to reading a new book by Nicholas Sparks. Although this one was not my favorite work of his, it was still moving and emotional. This one is about the miracle of finding love and finding family, with quite a few scripture verses sprinkled in. No big plot twists here, but recommend if you are in the mood for a happy ending. Thank you to NetGalley, publishers and author for this ARC.

This was my first Nicolas Sparks book, but I have seen the movie The Notebook. I started out enjoying the book, but all the stories were not equal and I found myself losing interest. This one just wasn't for me. 3-1/2 stars

I received an ARC for free and gave my honest opinion voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks.

Whilie I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks in a long time, so i was excited to try his new book. My favorite of his is The Notebook.
This story has three main characters Tanner an ex-military man who has no family, Kaitlyn a small-town physician and single mom, and Jasper an older resident of the small town with a heart wrenching past.

I felt like some parts of the book were hard to keep reading. I felt myself skimming over some of the back stories. I do feel like immediate attraction is a thing but I didn't fall for Tanner and Kaitlyn's relationship like I have in other stories of his. I found myself a little annoyed with how she got upset with Tanner. Jasper's story was heartbreaking and I'm glad he ended up with a happy ending.

I have yet to meet a Nicholas Sparks book that I haven’t enjoyed. This emotion-provoking romance with a found family subplot was everything I wanted it to be and more.

Tanner, a man who resigned his life to military and post-military government security work, set out on a journey after his grandparents passed to find his birth father. He had some time off before his next contract work began, and he landed in a small town in North Carolina.

Kaitlyn, or Dr. Cooper, as many of Asheboro’s residents know her, is an internist, humanitarian, volunteer, but most importantly a single mom to two great kids.

Then we have Jasper, an 83 year old man with one hell of a survival story, living just beyond the Cooper residence in the National Forest with his dog and best friend, Arlo.

It all began one night when Kaitlyn’s daughter hit Tanner’s car with her own. And continued the night that Jasper set out after some teenagers poaching on federal land, looking for the elusive white deer they’d all heard stories about.

I felt the characters had adequate depth and backstory, but wish the romance was a little better fleshed out, it just read rushed which is why I chose to rate it only 4 stars.

The synopsis does a great job describing this story without giving too much away—3 very different main characters that somehow shared miraculous coincidences that made for a beautiful story.

Some people have noted that this book contains references of religion and the synopsis did not mention this. To me, as a non-religious person, it was not a deterrent. I accept any good human being, despite their religious beliefs, and the book only contained Bible verses referenced by Jasper while describing his life and will to survive.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for providing me an ARC to read and review.

I feel like Nicholas Sparks books are generally reliable -- not earth-shattering, but enjoyable. This novel was quite a slog to get through -- it was really close to a DNF.

The novel is heavily based on religion and felt uncomfortable to read at times. There is a lot of scripture. While some of Spark's novels have had some Christian influences, this was a new level. I wish it had been advertised before I started reading. It also centers around Jasper, an elderly gentleman. And while he has dealt with many hardships in his life, the pace was slow. I found myself skimming his passages. As for the romance, the relationship between Kaitlyn and Tanner felt forced. There was no build up or strong connection. I found it difficult to root for them and honestly at the end, didn't understand why they should get back together. Overall, not a win in my book.

I greatly enjoyed Nicholas Sparks' newest book. Tanner has been in the military and not ready to settle down anywhere. He makes a stop in Asheboro to try to find his long lost father and meets Kaitlyn. They instantly feel a spark, but Kaitlyn is worried about the fact that Tanner doesn't plan to stay in town. In another part of the story, Jasper, is an old man living alone, trying to save a rare white deer from poachers. The two stories come together for a sweet ending.

Counting Miracles is out 9/24. Thank you @netgalley & @randomhouse for the ARC. This book was emotional and powerful like many of Spark's books. I still find myself thinking of the characters and the miracle that transpires.
With heavy themes of faith, Counting Miracles read more Christian Fiction, imo!

First of all, thanks for sending me this ARC...it made my day.

