zoya by danielle steel

Title: Zoya
Author: Danielle Steel
Pages: 397
Rating: 4/5

Summary (Goodreads):

Follows Zoya, from the revolution in Russia through the sixties and seventies in America, from St. Petersburg to Paris to New York in the eighties, as...more Follows Zoya, from the revolution in Russia through the sixties and seventies in America, from St. Petersburg to Paris to New York in the eighties, as she struggles to survive in the face of insurmountable odds.


My Thought:

A beautiful classic! This was a very memorable read about a young girl, a princess, lost her family in early age. Like any other Danielle Steel's work, this one is also a bit predictable but I think I like it.

The leading protagonist, Zoya, is portrayed as a strong, a bit naive, beautiful woman who face and dealt with many obstacles and hardships. I love the character Zoya. She lost her whole family when she is little and her dearest cousin that she considered her sister. Their relationship although for a while, was very sweet and cherished. Went to Paris with her very old grandmother, they built a small life in refugee and tried to live to the fullest and leave everything behind. In Paris, she fall in love with an American soldier and I found it very sweet and romantic but unsecured. He left her a lot but came back into her life in a blink and thank God they managed to build a life and got married and live quite happily in America for a short while until her husband died. With her two small children, she had to move on. In a part, I really admired which she stood on the ground and being proud of who she is when she used her title as The Countess to get a work but being modest and hardworking. Her sense of fashion is incredible and leaving me wanting to be at her time.

The plot line is honestly quit flat and but there are a few small climax which I found them acceptable as that were a few moments of the character's obstacles and hardships. Other characters are well-developed and completed the story as well as well-adapted to the main character. The emotions were there and I can relate to the story but sometimes I felt lost and felt it being dragged a bit.

The most interesting part of the story probably would be the historical setting and connections to the Russian Tsar, set against the Russian Revolution with an assemble possibility of Anastasia Romanov. It was described beautifully and I thought I was nearly absorbed with the beautiful setting.

It's quite an enjoyable read and I barely can put it down. Although it is somewhat predictable, I found it like a beautiful memoir with beautiful life ending. Fully recommended.

the ghost by danielle steel

Title: The Ghost
Author: Danielle Steel
Pages: 444
Rating: 5/5

Summary (Amazon):

Architect Charles Waterston has a job he loves, a charming and beautiful wife, and an idyllic life in London. But when everything comes crashing down around him--his wife leaving him for another man and his sudden transfer back to the New York home office--Charles takes a well-deserved ski vacation in Vermont. When an unexpected snowstorm strands Charles in a small town, he takes refuge in a small bed-and-breakfast. The proprietor, an elderly widow, also owns a family home in the woods, which Charles decides to rent. Soon after moving in, Charles senses a ghostly presence. While investigating in the attic one day, Charles discovers the diary of Sarah Ferguson, who left her abusive husband in England for a better life in the New World. Charles soon finds himself drawn to Sarah, and he even visits the local historical society in an attempt to learn more about her. There he meets lovely, timid Francesca Vironnet, the historical society curator and librarian, who has fled France with her young daughter. Through Sarah's journals and Francesca's kindness, Charles is able to heal his heart and learn to love again.

My Thought:

It's a heartfelt story that I just couldn't resist. I just finished this book and I loved it. It is a very good story and I loved reading about Francois and Sarah. Their story is so heartwarming and inspiring. As Charlie said while reading the journals, Sarah and Francois life experience almost feel real to me. Although I kind of hoping that Sarah is really a ghost that physically communicating with Charlie instead she just wanders around and makes only one time appearance to Charlie, and never speak to him. However, as the story goes on, Sarah is actually giving Charlie some hints to her journals. Although the story is predictable, I grow fond of it and it almost makes me cry bucket to learn Sarah's adventures and misfortunes.

It is a very simple story, an easy read, a page turner and almost a heart-wrecking read. Other than Charlie finally learns that he has to move on with his life and cherishes people around you, I too has learn quite a great deal by reading the book as a little motivation to move on forward. As always, Steel's stories really get me hooked up and love.

heartbeat by danielle steel

Title: Heartbeat
Author: Danielle Steel
Pages: 432
Rating: 5/5

Summary (Goodreads):

Bill Thigpen, writer producer of the No.1 daytime TV drama was so busy watching his career soar that he never noticed his marriage collapse. Now, nine years later, living alone in Hollywood, even without his wife and kids, his life and success are still reasonably sweet. Top-of-the-chart ratings, good-natured casual affairs, and special vacations with his two young sons. His life is in perfect balance, he thinks.

Adrian Townshed thought she had everything: a job she liked as a TV production assistant and a handsome husband who was a rising star in his own field. In as enviable life they'd worked hard for—the American Dream. Until she got pregnant. Suddenly all she had was chaos. And Steven's ultimatum. Him or the baby. The question was: did he mean it? He did.

