Customer Reviews

The House

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

No matter what people may think I once was a Danielle Steel junkie. As soon as he newest book reached a bookstore 9this was pre Internet days), I was there grabbing her latest book. And I have suchfond memories of her titles like Season of Passion, The Ring, Crossings, The Promise and most recently Ghost. I also had to watch all of the made for TV movies and then would have to reread the books they were based on again. And then a funny thing happened to this loyal Steel reader. I found that her new books no longer interested me and the ones I did finish was because I decided to stick them out till the end. Recently I did enjoy Steel's book The Ghost and today keephoing that a new book by this author would really grab me. When I read the premise of her latest book, The House, I thought this might be that book which grabbed me and took hold. I ultimately thought that while it was an OK book, it left me yearning for the years when her books really enticed me and made me want to read more of this author's title.

Sarah is a 38 year old estate attorney trapped in a four year realtionbship with a man who only sees her on the weekends. And Sarah seems to be content with the way things are, afraid face facts and be alone.

When her very elderly and extremely wealthy client dies, Sarah feels as if she has lost a grandfather. She wonders why he spent his life amassing a fortune and living in an attic room of his huge San Francisco home. Then while dispersing his very
sizable estate among 19 relatives whome he hardly knew during his life, Sarah receives an inheritance she never expected with along with a letter which encourages her to do something which the money which will provide her with a happy and meaningful life. He reflects that while he never had a family or friends and spend his time and energies amassing his fortune, life should be lived to the fullest surrounded by love.

In a bold and unusal move Satah decides to use the money to purchase and bring his home back to the glory days it once knew. And while she is in the process of renovating her home, Sarah learns more about the family whom originally occuppied the home, a family secret concerning her grandmother but most of all, about unconditional love.

Set in both San Francisco and the chateaus of the Loire Valley, Steel does a find jobe of capturing the essence of both areas. But she glosses over the history of the home and the original inhabitants preferring to tie up the book with the inevitable happy ending for the principal characters.

I read this book while on a plane hoping it would provide me with that AHHHH moment but in the end it was a title I most likely won't ever recommend to a person that wants to begin reading Danielle Steel's books. Now, I think the time has come for me to remember this authors older books and pass on reading her new titles.

There was a time in my life that Danielle Steele was my favorite author. I even named my daughter after her 20 years ago. However, she is living on her laurels now and really should retire. Her novels are not much better than what a high school student could write. She overuses words such as "she loved that about him." "she loved how he did this.." and so forth. With "The House", by the third chapter, it was as if she thought her reading audience did not have enough sense to realize that Phil was not good for the heroine. She had to keep beating our heads with it, just filling up paper in order to make it long enough for a book. I doubt I will ever read another one of her novels. So sad....

While this certainly wasn't her worst novel, it isn't much more than ok. I got the impression she had written an outline then filled with book with annoying, repetitive details - about the people, the house, etc. And oh, just once can't someone in her novel be happy being single??

I just finished reading the first 60 pages and its so annoying. She must repeat at least 10 times that she has been seeing Phil for 4 years. I feel like there are lots of fillers here, she repeats everything we know so many times she could have written 60 pages in 20. I do agree that she was once a fantastic writer, but not anymore. I doubt I'll ever read another of her books, don't know if I'll even finish this one. So far its a really boring read.

It's summer, and my reading matter always lightens up significantly! I spotted this book at the library and figured, why not! I know, I said never again for Danielle Steel, but the plot interested me. How bad could it be, right?

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the plot is different for DS, and held my interest enough so that, unlike Impossible, I actually finished it in one day. The bad news is that this book seems entirely devoid of any attempt at editing. The repetition is maddening. When reading becomes a chore, and you can skip entire pages and not miss anything, it's time to start some serious editing.

Here are some suggested areas of improvement:

- Shorten up the paragraphs. They should not exceed a page!
- Try spending a little more time developing the characters. I couldn't "see" Sarah - when I read, I want to be able to clearly visualize the people and after hundreds of pages, I never had a clear vision of the main character
- Pay attention to style. Every time she spelled out 30,000, I wanted to pull my hair out. Small thing, but numbers over nine should always be written in numerals unless they are at the beginning of a sentence.

As I've written before, DS needs a good editor. This book could have been one of her best to date.

After chapter after chapter of the gal lamenting over her dead-end romance, she finally buys the house. Aha, I thought, the story begins. But alas, not much happens. Then she finds a picture of her grandmother in the house, and I think, OK here's the story, but not to be. Then there is the architect that enters - a good love story - no.
Danielle Steel had the makings of three great story lines but failed to develop any of them. The story of the grandmother's life in the house would have been tremendous.
I think maybe she had a Visa bill to pay and had to get a book out quickly, because she did not put any thought into this one. Where was the editor on this one? It was a bummer. Virginia

I have read everyone of Danielle Steel's books and am a HUGE fan. However, this book was disappointing. The first few chapters were terribly boring because of the repetition. I had to skip paragraph after paragraph because I got so tired of her describing her relationship with her boyfriend. Once she finally got started with the actual story, it was good. I think this book could have easily been one of her smaller books and I would have enjoyed it more.

This entire story could have been written as a short story; maybe 25 pages. What a bunch of words and thoughts-over and over again.
My first Danielle Steele book, probably my last.

As an avid DS reader; I am happy with the book; Sarah's feelings and her grandmothers feelings are felt in almost every page. Phil makes you hate him. The architect is so obvious but I could not put the book down. DS has got into a rut and her books over the last five years have become predictable.

Danielle Steel used to be one of my favorite authors. However, Wanderlust was the last book of hers that I really liked. I bought The House hoping maybe she had found her "style" again, but alas it was not to be. I do not understand how a bestselling author can get away with combining points-of-view within one paragraph, "telling" not "showing" the story, and repeating the same things over and over and over until I just want to scream! It seems that perhaps because she is such a big name, her work is not copyread anymore. I think it might be time for her to put away her pen, or get back to the basics of good writing. I will not be buying another of her books anytime soon. I chose to rate this book with one star, because no stars wasn't a choice.