Counting Miracles pulled me in immediately and pulled at my heart strings. This book really dives into its characters and builds their backstories to set the stage for the ending of the book. While its plot twists are not shocking you will find yourself impacted by its turn of events and turning those pages to seek out the final conclusion! Another good Nicholas Sparks book!

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for- Ballantine for an ARC of Counting Miracles in exchange for my honest review!

This book was seriously beautifully written. Nicholas sparks truly has a way with words. You learn about an old man’s history, his family, what means the world to him, and his relationship with God. The 2 stories merge at the end just like you knew they would and everyone gets their HEA.

With that being said, I only gave it 3 stars because I felt the love story was a bit rushed. Spoiler alert ahead but there went on one real date and she got angry so quickly? Kind of a red flag. Also he knew he was in love with her immediately after the first day where she got mad? Also a read flag. I felt like the book didn’t pick up until about 70% of the way in.

So all in all, loved the Jasper plot line, the Kaitlin and Tanner plot could have had more. A bit slow to start, but overall a solid book.

This rating kills me. Solid 3 star. I was hoping for a higher rating but I don't think this book was for me in reality.

So a couple things but most importantly, it had the happy ending you'd expect. Which is NOT what I expect of Nicholas Sparks' books. He gives you a happy ending but not the one you want necessarily. Although I do think he put Jasper through enough, he deserved a happy ending.

Secondly, which isn't a problem in and of itself but a big reason I don't think this book was for me was because ALOT of the book revolved around God/Faith/Bible stories. Which is objectively interesting but as someone who is not religious at all, I didn't really care and it felt like alot. I realize that for that character his faith meant alot to him and then the ending of the book brought back his faith, but yeah, all the stories and references-- just not for me. If I had known there would have been so much religion in the book, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

It was heartfelt. Although I guessed the twist from the get go, it wasn't setup to be shocking or anything. I don't think that the romance really hit for me, given the timeline. I was invested and silently cursing Jasper for doing what he was doing before he got injured but generally I was really just waiting for the book to be over. To know what happened but not super invested in the story itself.

I wanted to love this book and I was so excited to be able to get an advanced reader copy of this story. Especially since I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks book in over a decade, and his books helped me alot growing up. But overall it was good but not great and generally not for me.

Special thanks for NetGalley and Nicholas Sparks for the advanced reader digital copy of this book!

Counting Miracles is truly a great story of how anything & everything can go wrong in your life and you find the miracle of life. Tanner Hughes learns on his grandmother’s death bed the name of his father that he was never privileged to know and a town that he was from. After the death of his grandmother he leaves to go in search of his father or someone who possibly would know him. In Asheboro NC he has a mishap with his brand new car and meets a lovely girl whose mother just happens to be the local Dr. Tanner has no interest on falling in love and settling down much less learning about his long lost father.
Counting Miracles is a great story about your trust in God & miracles really do happen.
Thank you to NetGalley for ARC of this story.

I have read every single Nicholas Sparks book and enjoyed them all! Counting Miracles did not disappoint! I feel that I have to be transparent and say that this is not my favorite of his books, but another solid read with great characters and storyline. I could picture the forest and the dog as if I were there, and although a little predictable, I still wanted to see exactly how the story played out til the end. I will always and forever automatically read anything Nicholas Sparks writes! #CountingMiracles#NetGalley

I like most all of Nicholas Sparks books. This one was no exception. The more you read of his books the more you can predict what is going to happen in his books. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be king of comforting to know what is going to happen. I didn’t love that this book had so much religion thrown in, it really could be classified as a religious fiction. I love how the main couple met in such a non traditional way, and for most people they wouldn’t even want to speak, except through insurance companies.

4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Nicholas Sparks for the chance to read this.

This book had the sadness you typically expect from Sparks, but it didn’t feel so much like the romance book that I was expecting.

I loved the story, but it felt more like Jaspers story than it felt like Tanners. And I really wanted more romance and I wish it was longer to see where the romance went. It also had a lot of religious lines in it, which didn’t bother me so much, but it was unexpected and as someone who isn’t really religious, it felt like a bit much at times.

I did like the side characters and the stories with them.. except Josh, screw Josh.

