The Notebook and Breathe

The Notebook was the first Nicholas Sparks book I ever read. It was a great place to start. The story, if you haven't seen the movie or read the book, is about two teens who fall in love but are kept apart by her parents. Years go past, their lives move forward, but they never forget about each other. Finally as their twenties begin to wind down they find themselves facing each other once again. This time as adults with a far different look at life and greater responsibilities.

If they thought their love had been complicated as kids, it had nothing on what they were facing now.

I love stories of unrequited love. The thought that someone could hold on for years without giving up on even the slightest chance makes my heart flutter.

I also have a soft spot for love songs like Breathe's 'Hands to Heaven.'

As we move to embrace, tears run down your face
I whisper words of love, so softly
I can't believe this pain, it's driving me insane
Without your touch, life will be lonely

This totally reminds me of The Notebook.

An excerpt:

Without another word they came together, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and he put his arms around her, drawing her close. They held each other tightly, making it real, both of them letting the fourteen years of separation dissolve in the deepening twilight.

...
[She] realized how much she'd missed him since she'd seen him last.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as they finally released each other. She laughed nervously under her breath while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

::sigh:: I'm such a sucker.

Other great unrequited love stories you might be interested in: Persuasion by Jane Austen, These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner, The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce or The Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon

Books: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
            Persuasion by Jane Austen
            These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
            The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce
            Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon
Songs: Hands to Heaven by Breathe