Every Nicholas Sparks Book in Order
Beloved author Nicholas Sparks is known for his wrenching, emotional love stories. In twenty novels, Sparks looks at how fate, destiny, and romance intertwine, tracing the relationships between lovers new and old. Unsure where to start? This complete list of Nicholas Sparks books in order starts with his timeless debut, The Notebook, to his most recent novels, Every Breath (2018) and The Return (2020).
Back in his small Southern town after serving in World War II, Noah Calhoun is restoring a plantation home—and rebuilding his life. Yet 31-year-old Noah can't move forward when the past keeps pulling him back to the whirlwind summer he spent with socialite Allie Nelson a decade earlier. Now 29-year-old Allie returns to town, and their electric attraction rekindles. But for their second chance at love to work, Allie and Noah will have to first work through their stormy past. Be sure to see Sparks's classic romance on-screen starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.
While out on a run to clear her head, divorced Theresa Osborne makes a startling discovery: a bottle with a message on it nestled on the sand. The emotional letter inside, from "Garrett" to "Catherine," launches Theresa on a journey to find the writer, a twist with destiny that just might make Theresa believe in love again. Watch the romance of Message in a Bottle come to life in the film adaptation.
Each April, Landon Carter recalls the spring of 1958, his final year at Beaufort High in picturesque Beaufort, North Carolina. Logan is no stranger to dating, and the last person he expects to fall for is the Baptist minister's daughter, intelligent and cerebral Jamie. As Landon courts Jamie, the secret she keeps from him breaks loose, radically changing Landon's picture of their life together and causing him to redefine "forever." Don't miss the story of Landon and Jamie in the feature film starring Mandy Moore.
Volunteer fireman Taylor McAden throws himself head first into daring rescues. Risking his life to save others comes naturally, while romance does not. When single mother Denise Holton's car runs off the road during a storm, Taylor is drawn into Denise's passion and devotion to her son, four-year-old Kyle, who has disappeared from the scene. As Taylor and Denise search for the boy, Taylor will have to face his biggest fear: the vulnerability that comes with love.
After losing his wife in a hit-and-run two years ago, deputy sheriff Miles Ryan is still reeling from shock and loss. Miles tries to care for his young son, Jonah, but feels helpless watching him struggle in school. When Sarah Andrews, Jonah's kind and patient second-grade teacher, asks to meet with Miles, the two find a tentative attraction that grows into something more. After earth-shaking revelations ripple through the small town, it will take trust and love for Miles and Sarah to find their future together.
After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, 45-year-old Adrienne Willis throws her energy into parenting her teenage children and helping her sick father. Managing her friend's inn along Rodanthe along the North Carolina coast for a weekend should be the perfect opportunity to recharge. With rocky weather rolling in, Adrienne finds an unexpected connection with 54-year-old Paul Flanner, a surgeon and guest who's also fleeing home. When the storm ends, Adrienne and Paul must decide if their connection will, too. Readers can see Adrienne and Paul's romance come vividly to life in the motion picture adaptation of the novel.
In the four years since her husband Jim died, Julie Barenson is still struggling to move on. With Singer, the Great Dane that Jim left her, along with his promise to always watch over her, 29-year-old Julie should look forward to a lifetime of love ahead of her. But lingering feelings for Jim make it hard to pursue dating, even with great guys courting her, like Mike, her husband's best friend, and Richard, an engineer who worships Julie. When hard truths are unearthed, Julie will need to draw on Jim's protection and her own strength to survive.
Returning to the story of the younger couple from The Notebook, this sequel to Sparks's bestseller follows Wilson Lewis and his wife, Jane, as they rekindle their love. After the romance fades from his thirty-year marriage with Jane, Wilson knows he has to win her back. Wilson takes inspiration from Noah and Allie Calhoun, his in-laws, and hatches a plan to make Jane fall in love with him again just as their daughter is about to wed. Is it too late for love? Wilson bets everything he has that it's not.
The offer was too good for Nicholas Sparks to pass up: bike tours around the globe to some of the world's most exotic places. Recruiting his older brother Micah for the trip, Sparks hoped the experience would bring the brothers closer. At thirty-eight and thirty-seven, respectfully, they were their family's sole surviving members. Together, the brothers embark on an unforgettable journey together, drawing strength from their past and strengthening their bond for the future. In Three Weeks with My Brother, Sparks invites readers on the journey.
Science journalist Jeremy Marsh knows better than to believe in the supernatural, though even he can't resist a story about a ghost in the graveyard of the small North Carolina town of Boone Creek. When Jeremy meets the town's beloved librarian, Lexie Darnell, he finds his most deeply held hangups about love tested. To move from his home in New York City and begin a life with Lexie, Jeremy will have to believe in his biggest fear of all: love.
Having narrowly escaped a failed marriage, Jeremy Marsh is happy with New York City life that has no room for romance and even less for a family. But fate steers his compass south to Boone Creek, North Carolina, where Jeremy happily starts over with his new wife, Lexie Darnell, and their daughter. Jeremy's happy to trade his "nevers" for "always" with Lexie, until information comes to light that threatens the intimate connection between the young couple. Can Jeremy and Lexie trust their love? At First Sight continues the story of Lexie and Jeremy from True Believer.