Incredible. Heartbreaking, heart warming, family ties. ALL OF IT. This had it all. Another Nicholas Sparks blown out of the water.
Jasper's story really captured me, as did Tanners, and the "connection" wasn't what I thought - it was even better.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for this arc of Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks. I’m generally a fan of Nicholas Sparks and his super captivating love stories. I feel this book was very disjointed and was two stories that he loosely merged together. Sparks’ novel follows three different people on three very different journeys that connect in the end.

Tanner an army ranger who was ultimately raised by his grandparents due to his mother, passing at his birth, has never set roots. Traveling to Florida to help his grandmother in her hours of need, she wills him to settle down and ultimately gives him the name of the father, he has never met. Tanner takes that information and his determined to know the other part of his family. Traveling to Asheboro in search of his father he instead finds Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn, a single mother of two and the town doctor in Ashboro, is just trying to get by and do what is best for her family and the patients that she serves. She’s given up on a life of her own and rekindling any kind of romance post divorce.

Jasper, the oldest resident of Asheboro, is battling his own past. Fallen victim to tragedy in regard to his entire family and his physical health he fears the end is near and he will die alone. He has forged bond with Kaitlyn as she is his physician and her son Mitch has become his companion. When an elusive white deer surfaces in Asheboro, it becomes the talk of the town and Jasper feels it’s a sign bring him closer to the end.

These three souls find love, acceptance, and family. Kaitlyn takes this opportunity to open her heart to Tanner hoping he will settle down. Will Jasper ultimately find the family that he’s ever so constantly seeking without knowing?

I unfortunately did not find this particular book as captivating as previous novels by Nicholas Sparks. I felt like the three stories were too loosely, joined the majority of the book. However, when they did intersect, the novel picked up and the ending was a pleasant surprise. Although this is very typical as Sparks always is a good heartfelt read. It was a little flat for the type of books I’m used to reading, however with that being said I do appreciate getting to read such a wonderful author and appreciate the early release of this book.

Pub Date: September 24, 2024
🌟🌟.5

Tanner was raised by his grandparents after his mother passed away during childbirth. On his grandmother’s death bed she reveals the name of his biological father. Tanner heads to North Carolina to learn more about him and possibly meet him. He had no idea the trip would change the course of his life.

I loved this book! It was very wholesome and shows how one thing can change your outlook on life. It does have a lot of bible verses in it but even if you aren’t a religious person I think you will enjoy it because that is not the premise on which the book is built around. Overall I highly recommend this book!

I really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the chance to read.

Wow! This was such a good book. Three lives intertwined through various scenarios coming together and being miracles in each other's lives in unexpected ways. The mystery and unknown in the story was so captivating and kept me guessing. It made me reflect on my life and what things I want to hold most dear.

This book has too many things going on. I did not like the ending since it did not tie the story up. The fact that I thought a few animals were going to die is the only reason I finished the story. I just wanted to make sure they would be ok. As for Jasper having him go through so much especially in the forest for 4 days. I know they were made stronger in the old days but really.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks.

Tanner Hughes is taking a break from his military career to take care of his grandmother who is about to pass away and join her husband. Tanner’s grandparents raised him from birth because of his mother’s sudden death during birth. His father is nowhere to be found, but his grandmother’s last words to him were a clue to get him started in the search for his biological father. The clue leads him to Asheboro, North Carolina, where he quickly and unexpectedly meets Dr. Kaitlyn Conner, a single mother of two. Kaitlyn and Tanner have an immediate connection, but Tanner’s quickly approaching departure to his new posting in Cameroon is quickly approaching. Que Mr. Jasper who is a patient of Dr. Conner’s whom also enjoys spends quality time Mitch, Kaitlyn’s son. Mr. Jasper is quite old and rickety and has a crazy life story that will keep you on your toes. His faith in God is the only thing keeping him going with no family left on Earth. He lives alone in a cabin bordering the Uwharrie National Forest with his old dog, Arlo. Jasper continues to hear rumors of the returning miraculous white deer and becomes infatuated with keeping it protected from poachers. Jasper, Tanner, Kaitlyn and her kids find their stories orbiting closer and closer together, none of them expecting how miraculous their stories coming together will be and how it will affect their futures forever.

This one was a wild ride. I really enjoyed the many different perspectives of characters. I was in awe of Jasper’s story and the child of God he was through his painful life. Tanner and Kaitlyn’s story started off strong, but quickly made me annoyed, but that was probably the point. ‘Counting Miracles’ is by far the most thrill I’ve read by Nicholas Sparks and I really enjoyed that aspect of his writing in this one. Overall loved the story, but found the ending of all of the characters coming together really abrupt and found myself wanting more detail to their ending together. Which is why I give this one 4/5 stars.