Bill Thigpen and Adrian Townshed collided in a supermarket. And the very sight of her suddenly makes him want more in his life, a woman he really loves, a real family again. But does he need the heartache of another man's baby, another wife? Neither does. But they couldn't help it.

My Say:

I did it again. This is my third reading this book and I never feel tired of it. Heartbeat is a very heartwarming book. Steel's books might be a bit stereotype or a bit predictable but I love how it's written. But I think the truth behind the story is about second chance to love and to forgive ourselves. This book really swept my heart every time I read it. The friendship between Bill and Adrian brought them together and been meaning to start a whole new life. They shared their sorrows, supports each other and their friendship deepens into love. Even though I found it quite harsh to believe Adrian's husband divorced her just because she's pregnant, the storyline is believable and it really has strong plot line. It is quite a linear story with a little climax, but it is also very well developed till the end. I enjoy reading the book thoroughly and never get tired of it. It is also full of motivation, self-help, love, forgiveness and second chance to seek happiness. Maybe you'll think there's no hope and world will collapse, but you never know what will happen at the end of the day if you give up on life. It really teaches me that. I can read it over and over again, and I fully recommend you to read the book too.

sunset in st. tropez by danielle steel

Title: Sunset in St. Tropez
Author: Danielle Steel
Pages: 213
Rating: 3.5/5

Summary (Goodreads):

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.

My Review:

Well, after quite sometime, I'm off to read a contemporary fiction. And I choose to re-read Danielle Steel. I always love her works, well, most of them. Honestly, I don't know why I picked this one instead of other book.

I must say that this was quick and easy read. However, there was not one character that I found myself really invested in. Generally when I read Danielle Steel I become emotionally wrapped up in the story's central character and again, most of the time. The thing is, there were too many main characters which I did not get the feeling of connection that I usually do. Sometime I'm forgetting who is actually who.

But of course, Steel simple elaboration on her storyline made me easy to understand and enjoyed. Although 3 couples (6 main character?) are a lot to cover. What really made me interested to read the book is actually the story itself (obviously?). It's a story of 3 married couples/ best friends like 30+ years and I've never read about senior citizens love story. I mean, have you ever read a book that has 50-60 years old main characters? Well, this is my first time or maybe I forgot if I actually had. They are condensed with exciting friendship relation to each of them. And what I like most, they are so believable and so true. I wish I would have best friends like them (like till I grow very old and they still there when I need them). Of course, there were ups and downs in their marriages. That's the story all about anyway in St. Tropez.

All in all, this is not her best books but still, I feel a loyalty and obliged to reading her books. I keep them to the side until a sudden urge comes over me to read one. I know it really sound corny but it's true. This was one of her books that I enjoyed. This book probably a good, quick and easy read to kill some time =)

p/s: Is it true that EVERYBODY reads Danielle Steel? It's like it's written on each of her books.

vanished by danielle steel

The summary:

it's a story of a woman and a man faced with an unthinkable tragedy, they lost their son in a mysterious abduction/kidnapping..it tells the story of a man and woman faced with an almost unthinkable tragedy, the mysterious abduction of their young son. Marielle Patterson shares an elegant Manhattan brownstone with her husband, Malcolm, and their little boy, Teddy. Marielle is a devoted wife and mother, and Malcolm is a man everyone admires..the scene happened in the late 1930's, in the shadow of the Lindbergh kidnapping, and as war looms in Europe.

On the eve of Teddy's disappearance, Marielle runs into her first love and ex-husband, American expatriate Charles Delauney...and when Teddy is kidnapped, Charles is first blamed, then arrested..but as the search for Teddy widens, even Marielle is scrutinized by the FBI and special agent John Taylor...suspicions and accusations mingle with terror and heartbreak as every threat, every failure, every fear, is remembered, examined, explored...during Charles Delauney's trial a series of revelations begins to unravel the truth about Marielle, Charles, and Malcolm, uncovering the motives and passions controlling their lives...

My review:

i love most of Danielle Steel's book..and i've been collecting her previous books in quite some time.. adult stories sometimes too much suspense, and vanished is a tale of guilt, desire, and people drawn inexorably together, seeking the child who vanished in front of her own eyes..i cant imagine that..that's when she put too much blame on her ex-husband..although there was time it really made me think how horrible her ex-husband abused her because of the lost of their 1st child and later on she lost the 2nd one,unborn..infact, after all he did to her, i really think that how clever her ex acting innocent, pretending that he was not the one doing the kidnapping..but he really is not! it turns out that Malcolm is the mastermind behind Teddy's abduction..and he was such a horrible husband in the end..

i think it's a good read..usually, her books are a lot nicer than this one..but it never makes me stop to read her other books!

Rating: 4/5