The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

Nicholas Sparks definitely is the master of love stories, there is no doubt about it. While this story is nowhere near my favourite one of his (what could seriously ever compare to The Notebook??), it's still good enough to read until the end (although at about the halfway point I did question if I should keep going, I'm glad I did).

I liked how the two stories were woven together - at the beginning I couldn't see how they worked together, but towards the end you could see a pattern and get a hint as to how they were going to fit together.

With so many books similar to 50 Shades being released and increasing in popularity, it's good to read a love story that is a bit more wholesome, but at times this one felt a little bit too PG.

Although I will confess to shedding a quiet tear when it got to the part of his wife's death. How beautiful to love someone as much as they did - I can only hope to be that lucky.