The House on Hope Street - Danielle Steel

...San Francisco.
However, the family suffers a severe blow when Jack dies once Christmas morning. Liz struggles to come to terms with losing not only her husband but the father of her children and her best friend.

Months pass and Liz eventually finds the courage within herself to return to work and become a full-time mother again. Another blow hits the family when the eldest Sutherland son is involved in a terrible accident and ...
...of change and upset as the first anniversary of Jack's death approaches. She must face these issues head on before a fresh start on Hope Street can occur.

== PLOT ==
A story of courage and loss, of the power of the family and the strength of the human soul.

*Subplot*
A secondary plot - a subplot - is apparent in this Danielle Steel book. It is based around action and suspense.

*Action*
more

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Liz and Jack Sutherland have been married for 18 years, during which have started a family, established their own law firm and set up home on Hope Street, San Francisco.
However, the family suffers a severe blow when Jack dies once Christmas morning. Liz struggles to come to terms with losing not only her husband but the father of her children and her best friend.

Months pass and Liz eventually finds the courage within herself to return to work and become a full-time mother again. Another blow hits the family when the eldest Sutherland son is involved in a terrible accident and is placed into the care of the hospital. Bill Webster, a doctor, enters Liz's life and, over several months, a relationship blooms. Liz feels a sense of hope however, there are underlying problems of change and upset as the first anniversary of Jack's death approaches. She must face these issues head on before a fresh start on Hope Street can occur.

PLOT

A story of courage and loss, of the power of the family and the strength of the human soul.

*Subplot*
A secondary plot - a subplot - is apparent in this Danielle Steel book. It is based around action and suspense.

*Action*
A wrecked train/accident progresses into love.

*Family*
Quite a lot of family focus, some hatred and dislike shown between members.

There is also a storyline concentrating on children and pregnancy.

MAIN MALE CHARACTER

*Age*
20s-30s (not stated in the book)

*Profession/status*
Doctor

*Intelligence*
Average intelligence

*Physique*
Average physique

*Sense of humour*
Cynical sense of humour.

*Emotions*
Sensitive to others' feelings, particularly so because of his profession.

He is somewhat romantic - he does not hide his affection or shut himself off from others, though is not extremely open when it comes to romancing the opposite sex. His sexual nature is rather fussy, often indecisive. Sexual intercourse and the like has a good effect on this character however, it makes him very sensitive and emotional (sometimes upset, for example).

MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER

*Age*
40s-50s (not stated in the book)

*Profession/status*
Lawyer/member of the law

*Intelligence*
Average intelligence

*Physique*
Average physique

*Sense of humour*
Displays a serious attitude for the most part though there is occasional humour where this character is concerned.

*Emotions*
Sensitive to others' feelings, however, her own emotions and feelings are all over the place - seemingly confused and often becomes anxious, depressed.

Like the main male character, she is somewhat romantic and her sexual nature is rather fussy, often indecisive. Sexual intercourse and the like have a terrible effect on her, usually making her scared.

SETTING

The surroundings are described in some detail however, the lack of description does not ruin the book at all; I don't feel it is an ultimate requirement in this sort of Romance book. If I had to rate on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the story a 6 for descriptions. A sufficient explanantion of the setting and scenery.

The country used is the United States of America, the California area(s). The city is used for the whole of the book however, a small town is the main setting of the story. There are pleasant "small town" people, namely Andy, Opie, and Aunt Bee.

WRITING STYLE

Steel uses the 3rd person in this book and with regards to dialogue, there is around an equal amount as there is of descript.

Although a Romance-type story, the book only consists of approximately 70% romance. The remainder tends to be "build-up" - getting around to subplots - and conversations.

There are references to sexual intercourse and sexual nature though not overly included. The majority of it seems to be kissing, cuddling, and such like. Additionally, Steel makes extremely vague and mild references to torture and death. They are general and do not develop as the story progresses.

Thanks for reading! 

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