Leaving school in anger, John finds purpose in the Army. And not long after, he finds the love of his life in Savannah. The intensity of their relationship speaks to a future together, until 9/11 changes everything, leading John to re-enlist against Savannah's protests. As time and distance grows between them, their paths diverge, until Savannah's letter to John reawakens his passion to do whatever it takes to be with her. This emotional love story is brought to life in the feature film, Dear John.
Travis Parker is more than satisfied with his laid-back life. A waterfront home, a rotation of great friends, and his dream job. If nothing changes, Travis would be more than happy. But when feisty new neighbor Gabby Holland moves in next door, Travis is stumped for why she's so guarded around him. Travis's mission to get her to like him launches the two on an unforgettable journey together. Fans of The Choice will want to see this sweeping romance in its big-screen adaptation.
Who is the beautiful woman in the photograph Marine Logan Thibult finds during his third deployment of Iraq? When nobody on base knows the answer, Logan makes locating her his duty, especially as the photo seems to bring him luck. Logan returns to the States and sets off on a cross-country journey that leads him to Elizabeth, the divorced mother in the picture. Logan's not prepared for the force of his feelings, and he'll need more than luck not to lose Elizabeth. Readers will want to catch the feature-film adaptation of The Lucky One.
It's been three years since Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's parents divorced and exactly that long since she has seen her father, who moved to beachside Wilmington, North Carolina. Now 17, Ronnie is still finding it hard to forgive her father for leaving her behind in New York City as she arrives to stay with him one summer. As Ronnie finds romance dawning, the truth behind her father's decision becomes clear, shattering Ronnie's heart—unless love can heal it. Be sure to check out the movie adaptation of The Last Song, starring Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth, and Greg Kinnear.
Katie appears in the coastal North Carolina town of Southport just as mysteriously as her unknown past. Soon Katie lets her guard down and begins to trust the people of this friendly town, including Jo, her neighbor, and widower Alex, a store owner and father of two young kids. But as Katie begins to rebuild her life—and find a spark of attraction with Alex—the demons she crossed the country to forget might come crashing back, threatening her future and the love it promises. Don't miss the feature film adaptation of Safe Haven.
As high school students in the spring of 1984, Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier fell for each other and into love, with the help of Tuck Hostetler, their mentor who fostered their relationship. Now, 25 years later, Dawson and Amanda reunite at Tuck's funeral. While neither of lives have turned out the way they wanted, their reconnection could be a second chance at first love—if the revelations unearthed in the aftermath of Tuck's death don't thwart their romance for good.
At 91, widower Ira Levinson is in shock after a car accident, but it's the presence of his beloved wife, Ruth, who helps him hang on with memories from their earliest days together. Meanwhile, Wake Forest student Sophia Danko is on the precipice of change, not just because she'll be graduating soon, but also because she and her boyfriend have broken up. When Sophia meets Luke, a real cowboy, she must reassess her future. Can love last forever? Ira and Ruth's marriage might hold the answers.
Maria Sanchez is a first-generation American daughter of Mexican immigrants eager to use her successful law career to transcend traumatic memories. Having narrowly escaped mistakes that plagued his younger years, Colin Hancock also feels he has something to prove, throwing his energy and passion towards studying to be a teacher. The last thing Maria or Colin is looking for a relationship when they meet by chance, but as their blossoming connection grows into something more, each will have to trust love as the past threatens to come crashing down.
With a great career in advertising, an impressive home in Charlotte, and a beautiful wife, Russell Green can't complain about life at 32. But when his wife announces a sudden divorce, Russell must reassess everything he took for granted, including London, the six-year-old daughter he is now raising alone. It will take the help of Russell's family and the strength he gathers from his relationship with London to navigate this new life, even as a former lover beckons him back to the past.
Fleeing a six-year relationship going nowhere and her father's recent ALS diagnosis, Hope Anderson comes to her family's shoreside cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina seeking an escape. Leaving behind the wild Zimbabwe he calls home, safari guide Tru Walls arrives in Sunset Beach at the request of a man claiming to be his long-lost father. When Hope and Tru meet, the intensity of their bond asks how far they'd go to be together.
In the romantic tradition of Dear John, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the story of an injured Navy doctor and a beautiful deputy, whose secrets will change the course of his life.
Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, NC. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked as an orthopedic surgeon sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any.
Tending to his grandfather’s beloved bee hives while gearing up for a second stint in medical school, Trevor isn’t prepared to fall in love with a local . . . and yet, from their very first encounter, his connection with Natalie Masterson can’t be ignored. 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 from his grandfather’s cabin. Claiming to be 19, she works at the local sundries store and keeps to herself. When he discovers she was once befriended by his grandfather, 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 that will uncover the true nature of Callie’s past, one more intertwined with the elderly man’s passing than Trevor could ever have anticipated.
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.
About Nicholas Sparks
With over 100 million copies of his books sold, Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. His novels include fifteen #1 New York Times bestsellers, and all of his books, including Three Weeks with My Brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers, and were translated into more than fifty languages. Eleven of Nicholas Sparks’s novels–The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle–have been adapted into major motion pictures.
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Sarah S. Davis (Twitter: @sarahbooktime) holds a BA in English and a Master’s of Library Science. Her writing about books has appeared on Book Riot, Electric Literature, PsychCentral, and more. Sarah writes romance under the pen name Sadie Fox and blogs at Broke by Books.