The Lucky One - Nicholas Sparks

Summary from Good Reads: When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, The Lucky One is Nicholas Sparks at his best—an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love.

Logan Thibault heads out on a walking journey from Colorado find the woman in the picture that he found while he was in Iraq that his friend Victor called his "lucky charm."  He finds E, Elizabeth, and he instantly feels a connection with her.  Logan gets a job working for her grandmother at their kennel and gets to know the family, including Beth's ex Keith who has made her life difficult.  After spending time with the family, Logan and Beth start building a relationship of their own.  Will it last?  How will this work with Beth's son, Ben?  Will Beth ever find out the real reason that Logan came to Hampton?

 

I really enjoyed this book!  In true Nicholas Sparks format, you love all the characters and their interaction with each other.  I did see the movie before reading this book and the movie followed the book pretty closely.  Some things were left out but it did not change the story line much.