Nicholas Sparks Books in Order (Updated 2026-02-05)

Nicholas Sparks writes mostly standalone novels. You can read almost all of them in any order without missing background.

Two small exceptions matter for spoiler-avoidance: The Notebook → The Wedding and True Believer → At First Sight. Everything else is designed as a complete, self-contained story.

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If you only want one simple plan

Read by publication order (list below). It preserves how Sparks’ themes and pacing changed over time, and it avoids accidentally reading a follow-up first.

If you’re only trying one book, start with The Notebook (classic), Safe Haven (more suspense), or The Wish (later-career voice).

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The only connected pairs

Read these in order if you care about keeping relationship outcomes unspoiled:

1. The Notebook: A lifelong love story framed through memory and devotion.
2. The Wedding: A later revisit that follows the next stage of that family’s life.
3. True Believer: A journalist’s investigation into the unexplained becomes personal in ways he didn’t predict.
4. At First Sight: The relationship continues under new pressures and lasting consequences.

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Nicholas Sparks novels in publication order

Each line below is written fresh for this guide (not copied from jacket copy).

1. The Notebook (1996): A romance remembered through time, commitment, and the cost of choosing one person fully.
2. Message in a Bottle (1998): A letter found by chance pulls two strangers into grief, hope, and difficult truth.
3. A Walk to Remember (1999): A teen romance reshapes two lives through faith, kindness, and irreversible change.
4. The Rescue (2000): A single mother and a firefighter are drawn together while danger tests trust fast.
5. A Bend in the Road (2001): A new love begins while an old tragedy refuses to stay unanswered.
6. Nights in Rodanthe (2002): Two wounded adults share a brief retreat that becomes the turning point of their lives.
7. The Guardian (2003): A widow’s careful rebuilding is threatened by a charming presence that isn’t what it seems.
8. The Wedding (2003): A husband tries to rediscover what his marriage needs before it’s too late.
9. True Believer (2005): A skeptic chasing a story confronts feelings that don’t fit his logic.
10. At First Sight (2005): Love deepens, then gets tested by choices that can’t be taken back.
11. Dear John (2006): A long-distance bond struggles against duty, time, and the life that keeps moving.
12. The Choice (2007): A seemingly ordinary romance becomes the defining decision of two lives.
13. The Lucky One (2008): A talisman and a promise lead a man toward the one connection he can’t ignore.
14. The Last Song (2009): A summer with family becomes a reckoning about forgiveness, grief, and first love.
15. Safe Haven (2010): A woman on the run finds community, and learns safety has a price.
16. The Best of Me (2011): A reunion forces two people to face the life they didn’t choose together.
17. The Longest Ride (2013): Two love stories, separated by time, reveal what endurance really looks like.
18. See Me (2015): Attraction grows while hidden histories and real threats close in around the couple.
19. Two by Two (2016): Sudden single fatherhood becomes a story about resilience, love, and daily courage.
20. Every Breath (2018): A once-in-a-lifetime connection lingers for years, demanding a final answer.
21. The Return (2020): A new start in a coastal town becomes a search for meaning and a place to belong.
22. The Wish (2021): A life story reframes what love was, what it is, and what remains.
23. Dreamland (2022): A musician’s path crosses a hidden life, and the romance unfolds alongside danger.
24. Counting Miracles (2024): A search for family becomes a journey through faith, responsibility, and unexpected love.
25. Remain (2025): A fresh-start romance brushes up against the supernatural and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

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Nonfiction

These are separate from the novels and can be read anytime.

• Three Weeks with My Brother (2004): A memoir of travel and family history, shaped by loss and remembrance.

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Common questions

Do Nicholas Sparks books share a single universe?
No. Outside the two linked pairs, they don’t rely on each other for continuity.

Can I start with a later book like The Wish or Dreamland?
Yes. You won’t be lost. The main “risk” is simply learning the tone of his later work before his earlier style.

I’ve seen an early title called “Wokini.” Is that part of the official list?
It’s commonly mentioned in some online bibliographies, but it isn’t consistently treated as an official published novel across major listings. If you’re collecting only confirmed publications, it’s safest to set it aside unless you find it in a verified edition list for your region.

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Best default choice

If you want the most straightforward experience, read The Notebook, then follow the publication list from there, skipping around whenever a premise grabs you, as long as you keep The Wedding after The Notebook, and At First Sight after True Believer.