📖-Counting Miracles
✍🏼- Nicholas Sparks
📆- 9/24/24
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 “𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵; 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲” (𝗘𝗰𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝟯:𝟰). 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻.

𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤

This book follows three POV, Jasper (the old man), Kaitlyn, and Tanner. Tanner Hughes, a military veteran, decides to start digging into his past when his dying grandmother’s wish is for him to “find where he belongs.” He’s at a bar when his classic car gets hit by a young teenager by the name, Casey. Casey so shaken up gives him her mom’s number to file a claim to the insurance company. Tanner drives Casey home, where he meets Kaitlyn. They both immediately feel drawn to each other. As they get to know one another, Kaitlyn being a single mom and Tanner with zero responsibilities to tie him down they take a chance. But will Kaitlyn be able to take a chance on falling in love with someone who craves where his next adventure will be? As for Jasper, he’s had a tragic life. He’s lived a full life of suffering and has decided to reside in a secluded cabin with his dog, Arlo. Meanwhile there’s been a spotting of a white deer. Jasper feels that that is Gods message for hope and a divine guidance.

𝕄𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 💭
This book heavily referenced biblical scriptures and of course God. If you do not have beliefs in God or the Bible then this book may not be for you. While I enjoyed the story I felt like it dragged on with Jasper and his hunting for the white deer. I feel like it could’ve been shorter. The ending for sure made up for it, I almost wanted to DNF this book. I am a big fan of Nicholas Sparks but this book felt more like for people heavily involved in church (nothing wrong with that). Again, these are my opinions and how I felt about this book. Overall I enjoyed the ending and how it all turned out to be. Would I pick up this book again? Probably not.

Thank you NetGalley for the complimentary ebook of, Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks.

Wow, just wow! I loved it!

I absolutely love how Sparks keeps the same timeline, and his ability to intertwine his characters in such a profound way is astonishing!

These characters were far from flawless, but their flaws kept me on edge more than I expected. The thoughtfulness he used with Tanner was also an escape in itself.

Tanner was raised by his grandparents, because his mother died during childbirth. He’s been in the military, stock-investor, cares for his dying grandmother, and then goes on a road trip for answers.

On the other spectrum, you have Kaitlyn who’s a divorced, single mother raising two children on her own. She comes with her own share of troubles and puts in quite a few hours, but some of those hours are on a volunteer basis and helping others outside of her white coat.

One evening, Casey goes out to dinner and has an encounter with a guy (Josh) from her school. Tanner witnessed Josh being aggressive and steps in- then Casey goes to leave and smashes right into Tanner’s car. Oddly enough, Tanner parks his car and drives Casey’s mom’s suburban to her house and that’s when Tanner meets Kaitlyn. The story unfolds from there and I do not want to release any spoilers, so I will stick with it’s a must read book!

Nicholas Sparks did not disappoint! Although it was a typical Nicholas Sparks and somewhat predictable, I loved how the plot cane together and I even cried in the end. The characters were well built and the plot kept me engaged until the end.

Another soul warmer by Nicholas Sparks! A great easy read that draws you in from the first chapter.

Nicholas Sparks will forever be a comfort read for me. I was so excited when I got approved to read this early.

What I love most about his books is that he makes you feel so many emotions. There’s no spice, there’s just pure emotion and it gets me every dang time.

Yes, you can figure out what happens for the most part, but the ride to get there is so worth the read.

This story follows three different POVs. Tanner, Kaitlyn, and Jasper. Each character had such a crazy story. They’ve been through different hardships, but somehow it all clicks and there is such beauty in the story.

I loved watching the character development, the relationships, the loss, the tragedy, all of it. There’s so much to unpack with this book and once I started, it was impossible to put this story down.

I will never stop reading Sparks books and I highly recommend if you need a comfort author, to give him a try.

Synopsis: An intertwining story between an elderly man, a doctor with a young family and a military veteran.
Pros/cons: I have always enjoyed Nicholas Sparks’ books and was excited to get this advanced copy from NetGalley. (Due out in September!)
Unfortunately I found this story pretty bland. It was nice, but highly predictable and strangely very religious. I think that it will hit well with the older, conservative crowd, but it was just ok for me and I wouldn’t rush to recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Counting Miracles was heartwarming but underwhelming. I found myself skimming over much of Jasper’s story, especially the parts about his 4 children. The relationship between Tanner and Kaitlyn fell flat and felt unfinished at the end.

