Blessing in Disguise by Danielle Steel

Good Day!  I hope you had a relaxing weekend.  My Ex-Best Friend's Wedding by Wendy Wax, The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay, Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini will be out tomorrow.  Down in Flames by Cheryl Hollon comes out June 25.  It is the sixth A Webb's Glass Shop Mystery.  The Christmas Boutique by Jennifer Chiaverini is the 22nd  An Elm Creek Quilts Novel and publishes on October 1 (I cannot wait to read this one--I just love this series). 

Blessing in Disguise by Danielle Steel takes readers from Newport, Rhode Island to Paris to New York.  Isabelle McAvoy was raised by her curator father in Newport, Rhode Island on a Vanderbilt estate where she came to appreciate fine art.  Isabelle majors in art history at New York University and gets the opportunity to spend her junior year at the Sorbonne.  That summer Isabelle interns at the Verbiel Gallery where she encounters Putnam Armstrong, an art collector with a chateau in Normandy.  In November, Isabelle finds herself pregnant, but she knows marriage is not on the table for Putnam nor is living with him.  Isabelle has a daughter and begins work at Acker Johnson in New York.  A few years later, she meets Collin Stone, an art consultant from California.  Unfortunately, Isabelle once again finds herself alone and pregnant.  Isabelle gets lucky when she meets Declan Donahue at an exhibit opening.  Luck does not stay on Isabelle’s side and she ends up with three young girls to raise on her own.  Isabelle’s three daughters are very different women whose temperaments reflect their biological fathers.  Despite being a successful art consultant, there is something missing from Isabelle’s life.  A long held secret may be the key to Isabelle getting the close family she has always desired.

 

Blessing in Disguise is an intriguing tale.  Isabelle McAvoy has led a unique life with her father and, thanks to his influence, pursues a degree in art history.  Her degree and appreciation of art is what leads to her three very different men.  I enjoyed the descriptions of the art in this book.  Can you imagine being able to work with valuable, gorgeous paintings every day? The three men in Isabelle’s life are as different as Isabelle’s three daughters.  Theo helps the underprivileged in India, Xela uses her MBA to come up with various business ventures in order to make it big and get rich, while Oona is happily married and lives in Tuscany with her husband and three children.  I thought Blessing in Disguise was well-written and it proceeded at a steady pace.  Danielle Steel has a fluid writing style that engages the reader.  Blessing in Disguise begins with Isabelle in her 60s reflecting on her three girls and how she met their birth fathers.  Isabelle and her family go through life facing their challenges head on and celebrating their successes.  I like the strong female characters that are not without their flaws.  While there are some expected elements in Blessing in Disguise, it did not detract from my reading pleasure.  My favorite quote from the novel is “the good thing would never have happened without the bad thing first” which makes it “a blessing in disguise”.  Reading a Blessing in Disguise is a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon escaping from the world.

Danielle Steel's two novels are Lost and Found which releases on June 25 and The Dark Side which will be out on August 27.  Thank you for joining me today.  I will return tomorrow with my review of The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay as part of the Celebrate Lit tour.  I hope you will join me.  I hope you have a spectacular day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader