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Book Reviews of Message in a Bottle

Message in a Bottle
Message in a Bottle
Author: Nicholas Sparks
ISBN-13: 9780446676076
ISBN-10: 0446676071
Publication Date: 12/1/1999
Pages: 352
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 114

3.7 stars, based on 114 ratings
Publisher: Warner Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

176 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

heavenboundlj avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 232 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
I had a lot of ups and downs reading this....you go through so many emotions...you're happy, sad, angry, and all the ones in between. You really feel like you're there and you feel what the characters are feeling. Loved it! (Much better than the movie)
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Way better then the movie! Hands down Sparks at his best! Great Great Book!
Salandrum avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is yet another great book from Mr. Sparks. Keep the box of tissue handy.
Sarah13Rose avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 35 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
tissue alert! :-)
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
this book was wonderfully romantic and heartbreakingly sad.... this book threw me for a loop at the end, but as always i love what nicholas sparks does in all of his books and that's pull at my heartstrings. great book!
redmama87 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Helpful Score: 1
Such a Love Story.Great book.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Helpful Score: 1
this book for me started out sort of slow, however after about 25 pages, I couldn't put it down...it is probably one of the best books I have ever read and I have told all of my friends about it.
scrapbooklady avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 472 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a nice story but was a bit disappointing. Very predictable and somewhat unrealistic. Not my favorite Nicholas Sparks book.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 49 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was such an amazing book!...that they turned into a horrible movie.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A romantic Nicholas Sparks book about a lonely writer seeking the truth behind a message found on the beach.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 46 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The usual love story by Nicholas Sparks. It was a quick read and enjoyable.
runcysmom avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 163 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A typical Nicholas Sparks love story with just a glitch here and there. I really love his books. This was no exception.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Helpful Score: 1
I have read many of Nicholas Sparks and his novels enrich my reading experience. Message in a Bottle was an intriguing and emotional look into the change that people can make in their lives. I loved it.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
great love story
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 24 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Another Sparks tearjerker. Such a great love story. Great book and I even love the movie also.
Firefly avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 57 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A good story, nothing spectacular, until the end. At the end, Sparks pulls together all kinds of seemingly insignificant details from the beginning of the book and whallops you with emotion. Wow.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 97 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I'm not much into romances but well written.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
NOT as good as the Notebook - but still good. A little too much background at the beginning - takes some time to get going - then gets good - has twist at the end I'm not sure if I was ok with... worth reading if you are a Sparks fan
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Although I kind of resent it for making me cry so hard, I absolutely loved this book. The tale is sweet and heart renching at the same time. I hate what happened toward the end, but that's part of the emotional lure of the book.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 911 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A good read.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 137 more book reviews
I was disappointed in this book. I an ususally totally sucked in by Nicholas Sparks, but this book just didn't have enough depth to the characters for me. The story is well known, possibly due to the fact that this book has been made into a movie. Girl finds bottle on beach, reads love letter inside written by a widower sending off missives to his deceased wife. Girl seeks out guy, they fall in love, blah blah. Sorry Nicholas, this one just didn't do it for me.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 107 more book reviews
A beautiful love story!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Very good book. Great romance story!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 43 more book reviews
Different cover, same great story!
amberwench avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 26 more book reviews
This is the book the movie by the same name (with Kevin Costner) is based off of. Author also wrote 'The Notebook' which was also made into a movie.
VeronicaNagy avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 48 more book reviews
If you saw the movie then you have to read the book to get the rest of the story. If you never saw the movie then read the book first. I absolutely love this story.
Sharbysyd avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 17 more book reviews
From the back cover: Theresa Osborne is divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. What happens next is unexpected, and perhaps even miraculous - for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting....
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 28 more book reviews
Theresa Osborne is divorced annd disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. What happens next is unexpected and perhaps even miraculous - for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting.

