Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks

This is the novel I would name as an ideal romantic novel. Sparks has beautifully portrayed the depth of emotions.

Some of my favorite parts from the letters to the ocean:

"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."

"At night when I am alone, I call for you, and whenever my ache seems to be the greatest, you still seem to find a way to return to me. Last night, in my dreams, I saw you on the pier near Wrightsville Beach. The wind was blowing through your hair, and your eyes held the fading sunlight. I am struck as I see you leaning against the rail. You are beautiful, I think as I see you, a vision that I can never find in anyone else. I slowly begin to walk toward you, and when you finally turn to me, I notice that others have been watching you as well.

“Do you know her?” they ask me in jealous whispers, and as you smile at me, I simply answer with the truth.

“Better than my own heart.""

"But now, alone in my house, I have come to realize that destiny can hurt a person as much as it can bless him, and I find myself wondering why—out of all the people in all the world I could ever have loved—I had to fall in love with someone who was taken away from me"

"Life passes by now like the scenery outside a car window. I breathe and eat and sleep as I always did, but there seems to be no great purpose in my life that requires active participation on my part. I simply drift along like the messages I write you. I do not know where I am going or when I will get there. Even work does not take the pain away."

The story has its own uniqueness although the characters are entirely common people. The male protagonist Garrett is deeply aggrieved at his wife's accidental death. He writes letters addressed to his late wife for his own catharsis and throws them, enclosed in bottles , into the ocean. Now Theresa, a column writer living in another city, discovers one of these bottles and is deeply moved by the depth of Garrett's love. She has some serious trust issues with men after having to endure her husband's infidelity. So she is automatically attracted to Garrett who is faithful to his wife even after her death. And she decides to find him. In this way, they enter into a relationship.

As Theresa gets to know him more closely, she feels emotionally conflicted about his love for his late wife. And eventually it leads to their breakup. Later, Garrett realizes that he has to move on but here destiny comes into play.

The best part is the beautiful message conveyed by the story as Theresa writes in a final letter.

"Because of you, I am hopeful that there will come a day when my sadness is replaced by something beautiful. Because of you, I have the strength to go on"

She is not left depressed forever but finds strength from her love for Garrett.

 True love is that which gives you hope and strength instead of leaving you dejected that happens in all the famous classic love stories. And that is why it has that uniqueness and likability.