Rating: Summary: Self-indulgent and poorly written Review: I haven't read Danielle Steel in years, and though she's advanced beyond 20-something lovers facing Perils of Pauline strife, Bittersweet definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth. Anyone who reads or watches popular media will be familiar w/her recent romance/marriage/pending divorce from a wealthy yachtsman and will have People Magazine and Entertainment Tonight snippets in their head as they read this book. As a result, this book comes off as self-indulgent and made me wonder if her next book will feature a romance between a thin, beautiful, and wealthy woman and a tanned former-movie-star turned bon vivant (Steel is now dating George Hamilton). My advice? Steer clear of this one.TTFN, Laurie Likes Books All About Romance ...
Rating: Summary: BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME Review: "Bittersweet" is about a woman named India Taylor, who was a wonderful mother, who juggled Little League, car pools, piano lessons, and Cape Code summer vacations. Getting bored with her life, India decides that she would like to go back to work as a photojournalist. One summer day, India meets a man named Paul Ward, who changes her life forever. Paul, whose wife recently passed away in a plane crash, begins chatting with India everyday. Both talk about their hopes and dreams and he tells her not to give up her dreams of going back to her work. Finally convinced, India decides to tell her husband of her plan, hoping he would understand. Doug tells her that he thinks of her only as a person to take car of the house, children and someone to cook him dinner when he comes home from work. Furious, India and Doug finally get a divorce because she is in love with Paul. A romance begins to bloom, but too soon for Paul. In the end, the two finally decide they need to be together. I really enjoyed this book. I thought that the ending was by far the best part because it was so happy and sad all at once. I was happy to see them both finally find romance and happiness for once in their life. The book shows that in life bad things will happen but fate won't let anything else bad happen to you. I liked how throughout the entire novel Paul gave her advice and made her feel worthy and important. She really needed someone to understand her. I can see exactly where she is coming from. Driving car pools and cooking dinner does not look like the life any woman would want everyday. People need more to their life than that. People need to feel that they are good at something and everyone needs a hobby. Nobody needs anyone to tell him or her that they cannot do anything. I think India was strong when she told her husband that she was going back to work. It took a lot of guts. I thought this book was well written, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: Summary: C'mon...where are the real people here? Review: ...I can't help but think this book isn't typical of her fare; how else could she have become so popular? I was astounded that India's husband, Doug, is painted with such a wicked brush. There is no way he could have been so insensitive all those years and she's only just starting to realize it? For a charcter who's supposed to have such insight with her camera, she's certainly blind without the lens in front of her face. I found myself getting annoyed the poor guy got this type of treatment from his creator and waited for the moment when the guy would display any sort of humanity. Having said that, I'll confess I did appreciate Steel's imagery. The sailboat is a bit over the top...but hey, it's a fantasy, right? In conclusion, I guess you could say one thing about this book: black and white (characters) and read all over (by her legions of fans)...
Rating: Summary: THE PLOT WEAVES THROUGH OUT THE BOOK TO A SWEET END! Review: When I read the synopsis to this book I was thinking THIS CAN'T BE THAT INTERESTING, but when I started reading it, I had come to find out it WAS. The characters were so real I felt as if I knew them. There were some plot twists in this book. It kept me interested and turning pages. The only problem I had with this book, was that the main character India was sort of a wimp. I kept wanting to yell at her. She got me a little frutrated at times. She was the reason why I bumped one star off my review. If you like a good romance tale by Danielle Steel and one with some plot twists and can put up with a frustrating main character, this a good book for you. This book had a moral and that is: Go for your dreams!
Rating: Summary: Not as good as her past books. Review: I usually love Danielle Steel's novels but this one is subpar. Her writing style is slow and I had a hard time getting into the book. I thought the character of India was okay but Steel does not go into India's past history (except for her father). I found India unsypathetic. How could she stay in a marriage like that? And the character of Doug, he was very one-dimentional. Why was he like this? There was no sympathy for his character. He was a husband who just didn't care. I don't think Steel developed any one these characters to the best of her ability. I'll keep reading but this wasn't one of my favorites.
Rating: Summary: an incredible romance Review: i found this book incredibly wonderful, i never had an interest in romance before this and now i love Danielle Steele's books. i hope that everyone else loves this book as much as i do. This is definately a 5 star book, it kept me wanting more.
Rating: Summary: And People Call This Author One of the Best? Review: If you like repetition...read this book. If you like repetition...read this book. If you like repetition...read this book. Did you get the point? IF Steel is one of the best, THIS is one of her worst! Starting out, I truly felt she was identifying with a struggle many women experience as children grow up and memories of early career goals start to resurface. After a couple chapters we had rehashed the issue so many times, we became bored with our own memories! The book could have been written in three chapters. The only thing that keeps you reading is the fact that you want it to be over! (I literally took almost two months to read the book because there was no point to hurry through. The ending is contrived, the characters are either too 'good' or too 'bad'. In order to finish I had to put space between redings so I wasn't bored beyond belief!) Can we please bring LaVyrle Spencer out of retirement? Note to Amazon...don't invest in many copies of this one. There will be too many copies people will want to unload so they don't have to dust another tome!
Rating: Summary: What a life! Review: Whenever I finish with a DS book, I feel like my life is so ordinary! However, sometimes it's better than all of the tragedy. This is a good summer read.
Rating: Summary: A Pretty Story Told Weakly Review: A fabulous-looking international best-selling author named Serena and her seductively handsome billionaire husband called Paul grace the ears of the listeners along with a fabulous-looking internationally known photographer named India and her repulsive attorney husband named Doug. India and Doug have lost the passion in their marriage, but Serena and Paul have not. As naughty Gail, India's best friend, says, "You never know what's going to happen, do you?" The plot, characters, and the global setting are intriguing; but they are marred by the telling. The belabored explanations of what everyone thinks and the frequent summaries of what has happened allow the listeners to know what will happen. Even so, there is something absorbing about the book BITTERSWEET. Not a relaxing piece of literature, it is still a story of strong emotions. Danielle Steel, with her love stories, entertains her readers and listeners. ...
Rating: Summary: Too bad there is no provision for 0 stars....... Review: Probably her worst book yet, but then again all of her recent works have been extremely bad. India's husband Doug is not a very believable character. His total opposition to her work seems unrealistic. Paul is too good to be true and then again too wishy-washy... This book tested my patience..I was tempted to sail it through the window quite a few times. Longwinded, boring, lack of substance, no plot...horrible horrible book!!!
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