Remain by Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan [Book Review]

A paranormal slow-burn romance with Cape Cod vibes, Remain pairs Nicholas Sparks’ emotional instincts with M. Night Shyamalan’s eerie touch.

I used to love Nicholas Sparks. Like, early-days Sparks. The kind of love that involved dog-eared paperbacks, dramatic sighing, and definitely crying in public. Somewhere along the way, though, I drifted off. Maybe I got older. Maybe I got more cynical. Maybe I just stopped wanting my heart broken on purpose.

So when I saw Remain—a paranormal mystery romance co-written with M. Night Shyamalan—I was immediately intrigued. Ghosts? Cape Cod? A Nicholas Sparks comeback with a twist? I was in. Find out why I gave the book 3.5 stars and read my review below.

What is the book about?

When New York architect Tate Donovan arrives in Cape Cod to design his best friend’s summer home, he is hoping to make a fresh start. Recently discharged from an upscale psychiatric facility where he was treated for acute depression, he is still wrestling with the pain of losing his beloved sister. Sylvia’s deathbed revelation—that she can see spirits who are still tethered to the living world, a gift that runs in their family—sits uneasily with Tate, who struggles to believe in more than what reason can explain. But when he takes up residence at a historic bed-and-breakfast on the Cape, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Wren who will challenge every assumption he has about his logical and controlled world.

Tate and Wren find themselves forging an immediate connection, one that neither has ever experienced before. But Tate gradually discovers that below the surface of Wren’s idyllic small-town life, hatred, jealousy, and greed are festering, threatening their fragile relationship just as it begins to blossom. Tate realizes that in order to free Wren from an increasingly desperate fate, he will need to unearth the truth about her past before time runs out . . . a quest that will make him doubt whether we can ever believe the stories we tell about ourselves, and the laws that govern our existence. Love—while transformative—can sometimes be frightening.

My thoughts:

The story follows Tate Donovan, a New York architect who heads to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to design his best friend’s summer home while trying to pull himself back together after a serious bout of depression and the loss of his sister. Before she died, she told Tate she could see spirits still tethered to the living world—a family “gift” he very much does not want to believe in. Tate is practical, logical, and desperately trying to keep his emotions contained… until he meets Wren.

Their connection is immediate, intense, and (of course) complicated. As Tate settles into small-town life, it becomes clear that something darker is lurking beneath the surface—secrets, jealousy, and a past that refuses to stay buried. The romance builds alongside the mystery, and slowly, Tate is forced to question what he believes about love, grief, and the rules of reality itself.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it—and mostly because of the pacing. It’s a slow burn, sometimes slower than I wanted, especially when the story felt ready to push forward but chose to linger instead. That said, the mood is great. It’s atmospheric and cinematic in a way that makes total sense given the co-author. I could picture every scene, and I’m genuinely excited to see this as a movie (starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor).

If you’re a Nicholas Sparks fan—or someone who enjoys supernatural romances that take their time—Remain is worth checking out. It’s thoughtful, a little eerie, and emotionally grounded, even if it doesn’t quite sweep you off your feet. For me, it was a solid reminder of why Sparks once had such a hold on me… even if I’m not fully back on board just yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader’s copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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