Book Review: Remain by Nicholas Sparks with M. Night Shyamalan

 

When architect Tate Donovan moves to Cape Cod to design a home, he meets Wren, a beautiful woman with a mysterious past. As they begin to build a connection, Tate discovers that in order to free Wren, he has to discover the truth about her past, and the dark secrets of the town, before it's too late.

I was actually quite sceptical about this book. Despite liking works by Sparks and Shyamalan, the idea of a 'supernatural love story' could either be great or terrible, and I hadn't seen many great reviews.

So I was really surprised by how much I loved it!

For a start, I got into the story right away. From the moment I opened the book I felt like I really knew the characters and their world and was so invested in their story.

I really loved the characters, including the surrounding ones that didn't have as much time on the page.

There is a little twist to the story that comes out maybe a quarter of the way through. This was spoiled for me as I was reading the book when the trailer for the movie came out, but knowing this didn't ruin the story at all.

The story was visceral and transporting. Every time I picked it up, the real world disappeared and time meant nothing. I was constantly thinking about when I could pick it up again.

I loved the scenes between Tate and Wren - I was invested in their story from the moment they met. The romance could have been more developed but it was still believable.

That being said, there was too much telling rather than showing when it came to the mystery. There were things that would have been really fun to work out, but instead we were told exactly what they meant.

And because of this, I wasn't as invested in the mystery as I was in the love story. One of my concerns about the framing of the book as a 'supernatural love story' was that one aspect would be better than the other, and while this was the case I didn't mind because the love story was so great.

Regarding the mystery, I really wanted a more twisty, unguessable conclusion.

The ending makes sense and works, but I would have liked to see a different direction - though this could fall into cliché if not done well.

Overall, there are definitely flaws with this story, but it was really enjoyable and the love story was so fantastic that I really can't wait to see the movie!

4/5