The House On Hope Street

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.

"The House on Hope street" was soooo much more entertaining than "The Wedding." DS found her true niche in this story. Liz and Jack have the perfect business, perfect marriage and great kids until a Christmas tragedy changes everything. Liz copes by throwing herself into her work and kids. Until a second tragedy hits. Liz is almost at the end of her rope until Dr. Bill Webster helps her cope. Life isn't easy for the two, but they somehow weather the storm and all works out for the best.

Liz Sutherland leads a charmed life at the beginning of The House on Hope Street by Danielle Steel. She is married to a lawyer who specializes in divorce cases and shares the pratice with him. They are successful, in love, and have five children. One of the children is a special needs child, but that is the only minor flaw in Liz's life.
One Christmas morning, Liz's life changes forever. The family begins the day like every other Christmas. Then Liz's husband goes to his office to pick up some paperwork when an angry former client's husband confronts and kills him. The violent and unexpected death of Jack Sutherland is devastating for the family. The next year is full of sadness and challenges for the remaining Sutherlands.
After Jack's death, it is difficult for the family to go on. They force themselves to go back to school an dwork and gradually get into a routine. The youngest son feels that no one can fill his dad's place as his coach for the Special Olympics, but LIz takes over while maintaining the same case load at the office. Jamie actually does better at the Games than he had ever done before.
Summer comes and the girls go to camp. The oldest son, Peter, works at a vets' office. Life is beginning to return to normal when Peter is seriously injured in a pool. Liz is by her son's side throughout the ordeal and Peter eventually recovers. Liz and his doctor, Bill Webstr, begin dating. The relationship ends when the daughters are cruel to Bill and he is not willing to continue.
Liz and her children are miserable when the first Christmas season after Jack's death comes. Nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Just when everyone thinks that life cannot get any worse, the doctor shows up and they all decide it is time to start over. Even the girls agree. Once again the family ends in happiness.
The book is a typical Danielle Steel novel. The characters are too good, too attractive, and too rich to be real. The reader knows that whatever adversity there is will be overcome. However, the book is readable and it is nice to know when you read one of her books that the characters will live happily ever after

I almost always read my books in one fell swoop, but sometimes a book will lag, giving me the opportunity to put it down.

Danielle Steel managed to avoid any lagging.

Although, I feel like the story is bigger than what was written. You know, like there is more story, more life, expanded areas where you would have liked to have gone, if given the chance.

Of course, a lot of people probably wouldn't have stuck around for that long of a story, so maybe she was right in cutting some of fat.

Maybe she will write another one, that starts somewhere in the middle of this one, or even better, tell the story of Lilli, and her passionate love life and why she had to leave her children.

Now that would be awesome!

kat

[...]

This is my first and last Danielle Steel book. Curious about the enthusiasm for this author, I decided to give her a try. Never before have I experienced such a constant and highly repetitious barrage of being told what characters were thinking and feeling, with so little attempt to make them come alive through their actions and words. Her attempts at character development were transparent, and the story line was trite and highly predictable and could have been told in a quarter of the time. There were many, many missed opportunities to enrich the story with details that would have made the House a more meaningful character. Steel's attempts to apply psychology to the main character's motivations were inappropriate and failed to add anything to the story. Overall it read like an outline of a story still waiting to be fleshed out and made alive. A waste of time and money, but never again.

The book, House on Hope Street, by Danielle Steel was strong in the use of literary devices. The story didn't have strong symbolism. But the author did a great job in the imagery of the story. The book was addicting due to the author great work in imagery and personification. She made the characters come to life and seem real to the reader. The characters were believable and although they are fictional characters, they related back to everyday life.
The imagery throughout the book was amazing. The other used a lot of imagery when describing emotions, the setting, appearance, etc. The imagery portrayed the characters well and made them believable, easy to relate back to oneself. Without the imagery this book wouldn't have been interesting at all, it kept the reader on task and allowed for them to create pictures in their minds.
Symbolism played absolutely no role in this book at all. While reading the imagery was so well done that the symbolism was left out. The only symbolism in the book was the ones relating to the characters and descriptions. The book needs to have more symbolism, especially towards the end of the book where it was lacking symbolism all together.
Also the reality that is in the book allows reader to relate to the characters and understand what the characters are feeling. Many people enjoy reading about things that would occur in everyday life, to themselves or to the people around them. In this book it is easy for the reader to believe a character and to be interested in entering a story in their life. Danielle Steel does a great job in capturing the reader's attention in the reality of each character.
In conclusion the author used many literary devices well but was lacking symbolism which affected the book overall. Symbolism is an important part to play in a novel. But the author made up for it in the imagery which was put together well. The imagery in this book is what makes it so enjoyable and addicting to read. The humanlike reality of the characters and the story was well depicted and therefore allowed the reader to develop a relationship with the character.

