Nicholas Sparks has a way with love stories. Somehow, he manages to pull off romances that convey both beauty and love without reaching the level of sappiness or trashiness that most other love stories find themselves occupying. Sparks' writing is crisp, clear and flowing. One of the reasons his novels have been so successful (he has had nine New York Times number-one best-sellers to date) is clearly due to the ease with which one is able to read them. At times they envelop you simply because of Sparks' fluid, insightful and omniscient narrating; other times, it is his mastery of dialogue that enthralls his readers. Like Sparks' previous love stories ("The Notebook," "A Walk to Remember," "Message in a Bottle"), "True Believer" tells the story of two people who meet by chance, unaware of how they will forever change one another. Sparks, however, strays slightly from his usual bittersweet/tragic formula in "True Believer," making it one of his only true romance stories.

"True Believer" tells the story of Jeremy Marsh and Lexie Darnell. To the average onlooker, Jeremy is quite the catch. He's a charming, witty and handsome New York City journalist. But underneath his sleek black attire and charismatic personality lie a still injured heart and a man questioning his life's direction. A columnist for Scientific American, Jeremy has just broken into the television circuit with his latest supernatural debunking. After being called "America's most esteemed scientific journalist" by Diane Sawyer, Jeremy becomes an instant celebrity. He soon learns that good news truly does travel fast (and far) when he receives a letter from Doris McClellan of Boone Creek, N.C., Doris writes to Jeremy in hopes that he will solve a mystery surrounding the town's cemetery. Cedar Creek Cemetery is haunted by mysterious lights that some townsfolk attribute to ghosts. Doris, a diviner and quasi-psychic, believes that the crumbling town's mystery should finally be put to rest so that those buried in the cemetery might do the same. Jeremy expects his assignment to be an easy one; he'll be in and out of "the sticks" in no time, he speculates.

However, Jeremy doesn't count on one Lexie Darnell, granddaughter of Doris and head librarian of Boone Creek's only library, where Jeremy spends much of his time. After Jeremy makes a pass at her at their first meeting, Lexie makes up her mind about the town's new celebrity visitor. She pegs him as a cocky ladies' man, though she can't deny his appeal. For the first time, Jeremy is stumped. It seems that Lexie Darnell is a mystery in herself­-she's beautiful and educated, yet unattached and uninterested, and still living in the middle-of-nowhere.

Doris tells Jeremy early on in the novel that sometimes, there are things that science can't explain; Lexie's affection for her small town is one of them. As fate pushes Jeremy and Lexie closer, their instant chemistry becomes undeniable. But the closer Jeremy comes to solving Boone Creek's mystery, the harder a happy ending for the two star-crossed lovers becomes. Will either be willing to leave home in the name of love? Things are further complicated when the mayor, Tom Gherkin, begins to meddle, making Jeremy question why he was summoned to Boone Creek in the first place.

With a name like "True Believer," it's not too difficult to predict the outcome of the love story. What makes the book enjoyable is character development and dialogue rather than the intricacies of the plot. Sparks introduces us to an aged town full of life and character, but it's the clever dialogue exchanged by Lexie and Jeremy that is the novel's best element. "True Believer" is too light a read to impact readers like Sparks' previous works, but it's a quick read that allows you to escape to a world in which true love prevails and everything works out. As finals creep eerily closer, a happy ending seems increasingly welcoming.