Review ‘Two by Two’ by Nicholas Sparks

#1 New
York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with an emotionally
powerful story of unconditional love, its challenges, its risks and most of
all, its rewards.

At 32, Russell Green has it all: a stunning wife, a lovable six year-old
daughter, a successful career as an advertising executive and an expansive home
in Charlotte. He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian
is the center of that. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect
existence, fault lines are beginning to appear…and no one is more surprised
than Russ when he finds every aspect of the life he took for granted turned
upside down. In a matter of months, Russ finds himself without a job or wife,
caring for his young daughter while struggling to adapt to a new and baffling
reality. Throwing himself into the wilderness of single parenting, Russ embarks
on a journey at once terrifying and rewarding—one that will test his abilities
and his emotional resources beyond anything he ever imagined.

I’ve loved
Nicholas Sparks novels for as long as I can remember. And I love the movie
adaptions of his books. The Notebook, Dear John, The Last Song, A Walk To
Remember, The Longest Ride, Safe Haven, The Choice. I love them all. So I was
really looking forward to reading ‘Two by Two’. I’ve had this book for a while
now, but my reading schedule just didn’t allow me to read this book earlier.
Since this year my goal is to read more books I really ‘want’ to read, it was
time to start ‘Two by Two’.

Well,
where do I start. ‘Two by Two’ is the story of Russell Green. Russell is
married, has a young and beautiful daughter and on the outside his life is
perfect. His marriage is good and strong. At least that is what Russell thinks.
When Russell quits his job to start his own business his relationship with his
wife Vivian changes. Vivian claims to being forced to start work again, and
soon he is trying to launch his own business while also taking care of his five
year old daughter London fulltime. 

Let’s
start with what I enjoyed about ‘Two by Two’. I loved how each chapter began
with a memory of Russell. It was a fun way of getting to know the characters
better. And it was written in a very nice way that kept me interested.

The other
thing I really enjoyed was the relationship between Russell and London. It was
just so touching to read how Russell took care of his little girl and I loved
reading about their growing relationship. Russell definitely seemed to be the
perfect dad in many ways. 

But
unfortunately I did have some big issues with this read. For starters I really
didn’t like the main character Russell and his wife! Russell was, for the first
half of the book at least, just a very weak man if you ask me. He just didn’t
stand up for himself and I was frustrated with his character for a long time.
Russell was bullied by his wife, and he just seemed to accept it and wonder why
he wasn’t good enough. Really? Man.. I stopped reading several times and started
to just vent to my boyfriend just because I got so frustrated. Vivian was a
horrible horrible character. Blegh!

Thankfully
I was determined to keep on reading, and Russell started to become a much
stronger and easier to like character half way through. I still didn’t love him
though.

I did
really enjoy reading the moments between Russell and his older sister Marge.
Russell definitely needed a strong person like Marge next to him. I think we
all do. And in the end these moments between brother and sister made me
tear-up. It was a beautiful part of this book. 

It’s hard
to rate a book you’ve only enjoyed from the second half and then still not
enjoyed as much as you’ve hoped. But in the end the writing was good, and it
was a story I will remember for a while. I’m just not sure that’s a good thing
this time! I definitely hoped for more romance.

Nicholas
Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have
been New
York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold
worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the
United States alone.

Film
adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride,
The Best
of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a
producer), The
Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook,
Nights in
Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative
worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars.

In 2012,
Sparks and his publishing agent and creative partner Theresa Park, launched
Nicholas Sparks Productions, with Park as President of Production.  A
film version of The Guardian is currently in development, as is a film
based on Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers’s friendship with Chicago
Bears teammate Brian Piccolo.

Sparks
lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national
charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at
the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and
a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North
Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track
and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years
coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the
team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the
4 x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands. Click to watch the Runner’s World video with Nicholas.

For more
information about Nicholas Sparks please visit his website. Or visit him on Twitter and Facebook.

I received this book from the Little, Brown Book Group in exchange for my honest review.