I agree with the other reviews here. Finally, a book more along the quality of Danielle Steel's old writing. Not as good as her old books, but worth reading. Her last few books have been nothing but repetitive rambling. This book is a nice love story. Even the house description and renovation was interesting. I was entertained reading this book. I wanted to continue reading this story as opposed to the last books I couldn't wait to be done, suffering through page after page. I recommend this one.

Haven't read the hardcover version, but it's the same book. This is a beautiful story that deals with loss and love and hope. The first couple of chapters are difficult because they deal with a family tragedy and you've just come to like one of the major characters who is killed...but then the story really takes off. A true triumph of human spirit. Danielle Steel has such a way of weaving a love story into a real life situation.

"The House on Hope Street" is a typical Danielle Steel novel with all the emotional heartaches, triumphant recovery and satisfying happy-ever-after ending that we've come to expect from this popular author. These are all the elements that keep me coming back time after time. I know I must not be alone in my admiration for this talented author, after all, Steel has sold over 420 million copies of her novels worldwide.

The House In Hope Street is about a woman who is healing from the death of her husband and finding new romance which does not go well with some of her children.The story is typical Danielle Steel - simple,cliched and predictable - that will delight readers who love guilty pleasures novels.Highly recommended for light reading on a lazy afternoon.

The House is has a good story about a female attorney who got an inheritance of $750,000 from a client that she use to buy and restore a 30,000 square feet house that was previously owned by her great grandmother,Lilli. While the novel was predictable,it was interesting.Also,the book was hard to put down.

I think that I have read almost every book that Danielle Steele has written. Some have been excellent and some poor. This book meets in the middle. The book starts out very slowly. Over and over we are told about Sarah being in a long term, but very minimal relationship with Phil. She decides to buy a old house and fix it up with the proceeds from an inheritence. From the book jacket I thought...OK...this might be good. I was so wrong. There were too many loose ends. Sarah goes to France to see where her great-great grandmother ran off too many years ago. There were opportunities to get some answers about the lives of these people but the threads were just dropped. I do have to say that by the middle of the book, it became more interesting. I was happy that Sarah ended up happy but if you change the names of the characters in the book you have to same old tired Danielle Steel book.

True, this story starts out slow, but it was still entertaining because I trust in Danielle Steel and know that she's going to deliver some wonderful characters, an interesting plot, and a few hours of great entertainment ... for a gloomy afternoon in suburbia.

I can relate to Sarah ... and to Jeff (both out of other relationships) and to their restoring THE HOUSE she inherited together.

Perhaps it might not be Danielle Steel in top form, but it's still Danielle Steel, the most popular romance/suspense writer of our day. Love her! Love her books. In her private life, she's a glamorous, beautiful, strong woman ... one we should all emulate. (She could be a movie star herself; she's THAT attractive ... THAT elegant!

AND IT SHOWS IN HER WRITING!

Go, Danielle!

I purchased this book after reading a review and I'm so sorry I did. While the idea was good, the writing was terrible. I'm no author, but even I know that repeating the same narrative (the boyfriend relationship) over and over and over again is not good writing. I felt as if Ms Steel got stuck in one place and was writing the same thing over and over again until she came up with another thought. Perhaps her editor/publisher was dogging her to write another book and she just threw this together to satisfy Delacorte Press; at any rate, it was pretty boring for the most part. I hope she takes a sabatical from writing until she can give her readers something with some life to it. I doubt that I purchase any more of her books.