I did really like this book. Damn Nicholas Sparks making me cry!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
Not my type of book, I guess. I enjoyed about half of the book, then got tired of the slow pace.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
I thought it was okay, i am not a big "sparks"fan, But the characters were believable
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 6 more book reviews
Kevin Costner just didn't do this book justice!! As fantastic as any Sparks book!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 18 more book reviews
Thrown to the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found just three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa, divorced and the mother of a twelve year old son, picks it up during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Beautiful love story written by Nicholas Sparks, author of Notebook.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 6 more book reviews
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book .I read it in an afternoon and cried an cried!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 158 more book reviews
This is one of the greatest love storys ever written. If you haven't read it you should.
Kittymama avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 107 more book reviews
Sparks' second novel proves that his best-selling The Notebook (1996) was no fluke as, once again, he offers his audience a deeply moving, beautifully written, and extremely romantic love story. Theresa Osborne is a divorced mother and Boston newspaper columnist, disillusioned with the single men she meets and yearning for someone special. When her son goes to California to stay with her ex-husband, she decides to go on a vacation to the Cape with Deanna, her editor and best friend. While jogging on the beach, Theresa discovers a bottle with a letter tucked inside from a man named Garrett to a woman named Catherine in which he describes the heartache of losing her. The letter moves Theresa to tears, so Deanna convinces her to print it in her column, thereby setting off a surprising chain reaction: it turns out that others have also found letters by Garrett. Imagining that this is the sort of man she has been seeking, Theresa sets out to find him, following various clues found in the letters. She succeeds and discovers that, indeed, he is everything she hoped he would be, including sincere, and therein lies the problem. His profound attachment to Catherine is a serious threat to their burgeoning relationship. Sparks' tale about the obstacles people face in second relationships is sensitive, wonderfully bittersweet, and ultimately hopeful.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 128 more book reviews
Wow, what a powerful, moving story. Did I say moving? Read with LOTS of tissues nearby. LOTS.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
love it.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 30 more book reviews
Every one of Sparks' books makes me cry!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 13 more book reviews
Loved this book. Have gone back and read it several times. Great love story.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 28 more book reviews
****
i THOUGHT THIS WAS A WONDERFULLY ROMANTIC BOOK WITH A GOOD STORY AND ENDING
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 20 more book reviews
Amazing book - Not like the movie - BETTER!!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Even if you've already seen the movie, this is a good read!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 44 more book reviews
This is a great read. Nicholas Sparks knows how to tug at the reader's heartstrings.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 23 more book reviews
Veyr good read
mom2jwn avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 22 more book reviews
very god read, I have 2 so this one is up for grabs
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 32 more book reviews
A gentle love story. According to People magazine, "The novel's unabashed emotion - and an unexpected turn will put tears in your eyes".

Read once on a plane, in excellent condition.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 14 more book reviews
This book brings out a lot of emotion in me, not all of it pleasant. The author really gets the reader involved in the character's lives and decisions the made. I found myself in a state of dread as the characters made what I thought were poor decisions.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
Another excellent love story.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 16 more book reviews
If you thought The Notebook was a tearjerker, get out the hankies, pull up a chair, and get ready to have your heart monkey-wrenched by Nicholas Sparks's second star-crossed love story, Message in a Bottle. When Theresa Osborne takes a much-needed summer holiday at Cape Cod, she finds a lot more than a break from the hustle and bustle. On an early-morning jog along Cape Cod Bay, she comes across a corked bottle with a scrolled-up message inside that reads, "My Dearest Catherine, I miss you, my darling, as I always do, but today is especially hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together..." It bobbles around in the same vein for several more paragraphs and ends with "...am alone on the pier and I do not care what others think as I bow my head and cry and cry and cry. Garret."

Garret may eat quiche, but no bother--before you can say "Look! I found two more letters!" Theresa is hot on his trail and determined to find this mysterious yet sensitive message-in-a-bottle man. She finds him at a sleepy North Carolina port, working on his beloved sailboat, The Happenstance. From there, a romance buds and blossoms into a colorful bouquet of emotional baggage. Theresa has problems with her past--or, more accurately, her past is a problem. She is so scarred from her "I'm a super churchgoing guy now that I've run out on my wife" ex-husband that she hasn't tried to date since her divorce some three or four years before. And who is Catherine? And what's Garret's bag, anyway? When Theresa finds out, she plunges to the depths of her soul and uncorks a whopper of a secret about herself, bringing Garret to terms with who he really is.

