A nice easy to read novel. Some surprises...but mostly typical Danielle with a nice ending. ( )

This one was good but it was not as good as some of her others. A lot of hers are very much alike and very repetitive but then she will write one that is not like that and those are the ones I love.

Francesca Thayer, newly separated form her boyfriend, is desperate. Francesca owns an art gallery that she wants to keep. She also as a mortgage on a failing old townhouse. How will Francesca make a new life for herself and keep the things she loves?

Deb F. / Marathon County Public Library
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44 Charles Street had potential with a deceptively interesting plot summary, but the writing and pacing took the fun out of it. The book had so much unnecessary and/or repetitive segments (and the opening chapters should have been cut - we could have learned about Francesca's financial situation and break-up in a paragraph), and I failed to see why Francesca seemed to think her life was so hard or why she was so attached to the house (especially when she basically sells it without a thought to move into another place with her new boyfriend at the end - hello, history repeating!). I don't like the message Danielle Steel was trying to send with Eileen's "online dating" storyline (I've never done it, but I know a lot of people who have used online dating and they've all managed to avoid the "characters" Eileen kept bringing through the house by utilizing their common sense). By the time I was about a third of the way through, I realized I was just wishing it was the end. The middle of the book was good, the characters were okay, but it just wasn't well-written. Basically, 44 Charles Street is quite a poorly-executed story. ( )

While everything was good Francesca and Todd purchased the house at 44 Charles Street, a definite fixer-upper. Before the house was completed the relationship became as run down as the house. Unfortunately Francesca had fallen in love with the house, but without Todd’s financial contribution could not afford to maintain it. Solution – take in roommates. This is the story of what happens as the roommates come and go.

I generally do not read Danielle Steel and this book was a prime example of why. Although I am sure it will appeal to fans of her books, it was a little too pat and for me.
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