Romance Annotation

                                    Nights in Rodanthe                       

                                           by Nicholas Sparks

 

Genre:  Romance, Books into Movies

Publication Date:  September 2002

Publisher:  Warner Books

Page Count - 212 Pages

Plot Summary -  Adrienne is 45 years-old, vulnerable and shattered after being left by her husband for an older woman. In search for a respite, she spends a few days in the coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina, tending her friend’s small inn while she is away. Fifty-four year-old Paul is a successful, work-driven surgeon who becomes estranged from his son and former wife. He journeys to Rodanthe for a meeting with a former patient’s husband and becomes Adrienne’s only guest at the inn. Off the Atlantic Coast, a dangerous storm is brewing and headed for the town. Paul and Adrienne are immediately attracted to one another and leave themselves open for romance during the raging storm. After less than 48 hours together, Paul and Adrienne fall in love, consider themselves “soul mates” and vow to spend the rest of their lives together – after Paul spends a year in Ecuador visiting his estranged son who is a physician at a clinic.

My Opinion - I did not find this bittersweet story to be very plausible; however, anything can happen in fiction, not to mention real life. I haven’t read a romance novel in several years so I believe I had some preconceived ideas. I did find myself engrossed in both of the characters’ lives, rooting for them to fall in love. I was disappointed in the ending – I expected a typical, flawless, triumphant “happily ever after” ending and definitely did not receive that.

Pacing  -   Leisurely

Storyline  -   Character-driven     

Tone/mood  -  Bittersweet, heartwarming

Style/language -    Conversational

Frame/setting -   1980s – 1990s, Rodanthe, North Carolina, sense of place

Title Read Alikes –

·         Bridges of Madison County -  Robert James Waller

·         Folly Beach  - Dorothea Benton Frank

       A Virgin River Christmas -  Robyn Carr