44 Charles Street

44 Charles Street

By: Danielle Steel

319 Pages

Summary:

When Francesca and her boyfriend of 5 years break up she discovers she can't afford to keep the house they bought on her own. Loving the house too much to let it go, she decides to get roommates. Chris is the single dad who takes a little while to open up about his life. Eileen, a teacher, is the youngest and enjoys meeting men online. Marya is the famous chef who's looking for a place to stay when she's in New York City working on her latest cookbook. What starts out as purely a living situation changes into more as these 4 people come together to help one another.

Not Danielle Steel's best work. This book is good for a one time read, but it isn't a book you'll go back to or have a hard time letting go of. Truthfully, I struggled through this book for the most part. In recent years, Danielle has developed a pattern of every other book not being very good. As I knew it would be, this one wasn't that great.

Francesca and Todd have been together for 5 years by the time they accept it's over. He wants marriage and kids, she doesn't. Together they bought a house and opened an art gallery. Todd no longer wants to be poor since the gallery is barely breaking even. He's also tired of constantly repairing things in the old house they jointly bought. Now that the relationship is over, Francesca can either buy him out of the house and gallery, or sell them. Rather than lose them both, she does whatever is necessary to keep them. In order to buy out his half of the gallery she sells several of her father's paintings. In order to keep the house she loves, she places ads for roommates.

Chris is carrying major baggage: his ex-wife is a heroine addict. He's tried for years to get sole custody of their son, but to no avail. However, things take a dramatic turn when she goes one step too far. The housemates come together to help him and his son.

Marya lost her husband a year before. She's kept busy with her chef career and brings the motherly influence to the group. Her meals bring everyone together. She never expected to find love again since she had the best there was in her husband. Funny how life takes you in directions you never thought you would go.

Eileen has a difficult past that she never really got over. She moves into the house after leaving San Diego to get away from her life there. However, old habits are hard to break and the Internet isn't the nest place to meet potential boyfriends. Sadly, she learns that lesson the hard way.

All four characters have their own healing to do. All four come together as strangers, never thinking it would go beyond that. But four strangers become a small family as they come together for one another.

Rating: Borrow From The Library