Miles is a small town cop whose wife went out for a run and never returned. She was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Miles has had difficulty coping but has to for his 7 year old son, Jonas. Sarah was involved in a ugly divorce and moved to New Bern for a new start. She teaches the second grade. She notices that Jonas has not been getting the help he needs and contacts Miles to come in for a parent-teacher interview. Starry love, love, severe angst, angst, a little twist and back to love, love. Nicolas Sparks' stories are pretty much the same; love, angst and but I can't live without you plots. These are not stories that are meaty but rather mindless reads. Was this a good story? Yes, as long as you aren't expecting anything else. Could I have spent my life more productively? Of course, but sometimes fluff is needed to clear your mind.

This book contains everything that sparks is so well known for, Love, Loss, Tragedy, and small town life. This book was a page-turner, I wasn't able to put it down. A Bend in the Road is about it Miles Ryan, a Sherrif in New Bern, Who lost his wife from a Hit and Run, leaving him a single father to 7 year old Jonah. While both are still trying to cope after 2 years since the loss of a mother and wife, Jonah seems to be having some trouble in school, Which leaves him needing extra help after school by his teacher Sarah Andrews. Sparks fly when Miles and Sarah meet, and Miles starts to feel that he is ready to move on since his wife's death, and pursue things further with Sarah...Until a shocking secret is revealed binding them in a way they never expected. This book was a powerful love story, Which doesn't come as a surprise when your reading sparks's books, but this one had a good amount of suspense as well, I wasn't able to stop reading, I just wanted to get to the end and find out how everything unfolds. I would recommend this book to anyone. Sparks Fans will love this one, and this book will have sparks new comers coming back for more after they finish.

I am a fan of Nicholas Sparks books and the way they make you think about everything including how you feel in that situation and this is one of those books. There were a lot of sad moments in this book not to the point I was crying like with some of his other books. I really enjoyed the epilogue and how there was some good detail about what happened. If you enjoy Nicholas Sparks books this is one you should read.

I feel like some of the other reviewers were being rather harsh. this was by no means his best work, but i still really enjoyed reading it ! His writing makes me really feel the emotion that he's trying to portray as i'm reading. His writing was just as strong as any other book and the story was very predicatable but alot of love stories are. Anyway i would recommend this book to any Nicholas Sparks fan, because it is worth reading, however i wouldn't expect it to knock you off your feet anytime soon.

This was not his best, not up to the quality of the Notebook by any means.

It wasn't a bad book but just not like Nicholas Sparks others. The story was pretty uniquely written but fairly predictable .All in all it's an okay read.

I beleive this is the novel were Nicholas Sparks dies down a little bit. Yes the plot was a little unique, but it didn't capture me like "message in a bottle" or "the guardian" did. It is one of those books where you have to read all the way to the end since secrets are involved. I felt it was pretty predictable though. It was good. Just not great. And it didnt seem like Nicholas Sparks wrote this.

Another winner from Sparks. This story tells how a man's grief becomes an obsession that makes him not see things clearly. It is also a sweet love story with characters who don't always have witty lines, but are nonetheless, charming. Sparks doesn't make it obvious who the bad guy is. I thought I had it figured out at least three or four different times, before I guessed right. A good mystery. The crisis is dealt with satisfactorily, without sweeping aside the very real problems associated with his course of action. Another tale that makes you laugh and cry. Sparks handles real life issues well.

I was somewhat disappointed with this book. It wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would be a good tear-jerker (like "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember") but I didn't cry, not even watery eyes! I still think it's a pretty good romantic-mystery, but too predictable and not up to Nicholas Sparks standards. In my opinion he could have made it much better.

This book is the best book I have read in quite a while. It has romance and mystery. This is the only book that I have read that had the killer talk in different parts of the book showing the emotions that he went through. It is mind blowing!!!! I was really touched that he could over come the secrets. Nicholas Sparks is my all time favorite author. He really gets you into the book. He allows you to see both side and also leaves you in supsence. I think he should get an award for his writing. I have most of his books and an pre-orderign his new one "Dear John". I loved this book it was amazing. Every one should read it.