The Rescue
Nicholas Sparks, 2000
★ 4.13 from 218.4k ratings on Goodreads
A single mother and a volunteer firefighter fall in love while a secret from his past tests the trust they are building. Tender, family-centered and plainspoken, this romance moves at an easy pace with a steady pull of longing and drama.
Feels like tenderness, longing and unease. About love, family and death.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy warm, tearful love stories and stories about parenting a child with special needs. Be aware that some readers find the romance predictable and are frustrated by the characters or the therapy details.
Why read it
It offers a tender look at love, family and the hard work of parenting, with a dramatic thread that holds your attention.
A page from the book
The quiet belief that raising a child is not quite real work.
So many people these days, it seemed, believed that these things (personal fulfillment and self-esteem) could come only from work, not from parenting, and many people believed that having children had nothing to do with raising them. What readers say
Readers often describe this as a tearful, heartwarming story centered on parenting a child with special needs, with many appreciating the family and disability portrayal. Others find the romance formulaic and predictable, and some are frustrated by the characters or therapy details.
Nicholas Sparks.Before writing full-time, Sparks sold pharmaceuticals and wrote The Notebook in his spare time; it was published in 1996.
Books that feel like this
More by Nicholas Sparks
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks, 1996
An old man's devotion to the woman he loves, told in plain, unguarded prose for anyone who has ever measured a life by whom they loved.
Dear John
Nicholas Sparks, 2006
One summer, a soldier and a college student fall in love; the years apart ask whether love can survive distance and duty.
A Walk to Remember
Nicholas Sparks, 1999
A small-town troublemaker falls for the minister's daughter, and one ordinary year becomes the measure of his life.
Where to get it
Some of these links earn us a small commission, at no cost to you. It keeps BookFeed free.
Questions readers ask
- Is The Rescue for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy warm, tearful love stories and stories about parenting a child with special needs. Be aware that some readers find the romance predictable and are frustrated by the characters or the therapy details.
- What is The Rescue like?
- Tender, family-centered and plainspoken, this romance moves at an easy pace with a steady pull of longing and drama. Feels like tenderness, longing and unease. About love, family and death.
- What should I read after The Rescue?
- If you liked The Rescue, try Special Delivery (Danielle Steel), Point of Retreat (Colleen Hoover) and The Last Letter (Rebecca Yarros).
A taste of the feed
The difference between never being alone and never being lonely.
There had been women since, lots of them, to fill the nights and the days. In the dozen years since her death, he had hardly ever been alone, not physically anyway, but he had never loved another woman either, nor did he want to. As far as he was concerned, loving was far too painful. At fifty-nine, Jack Watson had everything he had ever wanted: a business that seemed to do nothing but grow and crank out money.
Special Delivery · Danielle Steel
The difference between wanting someone and being certain about them.
My heart pounds against my chest. Not because I’m nervous. Not even because I want her worse that I’ve ever wanted her before. It’s pounding against my chest because I realize I’ve never been so sure about the rest of my life than I am in this moment. This girl is the rest of my life.
Point of Retreat · Colleen Hoover
What it costs to be trusted by someone who has stopped believing.
I would do anything for you.” His eyes locked onto mine in the dashboard lights, intense and a little hurt. “What is it going to take for you to believe me? To trust me? You want my background checked? Do it. You want my credit score? Awesome. My bank account? I’ll add you on. You have my word, my body, my time, and I’m standing here offering my last name. What else can I give you?
The Last Letter · Rebecca Yarros
Read pages from books like this, one at a time
Keep reading in the feed