The Guardian
By Nicholas Sparks 

     At 25, Julie Barenson was devastated when she lost her husband Jim to a brain tumor, but Jim, knowing he wouldn't be around, left Julie with his best friend, Mike, Mike's brother Henry and his wife Emma, his aunt Mabel, and a guardian to help him watch over her-a Great Dane named Singer.

     Four years later, while going about her daily routine of cutting hair in Mabel's salon, Julie runs into a handsome engineer named Richard Franklin, who is in need of a haircut …among other things. With the charm of a sophisticated big-city gentleman, Richard sweeps Julie off her feet, making her wonder why Singer and Mike don't like him.

     Mike Harris has been in love with Julie for some time now. Ever since Jim passed, he and Julie have become as close as two friends could be, but she doesn't see him as anything but a friend. What's worse, there's just something about Richard Franklin that doesn't sit right with him, and he doesn't know how to tell Julie without sounding jealous and giving away what he thinks is his own little "secret."

     When Richard Franklin moved to Swansboro, North Carolina to oversee a job for his company, he never expected to meet anyone that would be as special to him as Julie. Now he feels that it was fate that was more responsible for him being here than his company. In his heart, he knows that he and Julie are meant to be together…no matter what.

     Julie has to make a decision--Mike or Richard--the down-home auto-mechanic or the suave mechanical engineer. What Julie doesn't realize, though, is that her decision could come back to haunt her and everyone she knows…literally.

     I absolutely loved this audio book. The characters were marvelously sculpted. The plot was so intensely driven and addictive, there was no way I could've missed one second! This book is amazing, and the humor, sadness, and suspense-filled conflicts will keep you laughing, crying, and fighting along with the characters.

Isabel Keating has done an incredible job of bringing each character to life as the reader on this audio book. By using a unique drawl, tone, and attitude for each one, she has enhanced Sparks' remarkable talent of making his characters beyond human.

     Sparks has penned yet another masterpiece. Bravo!

     I definitely recommend this book.