First, the basic info. The book Safe Haven was written by author Nicholas Sparks. The movie came out in 2013 and starred Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, Cobie Smulders, and David Lyons.
What’s the story? A woman on the run finds herself in a small town and decides to stay a while. She finds a place to stay, gets a job as a waitress, and meets some of the townsfolk – including a tall handsome store owner and his two kids. Things seem to go pretty well until her past catches up with her.
Which one did I experience first? The movie, which I watched in the cinema with my sister. I didn’t even bother asking Carpet Head if he wanted to watch it with me. When I told him I was going out with my sister to watch it, he was just like, “Meh, okay. Have fun.” LOL.
Anyway, so I saw the movie with my sister before I read the book. I really liked it even though, you know, it’s kind of your typical romantic movie. It’s just one of those nice movies that make you feel nice and warm and fuzzy. Of course, it helps that the main guy is played by the gorgeous Josh Duhamel and actress Julianne Hough turned out to be pretty adorable, too. Plus you also have the beautiful Cobie Smulders (love her!) and David Lyons, who I wasn’t very familiar with until this movie and he’s one of those actors that grow on you. I like the setting and I really love the original soundtrack. The music tracks have really easy and chill melodies. For some reason they just appeal to me. In fact, I’m using two of the tracks for my morning alarm.
I read the book a few months ago. I read it quickly since I just really wanted to finish it, mostly so I could say that I read the book too haha. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Nicholas Sparks book before. I think I read an abridged version of A Walk to Remember several years ago, but I don’t remember much. I don’t know if all Sparks books have the same feel, but Safe Haven felt a little “laid out.” Well, that could just be due to the fact that I already knew the story coming in to the book. I can’t say I’m a fan of Sparks’ writing style though. I like it when writers are clever with words and language, and I really didn’t get that from this book. The writing style is not what I would expect from someone who’s had several bestsellers.
The book was slower in terms of pace, which is understandable because in movies they need to cram everything into 2 hours or less, and, although I like the movie more because of the faster pace, I like the extra details in the book. The book made more sense since it had the back stories and the element of time. You know how it all seems to happen so fast in the movies, but in the book the story took place over a course of several months. About the ending, I’m not really sure what to think about it so I don’t think about it too much. Haha.
Book vs. Movie: I like the movie more and I’m not sure I’d pick up another Nicholas Sparks book. I’d rather watch the movies, I think. :)
