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Blonde heroine with denim shorts and a dark past? Check.

Sensitive hunk with a tortured soul? Check.

Sundappled setting? Check.

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You know what you’re getting in a Nicholas Sparks adaptation, but Lasse Hallström’s stab - in which Katie (Julianne Hough) escapes to a small seaside town and finds out love really does conquer all - is by the numbers even by Sparks’ standards.

It’s hard to imagine a blander duo than Hough and Josh Duhamel as they knock awkwardly against one another in their painfully telegraphed love scenes, and a third-act twist is unintentionally hilarious.

Emma Didbin is a writer and journalist who has contributed to GamesRadar+, The New York Times, Elle, Esquire, The Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, and more. Emma can currently be found in Los Angeles where she is pursuing a career in TV writing. Emma has also penned two novels, and somehow finds the time to write scripts for Parcast – the Spotify-owned network that creates thrilling true crime and mystery podcasts.