Book Review: Honor Thyself

 

Author: Danielle Steel

Title: Honor Thyself

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publish Date: Feb 26, 2008

Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb:

A world-renowned actress falls victim to a terrifying explosion in Paris—and begins a courageous journey of survival, memory, and self-discovery in Danielle Steel’s mesmerizing new novel.

Carole Barber has come to Paris, with its rain-slick slate roofs and winding streets, to work on her novel—and to find herself after a lifetime in the spotlight. A legend of film and stage, Carole has set a standard of beauty and grace, devoting herself to her family and causes around the world. But on this cool November evening, as her taxi speeds into a tunnel just past the Louvre, a fiery instant of terror shatters hundreds of lives—and leaves Carole alone, unconscious and unidentified in a Paris emergency room.

At the Ritz, they wonder where their famous, incognito guest has gone. From California to London, Carole’s friends and family begin to make inquiries. Then comes a moment of shock as they all realize that Carole is far from home and fighting for her life.

In the days that follow, the paparazzi swarm. A mysterious stranger, a man famous in his own realm, quietly visits the hospital to see the woman he once loved and never forgot. Carole’s two grown children rush to her bedside, waiting and praying—until the miraculous begins to happen.…But as a woman who the whole world knows slowly awakens, she knows nothing of herself. Every detail must be pieced back together—from a childhood in rural Mississippi to the early days of her career, from the unintentional hurt inflicted on her daughter to a fifteen year-old secret love affair that went tragically wrong. But for Carole an extraordinary opportunity has arisen in a life-threatening crisis: a second chance to count her blessings, heal wounded hearts, recapture lost love… and to live a life that will truly honor others—beginning with herself.

A tale of survival and dignity, of small miracles and big surprises, Honor Thyself creates an unforgettable portrait of a public figure whose hopes, fears, and heartbreaks are as real as our own. Her courageous journey inspires us all.

Review: I want to put it out there that I review Danielle Steel books differently from most books I read, though as you see, this year I am failing miserably reading anything. But with her books, I base my reviews on how much I want to toss the book at the wall while reading it. Steel's writing is never deep and she tells the story to you without letting you get into the hearts and minds of her characters.

I will give her credit, she comes up with great plots. Wonderful plots. I just wish they were all executed differently. This book was no exception to that rule.

Honor Thyself seems to twist a lot of ideas together. The idea of a beautiful beloved actress being involved in a horrific attack in a Paris...wait for it...TUNNEL...made me think of Princess Di quite often while reading it, though that is where the similarities end.

The problem with Carole Barber for me, was that she seemed to have no flaws. She has 3 relationships, divorced, widowed, and the other is the one that got away. Her ex still loves her, the one that got away still loves her...and well, she loved the husband that passed away deeply.

Her children are mostly well adjusted and love her, though her daughter has her issues. (None bad). The story is served to you on a silver platter, of the attack and recovery and her rediscovery of her memories that she lost in the attack.

This plot should have delivered a punch. We should have seen so much more, especially of Carole's relationships. I wanted to know Jason and Matthieu and her children. I wanted their feelings to come across, but like all Steel's novels, you don't get that. You get the story but nothing more.

I didn't want to toss the book, but I was sad, because if these characters could have become more real and less flat, the book would have been amazing.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: The House

 

Author: Danielle Steel

Title: The House

Publisher:  Dell

Publish Date: January 30. 2007

Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

The restoration of a majestic old home provides the exhilarating backdrop for Danielle Steel’s 66th bestselling novel, the story of a young woman’s dream, an old man’s gift, and the surprises that await us behind every closed door...

Perched on a hill overlooking San Francisco, the house was magnificent, built in 1923 by a wealthy man for the woman he adored. For her and for this house, he would spare no expense and overlook no detail, from the endless marble floors to the glittering chandeliers. Almost a century later, with the once-grand house now in disrepair, a young woman walks through its empty rooms. Sarah Anderson, a perfectly sensible estate lawyer, is about to do something utterly out of character. An elderly client has died and left her two gifts. One is a generous inheritance. The other, a priceless message: to use his money for something wonderful, something daring. And in this old house, surrounded by crumbling grandeur, Sarah knows just what it is.

A respected attorney and self-described workaholic, Sarah had always lived life by the book. With a steady, if sputtering, relationship and a tiny apartment that has suited her just fine, Sarah cannot explain the force that draws her to the mansion and its history–to the story of a woman who once lived in the house, then mysteriously left it, to a child who grew up there, and a drama that unfolded in war-torn France...and to a history she never knew she had.

