Nicholas Spark’s “See Me” focuses too much on sex

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I decided to read “See Me”, Nicholas Sparks’ newest romance novel, which was released in October of last year. I initially had high hopes for the book, but it was difficult for me to get into. If I’m not hooked within the first few pages, it’s hard for me to become invested in the story or the characters. In this case, it took me three days to get past the second chapter, but once I made it to chapter three, the plot picked up and became interesting. But then it was basically the kind of book I’d expect from Nicholas Sparks. Characters meet, something draws them apart and we as readers are forced ask ourselves a distressing question: will they overcome their troubled pasts and end up together? My guess is probably, because it is, after all, a romance novel.

With that introduction, the novel wasn’t bad. Definitely cliche, but still entertaining. In a nutshell, a young lawyer named Maria meets Colin, a bartender who has had a violent past. Romance combines with mystery and a little bit of horror as Maria realizes she is being stalked. As the stalker’s threats escalate, Maria and Colin attempt to find out who is tormenting her while also working out the difficulties in their own relationship. The stalking element added to the feeling of uncertainty in the novel — uncertainty not only about the outcome of Maria and Colin’s relationship, but also about whether or not they would be able to resolve Maria’s fear of this unknown stalker. It was also interesting because the characters had unusual pasts that continued to affect their actions throughout the book.

Although entertaining, the novel felt like just another romance novel for a few reasons. Disclaimer: this next part may make some of you uncomfortable. If so, I apologize, but readers should be aware that there was sex in this book, and it upset me. Not because the book was explicit — don’t worry, it wasn’t — but because I felt that the characters’ relationship focused too much on “making love” and didn’t develop beyond the first few encounters that the characters had. For me, the emotional connection between Maria and Colin didn’t feel strong enough to warrant the speed with which their relationship progressed.

I’d give this book 3.5 stars. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t extraordinary either. Basically, it’s what I would have expected from Nicholas Sparks on Valentine’s Day.

— Elise Wilding is a sophomore majoring in technical communication. She enjoys reading, spending time with friends and reading. If you want any book recommendations, you can contact her at wieldan@gmail.com.