Safe Haven: Book vs Movie?

A few days ago, I went with my Mom to see the newest movie based off of a Nicholas Sparks novel: Safe Haven.  Having read the book previously, I had certain expectations about what I wanted to see in the film, especially since this book is one of my favorites by the author (The Lucky One being my other fav). 

Casting.  I wasn’t quite sure about this duo at first, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by Julianne Hough’s performance.  I’m still a little unsure of why all of a sudden a professional dancer has an acting career (and doesn’t she have a song too?), but I loved her in Footloose, and I loved her in this film as well.  And then of course there’s the hottie Josh Duhamel.  I absolutely loved him in Life as We Know It, so I had no doubt that I would love him in this film as well, and he didn’t disappoint.

Plot Twists.  While it’s been several years since I read the book, I believe the film overall stuck to the book pretty closely.  I just remember being obsessed with the characters and the plot and by the time I finished reading, I just remember getting a feeling that this was one of the better books Sparks has written- and I’ve read almost all of his books.  The one thing I will say is that the ending was very intense, so if you’re squeamish, you may want to read the book first so that you know what to expect when you see the movie.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who is a Nicolas Sparks fan.  If you’ve read the book, then you already have the attachment to the characters that will make the film more meaningful to you. But if you’ve seen films like The Lucky One and read the book, then you’d definitely enjoy this one.