4 ⭐️

Struggling with grief, this book hit close to home sometimes.

I enjoyed it very much. Her kids were good kids, she was a good single mother, and from Tanners introduction their dynamic was pretty nice. (Although fast and I do think she expected a lot out of him for someone she met within a week. That I found tough to ignore)

A couple of things I took issue with:

As a fellow North Carolinian, the overhyped-ness of the white deer. I’m only 41 and I’ve seen white deer plenty. I’ve seen 2-3 in a year before. I don’t hunt. So my point being a man in his mid to late 60’s, living in the forest who hunted, would definitely have seen one. Yes, they are rare and they are sought after by bad hunters and they do also have meaning to others but they aren’t that rare. Maybe in certain parts of the world and he does right for the masses?

Asheboro is considered a small town? The zoo was just voted the best zoo in the United States. Not a small town.

Bradford Pear cultivator and salesmen I also really struggled with. If Nicholas Sparks is still currently here in NC he would know this is not a native tree, which he does say but that it’s considered invasive and so much so that NC Forestry is doing a buy back program where if you bring them a Bradford Pear tree, they will give you two native trees as a replacement. This has been going on for years. So they’ve really been talking bad about these trees and what they’ve done to our local habitats. That seems like a terrible job to give him.

I also understand that in small towns there are families that get away with anything, that’s true. However if the sheriff was his friend, I wish he had taken him a bit more serious.

Ultimately I found myself staying up late for Jaspers story. Hoping for his discovery and safety. Hoping he found peace in his life and comfort, so Tanner “finding” him was a great tidy ending. Jasper made the story for me, more so than the love aspect that was very rushed. Jasper and Arlo, Jasper and Mitch and then Jasper and Tanner.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my ARC of this book coming out soon. Check it out

Nicholas Sparks has a way of hitting it out of the park everytime and grabbing you by the heart as you read. This beautiful story is no different.

The book contains all the pieces to a heart touching read touching on loss, love, family, and searching for truths.

I have to always mentally and emotionally prepare myself for NS books because I have to have an emotional recovery after- and this book delivered in that way for me… but in the best ways.

Such a good read, definitely worth the recommendation 🩷

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Nicholas Sparks knows how to write engaging stories. It wasn't literary genius but it was a feel good story with characters I enjoyed meeting and a happy ending. Tanner is on a quest to find his unknown father after the only family he knows dies. Jasper is an old man who lost his whole family ages ago and lives an isolated life. I enjoyed hearing bits of Jasper's history as he reflects on his life and the hardships he endured, even though they were devastating. Jasper sees himself like Job in the business, relational and physical losses he's weathered. Tanner was still more of an enigma, but personable. My biggest qualm with the story was the short timeline for Kaitlyn and Tanner to fall madly in love.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an ARC.

I started this book a few months back and couldn't get into it. Picked it back up and really enjoyed it. I have to say I did know what the secret would be before half through it. I appreciated the Jasper character and the spunky teen Casey. The others were just there. I'd still recommend it. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #CountingMiracles #NetGalley

I liked this story but there were a lot of parts that were incredibly boring. There were pages on pages of descriptive monologues that could’ve been condensed down or not included at all. I also wish the timeline would have been longer as it didn’t seem very realistic. Not my favorite one of his but it had a heartwarming ending that I enjoyed.

Thank you so much to the author and Random House Publishing Group | Ballantine for providing me with this ARC. The publication date is set for September 24, 2024.

“An emotional, powerful novel about wondering if we can change—or even make our peace with—the path we’ve taken.”

Nicholas Sparks always manages to exceed my expectations. I’ve been a fan of his books since high school, and his writing has only continued to astound me—each book seems to surpass the last.

This touching story beautifully intertwines tragedy, heartache, loss, love, hope, and a sense of belonging, guaranteeing to resonate deeply. Initially uncertain of Jasper’s role in the book, I was pleasantly surprised by the strong connection I developed with him and the other main characters. Sparks’ skillful blending of past and present is truly captivating. The author is, without a doubt, a masterful storyteller, and I’m so thankful I got to read this book before its release.

I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a quick yet mesmerizing, meaningful, and heartwarming story with the perfect dash of romance. ♥

Four stars! ✨