"The plumbing leaked; the furniture was rescued from garage sales. And every inch was being restored to its original splendor—even as a relationship fell apart. Owner of a struggling art gallery and newly separated from her boyfriend, Francesca Thayer does the math and then the unimaginable. She puts out an advertisement for boarders, and soon her Greenwich Village house becomes a whole new world. First comes Eileen, a pretty L.A. transplant, now a New York City schoolteacher. Then there’s Chris, a young father struggling for custody of his seven-year-old son. The final tenant is Marya, a celebrated cookbook author hoping to heal after the death of her husband. Over the course of one amazing, unforgettable, life-changing year, the house at 44 Charles Street fills with laughter, heartbreak, and, always, hope. In the hands of master storyteller Danielle Steel, it’s a place those who visit will never want to leave." (book cover)
I'm glad I'm rediscovering Danielle Steel. She's not the raunchy romance novelist that I pegged her out to be. I don't remember which of her books that I read in the '80s that gave me that impression but the raunchiness is gone! In fact, she's mixing in a bit of mystery (ex. Southern Lights). Anyway, this book was straight out romance. Man and woman meet, buy a house and live together, partnership a business, then things just don't work out and woman scramble a plan to save house and business.
The meat of the story then became Francesca's relationship with the three tenants she had to take in to her home. There was no surprise that through time they built a friendship and bond. That development was a nice read. That was pretty much the best part. I liked the exploration of the dynamics of roommates.
Overall, there wasn't anything too exciting, even with the Eileen incident, that wowed me. Even the happy ending didn't add much depth ...too predictable. But I wouldn't consider the read a complete waste of my time ... I liked Marya and the Frenchman.
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Thank you Deirdra! :)
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