Message in a Bottle has the earmarks of sentimental tongue-wagging at its finest and should please romantics and cynics alike--it's sure to bring romantics to their knees, while cynics will be slapping theirs in laughter. --Rebekah Warren
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 13 more book reviews
I did not enjoy this book at all - felt it was one of the biggest wastes of time I had ever read - the writing is okay, but I don't believe there was enough build-up to them falling in love
purplesahm avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 10 more book reviews
I liked this book. Romances aren't usually my thing, but this one was believable and very very heart felt. Actually bittersweet. The prologue was worth the whole book.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
Divorced and disillusionded about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to Catherine signed simply Garrett. Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
This is a book about love, secrets, bottles, and life.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 3561 more book reviews
A 36-year-old single mother recovering from a wrecked marriage jogs along the shores of Cape Cod and finds a half-buried bottle containing a love letter. Upon reading the touching heartfelt words a man wrote to his "darling Catherine" only three weeks earlier, she decides to take a dramatic leap that will change her life forever. As she boards a plane for an unspecified destination, her future is uncertain, yet brims with the promise of wisdom gained from a voyage of self-discovery, and the possibility of finding the deepest kind of love.
l3rookeLuvsl3ooks avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 60 more book reviews
Urgh... I couldn't stand this book. I only read it in bits and pieces when I ran out of other reading material (I did not have much money, and I didn't know about PBS swap at that time). It was funny how much I disliked this book. I have liked all of the other Sparks books I have read, and "A Walk to Remember" is one of my favorite books.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 337 more book reviews
Wonderful love story. Unabridged - 6 tapes
JimberGiggles avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 19 more book reviews
I HATED this book. I was so angry at the end that, if not for my husband, I would have torn it to shreds and then burned what was left. Never have I been so dissapointed in a book.
emmaausten7 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 54 more book reviews
Not one of my favorite N.S. works. Good, however.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 26 more book reviews
Very good book I really enjoyed reading it
RUSTY777 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
Wonderful story, get the box of Kleenex ready
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
This book is wonderfully written. I finished it in 2 days! I couldn't put it down!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 31 more book reviews
Tear jerker right down to the end of this page turner!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 13 more book reviews
Honestly, this is one of the few books that I liked the movie better. This said, I know many, many people who love Message and all of Sparks' books.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 18 more book reviews
Another great book from Nicholas Sparks. I enjoyed every moment and couldn't put the book down until I'd devoured every last word.
jeanclaude avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 4 more book reviews
I am not a fan of romance novels but I loved 3 Weeks With My Brother, so I thought I would give this a try. It was just ok, but I think that is because I prefer other genres.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Nicholas Sparks never fails to write a great book. This is another one of his great stories. It was very capturing and I really got to know the characters. I didn't want to the book to end.
Renee27837 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 7 more book reviews
This is one of my favorite books.It will make you laugh and cry but you always that they will love each other no matter what.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 4 more book reviews
It's a good book to read on a rainy day. It's clever, dramatic, romantic, and compelling.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 17 more book reviews
Love story really good.
LadyKyria avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 45 more book reviews
Divorced and disillusioned about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to "Catherine," signes simply "Garrett." Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous--an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless & everlasting....
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
another great book by nicholas sparks
AimeeM avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 124 more book reviews
This is better than the movie, will bring tears to your eyes.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 22 more book reviews
Theresa Osborne si divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside.............
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 10 more book reviews
Sparks fans will not be disappointed.
dobbyswife avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 4 more book reviews
I loved this book. It is a quick and easy read that will have you smiling thru tears!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
I like all Nicholas books
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 8 more book reviews
Great story. Good summer read while on the beach. Just watch out for bottles!
nhirdning avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Another great tearjerker from Nicholas Sparks.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 10 more book reviews
Theresa Osborn is divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. What happens next is unexpected, and perhaps miraculous- for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting...
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 27 more book reviews
A truly wonderful read! A book that I did not want to put down until I was finished!
airnhugsdaleks avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Beyond sweet and gut-wrenching!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 23 more book reviews
This was the first Nicholas Sparks book I read. I couldn't put it down! Loved it!!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Amazing. Nicholas Sparks has done it again!
devaday avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Good book. Kind of predictable in the beginning. Towards the end there are dips and turns that catch you off guard. Ending was quite different than I could've imagined. Well worth 1 credit.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 29 more book reviews
Another great Sparks. Way better than the movie.
Ediesbeads avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
Sad yet heartwarming! I really enjoyed this book even though it made me cry.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 50 more book reviews
Really touching story
lilliemae avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 14 more book reviews
I enjoyed the book, especially the setting along the New England and North Carolina coasts. I definitely did not expect the ending but still enjoyed the book.
sarabelle avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
This was an amazing love story and an amazing book! One of Sparks' best. Don't see the movie. It was terrible.
fabricmom avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
Tear jerker.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 14 more book reviews
So yeah, I knew there was a movie and I have never seen it. So, I read the book. It had me in tears at the very end. Had not expected that. Should have read a review or 2.

I'm realizing this kind of story, the chick lit so to speak, is wearing thin on me. If you like chick lit, you will LOVE this book. It's too predictable otherwise. A hint about what's coming in the next 10 pages... over and over again. I wonder how many are actually surprised by all of that?

Anyhow.... there, I did it!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
well written , good story , but kind of a downer
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
As always a tear jerker! Nicholas Sparks is a great writer. However, I was unhappy with the ending...call me traditional!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
enjoyed this book very much.
eima avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on
I only gave this such a low rating because I realized that Nicholas Sparks emotional angst is not my cup of tea - entirely about personal preference.
jennylu83 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Absolutely wonderful novel! Beautiful story about love and loss. Real tear jerker, as are all the other Nicholas Sparks books I've read, but worth it all the way!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 2 more book reviews
I finished this book in about two days. It started out a little slow but it was overall a pretty good book. I know they made a movie, I'd like to see it one of these days.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
An easy and romantic read.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 588 more book reviews
One of Spark's best. A great romantic story.
from the back cover: Theresa Osborne is divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. What happens next is unexpected, and perhaps even miraculous--for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting...
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 79 more book reviews
Great book!
Theresa Osborne is divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. What happens next is unexpected, and perhaps even miraculous - for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 32 more book reviews
While I don't normally read romances - (sometimes the sex scenes are a little gratuitous and un-necessary) I do enjoy a good love story, and that's what this was. The ending just got to me, and this book made me cry. It's good. Read it.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 17 more book reviews
If you have seen the movie, you really need to read the book, it is way better.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 32 more book reviews
After reading this book, I am looking forward to the movie. It is a heart-wrenching novel, with a wonderful message. "Live life as though tomorrow may not come."
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 63 more book reviews
My favorite Sparks book and I've read several. Story actually based on his father after his mother was killed in a horseback riding accident. Great read!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 31 more book reviews
This is one of my all time favorites of his. So very good and emotional. A must read.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 13 more book reviews
Message In A Bottle was a wonderful story to read. I read it before seeing the movie, and enjoyed reading the story more.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
Book is in like-new condition. Never read it and have no interest now, so unfortunately I have no comment on it.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 131 more book reviews
typical of Nicholas Sparks... excellent writing and wonderful story line
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 18 more book reviews
Great book, good love story, but hated the ending.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 23 more book reviews
very good
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 19 more book reviews
This is a great story. I'd suggest it to anyone looking for a good romance.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 68 more book reviews
Intense romantic story.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 22 more book reviews
I did not finish reading this book, I watched the movie it was good.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 65 more book reviews
I read this book probably 5 or 6 years ago and remember really liking it. It's a very nice romance story.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 16 more book reviews
Nicholas Sparks novels always pull on my heart strings.... Another great story about love...
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 2 more book reviews
awesome reading!!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 9 more book reviews
Such an awesome book. A real tear jearker! LOVED IT!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 66 more book reviews
What a sad, beautiful story. Kind of a "necessary" ending, but still, so heartbreaking...
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 16 more book reviews
Thrown into the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa Osborne, divorced and the mother of a twelve-year-old son, picks it up during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Inside is a letter that opens with:

My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do,
but today is particularly hard because the ocean has
been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together....

For "Garrett," the man who signs the letter, the message is the only way he knows to express his undying love for a woman he has lost. For Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, the message raises questions that intrigue her. Who are Garrett and Catherine? Where is he now? What is his story?
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as have millions of other readers.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 67 more book reviews
A wonderful love story!!!!
Belle0505 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 20 more book reviews
As always, the book is better than the movie. Definitely worth a read.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 35 more book reviews
Divorced and disillusioned Theresa finds a bottle containing a message on a beach. It changes her life...and her outlook. This was made into a movie with Kevin costner and Robin Wright Penn.
Bernie avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Nicholas Sparks is our very best chronicler of the human heart. His stunning first novel, The Notebook, has been given by friend to friend and lover to lover all over the world as a testament to the timeless power of love. But if we thought he could never again move us so deeply, he now shows us he can-in a story that renews our faith in destiny...in the ability of true lovers to find each other no matter where, no matter when... Message In A Bottle Thrown to the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found just three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa Osborne, divorced and the mother of a twelve-year-old son, picks it up during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Inside is a letter that opens with: My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together...For "Garrett," the man who signs the letter, the message is the only way he knows to express his undying love for a woman he has lost. For Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, the message raises questions that intrigue her. Who are Garrett and Catherine? Where is he now? What is his story?Challenged by the mystery, and pulled to find Garrett by emotions she does not fully understand, Theresa begins a search that takes her to a sunlit coastal town and an unexpected confrontation. Brought together by chance-or something more powerful-Theresa and Garrett are people whose lives are about to touch for a purpose, in a tale that resonates with our deepest hopes for finding that special someone and everlasting love.Shimmering with suspense and emotional intensity, Message in a Bottle takes readers on a hunt for the truth about a man and his memories, and about both the heartbreaking fragility and enormous strength of love. For those who cherished The Notebook and readers waiting to discover the magic of Nicholas Sparks's storytelling, here is his new, achingly lovely novel of happenstance, desire, and the choices that matter most...A Main Selection of The Literary Guild and of Doubleday Book Club "Nicholas Sparks...will not let you go. His novel shines." -Dallas Morning News "Proves that good things come in small packages....A classic tale of love."
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 1568 more book reviews
Probably the best known of novelist Nicholas Sparks' best selling books. Also a Warner Brothers movie. Sparks has also written THE NOTEBOOK and A WALK TO REMEMBER.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 164 more book reviews
Divorced and disillusioned about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to "Catherine," signed simply "Garrett." Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous - an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting...
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 60 more book reviews
This book is a great love story. ABout love, a divorced women who is disillusioned about realtionships finds a bottle on the beach. Inside the bottle is a letter of love and longing for "Catherine" from "Garrett". Intrigued by the mystery, Theresa sets out to find this man who will change her life forever. What happens to her is unepected and perhaps miraculous, an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting...
Krazy4Kats avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 47 more book reviews
As usual, the book is better than the movie. But, I'm glad that I saw the movie!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 10 more book reviews
It was a beautiful, romantic story with a twist at the end I didn't expect.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 302 more book reviews
Now a major motion picture.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 60 more book reviews
Theresa Osborne is divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. What happens next is unexpected, and perhaps even miraculous-for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting....
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 17 more book reviews
Another great Sparks book! This book is registered at bookcrossing.com
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 60 more book reviews
If you are a romantic you will like all his books
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 20 more book reviews
The book is better than the movie!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 3352 more book reviews
An interesting story
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 2 more book reviews
Excellent reading
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 22 more book reviews
Anything by Nicholas Sparks is great!
kourtnie17 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 156 more book reviews
While jogging along the Cape Cod shore, a thirty something single mother struggling to recover from a difficult divorce stumbles upon a half-buried bottle containing a touching love letter that sends her on an uncertain odyssey of self-discovery and renewal.

"The novel's unabashed emotion and an unexpected turn --will put tears in your eyes."-- People
Cricky avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 106 more book reviews
I liked the book better than the movie - there were far more details in the book, it was such a quick read because it held my interest.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
An enjoyable read and unique love story. From the back cover: "Theresa is divorced and disillusioned, but all of that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside". I also enjoyed the movie!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 715 more book reviews
Was made into a motion picture w/Kevin Coster, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 6 more book reviews
good beach book, taking a chance with a great ending
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 2 more book reviews
Just bought it and finished it today. Excelent condition.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 83 more book reviews
Theresa is divorced and disillusioned, but all that changes when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside...
A great read!! Very poignant and meaningful!!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 14 more book reviews
EXCELLENT!! If you haven't read the book, try it! Somehow reading the story is so much better than watching the movies! Can't go wrong with Nicholas Sparks!
Fungurl1979 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
I loved this book........Nicholas Sparks is the best.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
awesome, like all his other books. :)
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 41 more book reviews
Excellent story! I love Nicholas Sparks' novels!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 36 more book reviews
Theresa is divorded and disilllusioned, she finds a bottle on the beach with a message inside. She finds the person who wrote the message and her future at the same time.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
One of my favorite authors.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 26 more book reviews
I could not put this book down. Don't forgett he kleenex!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
GOOD BOOK
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 14 more book reviews
I love all Nicholas Sparks books and this was no exception. It was actually one of my favorites of his!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 8 more book reviews
Very good book. Again, made me cry.
hallelujaheart avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 96 more book reviews
A wonderful, heartwarming read that will leave you in tears.
wordyone avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 112 more book reviews
A sweet story of love lost, love found and the power of hope.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Page Turner....I read this book in 2 days. I had seen the movie a few years back but the book is much more intense. Loved It.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 60 more book reviews
Absolutely wonderful story!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 17 more book reviews
Good sappy schlock!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 129 more book reviews
Its Nicholas Sparks! Of course its great!!! Sobbed... what a love story!!!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 4 more book reviews
This book has been read alot! The binding is worn and the pages are yellowed. However, it is in good condition and still has a lot of use left in it.
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Amazon.com Review

If you thought The Notebook was a tearjerker, get out the hankies, pull up a chair, and get ready to have your heart monkey-wrenched by Nicholas Sparks's second star-crossed love story, Message in a Bottle. When Theresa Osborne takes a much-needed summer holiday at Cape Cod, she finds a lot more than a break from the hustle and bustle. On an early-morning jog along Cape Cod Bay, she comes across a corked bottle with a scrolled-up message inside that reads, "My Dearest Catherine, I miss you, my darling, as I always do, but today is especially hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together..." It bobbles around in the same vein for several more paragraphs and ends with "...am alone on the pier and I do not care what others think as I bow my head and cry and cry and cry. Garret."

Garret may eat quiche, but no bother--before you can say "Look! I found two more letters!" Theresa is hot on his trail and determined to find this mysterious yet sensitive message-in-a-bottle man. She finds him at a sleepy North Carolina port, working on his beloved sailboat, The Happenstance. From there, a romance buds and blossoms into a colorful bouquet of emotional baggage. Theresa has problems with her past--or, more accurately, her past is a problem. She is so scarred from her "I'm a super churchgoing guy now that I've run out on my wife" ex-husband that she hasn't tried to date since her divorce some three or four years before. And who is Catherine? And what's Garret's bag, anyway? When Theresa finds out, she plunges to the depths of her soul and uncorks a whopper of a secret about herself, bringing Garret to terms with who he really is.

