Every year a romantic Valentine’s Day movie comes out. Last year’s Valentine’s Day movie was The Vow. This year, everyone rushed to go see the Lasse Hallstrom directed film, Safe Haven.

The movie, based on the Nicholas Sparks book of the same name, is about a girl named Katie who leaves her home town and ends up in the small town of Southport. When Katie arrives in Southport, everyone questions her past. She keeps her guard up and seems to always have something on her mind.

As she gets to know a widowed store owner, she realizes that Southport is a comfortable and safe place for her. Despite her past, Katie begins to let her guard down. She becomes attached to the store owner, Alex and his two children. As she begins to fall in love, her secret and past start to haunt her.

As Valentine’s Day approached, I was super excited to see Safe Haven. Not only because the incredible Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel were starring in it, but because I had already read the book and fell in love with it. The book was detailed, sweet, romantic, but also suspenseful as you read and progressively learned about Katie’s past. This was in addition to me being huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. So, as it got closer to Valentine’s Day, I got could not wait to see if the movie would be as good as the book.

The movie definitely blew me away. Not only did it follow the storyline and plot of the book, but the actors and actresses played the roles of each character very well.

In the beginning of the movie, Katie runs through the bus station, trying not to get caught by her husband who she is running away from. This creates suspense that makes you question why she is leaving and running away.

As the movie continues, Katie starts to fall in love with a widowed store owner, Alex, and the time they spend together is so sweet and cute. Katie becomes attached to him and his family, and they take a trip to the beach. This helps their relationship grow even more. The end of the movie was my favorite part. Katie’s secret soon gets revealed. There was drama and suspense, but also a happy ending that fit together just like the book had described.

Overall, the movie was exactly what I expected and I was really surprised at the outcome of it. Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel did an amazing job playing the main roles. I really recommend seeing the movie and reading the book. The movie was great but the book goes into more detail and really gets you hooked.