Here Editorial Assistant Sophie Harris tells us why she turns to Nicholas Sparks in times of romantic reading need . . .

When I’m looking for the perfect romantic read I always come back to Nicholas Sparks’s The Notebook. It has everything that you would want from a good romantic book; hot summers, passionate love and a gorgeous hero!

I’m slightly in love with Noah and his quiet love for the headstrong Allie. Their love is tempestuous and raw but it remains a solid factor throughout the book even when Allie leaves the South.

You can’t help but picture yourself in the summer heat, caught up in the whirlwind of their first love. I’m guaranteed to cry every time when Allie sees the home that Noah spent so long building for her even though he thought that he had lost her.

The framework of the old Noah looking back and reminiscing and watching as Allie’s Alzheimer’s eats away at her and she no longer remembers the love that they have for each other is utterly heart-breaking.