The Return

By: Nicholas Sparks

Narrated by: Kyf Brewer

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the romantic tradition of Dear John, an injured Navy doctor meets two extremely important women whose secrets will change the course of his life in this number one New York Times best seller.

Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, North Carolina. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he'd inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.

Tending to his grandfather's beloved beehives, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local...yet, from their very first encounter, Trevor feels a connection with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson that he can't ignore. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding.

Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road. Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues - until a crisis triggers a race to uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have imagined.

In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness...and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.

©2020 Nicholas Sparks (P)2020 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"As much a family drama as it is a love story ... If you, like Trevor, are looking to slow down and focus on what's really important, The Return is the heartwarming read you've been waiting for." (BookPage)

"A pleasant read that moves like honey." (BookTrib)

"[Nicholas Sparks'] descriptions of the charms of downtown New Bern and the beauty of Brices Creek made me want to ... rush to spend a few days there." (Chatham Journal Newspaper)

2.5

Nicholas Sparks really helped when it comes to my love of reading. His last few books have missed the mark for me, but I will still read anything he puts out. I was super excited for The Return and read it the day it released. Sadly, this one just did not live up to what I expect from him either. This had way too much dialogue. The story was just dragging along. I was not connecting with anything going on and nothing was keeping my interest. I ended up skimming some of the chapters to see if the story would pick up a little. This was almost two stories in one. I wish it would have followed Callie from the start. I was lost and bored with Trevor and the bee stories. It did not bring anything to the story and took too long to get to the meat of everything. I really started to get interested when the story with Callie started to develop. Overall, I am glad I pushed through this one as the last ¾ of the book was much better. I would have DNF this if it was any other author though. I would give the first half two stars and the second half three stars.

Check your pronunciation please

I like the narrator's voice. However, my ears bleed every time he says "Bewford" In NC , it is pronounced "Bofort", SC says "Bewfort"

He does it again!!

Such a great story finished it in one day. Being a Carolina girl it makes my heart smile to hear little towns that I know come to life for others to hear. On a side note the town of Beaufort is not pronounced correctly by the narrator. Hehe

Meh. Just meh

Don't know what I was expecting but this book was boring and shallow. I couldn't invest in the characters or the story.

Another win

As always Nicholas Sparks manages to pull the reader into the tale that he spins. This novel has a different feel to it then his previous novels.

Slow

The story was dragged out, slow to develop. Very simple storyline. Enjoy authors works but this was low on list.

Great Book

Like spending time with an old friend. Reminded me of older N Sparks stories that you can't put down and want more at the end

It was very good.

it was good. kept me interested, I listened to it in two days. not my very favorite Nicholas Sparks but good 👍

Solid All Around

Couldn’t stop listening to another amazing story written by NS. Three interchanging lives, that intertwine time and time again. Well done.

Spoiler, it seems as there maybe a chance of a sequel at the way this one ended. What say you, NS?

Whimsical, boring, disappointing.!

I felt there was no depth to this story and the character's were not even likable....
The book read like a teenage fantasy... I was actually glad when it ended....