Taking the biggest risk of her life, Sarah enlists the help of architect Jeff Parker, who shares Sarah’s passion for bringing the exquisite old house back to life. As she and Jeff work to restore the home’s every detail, as one relationship shatters and another begins, Sarah makes a series of powerful discoveries: about the true meaning of a dying man’s last gift...about the extraordinary legacies that are passed from generation to generation...and about a future she’s only just beginning to imagine.

In a novel of daring and hope, of embracing life and taking chances, Danielle Steel brilliantly captures one woman’s courageous choice to pour herself into a dream–and receive its gifts in return.

Review: Danielle Steel has never been a favorite author, but every so often I get sucked in by one of the blurbs and I'm drawn in to the bad writing and thin plots.

I have to admit though, that though the writing could be a lot better, The House was definitely one of her more palatable novels.

Sarah was definitely a sweet likable character, though like all novels by Steel, she is very flat. I would have loved some more depth to her, to know what really made her tick and why she really stayed with a jerk like Phil so long.

Her family, particularly her grandmother, Mimi were great side characters that helped carry the story.

OH and lets not forget the love interest, Jeff. 

Sigh.

I seldom crush on any romance hero, but Jeff was the epitome of sweetness. I wanted to shake her at times near the end for being stubborn in what she wanted.

The House itself and its owner play a huge part in the story, and I really wished this book were longer and focused on Lili and why she left and more about the house and family that she left.

There were a lot of loose ends and things that I wanted answers for, but didn't get, but the story did flow beautifully.

If you are going to read any of Steel's books, this one is definitely a nice light one to lose yourself in for a few hours.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: The Duchess

Author: Danielle Steel
Title: The Duchess
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: June 27, 2017
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Angélique Latham has grown up at magnificent Belgrave Castle under the loving tutelage of her father, the Duke of Westerfield, after the death of her aristocratic French mother. At eighteen she is her father’s closest, most trusted child, schooled in managing their grand estate. But when he dies, her half-brothers brutally turn her out, denying her very existence. Angélique has a keen mind, remarkable beauty, and an envelope of money her father pressed upon her. To survive, she will need all her resources—and one bold stroke of fortune.

Unable to secure employment without references or connections, Angélique desperately makes her way to Paris, where she rescues a young woman fleeing an abusive madam—and suddenly sees a possibility: Open an elegant house of pleasure that will protect its women and serve only the best clients. With her upper-class breeding, her impeccable style, and her father’s bequest, Angélique creates Le Boudoir, soon a sensational establishment where powerful men, secret desires, and beautiful, sophisticated women come together. But living on the edge of scandal, can she ever make a life of her own—or regain her rightful place in the world?

From England to Paris to New York, Danielle Steel captures an age of upheaval and the struggles of women in a male-ruled society—and paints a captivating portrait of a woman of unquenchable spirit, who in houses great or humble is every ounce a duchess.

Review: Here me out people. Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't buy one because the cover is oh so pretty. Heck, don't even check it out of the library.

See, I really know better when it comes to Danielle Steel, but something always makes me give her a try again. I usually regret it too. Oh do I regret it but the blurb and the cover here are fantastic.

Unfortunately that's all that is fantastic and because I made the library special order this book in for me, I was determined to finish it.  See I saw this book on a clearance table at B & N and wanted to read it, but wouldn't pay 5 bucks for it. Truthfully, I wouldn't pay 50 cents for this one if I found it at a yard sale.

Angelique is the daughter of duke with 2 wicked stepbrothers that hate her. Remember that, its a reoccurring theme here. Her father dies and they kick her out.

Uh, how could that happen? Also how could the daughter of a duke have no friends and never have a season in London?  No one knows her? C'mon? I know this is fiction, but could we have a little dash of reality to our story.

Then her brother send her off to be a nanny....and wait til you find out what he tells the couple about her there.

Again. No one in the nobility could get away with this. Her father was a duke!

Then she gets booted out of that position because one of the house guests decided to get handsy with her and...boom she's out on her ear again...mostly because the evil wife doesn't like her and sees her as competition.

Oye to the vey.

What bugged me the most as bad things continued to happen to her..yet she is beloved by staff etc..is that we never learn anything about her. This story is simply told to us. Angelique is very 2 dimensional.

Not to mention how she comes to own a brothel. A daughter of a duke?

There are no words.

And guilt kept me reading because I checked it out of the library.

Oh and did I mention, she created the best little whorehouse in Paris (pun intended) in 16 months...before more tragedy strikes. (This is a recurring theme in all of Danielle Steel's novels btw)

On the boat to New York she meets and falls in love (finally) with a man her age. Don't worry...she finds love but like all Steel novels its not to be..

