Rating: 
Summary: I tried again.....
Review: I gave Danielle Steel another chance because I thought that maybe this book would be better after I read the other reviewers. I was misled. Same old story, same pathetic woman with no back bone. Her books are depressing. This one was not quite as bad as "Unanswered Prayers", but it was not all that great either. A reader gets tired of being told the same information over and over again, like we can't remember what happened two chapters before. I am glad I checked this out from the library and did not waste $20.00.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: I have always love DS novels and this one was no different. I loved the exploration of the different relationships in this novel. None of them are perfect but neither are we. I just finished reading another great novel based on relationships, Shade of the Maple by Kirk Martin. He is new, give him a try.
Rating:
Summary: A story with heart
Review: I have read every book by Danielle Steel but recently have been very dissapointed in her style of writing and the sameness of her stories. This book, however, is much different in the story line. She obviously has an insight into the the pain of the loss of a child and the agony of mental illness. Having had a son who suffered both, she writes from the heart. I also lost a child.So I can also identify with the loss that this mother endured. But the story also shows the path of recovery and going forward with your life after tragedy. There are other issues the book deals with. But Steel manages to blend them together for a "happy ever after" outcome.
Her style of writing is still lacking------she uses the word "and" far too much as she runs sentences together. She does repeat herself over and over again far too often. She's a mass producer of stories. If she took more time to work on grammar and proper sentence structure, she'd have a much different book. The way she writes now is not a good quality-----but putting that aside, the story is easy to read. In fact, I skim over most of the words to grasp the story-----a quick read. I would prefer, however, that she go back to school and learn how to write in a way that is respected. She's a "fluff" writer---but the content can be fun.
I enjoyed the fact that this story got to my heart, made me cry and encouraged me to learn more about the people. Now if only she'd write in better form------but I guess we can't expect both from her anymore. She's writing too many books in too short of a time. Slow down-----and continue to tell us stories that have heart. This was one of her recent best.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good- but not her best
Review: I love Danielle Steel- she can never do wrong by me thats why i say this book was very good. It brought the usual tears to my eyes here and there. And had a wonderful ending.
Rating: 
Summary: To die for
Review: I loved this book as much as I love Danielle Steele, she writes in such vivid detail that the reader is swept away the minute the book is opened. Nora's personal tragedy has only made her books moving. Timeless romance by a timeless lady. She looks dazzling on the back cover as well, my co-workers Emily and Nicole think so too.
Rating: 
Summary: formula formula formula
Review: I stopped reading for a long time a couple years ago. I loved reading, but I found certain authors were just SO FORMULA it pushed me to stop. If you have read a dozen of their works - you read them ALL. It's a fine formula (20 years ago), but somewhere along the way you really get tired of "change the locale, change the name of the characters"; underneath it all it's the SAME BOOK over and over and over. Where are the Editors of these writers? They are driving the author into the ground by permitting them to "CHURN OUT" book after book with nothing new to say because readers "BUY ON THE NAME". Yeah, they do - for a while - then you drive those very readers away with banality! I stopped reading Steele because of that. One can only eat so much Vanilla Ice Cream till it gets boring. And Steele, has turned into Vanilla Ice Cream. I was given the book for a Present, so I thought, okay, MAYBE.... It's still Vanilla Ice Cream. The story is man and woman brought together, driven apart by contrived conflicts. Sorry, with the sharp writers in the field today, it just is so old hat style. 11 year old Pip bring together, Matt Bowles a reclusive artist, and her mother Ophelia. Matt and Ophelia form a friendship heading toward romance. Pip and Ophelia return to San Francisco, with Ophelia hoping long distance love can grow. Ophelia learns secrets about her dead husband, and then is shocked when Matt's wife shows back up and suddenly seems "in the picture". This threatens Matt and Ophelia's friendship. Steele creates, gentle, down to earth characters, giving it a richer more realistic texture than her previous works, but still there is NO surprise how the book develops or ends. May please her hardcore fans, but I'd would recommend giving it a pass and picking it up at the library.
Rating:
Summary: formula formula formula
Review: I stopped reading for a long time a couple years ago. I loved reading, but I found certain authors were just SO FORMULA it pushed me to stop. If you have read a dozen of their works - you read them ALL. It's a fine formula (20 years ago), but somewhere along the way you really get tired of "change the locale, change the name of the characters"; underneath it all it's the SAME BOOK over and over and over. Where are the Editors of these writers? They are driving the author into the ground by permitting them to "CHURN OUT" book after book with nothing new to say because readers "BUY ON THE NAME". Yeah, they do - for a while - then you drive those very readers away with banality! I stopped reading Steele because of that. One can only eat so much Vanilla Ice Cream till it gets boring. And Steele, has turned into Vanilla Ice Cream. I was given the book for a Present, so I thought, okay, MAYBE.... It's still Vanilla Ice Cream. The story is man and woman brought together, driven apart by contrived conflicts. Sorry, with the sharp writers in the field today, it just is so old hat style. 11 year old Pip bring together, Matt Bowles a reclusive artist, and her mother Ophelia. Matt and Ophelia form a friendship heading toward romance. Pip and Ophelia return to San Francisco, with Ophelia hoping long distance love can grow. Ophelia learns secrets about her dead husband, and then is shocked when Matt's wife shows back up and suddenly seems "in the picture". This threatens Matt and Ophelia's friendship. Steele creates, gentle, down to earth characters, giving it a richer more realistic texture than her previous works, but still there is NO surprise how the book develops or ends. May please her hardcore fans, but I'd would recommend giving it a pass and picking it up at the library.
Rating:
Summary: Safe Harbour...better than her past 5 novels!
Review: I was hesitant to read Steel's latest novel, because they were all very similar in character type and happy ending stories. Out of habit, and never wanting to miss a Steel book, I read Safe Harbour, and was pleasantly surprised. The characters were likeable, and I enjoyed the pace of the story, and its ending was very moving. My only criticisms are: Ophelie's name, it gets annoying to pronounce names like that, and especially when that person is a main character, it gets distracting after a while. Second, the repetition and run-on sentences were not what I expect from a writer of Steel's caliber. Overall, this was one of her better new releases.
Rating:
Summary: Safe Harbour...better than her past 5 novels!
Review: I was hesitant to read Steel's latest novel, because they were all very similar in character type and happy ending stories. Out of habit, and never wanting to miss a Steel book, I read Safe Harbour, and was pleasantly surprised. The characters were likeable, and I enjoyed the pace of the story, and its ending was very moving. My only criticisms are: Ophelie's name, it gets annoying to pronounce names like that, and especially when that person is a main character, it gets distracting after a while. Second, the repetition and run-on sentences were not what I expect from a writer of Steel's caliber. Overall, this was one of her better new releases.
Rating:
Summary: Finally...something i could sink my teeth into!
Review: I'm a big fan of DS...i plodded through each and every one of her books. This one, finally, was one i could glide through with minimal repetiveness and lots of storyline and good character development. DS...great job...keep up the good work!
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