This is a biased review because I knew I was going to love this book before I even read it. As Tanner and Kaitlyn were falling in love, so was I. I could not put this book down, even if it was 2am and I was falling asleep!

I do judge a book by it's cover and I didn't think the cover was anything special...until I finished the book and really understood it. Now I love it!! and the white deer on the right!

Thank you so much for this ARC. I really enjoyed reading it!

*Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
I have loved Nicholas sparks books for a long time, so I was excited to get this as an arc. It was a good story, but I feel it didn’t live up to the greatness of his previous works.

I want to thank Netgalley for an advance copy for my honest review. I have loved Nicholas Sparks for a long time. I was super excited to see this one and thought I was lucky to get a copy. At first glance I thought I would connect to the character a lot. Single mom of 2 kids and a military man is not added to their lives. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and thought about DNF on many occasions while I stuck it out the story didn’t have the same effect as all the other books. At time the book took on a more religious turn and a lot of other added characters didn’t develop enough. The relationship felt forced between the couple while the mom relationship with her kids were pretty spot on.

Do you know what makes you feel better at the end of a long week? Being snuggled up with a blanket, your beverage of choice and a book by Nicholas Sparks. You know you’re gonna be comfortable, you know that there is not gonna be any surprises, and you know your heart is going to be happy. Counting miracles, the newest book by Nicholas. Sparks will certainly do all of that. I’m not sure if I’m just not remembering from former books of his but this one definitely had a more religious undertone than I’m used to. It didn’t ruin the book for me, but it didn’t necessarily add to the book either. And yes, understand the symbolism that goes along with an animal in the forest.
People that automatically read Nicholas Sparks are going to read this and they’re going to enjoy it, as they do everyone of his books. People that haven’t read his books.-I put this toward the top of his books in my list so I would recommend checking it out.

I could not wait to read this book, being a long time Nicholas Sparks fan. Wow. It did not disappoint. This story follows Jasper, an older man in a small town; Tanner, a young man looking for someone; and Kaitlyn, a single mom. Their lives and stories are intertwined, and I appreciated the multiple points of views. The end of the book was touching and had me in tears. This is a must read.

I want to start my review with a note about how much I have truly loved this author over the years. I have been an avid Nicholas Sparks fan since A Walk To Remember. Then falling even more in love with his storytelling in The Notebook and my most favorite The Wedding. I've stuck by his side raving about his stories for years.

That said this one seriously missed the mark for me. It almost felt as though a Ghost Writer wrote this under his name. It didn't have it's usual depth, the typical Sparks character development, and the story was SLOW! I can usually devour one of his books in a day this took me FOUR to get through. They were slow and at times if I am honest I glazed over some of the story.

While I loved the premise of this book, and the overall characters, it seemed everything felt forced. The relationship building between the two main Characters (Tanner + Kaitlin) felt almost cringy to me. At times it felt love bombing, unhinged emotionally (especially for a grown woman and mother) but also so rushed. I know Sparks does the quick to fall in love. Quick to have a connection. Quick to make it a love story... this was on another level though. It lacked the true romance and depth we expect in his writing. Additionally, Jaspers portion of this story took a major brunt of the tellung. There were times that I wondered when we would finally put the pieces together... I felt it could have happened sooner.

If I were comparing this to some other books I would say this could be more of a Novella and less of a Novel. Could have been told quicker, made shorter, and still could have had more depth.

My overall rating is a 3.5! I am still very much looking forward to it's release. I have the great opportunity to hear more about the story in the fall at an event being hosted in my city. Maybe it will give me a bit more perspective on it all.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House for the EARC! I have already preordered the physical copy for my collection!

