Title: Counting Miracles
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published: September 24, 2024
Format: e-ARC
My Rating: 3.5 stars/5
Synopsis: Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather’s military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone . . . happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are: find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew—and where he might be found.
Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He’s been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. For Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting—and possibly leaving in just a few weeks.
Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives alone in a cabin bordering a national forest. With only his old dog Arlo for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest—a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather—he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers.
As these characters’ fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle . . . but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever.
My thoughts from the Vault
Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.
I used to be a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks when I was a teen and read all his books in a very short time span, but I fell out of his works in the last 10 years or so. This is the first of his novels I’ve read in a long time and while I enjoyed it, it wasn’t the amazing novel I remember him writing.
This novel opens up with Tanner going in search of his father, a man whose identity was hidden from him from the day he was born. While his grandma lay at deaths door, she divulged his fathers name and city to him and so the search began.
Jasper, a frail old man, sets out to protect a rare deer that has made an appearance in the woods surrounding his cottage home. Jasper is a man of God who has suffered immeasurably throughout his life and that has him questioning his faith.
While I enjoyed the plot behind the novel, it just felt lacking. The pacing was slow, and it wasn’t very exciting. It felt like you could guess the father by page 2. Unfortunately, this novel didn’t drag out any emotions in me throughout reading but it was still a good comfort read.
If you want a cozy read that you know will have a happy ending, this novel is for you.
Alice's Book Vault 