I love Nicholas Sparks and looked forward to reading this book, but was left feeling disappointed.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

Nicholas Sparks never disappoints. His style of writing is like no other and is just beautiful to read. I loved the 3 simultaneous stories and was super intrigued on how they would come together at the end. At the end, just like I figured, they all came together beautifully. Fans of the Notebook and A Walk to Remember will enjoy this book.

Honestly this book was a bit slow for my liking. I couldn’t really get into the story. The characters had little development and the story line really didn’t keep my interest.

I got this ARC for my mother as she loves the author. She said this book is as good as all his others, which she has read all of them.

Loved it! Nicholas sparks knows how go write a story that draws the reader in so you can't put the book down. Such a wonderful book.

Super enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the character development. The plot took a bit to draw me in, but I felt it was worth it in the end. I appreciated that it wasn't filled with swearing and explicit sexual content. I also appreciated the use of Bible verses to emphasize life experiences.

A classic Sparks book set in North Carolina dealing with family relationships, hardships and loss. There were lots of biblical references and quotes which I don’t recall others of his having.

I love Nicholas Sparks books and this didn’t disappoint!
An excellent, well-written novel with a spin on the author’s typical plot. This was enjoyable from start to finish and I cried at the end.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Counting Miracles is a story surrounding three main characters: Kaitlyn a small-town physician and mother of two, Tanner an ex-military man in search of a possible family member in Asheboro, NC, and Jasper an old man who had lost everything and turned away from God.
Being a huge Nicholas Sparks fan I was thrilled to get an ARC! I thought that the interaction between Kaitlyn and Tanner was heartfelt. I also thoroughly enjoyed the mother-daughter interaction between Kaitlyn and her daughter Casey. However, Jaspers, story was very long and drawn out. I found myself having a hard time getting into those chapters and just wanted more of Kaitlyn and Tanner. The story does tie together in a nice little bow, but it was predictable and there wasn't a shock or emotional factor that I have had with previous Nicholas Spark's books. Overall, a cute read but not one of my favorites. I do appreciate NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to preview this book in advance and will still be super excited for future Nicholas Sparks books.

I've read almost all of Nicholas Sparks's books but I have to say this one fell a bit flat for me. I didn't find myself as absorbed in the characters as I usually am. I didn't get much of the romance story and found myself skimming a bit towards the end. A bit disappointed.

Counting Miracles does not move particularly quickly, but it’s a solid story of loss, of seeking answers, of figuring out life, and finding unexpected blessings along the way. I enjoyed this book by Nicholas Sparks.

I was so excited to get this ARC as I’ve been a big fan of Nicholas Spark’s works for years. Counting miracles follows Tanner Hughes, a veteran who was raised by his grandparents and after the death of his grandmother, arrives at Asheboro, NC to find answers about his birth dad. He meets Kaitlyn Cooper a single mom and doctor who he immediately is drawn to. Then there 83-year-old Jasper, Kaitlyn’s neighbor who is teaching her son how to whittle who goes out on his own quest to protect a rare white deer.

The story writing was beautiful, but perhaps not for me. It was a little slow for me in the first few chapters. I was a little underwhelmed with relationship between Tanner and Kaitlyn. I typically love the relationship builds Spark writes in his book, but I was just not feeling this one. Maybe because of the interweaving of storylines, I felt like their relationship was rushed and a little hollow. I do feel like both characters could have used more development, as we only got little blips into who they were and why they were the way they were. I did love the interaction between Kaitlyn’s children with both adults, especially her daughter Casey.

However, JASPER, that man has my whole heart. His story was gut wrenching, and the way I sobbed when you hear his tragic back story. Not to mention he has a loyal dog Arlo that is just icing on the cake. This book did reference the Bible quite often, and had a heavy religious theme throughout which also took me by surprise. The way the story comes together at the end is really beautiful.

All in all, this book did take a little bit for me to get into and the love story fell a little flat for me. Halfway through, the story really picked up (especially with Jasper) and I found myself emotionally connected to his character. I gave this book 3.5 ⭐️.

Thank you NetGalley and Nicholas Sparks for the opportunity for the ARC 🫶

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. As always this was another fabulous read by Sparks. I was very impressed with the writing style and story line.

Enjoyed it as usual! I have every Nicholas Sparks novel and they never disappoint. Sometimes his stories do all start blending together, but I don’t really care! I look forward to these and am disappointed if there’s not a new one each summer. I’ll continue to pick up the next heartwarming North Carolina read for as long as he writes them.