Another nostalgic book from Nicholas Sparks. I enjoyed this, if you’ve read and enjoyed his other books, I think you will like this one as well. I liked that the characters were in their 40s and it wasn’t about young adults. There were some thriller aspects to this one as well, a bit of a mystery. Overall I enjoyed this book, I have read all of Sparks’ books and will continue to do so.
This book follows Tanner who recently lost both of his grandparents, who he was raised by. He lost his mother as a baby and never knew his dad. He goes on a mission to find his dad. While on the mission he meets a single mom who is a doctor, and has an instant connection with her.
4 ⭐️

I’ll admit I haven’t read much NS recently but being that I literally live in Asheboro, I’ve been dying to read this. It was almost so strange to read about Coach’s, the zoo, Bicentennial Park and the Uwharrie Forest in a book but it was well written and super neat to see such a small town accurately written about. This was a great story and truly meaningful and as a single mom myself, it was great to be able to have a relatable FMC. Thank you so much for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Nicholas Sparks' newest novel, set in my hometown of Asheboro, NC. When I heard the news, I knew I had to see what he thought of the area. I was humbled to read that he represented Asheboro in its true light, a quaint (growing!) city worth putting down roots. I've read every work of Sparks' and am familiar with his prose and themes so it was no surprise that romance was a bit corny to me at a times (re: their first real date had me eyerolling along with the topic of their argument which fed into the whole plot). Overall, the dual POV was relatively compelling and the ending was sweet, but I was most excited to pick it up and see the mentions of local spots in Asheboro.

Tanner, raised by his grandparents, and never settling down, joined the Army Rangers at a young age and has always been on the move. After heading home to be with his dying grandmother, she reveals a name and a place of where Tanner might potentially find his father whom he never knew.

He heads to North Carolina and meets up with Kaitlyn, a mom of two kids and a nurse. They begin a friendship and Tanner begins to contemplate if he is done with the roaming lifestyle and settle down. Meanwhile, Jasper, an 83-year-old neighbor is determined to protect a magical white deer from poachers that has appeared at the edge of the forest near his cabin.

How do these 2 stories connect?

Such a beautiful and heartwarming story reminding us to not give up on our faith despite the path we choose in life. Sometimes, decisions are questioned, and events take place that we cannot understand and that makes it very difficult to accept our course in life. Do you believe in miracles and the power of love? That is the overriding theme and one that Nicholas Sparks always does so well in his books.

I really enjoyed the book and the way everything came together at the end. A lot of the backstory sometimes became a bit long winded, but overall, it did not take away from the story.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballatine and #NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. This is due to be published Sept. 24 , 2024. #CountingMiracles

It has been YEARS since I’ve read a Nicholas Sparks book. I remember them being so cheesy and predictable but I still loved them and connected to the characters. That did not happen in this one.

I felt zero connection to any of the character, except maybe Arlo, the dog 😅. The small amount of romance plot felt forced. I didn’t feel tension or chemistry between Tanner and Kaitlyn. The meet cute was eh and they talked about their pasts and life but felt surface level. It felt like it was meant to seem like deep conversations but it just wasn’t.

Jasper was so stubborn. I felt for him with his story and everything he’d been through. But, dude… with all your medical stuff and lazy lifestyle, what made you think you could trek miles into a National Forest for multiple days in a row and that your body would hold up? All for a petty grudge for some teenagers.

The climax of the book was actually anticlimactic. It dragged on and the final resolution was rushed through. Like literally was the last page and the epilogue. Just fell very flat for me.

Nicholas Sparks delivers another story rich with emotion, some romance, and deep lives lived. Tanner is a man who has completed military service and is still searching for his next place in life. He is devoted to his grandmother and nurses her until her death. But, he is also shocked when she shared a secret in her final moments, and reveals the name of his father than he had never know.

Tanner starts to search, and finds himself in a town where he meets Kaitlyn, a doctor and mom to a teenage girl and a younger son. It's his first connection to this area, and the potential for a deeper connection is immediate. One of Kaitlyn's neighbors and patients is Jasper, an older man who lives in a rustic cabin next to a national forest. He battles his past memories and loss, and spends his days being protective of the nature around him.

These stories start to intertwine, and emotions grow deep.

Tanner is an Army Ranger and has been many places. When his grandfather leaves this earth is Tanner ready to make a life and settle down? He meets a family and wants to help them of course with no attachments that’s not his style but along and along he loves the family vibe and fights it !! Will he continue to live that lonesome military life? Read this book and find out!!