Yup more gloom and doom here.

And then at last, redemption.

I can't believe I read this book, because truthfully for an author that has sold millions of copies, the writing is terrible. A third grader could do better. Heck this book made me want feel that Twilight was a brilliant piece of fiction.

Rating: 2 flowers

Book Review: Past Perfect

Author: Danielle Steel
Title: Past Perfect
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publish Date: Nov 28, 2017
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Sybil and Blake Gregory are the quintessential 21st century power couple: she a cutting-edge interior designer; he a forward-thinking top business analyst. They revel in the privileged, ordered life they lead in Manhattan with their children, teenagers Andrew and Caroline and 6-year-old Charlie. But when Blake accepts a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the CEO of a visionary social media start-up in San Francisco—and then buys a magnificent turn-of-the-20th-century Pacific Heights mansion on impulse—all that will change. Built by the Butterfields, a prominent banking family, abandoned for decades, the grand house retains its exquisite furnishings and aura of long ago elegance. And that’s not all it retains. The modern Gregorys are about to meet their ghostly long ago counterparts….

Review: I never know what to expect when I pick up a book by Danielle Steel. This book sounded like it was going to be fabulous. I actually requested it from my library, I was that desperate to read it.

Then I got started, and I remembered why I don't often read Ms. Steel.

Her writing leaves a lot to be desired. Too much telling of the story and not enough showing, and writing that is on a grade school level.

However I really loved the interactions of the Gregory family and the Butterfields, but the way the "ghosts" were written perplexed me. They didn't know they were ghosts and to those that could see them, they didn't look like ghosts. They had dinner, played games etc just as they had when they were alive. It just didn't fit with my concept of what ghosts would be like. Plus they were reliving their lives from 1917 on. Life events happen as they did for the Butterfields, even though they are dead. (This is so confusing)

I should have expected this, since Ms Steel wrote a forward, that she didn't really care for timeslip, time travel, or ghost stories. (Yet one of her past novels was called "The Ghost". So I'm confused at her reasoning).

The ending is bittersweet and beautiful, giving the family a happily ever after in a strange kind of way.

The Butterfields were a fascinating family. I would have enjoyed a historical novel around their lives, though I think that might have touched a bit too close to Steel's Thurston House in setting.

The premise was so promising, I just wish it would have lived up to it.

Rating: 2 flowers

Book Review: Sunset In St. Tropez

Author: Danielle Steel
Title: Sunset In St Tropez
Publisher: Dell
Publish Date: June 3, 2003
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb:  In her 55th bestselling novel, Danielle Steel explores the seasons of an extraordinary friendship, weaving the story of three couples, lifelong friends, for whom a month’s holiday in St. Tropez becomes a summer of change, revelation, secrets, surprises, and new beginnings . . .
As Diana Morrison laid the table for six at her elegant Central Park apartment, there was no warning of what was to come. Spending New Year’s Eve together was a sacred tradition for Diana, her husband of thirty-two years, Eric, and their best friends, Pascale and John Donnally and Anne and Robert Smith. The future looked rosy as the long-time friends sipped champagne and talked of renting a villa together in the South of France the following summer. But life had other plans . . .

Just two weeks after New Year’s, tragedy strikes the heart of their close circle, as Robert Smith suffers a sudden, unexpected loss. Without hesitation, Diana and Eric, Pascale and John rally to his side, united in their support, love, and shared grief. Convinced that a change of scenery is just what Robert needs, they urge him to join them on the Riviera in August. But as they soon discover, the ramshackle old mansion they rented in St. Tropez--sight unseen--is far different from the exquisite villa and sun-drenched gardens touted in the brochure. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling. Beds collapse beneath them. All while a would-be housekeeper in a leopard-skin bikini and six-inch heels sashays through the house with a trio of yapping poodles at her heels. But the biggest surprise of all is the woman Robert invites to the villa as his guest--a lovely, much-younger film actress with mile-long legs and a million-dollar smile. Diana and Pascale hate her on sight. But the men are dazzled. And amid the crumbling furniture and the glorious sunsets, the strained relationships and the acts of forgiveness, more surprises are in store for the villa’s occupants. With the last days of summer fast approaching, each couple finds themselves changing in unexpected ways, as old wounds are healed, new love discovered, and miracles unfold...all beneath the dazzling sun of St. Tropez.

By turns wise and moving, heartbreaking and wickedly funny, Danielle Steel’s new novel is about forgiving without forgetting, about the sorrow that shadows our lives and the hope that saves us. And it is about once-in-a-lifetime friendships . . .the kind that heal, sustain, and change us forever.