I read this book in less than a day, and once again was disappointed by one of Ms. Steel's most recent books. It was highly predictable and had very little character development. You never really get a great insight as to her husband, and the 3 daughters are just kind of there, compared to Jaime and Peter. I never got the impression that Jaime was handicap as the author wrote him to be. Overall, I am disppointed in the fact that for her last few books, they have seemed to have been hastily written, way too predictable, and have a regurgitated story line. Even the names in this book were ones used in other pretty recent books. I've been reading Danielle Steel for years, and sadly instead of getting better, her books have gotten profoundly worse. If you want to read a good Steel book, read Message From Nam, Fine Things, or Daddy. Don't bother with this one.

another great read from Danielle Steel. I was not disappointed in any of her books and this was another. She gets right into the story and does not fluff it up to fill pages. Although I had to wait to read this book as I had to put it on hold, it was worth the wait.

i like ms steele but she is getting boring. it used to be i could not put her books down , after the klone and i , i got to the point it was all about the money not the talent . i still read the books in hope that she will come back . hope street was sad but same ole same ole. have you notice every woman is beautiful? let there be just a plain ole woman once or twice.

The House on Hope Street is a fitting title for this book on hope, love and a family determined to weather the storm after a terrible tragedy tears their father and husband from them. Danielle Steel creates warm characters that you feel for, though it took her until almost the end to make a new romance for Liz, but the book is, as usual, par for Steel and perfectly enjoyable.

True, this story starts out slow, but it was still entertaining because I trust in Danielle Steel and know that she's going to deliver some wonderful characters, an interesting plot, and a few hours of great entertainment ... for a gloomy afternoon in suburbia.

I can relate to Sarah ... and to Jeff (both out of other relationships) and to their restoring THE HOUSE she inherited together.

Perhaps it might not be Danielle Steel in top form, but it's still Danielle Steel, the most popular romance/suspense writer of our day. Love her! Love her books. In her private life, she's a glamorous, beautiful, strong woman ... one we should all emulate. (She could be a movie star herself; she's THAT attractive ... THAT elegant!

AND IT SHOWS IN HER WRITING!

Go, Danielle!

I purchased this book after reading a review and I'm so sorry I did. While the idea was good, the writing was terrible. I'm no author, but even I know that repeating the same narrative (the boyfriend relationship) over and over and over again is not good writing. I felt as if Ms Steel got stuck in one place and was writing the same thing over and over again until she came up with another thought. Perhaps her editor/publisher was dogging her to write another book and she just threw this together to satisfy Delacorte Press; at any rate, it was pretty boring for the most part. I hope she takes a sabatical from writing until she can give her readers something with some life to it. I doubt that I purchase any more of her books.

I read this book in less than a day, and once again was disappointed by one of Ms. Steel's most recent books. It was highly predictable and had very little character development. You never really get a great insight as to her husband, and the 3 daughters are just kind of there, compared to Jaime and Peter. I never got the impression that Jaime was handicap as the author wrote him to be. Overall, I am disppointed in the fact that for her last few books, they have seemed to have been hastily written, way too predictable, and have a regurgitated story line. Even the names in this book were ones used in other pretty recent books. I've been reading Danielle Steel for years, and sadly instead of getting better, her books have gotten profoundly worse. If you want to read a good Steel book, read Message From Nam, Fine Things, or Daddy. Don't bother with this one.

another great read from Danielle Steel. I was not disappointed in any of her books and this was another. She gets right into the story and does not fluff it up to fill pages. Although I had to wait to read this book as I had to put it on hold, it was worth the wait.

i like ms steele but she is getting boring. it used to be i could not put her books down , after the klone and i , i got to the point it was all about the money not the talent . i still read the books in hope that she will come back . hope street was sad but same ole same ole. have you notice every woman is beautiful? let there be just a plain ole woman once or twice.

The House on Hope Street is a fitting title for this book on hope, love and a family determined to weather the storm after a terrible tragedy tears their father and husband from them. Danielle Steel creates warm characters that you feel for, though it took her until almost the end to make a new romance for Liz, but the book is, as usual, par for Steel and perfectly enjoyable.

House on Hope Street is a definate improvement from DS's latest works although not comparable to the books of ten years ago. At least in House we are not told repeatedly how perfect and beautiful all the characters are. There are some very moving parts. I recommend this book although if you are a first time reader check out some of her older works first.

Danielle Steele is a writer who wields the written word like an artist... using story lines that attract you by their sheer difference from what people experience in their own "tame" lives. Widowhood, single parenting, trauma, and grudging admiration make this story compelling...a tear jerker.... I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates the talent of a successful story teller.

Good book but the family was a little bit too perfect. I did enjoy reading this story because it was more than a romance. I really liked the personality of the doctor, it was very realistic. This book was interesting right away and was very hard to set down. The sadness of the sudden death of a loved one on a holiday made this book a tear-jerker at times.

