Short description
On a sunny day in Hollywood, Cooper Winslow, the silver screen's ageless star, is coming to the horrible realization that with no new roles coming his way, he may have to sell his beloved estate, the Cottage. With his new tenants come a host of changes, scandals and unexpected second chances.
Long description
On a sunny day in Hollywood, a gleaming Rolls-Royce convertible pulls through the gates of the magnificent estate known as The Cottage. The man behind the wheel is Hollywood's ageless wonder, Cooper Winslow, a star of the silver screen for decades, a man whose allure to women is the stuff of legend. But today Coop Winslow is in for a surprise - he's broke. With no major roles coming his way, Coop is faced with the heartbreaking prospect of selling his beloved home. His new tenants, Mark Friedman and Jimmy O'Connor, have problems of their own. Mark's wife of sixteen years just walked out, and Jimmy recently lost his own wife to a devastating illness. But then Mark's teenage son and daughter move in - and everything changes. Music blasts from every corner, young starlets stream in and out, a scandal erupts and, unexpectedly, three men who never met are becoming friends...Then The Cottage welcomes a new houseguest with a secret of her own, who will change Coop's life in unexpected ways. Amid a glittering backdrop of celebrity and glamour, Danielle Steel digs deeper to tell a story of friendship and love, tragedy and second chances.
Review
Steele has the romantic saga market well and truly conquered. The inside cover of this novel confidently proclaims, 'In her fifty-fourth bestselling novel...', and this before it has even been released. The novel concentrates on three very different men - Coop, Jimmy and Mark - and shows the impact that they have on each other's lives. Cooper Winslow, once a major star in Hollywood, owns The Cottage, a palatial Bel Air property. Coop has extremely expensive tastes but no longer the means by which to accommodate them. Since he would rather die than sell The Cottage, his accountant Abe leaves him no choice but to rent out the guest wing and the gatehouse to bring in much-needed funds. Potential tenants should ideally be young, beautiful and female; dogs and children are definitely unacceptable. Jimmy O'Connor's wife, Maggie, has recently died of a brain tumour and he doesn't much care where he lives. The gatehouse's isolation from the main house suits him and he feels that Maggie would have approved of this choice. Mark Friedman's wife Janet has moved to New York to be with Adam, a New York doctor. Mark must sell the family home and needs somewhere to live. Encouraged by Abe, he decides that the guest wing of The Cottage will be ideal. Before long his two teenage children, Jessica and Jason, decide they are less than enamoured with Adam and ask to 'come home' to live with their father. Trials and tribulations are ahead for all three, but thankfully there is also happiness and new love. A near-death accident, an unexpected case of paternity and the vagaries of fame, fortune and the media ensure that Coop, Jimmy and Mark will become bound together in ways none of them anticipated. Steele describes all of her characters at length before the reader encounters them. She knows every attribute, their likes, dislikes, each nuance that makes them an individual, although sometimes this feels a bit like a list, and she frequently repeats important information. However, this is an engaging if sometimes predictable tale and her fans will enjoy it as much as the previous 53. (Kirkus UK)
additional information
has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 530 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Second Chance, Ransom, Safe Harbour, Johnny Angel, Dating Game, Answered Prayers, Sunset in St. Tropez, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death. Visit the Danielle Steel Web Site at www.daniellesteel.com.