Review: Every now and then I decide to read a Danielle Steel novel. There was a time when I really enjoyed her books, but I think the last one that really appealed to me was Zoya. There have been some good ones though..but there have been some awful ones too. Sunset In St. Tropez is somewhere between the bottom and the middle.

Steel spends way to much time repeating herself, as if she wants to drum the facts into the readers heads.  She does this rather than developing the characters and when there are 3 sets of main characters, this really takes away from the book.

Another problem is the length. Sunset in St Tropez is about the length of a Harlequin Romance, only poorly written and developed. At one point she skips ahead of things, and the reader is left clueless as to how a situation in the story occurred.

Then there's Robert, whose wife is the token character that must die. (There is always one dead person in a Danielle Steel novel, I swear!!) Three months later and he's falling for the actress Gwen! If I were Anne I would be haunting his sorry butt!

I shook my head many times throughout the book. I found I couldn't like any of characters. They were too wealthy and bitchy about Gwen. Gwen was too much of a goody-goody, to be believable.  The men weren't memorable either.

The ending has everything tied up nice and tightly with a surprise finish for Pascale and John...which made me groan.

I'm glad this was a library book, because I would have kicked myself for wasting money on it. Thankfully it was a quick read, so I didn't lose too much time on it.

Rating: 2 flowers

Book Review: Rogue

Author:Danielle Steel
Title: Rogue
Publisher: Dell
Publish Date: May 1988
Rating: 1 Stars
Book Blurb: Romance titan Steel doctors up a familiar formula with fresh results. Having had just about enough of the gadabout ways of dot-com millionaire and perpetual Peter Pan, Blake Williams, Maxine, 42, divorced him five years ago and is raising their three children (ages 13, 12 and six) while running a thriving psychiatric practice specializing in childhood trauma and adolescent suicide. Blake, meanwhile, is continent-hopping among houses in London, Morocco and New York, bedding nubile young things. Maxine and Blake have remained friends, but when a horrific teen suicide case leads Maxine to meet doctor and childless divorcé Charles West, she finally falls for the type of man she thinks she's always wanted: serious, responsible and a bit stuffy. A disaster makes Blake rethink his lifestyle, however, and Maxine suddenly has a choice to make. While Steel never locks in on her characters' emotions, she keeps the pages turning and offers a satisfying twist at book's end that most readers won't see coming.

Review: I finished this book and I deserve a cookie for doing so. The plot was cute, but the writing, OMG, how has Danielle Steel managed to keep her readers? In my creative writing class in high school, I was taught that characters were supposed to show you what was going on. The writer wasn't supposed to tell you, and that is what Steel does.

I actually thought maybe it was me and I did something I usually don't do when it comes to books, I went and read some reviews to see what other people though and guess what? I wasn't the only one.

The worst part about all this is that the book is titled Rogue, meaning you'd expect it to really be more about Blake, but it isn't. It is all about Maxine and her life after their divorce, which is really unbelievable.

How many women who divorce multi-millionaires only ask for child support? How many of these same women would be fine with their ex taking their children out with their new girlfriends that are half the age of the parent?

Then there was the new man in her life, Charles West. The guy was an ass (only word that fits him) from the minute he appeared in the story and he never got better. I can't figure out why Maxine wanted to marry him in the first place. He didn't like her kids or her life style.

Most of the time I wondered if she was telling herself she loved Charles to convince herself.

All of the characters were pretty two dimensional. You never really felt like you got to know any of of them, which doesn't make for a good book.

The blurb says the ending has a surprise twist, but it really isn't. Anyone with two brain cells could figure out the ending.

I gave this a one star, simply because I finished it and it would be hard to explain a 0 star review.

Book Review: Johnny Angel

Danielle Steel's Johnny Angel is a winner. This book should come with a box of tissues though, because to quote an old Bachrach and David song, "Anyone who had a heart" would not get through this book without shedding some tears. OK, without shedding a lot of tears.

This is the story of a teenager (Johnny) who's life is cut too short and how he comes back to help put his family and his girlfriend's family back together again, though only two people can see him, his mother and his younger brother.

There are a lot of fiction about the afterlife. I've read several and this one is beautifully written. It gives you hope, especially when things are going terribly wrong, and they do go wrong for Johnny's family, even beyond his death. Johnny's return is to help put things to rights, perhaps things he couldn't do when he was alive.

In 210 pages, Danielle Steel gives us a story that is totally unforgettable and totally heartbreaking and yet happy. The last pages are definitely worth reading the book for.