The House on Hope Street is sweet of woman's love for her family as they experience one of live's tragic moments. Liz Sutherland reminds me of my mom when my father died. She stayed strong for the family while trying to move on her personal life. I was so happy towards the end when she finally able to close the door of her past and move on to the future.

The book's just boring. I read this book after I read Cecilia Ahern's PS I Love You (PS I Love You is even worst), and I thought after a few pages that the book was going to be a much better read than Cecilia Ahern's, but it was NOT.

What I hated the most about the book was the repetition of Sara's relationship with Phil, which rather than understanding Sara's feelings better, I felt that Sara was just pathetic. AND, the repetition of how beautiful Sara was. BORING.

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.

Like many of the other reviewers, I have and love all of Danielle Steel's earlier books. In the last few years, starting with The Klone and I, I became turned off by Ms.Steel's writing. In fact, I waited to read House on Hope Street and The Wedding until my name came up on the list at the library. Now, these two books will definitely be added to my collection. The House on Hope Street is a fast, easy, exciting read. I was in tears by page 61 and had to stop and put myself together. You actually feel the pain Liz has to deal with. You get wrapped up in her life, and by the end of the book, you can feel every emotion, good and bad. This book is a must for all of the early Danielle Steel book lovers.

The House was better than some Danielle Steel I've read lately. The biggest negative is her repetition. Would have been a much shorter book. I used to wait for Danielle Steel books to come out--I read this one and it was just okay.

I have read alot of Steele's books and the last few were disappointing. Just the same old theme. This read is a little trite but true. I lost someone very close to me, and the description of what Liz goes though, rings true to my own experience. This novel is depressing but is saved by a happy ending. I have to admit I could not put is book down.

The beginning of the book was excellent and then it tapered off towards the end. The House on Hope St, has tones of her earlier and much superior book "Accident", which I highly recommend. Pick it up for a good read, but realize as soon as she enters the relationship with the doctor, everything is textbook romance.

As always, I snatch up the latest DS novel, read it over a weekend, and say - I MISS THE OLD DANIELLE STEEL! Where is the history, the geography trips, something to learn while we are being romanced. The formula is tried and true - as one who has never missed one will attest - but I want more.. I am happy to see "normal" woman (not stunners with long flowing manes) who work and manage families - and not perfect familes either - good characters there - and I am happy that the would-be new love was not a clone, but guess I want it all. Overall, a fair summer beach/rainy day book.

I like Danielle Steel and I'm happy becouse I don't need to go to the store to see what's new...I have a good friend "the store.com".I'm very satisfied about all items I received.Whenever I need something," I look for my friend....I trust the store.com and I'm very sorry I don't know much more English words to show you how well we get along each other...It's easy,fast,safe and be sure you'll never send back items received becouse they come faster than you believe and the best shape you've ever seen.Just go to the store.com and you'll see!Dorina(I apologise for my mistakes that more than likely I made!)

Finally.....a DS book you don't want to put down...i finished in less than 48 hours. The only complaint i had was that she kept repeating herself over and over and used a lot of the words "she loved it", almost as filler. Other than that, very great job with this one and i look forward to the next book due out in June.

I think Danielle Steele may have a contract with her book company to write a certain amount of books per her contract, so she fulfills this obligation with this kind of factory cookie-cutter book to basically tell a story without putting much thought into the story or the characters. It's a formula story with no interesting or multi-dimensional characters. The kind of book that I totally forget soon after I've finished reading it, because there is nothing that interests or intrigues me enough to remember in this story. Not recommended - basically just a way to fill up paper.

This being the first book I read by Danielle Steel I expected more than what I got since I love the moive verisons of her book. The start gives it hope but near the end you can sense the direction that the book is taking and I like alittle unpredicatable stuff.

I wasted time reading this book that I will never get back. It was repetitive, predictable, and drawn out. I only finished the book hoping for a twist in the ending, but it turned out the way I thought it would. Buy this book if you want to feel good about yourself for finishing it quickly, and for predicting how the story goes. But, I would not waste the time if I were you.

I, like other readers, used to be a Danielle Steel junkie. I couldn't wait for the next book. Like the others, I have been disappointed repeatedly in the last 10 or so years. The writing style, credibility, and repetition, especially of the "absolutes," (all, never, every, very...) is mediocre and at times annoying. Character development is predictable from book to book and generally unrealistic. I too hoped that this book would be better, but found myself searching for more depth as I read. Maybe the next one will be better..........

