Publisher: Delacorte Press

Guest Review: Rushing Waters by Danielle Steel

Posted December 20, 2016 by Tina R in Reviews | 3 Comments

Guest Review: Rushing Waters by Danielle SteelReviewer: Tina
Rushing Waters by Danielle Steel
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: August 30, 2016
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Danielle Steel fearlessly tackles a catastrophe and its aftermath with characters who are joined together by accident, then share their vulnerabilities, regrets, losses, and hopes.

Hurricane Ophelia is bearing down on New York City. And in a matter of hours, six people, along with their families, friends, and millions of other New Yorkers living around them, will be caught up in the horrific flooding it unleashes.

Ellen Wharton has flown into New York from London, regardless of the weather and her husband’s worry. The successful interior designer is intent on seeing her lively architect mother and has an important personal appointment to keep. But despite Ellen’s urging, when the storm hits, seventy-four-year-old Grace Madison refuses to leave her Tribeca apartment in the midst of the evacuation zone, and they must eventually wade through chest-high water to the police boats outside.

British investment banker Charles Williams is traveling on business but is also eager to see his young daughters, who live with his beautiful, estranged ex-wife in SoHo. Desperate to find them, he checks the shelters where thousands have taken refuge and runs into Ellen and her mother.

Juliette Dubois, a dedicated ER doctor, fights to save lives when the generators at her hospital fail.

NYU students Peter Holbrook and Ben Weiss, living in a shabby downtown walkup, are excited by the adventure of the approaching hurricane, refuse to evacuate, and settle in with junk food and beer until their building threatens to collapse. Should they swim for it or not?

A day of chaos takes its toll. Lives, belongings, and loved ones are swept away. Heroes are revealed as the city and New Yorkers struggle to face a natural disaster of epic proportions. And then the real challenge begins, as the survivors face their futures, with damage to repair and scars to heal.

Keenly observed and brilliantly told, this is an unforgettable story that proves that while life can change in an instant, even the darkest storm can bring forth courage, resilience, unexpected joy, and new life. And it reminds us all that nature, at its fiercest, is a powerful force nothing and no one can resist.

I have to say that I honestly do not believe that I have ever read a book by Danielle Steel that I didn’t absolutely love! Every single book that I have read by her has been fantastic! Whenever you pick up a book by Danielle you can be sure that you are getting your money’s worth. The characters are always so well thought-out that you are immediately captivated by them. There are some I remember because I totally loved them and there are some that I really disliked, but either way, I remember them, and this is because they have been created so magnificently with great depth and exquisite detail. I love Danielle Steel’s books for this reason. She always gives 100% with her writing.

Rushing Waters is a very powerful story. Since our country has just experienced Hurricane Hermine in September, this book really hit home for a lot of people. As I read the book, it made me realize just what people must have went through as they were experiencing the real thing. The description of the destruction was so detailed that I felt anxious as I was reading. There were many people in the book that didn’t take it serious when the newscasts were saying to evacuate and when the hurricane finally arrived, many were unprepared. Then in the aftermath of the disaster, we see how people had to pull together and support each other through the horrible tragedy.

Rushing Waters does tell the story of a disaster, but it is also a story of new beginnings as well. It shows just how much strength people actually have when they think they have none. It made me want to hug all the people I care about.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that appreciates a well -written story. Danielle Steele proves once again why her books are always on the bestseller list!

five-stars


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Review: Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Posted May 10, 2008 by Holly in Reviews | 7 Comments

Review: Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie MoningReviewer: Holly
Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Highlander #7
Also in this series: The Dark Highlander
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 2005
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 307
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars

Powerful. Sensual. Seductive. He is all that is shamelessly erotic in a man. In her sexiest Highlander novel yet, New York Times bestselling author Karen Moning stirs up a sizzling brew of ancient mystery and modern passion as she brings together a devilishly handsome Celtic warrior trapped in time . . . and the woman who’s about to pay the ultimate price for freeing him. Age-old secrets haunt them. Deadly danger and irresistible desire shadow their every move. It’s a relationship for the ages. And all that separates them is a mere thirteen hundred years. . . .
Jessi St. James has got to get a life. Too many hours studying ancient artifacts has given the hardworking archaeology student a bad case of sex on the brain. So she figures she must be dreaming when she spies a gorgeous half-naked man staring out at her from inside the silvery glass of an ancient mirror. But when a split-second decision saves her from a terrifying attempt on her life, Jessi suddenly finds herself confronting six and a half feet of smoldering, insatiable alpha male.
Heir to the arcane magic of his Druid ancestors, eleven centuries ago Cian MacKeltar was trapped inside the Dark Glass, one of four coveted Unseelie Hallows, objects of unspeakable power. When the Dark Glass is stolen, an ancient enemy will stop at nothing to reclaim it, destroying everything in his path–including the one woman who may just hold the key to breaking the ninth-century Highlander’s dark spell. For Jessi, the muscle-bound sex god in the mirror is not only tantalizingly real, he’s offering his protection–from exactly what, Jessi doesn’t know. And all he wants in exchange is the exquisite pleasure of sharing her bed.
Yet even as Cian’s insatiable hunger begins to work its dark magic on Jessi, his ancient enemy is about to obtain the final and most dangerous of the Unseelie Hallows–and the ninth-century Highlander must stop him from getting it. Nothing less than the very fabric of the universe and two passionately entwined lives are at stake–as Cian and Jessi fight to claim the kind of love that comes along but once in an ice age. . . .

Spell of the Highlander is the 7th book in Karen Marie Moning‘s Higlander Series.

The story is at times funny, sensual and hypnotic. KMM is a master at weaving magical, mystical worlds that draw her readers in and wrap them up in her reality.

Jessi St. James is an ordinary girl, working on getting yet another degree and reaching her life goal. When she’s suddenly thrust into a very strange, very unbelievable situation – a man in a mirror? Puh-leez – she does what any sane girl would do…pretends it was all a dream and goes on about her day like nothing ever happened.

Unfortunately, she’s forced to face the reality of the situation when the six and a half foot Celtic sex GOD steps out of a mirror and commands her to “Remove that woolen, woman, and show me your breasts.” Suddenly, she finds herself at the mercy of a powerful Druid with no qualms about using whatever means necessary to get what he wants….revenge against the powerful black wizard who trapped him in the mirror to begin with.

I love this book. So far, this is my umpteenth re-read and I’ve yet to find a single flaw with it.

Cian is the perfect man. Tall, dark, handsome, very alpha and an absolute horndog. Jessi St. James is a wonderful counterpart for him, too. She’s sassy, smart and has a great sense of humor. And though she’s forced to deal with a very strange situation, she definitely makes the most of it. I thought she was a very believable heroine, not at all like so many others. I’ve heard many others complain that KMM’s heroines are TSTL, or unbelievable, or whatever, but I disagree.

The book is filled with humor, steamy sex scenes and lighthearted banter. Yet, for all that, it’s still very dramatic and tugs at all of your emotions. Or it sure did mine. Honestly? My fate was sealed the second she licked his back.

Seeing the MacKeltar twins, Dageus and Drustan, again was awesome. I love that KMM had them play such a big part in the plot. My only regret is that Adam Black was sadly missing from this story..and from the sounds of it, any future ones as well.

KMM also set this up perfectly for her next MacKeltar book. Unfortunately, I don’t think she’s planning to publish it anytime soon..if ever. Yes, I’m still bitter. No, I don’t plan on getting over it anytime soon. Just so you know.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Look, I’ve been thinking, what’s your plan, anyway?”
“To bed you.”
“No, I mean, your plan that might actually work.”
“Ah, that plan. That would be to cross this room right now and kiss you until you start rearing off your clothing and begging me to f—“

 

Her life or her “virtue.”
It bore considering that it was a virtue she’d very nearly given him of her own accord.
Granted, she’d hardly been in her right mind at the time, but still.
She got in the damn car.

 

“I will rue for all eternity every moment of suffering I’ve caused you. The entire time I’m burning in Hell, I’ll regret each tear I made you weep. But if Hell were the price for twenty days with you, I’d condemn myself again and again.”

 

He searched her gaze a long silent moment. “You truly donna ken it, do you? Excepting with you, Jessica. You, lass, are the exception to everything,” he said softly.
“You mean, you’re not just stuck with me? You like me?” She wanted to kick herself the moment she blurted the stupid question. Puh-thetic, Jessi, she winced inwardly. That was worse than the “I carried a watermelon ” line from Dirty Dancing.
Suddenly he smiled, and the sadness was vanquished by whisky heat. “Aye, Jessica, I like you. And I’m not just stuck with you. You fit me here, woman.” He thumped his chest with his fist.
Wow. He wasn’t a man of many words, but when he used them, he certainly used the right ones. You fit me here. You are the exception to everything.
Crimeny.

sigh

Overall I really enjoyed the plot, humor and characters. Highly recommend.

4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-book format.


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