Nights in Rodanthe is a romantic love story novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks in September 2002.

The story has a framing device set in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 2002 where part-time librarian Adrienne Willis is comforting her daughter Amanda, who is struggling to raise her children because she is still mourning her husband’s death.

Her only customer is Paul Flanner, a 54-year-old recently divorced surgeon also wanting to escape his hectic life, who had sold his house and was being sued for malpractice.

She reads Adrienne’s last contact from Ecuador, written by Paul’s son Dr. Mark, thanking her mother for helping his father realize how arrogant he had been.

He said that he contemplated writing "another short love story ... that harkens back to poignant emotional intensity of The Notebook", his first published novel.

"[1] Sparks diverted his attention by working on A Bend in the Road, his fifth novel, and the first draft of The Guardian, which succeeded the release of Nights in Rodanthe.

[3] Sparks set the novel in Rodanthe, a small town in the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina.

[3] He chose Rodanthe because, according to him, it "looks wonderful on the page, and the name itself conjures up a mixture of mystery and sensuality", adding he had wished to write a novel about the place.

According to Sparks, there are a number of bed and breakfasts in other Outer Banks towns that are similar to his description of the inn in the novel, but he chose to create it for the story.

"[4] According to some critics, Sparks was inspired by the 1992 best-selling novel The Bridges of Madison County in writing Nights in Rodanthe.

[8] Nights in Rodanthe was republished in July 2007 by Hachette Book Group, and the novel's cover features the promotional photo for its film adaptation.

[10] Scarce copies of the first printing of the novel's hardcover edition are sold; the cover bears an autograph by Sparks.

Sheri Melnick of Book Reviews complimented the novel for its "emotional depth", adding, "No doubt bookstores should sell this tearjerker with a box of tissues, as even the most unemotional of readers will be hard pressed not to cry.

"[12] Karen Valby of Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the book a "C" and notes, "Sparks, no slouch when it comes to a sales hook, employs many of the same elements of Robert James Waller's weepie in his Outer Banks romance.

Nights in Rodanthe stars American actor Richard Gere as Paul and actress Diane Lane as Adrienne.