Anyone who is familiar with the practice of law would find this book garbage. No woman with five children can practice law full time, much less trial law, even if she has a woman to help her at home. Then suddenly that same woman is alone with a growing practice which would require her full attention. In addition, she has a mentally handicapped child who requires her full attention plus four other teenage children not even mentioned in the book who must need mentoring! When does she find time for that? This is probably the worst book Ms. Steele has written. It's completely unbelievable. She's getting hard up on subjects!

You could so feel Liz's feeling with the loss of her husband and the effect it had on the entire family. What a wonderful story of strength in times of despair. No matter how sad Liz was she did what she needed to do to keep her family together. Believe me she doesn't seem to inherit her strength from her mother. She finds herself and happiness again. It was a very good read. I felt that Ms Steele takes us through incredible emotions that she herself could have lived through herself with the loss of her son.

Compared to Steel's other books, this one doesn't really measure up. It grabbed me at the beginning, but about halfway through it just seemed so repetitive that it was almost boring, and I usually love any of her books. I enjoyed reading it for the most part, but she has written much better. I think the problem was it was just too predictable and a typical plot that caused it to lack in the suspense that usually makes me enjoy reading Danielle Steel's novels.

I read a lot. A LOT. And rarely have I read a book that I really, really didn't like, but this is one of them. There is such a lack of dialogue, and the author repeats her same thoughts over and over. I swear, if I would have had to read the words "four years" one more time (referring to the main character's failed relationship) I would have hurt somebody. There was so much that could have been done with this book. But, by the time she actually gets the house, you've been bored stiff for four years and don't much care. It seems to be that it was poorly edited, and there is a lot of awkward grammar. I was really disappointed.

This was the first book that I have ever read by Danielle Steel and it made me a forever fan. I have never felt like I was in the book watching everything go on from a distance until I read this book. It was impossible for me to put it down. My heart went out to the characters. I cried from the front to the back. It made me think about what would happen to me, what I would do, and how I could go on living if I was to ever lose my husband. It made me realize how much I really do love him. It's an awesome book and everyone needs to read it. It will touch your heart forever.

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 have read Danielle Steele before, but never to this effect. To borrow her own term, it's a gem of a novel. Acts of kindness proliferate to defeat the evil ones and help love to triumph. The focus on a mansion in San Francisco and the attorney who takes it through probate and new ownership, finding love in the process, works very well. Some creative paragraphing, punctuation, and reiteration are only minor distractions from an ingenious plot and wonderful cast of characters spanning four generations.

I found the book very touching and close to the heart. You felt you were right there in the story. I felt the characters were well written. You understood how deeply Liz & Jack loved each other. When Jack was killed, you felt the pain that Liz felt. Once again Liz feels the pain when her son is in the hospital fighting for his life. She meets Dr. Bill Webster who saves her son and a relationship between Liz and Bill starts to blossom. I found the book very moving, fast reading and totally enjoyed it.

For people who fully enjoy reading Danielle Steel books this is a wonderful book. It really makes you think about what if you lost your special spouse?? And for all the people who reviewed this book as the same story by Danielle Steel. You need to read someone else.

I have to say that I have been a fan of this woman since high school. I love her books and it seems that I always go back to her after trying out different authors. This book, sucked me right in and I finished it in less than 24 hrs! She will always have my vote for best romance novelist. Steele seems to entice you by slowly getting you into her books lately, that is ok with me. I love how she details all stuff about the house and then we find out how it all comes full circle.

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT !!!

I loved this book,I think I enjoyed it so much because you really got to know Liz & her children and you really feel for her and her family,Ive looked at many Danielle Steel books but never read them,well I picked this one up and now Im a big fan.Heres to more reading of her books for me!

This is a moving and compelling novel. Sarah inherits a house from much a much beloved client. Despite some family problems as well relationship problems. You can't help but root for Sarah and hope all wells as ends well. Then Jeff the architect for has issues as well. This is a nice read from Danielle Steel who seems to hit and miss.

The House on Hope Street was a very touching story of love, gut level pain, sorrow, reality, family, recovery, but most of all hope. This easy reading, will hit all levels of emotions and will bring you back in a full circle to believing anything is possible with a sense of deserving no matter what has happen in one's life. Believing and hoping that true love is possible even through the worse of times, and possibily more than once in a life time. I highly recommend this book!

