The Kiss

Two months of confinement and my brain has turned to mush but not enough to enjoy this mind-numbing, completely insipid book. It's basically a bad soap opera in book form: I could have skipped page after page and not missed anything of the flimsy plot which can be summed up in a paragraph. The characters were so colourless I could barely distinguish them from one another. Well, it's done. I can finally say I read a Danielle Steel book. I won't be reading another.

First kisses are often explosive, but not all are quite as disaster-ridden as the one that propels Steel's latest romance. Isabelle Forrester, elegant and refined wife of cold and indifferent Paris-based banker Gordon Forrester, has spent most of her marriage caring for her desperately ill teenage son, Teddy. Isolated in her Paris home, Isabelle's only comfort is her long-distance friendship with millionaire Washington power broker Bill Robinson, also stuck in an empty marriage. Isabelle and Bill, kindred spirits satisfied with their chaste relationship, agree to meet for a few platonic days in London. Following an enchanting evening on the town, they head back to their hotel in Bill's limousine. As the couple share their first, probing show more kiss, their car is struck by a speeding, double-decker bus. The horrendous crash kills many and leaves both Isabelle and Bill in critical condition. The long and arduous road to recovery is filled with both physical and emotional pain as Bill must make decisions about his crumbling marriage and the future of his career, and Isabelle must confront bitter truths about her husband. From adjoining hospital beds, they pledge their love to one another, but then Isabelle heads back to Paris to tend her ailing son, and Bill returns to the States for a stay at a rehabilitation center where he hopes to regain use of his legs. Will Isabelle eventually leave her husband and reclaim her freedom? Will Bill ever walk again? Will the two soul mates ever be reunited? Despite the wacky unlikeliness of the bus-crash plot device and the his-and-her IVs, Steel pulls through with skillful plotting, steeping a gentle brew that will once again gratify her legions of fans. show less

Long book, interesting characters. Some of it unrealistic to me because it is set in modern day. (Ok, 13 years ago) The main character, Isabella, is far too naive for a French, contemporary woman. He son of 14 is constantly ill, has never been to school and had no friends and they have unlimited funds? What? .............Maybe I am so American I can hardly believe a woman of today could be as blind as she was as to what her husband was up to. This woman's marriage was more like a turn-of- the century type or I'm just misinformed about Western European women. I enjoyed it anyway, just hard to relate to and a little unbelievable.

The "best seller" type of book does nothing normally to enthuse me. I approached this as a drop of light reading. I have to admit that I was actually happier with my choice than I thought that I would have been.
The characters were a little flat, the plot rather contrived, The settings although stated could have been anywhere and the ending was never i doubt. But I enjoyed the experience

É muito raro desistir de um livro, porque acho 'injusto' classificar algo sem o conhecer na totalidade. No entanto, tive que abrir uma exceção, e assim que cheguei a metade, meti-o para o lado.

A escrita é muito aborrecida, as personagens incoerentes, a história dificil de 'engolir', previsivel e demasiado longa.

Talvez daqui a uns anos volte a tentar pegar num livro desta autora, mas por enquanto, com tantos livros de bons autores na minha longa 'to-read-list', esta vai ficar de lado.

É muito raro desistir de um livro, porque acho 'injusto' classificar algo sem o conhecer na totalidade. No entanto, tive que abrir uma exceção, e assim que cheguei a metade, meti-o para o lado.

A escrita é muito aborrecida, as personagens incoerentes, a história dificil de 'engolir', previsivel e demasiado longa.

Talvez daqui a uns anos volte a tentar pegar num livro desta autora, mas por enquanto, com tantos livros de bons autores na minha longa 'to-read-list', esta vai ficar de lado.

This was an excellent book. I read it in one day. It makes me wonder sometimes if there is love out there between couples that are like this, or if it was just for a book!