Message in a Bottle has the earmarks of sentimental tongue-wagging at its finest and should please romantics and cynics alike--it's sure to bring romantics to their knees, while cynics will be slapping theirs in laughter. --Rebekah Warren --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Avoiding a sophomore slump, Sparks follows The Notebook with another sentimental candidate for the bestseller lists. Boston parenting columnist Theresa Osborne has lost faith in the dream of everlasting love. Three years after divorcing her cheating husband, the single mother is vacationing on Cape Cod when she finds a bottle washed up on the shore. Inside, a message begins: "My Dearest Catherine, I miss you." Subsequent publication of the poignant missive in her column turns up two more letters, found by others, from the same mysterious writer, Garrett Blake. Piqued by his epistolary constancy, Theresa follows the trail to North Carolina, where she discovers that Garrett has been mourning his late wife for three years; writing the sea-borne messages is his only solace. Theresa also finds that Garrett just might be ready to love again... and that she might be the woman for him. There are few surprises here as we watch the couple learn to love in Catherine's slowly waning shadow. By the time they do, Sparks has proved that a man who romantically (and manually) pens missives to his lost lady love in the era of e-mail is a welcome hero in this fin-de-millennium fax-happy world. (Knowing that Kevin Costner has been slated to play Garrett on screen doesn't hurt, either.) Film rights to Warner Bros.; simultaneous Time Warner audio; Literary Guild main selection and Reader's Digest select edition; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
I did really enjoy this book that brought tears to my eyes but I love Nicholas Sparks, he's such a great author! I also loved The Notebook also. Such good reading.
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I simlpy HATED Theresa!!!!!! and I feel like the book ended the way it did because she was such a RAT!!!!
Other then that it was an easy flowing book... The usual N. Sparks!!!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 5 more book reviews
Would have liked it more if the ending hadn't bothered me so badly. However, Nicholas Sparks has his fans. I'm just not one of them. Plot: A woman finds a bottle in the ocean with a letter inside, and she sets out to find the person who wrote the letter. Romance ensues. And then....the ending. Sigh.
motrailrider avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 43 more book reviews
Touching...better than the movie
xserafinx avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 78 more book reviews
"Message in a Bottle is a unique romantic story and a fine novel. It all starts when Theresa Osborne is vacationing in Cape Code and comes across - you guessed it - a message in a bottle. The message is from a man "Garrett" to his wife about his intensely felt love. Osborne, a middle aged divorcee with little romance in her own life is intrigued enough to start searching out others who may have found similar messages. As she collects them, she herself falls in love with Garrett (although she has yet to admit it to herself) and decides to search for him. She finds him in a small, North Carolina town and the romance emerges. But of course - they are such different people that problems crop up. He is a widower feeling guilty and not over his wife and a small town kind of guy. She's a big city gal with a career. But the relationship develops with ups and downs nonetheless.

Sparks is excellent in fully developing the personalities of his characters and building empathy in the reader. He has done a fine job here. If you didn't like the movie - read the book anyway. It's much better."
- C. Baker
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Loved it!
reviewed Message in a Bottle on
loved the romance
celestial-winter avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 31 more book reviews
A good book if you enjoy Nickolas Sparks work.
reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 2 more book reviews
Didn't read it.
charannlyn avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 46 more book reviews
Nicholas Sparks is one of the best, but I must say the ending of this book was just so sad, it left me in tears.
He always puts a twist at the end of his books and this was no exception, get ready to cry.
ladypersephone avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 3 more book reviews
This is one of the best novels by Nicolas Sparks I have ever read. Once I picked it up I could not put it down. A heart wrentching story. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!
mattsmom3848 avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on
Book is in fair condition
Nuranar avatar reviewed Message in a Bottle on + 11 more book reviews
From the back cover:

Theresa Osborne is divorced and disillusioned, but all that is about to change when she finds a bottle on the beach with a mysterious love letter inside. what happens next isu nexpected, and perhaps even miraculous--for it embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting...
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Can't review as never rec'd but member gives credit back So what do I do Message in a bottle N sparks