House on Hope Street was the first Danielle Steel book I have ever read and probably the last. As I was standing in the book store trying to choose which one to buy, I quickly discovered that all of her books followed very similar story lines.Man and woman are deeply in love, man dies, and she is left trying to pick up the peices. While, I did enjoy this book, I will not read another Danielle Steel book. I don't really like her syle.

I had about given up on DS but decided to try The House and I must say I found it thoroughly enjoying. Her description of the house was excellent and made one want to see it for themselves. Give it a try!

I found The house on Hope Street to be very inspiring, that after the loss of Liz's husband Jack she continued on with her life, facing more trauma as her son was seriously injured only to find someone who eventually became her lover. It shows us how in life that there are tragedies, and that history can not be reversed, but life does go on. I would recommend this book to everyone, and look forward to her next book!

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.

I thought it was a very good book. The beginning was a little repetative but I flew through the book. AS soon as I was finished I passed it along to friends to read I thought it was that good! I'd reccommend reading it.

I think this is a great book, I started reading Danielle Steel's books just about a month ago, this is my second book. The story is great, the only thing is that in the beginning it's kind of repeating things a little bit, but it was much better than my last book I read from her. I would no doubt buy this book over the others.

I always liked Danielle Steel but this book was terrible. It was very repetitive, had at least 2 sentences that were not complete and did not make sense. Someone else found misspelled words. And, the ending, what a let down. More focus should have been on the couple and their happiness. It felt like Danielle got tired and just brushed it off. Very disappointing.

I think this is a great book, I started reading Danielle Steel's books just about a month ago, this is my second book. The story is great, the only thing is that in the beginning it's kind of repeating things a little bit, but it was much better than my last book I read from her. I would no doubt buy this book over the others.

I always liked Danielle Steel but this book was terrible. It was very repetitive, had at least 2 sentences that were not complete and did not make sense. Someone else found misspelled words. And, the ending, what a let down. More focus should have been on the couple and their happiness. It felt like Danielle got tired and just brushed it off. Very disappointing.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that although this was a quick and enjoyable read, it lacks the depth of her earlier works. I used to enjoy waiting for the newest of her works however in the last few years, her newest book is out before I have finished the last one.

This was one of her best writings I have ever read. It was just like you were right there in the situation with Liz and her family. Just finished it on July 14, 2000 and couldn't hardly put it done. I really would recommend it to all Danielle Steele readers to get this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It is one of her better pieces of writing. I too wish that she would consider writing about Lilli and telling more about her life. It would certainly make for interesting reading as her part of the "story" in the book was intriging.

I enjoyed the characters in this book. I loved the feelings you got from Sarah. And felt her feelings of just sticking with something because you don't want to rock the boat in case there isn't anything better for you! Moving on can be a scary spot to be in!

I had become so bored reading her books these last few years and am glad that this one finally hit the spot. Why oh why must she repeat.....I got tired of reading about 4 years...over and over again.

Ms. Steel has a somewhat unique writing style for today. It is not one I usually prefer as she does not throw you into the action of the book and it is difficult most times to live vicariously through the characters. Having said that, she writes wonderful stories of family and drama. The thing is, in order to really enjoy most of her stories a reader has to be a patient reader willing to be led through the story as it slowly unfolds. Because of her writing style, her books make WONDERFUL TV movies.

I loved The House on Hope Street. She spent more time than usual on the relationship between Liz and Jack that I nearly cried when Jack was shot. I would have loved for her to explore the relationship between Liz and her mother, LIz and her daughter Megan (who needed to be slapped) and LIz and Bill. I did not feel any real sparks between Liz and Bill that would have made me think she fell head over heels for him just six months after Jack died. And it would have to have been monumental for me to believe she could have done so with Jack being such the perfect man for her.

Having said that, she also did not redeem Bill in my eyes. His behavior at Thanksgiving and afterward was so appalling and childish that in order for her to take him back he should have shown some major character growth. AndjMegan! The way she spoke to her mother and Bill with such anger and hatred. Then at the end she just smiles at him when he walks in the door the day after Christmas?

I guess I loved the first part of the story better than the end. I will continue to read Danielle Steel books because I like most of her stories.

House on Hope Street is a definate improvement from DS's latest works although not comparable to the books of ten years ago. At least in House we are not told repeatedly how perfect and beautiful all the characters are. There are some very moving parts. I recommend this book although if you are a first time reader check out some of her older works first.