See Me

Colin Hancock is a twenty-eight year old who had a very disturbing and troubled youth. He is given a second chance in life and is doing his best to change his ways. Colin has started college in Wilmington. He works hard at his job and works out no less than three times a day. Above all he is getting his anger issues under control. Maria Sanchez is working in a creditable lawyers office. She studied hard in college, visits her parents regularly and is very close to her younger sister. To the outside world, Maria lives the perfect life. Colin and Maria couldn’t be more different, but when life throws them together there is an instant chemistry that they can’t deny. Colin doesn’t sound like a very nice person when you first learn about his background, but he eventually grew on me. He is honest and treats everyone with respect. Plus he always tells the truth even when it would act against him. Maria is ambitious, works hard and worries about everything. When she meets Colin, she really doesn’t know what to think of him. She at first doubts herself and the way she feels. Under pressure things seem to try to end their budding romance. Will things ever get to a point where both of them can be who they really are? With no hesitation or regrets? These two young people seem to find a way that works for them and a friendship becomes a sweet relationship between two very different people. When you start one of Nicholas Sparks' books you want to keep reading until the book is finished. SEE ME is no exception. From the very beginning, I was hooked to every page as I was with all of Sparks' books. The setting is beautiful and the characters memorable. As in all of his books there is a little mystery/thriller going on and it always keeps me hooked till the very last page. This is definitely another great story by Nicholas Sparks. I definitely recommend it!!!

From my blog: [...] Today is my day to catch up on writing all of my reviews! I’ve been slacking lately with the holidays, but it’s a new year and I’ve made a promise to myself to get better about posting on my blog and I intend to do just that! I bought this book this past October when it was released. Actually I think I had preordered it if I’m remembering correctly. I’ve only read three Nicholas Sparks novels. The Last Song, The Longest Ride and The Best of Me. So far The Longest Ride has been my favorite, probably because it’s country themed and I’m a country girl at heart. lol. Although I did like all of the others as well as See Me. When I read the summary for this book I immediately preordered it. I’m not a huge fan of really sappy romances which is why I like Sparks books because they usually have an underlying twist to them somewhere along the way that makes things a bit more interesting verse just boy meets girl. See Me by Nicholas Sparks See me just as I see you . . .IMG_2221.JPG Colin Hancock is giving his second chance his best shot. With a history of violence and bad decisions behind him and the threat of prison dogging his every step, he’s determined to walk a straight line. To Colin, that means applying himself single-mindedly toward his teaching degree and avoiding everything that proved destructive in his earlier life. Reminding himself daily of his hard-earned lessons, the last thing he is looking for is a serious relationship. Maria Sanchez, the hardworking daughter of Mexican immigrants, is the picture of conventional success. With a degree from Duke Law School and a job at a prestigious firm in Wilmington, she is a dark-haired beauty with a seemingly flawless professional track record. And yet Maria has a traumatic history of her own, one that compelled her to return to her hometown and left her questioning so much of what she once believed. A chance encounter on a rain-swept road will alter the course of both Colin and Maria’s lives, challenging deeply held assumptions about each other and ultimately, themselves. As love unexpectedly takes hold between them, they dare to envision what a future together could possibly look like . . . until menacing reminders of events in Maria’s past begin to surface. As a series of threatening incidents wreaks chaos in Maria’s life, Maria and Colin will be tested in increasingly terrifying ways. Will demons from their past destroy the tenuous relationship they’ve begun to build, or will their love protect them, even in the darkest hour? Rich in emotion and fueled with suspense, SEE ME reminds us that love is sometimes forged in the crises that threaten to shatter us . . . and that those who see us for who we truly are may not always be the ones easiest to recognize. My Thoughts: ****4 Stars**** See Me follows the lives of Collin Hancock, a twenty eight year old, MMA fighter with a difficult past and Maria Sanchez, a young gentle lawyer who’s always been on the right side of the law. Collins life hasn’t been easy considering his many brushes with the law in the past and his mounting anger issues he’s had since he was child. Given a second chance to walk to the straight and narrow Collin vows to stay out of trouble and focus on weight training and getting his degree to become a teacher. All those promises to himself seem to drift away when Maria comes into Collins life after he helps her with a flat tire one stormy night on the way back from a competition. Maria is a smart lawyer with a huge loving wonderful Mexican family. She’s never been in trouble or really taken many risks in her life, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a haunting past of her own. After receiving threats from a previous client Maria decides it’s time to move back closer to her family and start somewhere brand new hoping the threats would stop when she left, and they did. Welcoming the straightforward honest to a fault Collin into her life is the biggest risk Maria has ever taken and probably the best one too. The attraction between Maria and Collin was quite obvious even though they are sorta polar opposites. They never planned on falling in love, but they did. But even before they can start a future together Maria’s past catches up to her threatening to derail everything. Collins instinct is to protect Maria everyway he knows how but ultimately puts his life and future in jeopardy. The suspense in the story was great towards the end, but it did seem like it took a while for things in the story to pick up pace a bit. I had no idea who the stalker was until more towards the ending when everything clicked into place. I really liked Collin, probably because I’m a sucker for the bad boys gone good kind of characters. I liked Maria too. I loved her family and how close she was to her sister Serena, and how real their sibling relationship came across in the story. Collins bestfriend Evan and his fiancé Lily were amazing as well! I swear if this book becomes a movie they need to cast Jaime King (CW’s Hart of Dixie) as Lily because that’s who popped into my head during her parts and she’d be PERFECT!!! Overall, I liked this novel a lot. It was a nice quick read with a great storyline and set of characters. What’s your favorite Nicholas Sparks book? Let me know in the comments!

I have read all his books and seen all the movies that were made based on the books. The plots are interesting and I can hardly wait to go to bed at night and pick up my Kindle. I read until I can no longer hold the Kindle.

Darn you Nicholas Sparks for toying with my emotions again! In this novel, Sparks delivers another outstanding fictitious story loaded with suspense, mystery, sorrow, and as always, love. Truthfully, it may very well, arguably, be one of his best, if not his best. Although the novel is in line with traditional NS ingenuity, he manages to step out of his element by modernizing his characters and his settings, e.g., tattoos, Latin culture, and even utilizing social media and modern technology. Personally, I delayed reading this book due to rumor, specifically that this novel was a reflection of Sparks' mid-life crisis. As a lifelong reader of all things NS, I can honestly report that this is not the case. Sparks' use of Latin culture is incredibly refreshing; he's never infused his stories with culture. (Possible SPOILER) When Maria's mother makes repeated signs of the cross, it is true to life and absolutely hilarious at the same time, but so are Evan's snarky comments, his fiancé's southern charm, and everything about Serena’s personality and her wit. On another note, the suspense and mystery had me reading with the lights on! And although suspense is not my favorite genre (because I startle easily), Sparks incorporates the elements well without going overboard. To top it off, Wilmington is the perfect setting for a guy like Colin and a story like See Me. It easy to visualize the parts of Wilmington that NS describes throughout the novel. The only component of the book that lacked creativity was NS’ use of the storyline relative to Cassie Manning, which is remarkably similar to a public policy case study known as How Kristen Died. At any rate, this will be a movie to look forward to! If you found this review helpful, don’t forget to please give it a thumbs up.

I can recommend it to everyone who wants to read

Era para regalo y le gustó mucho. El libro vino en buenas condiciones. Muy bien todo.

This is the very first Nicholas Sparks novel I've read and I loved it. Great storyline and really likeable characters, I was drawn from the get go. The twist at the end was definitely worth waiting for also. I look forward to reading more of Sparks' work!!

As always everything went well.

It's fantastic, a very romantic story to read. Perfect for Nicholas Sparks' fans and for people that loves romantic stories.