Member Reviews
Another wonderful story by Danielle Steel that took us to the reopening of the Hotel Louis XVI in Paris after being closed for renovations. We are introduced to quite a few different characters but the main story focuses on recently divorced Gabrielle , who I really liked. Lots of other side stories and as usual I finished the book feeling like I had actually been there.
You know exactly what you will get when you open a Danielle Steele book, and our patrons love it. Looking forward to sharing this with them.
Thank you for the ARC!
Absolutely love it. It has the same smooth flow throughout the story that you will know and recognize if you have ever read a book by Danielle Steel before.
"Complications" by Danielle Steel is a concentrated around an old hotel in Paris, that has undergone renovation, changes in staff and only cater to a very limited group of people.
You will be drawn in and enjoy how the characters evolve and change and live their lives throughout the book.
A tumultuous night in a Paris landmark hotel changes five lives forever in Danielle Steel's latest novel. With descriptive prose and decadent settings Steel quickly had me hooked as scandal, danger and lives hanging in the balance erupt on various scenes at the same time.
My favorite characters in the book were Gabrielle who was taking her first solo trip to a place that held dear memories since her soul crushing divorce ... and Alaistair who is searching for peace and guidance on his first trip to the hotel as life shifts around him.
The story is filled with 3 various storylines with some intermixing as scandal shows the true colors of an ugly politician, a life-threatening episode endangers the future of a formerly clandestine couple and how a by chance meeting can lead to life changing experiences and happily ever afters. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an emotional journey through life's ups and downs.
Complications is yet another contemporary “romance” by Danielle Steel. I have reviewed quite a few of her newer books out of nostalgia lately since I had read her in my younger years but this one is my least favorite of those.
Complications was a complicated story in it’s own way. The main character in this one almost felt as if it were the Hotel Louis XVI in Paris. In Danielle Steel’s normal fashion this one starts off in a fast forward style introducing tons of characters staying and working at the hotel and bringing into play all of their situations.
One of the guests of the hotel suffers a heart attack and while that is going on a doctor offers his help. A female nearby to the patient does her best to help with the situation too and this is how the couple meet. Meanwhile, a politician is meeting up with his male lover who is also blackmailing him and that lover ends up dead in his hotel room sending him fleeing while the heart attack victim provides a distraction.
I’m not a huge fan of the fast forward style that Danielle Steel likes to use making the beginning of the books feel like a huge info dump but that is normally only for a chapter or two and then the books settle into a deeper story with who was introduced. Complications on the other hand felt like she was trying to include the entire hotel, it’s guests, it’s staff and flew through more than half the book popping from this to that to the other. The “romantic” couple in here did eventually get featured but it was too little and too late in my opinion as I don’t normally pick up contemporary reads to wade through so much other extra stuff that didn’t have anything to do with the main characters.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
I just could not get into this book. the mystery around the drama of the hotel just didn't grab me. There were too many plot lines that would just disappear for a third of the book then all of a sudden come back. I've loved the last 3 books I reviewed for Danielle Steel and I'm sure other people loved this one, but for me I just wanted to get it over, and it wasn't even a long book. She was going for that "valentines day" "What to expect when you're expecting" type plot lines where all the characters overlap somehow but each have their own stories, and yes it was successful in that, but I just couldn't get up the effort to care about most of them. I was here for Gabby and Alistair's plot line and relationship and I think she should have just gone down that road and gotten rid of the other side characters. I didn't feel like the character of the old Hotel manager or the new hotel manager substantial and the side plot of the Patrick the politician to be so strange. At first I was interested but then towards the end I was just like WHAT THE FUCK?!
That being said Steel, write this luxurious and mysterious air so well, and I felt like I could see Paris and London and New York so well. It made me want to travel so bad. I want to live like one of her characters in these crazy rich lives.
A newly refurbished Parisian hotel is the backdrop for complications. Its general manager is fraught with worry because so many glitches appeared in the first month of reopening. Steel sets up several of the very first clients who stay at the hotel and follow their stories. A couple of the stories are depressing as hell while others are thankfully more positive. It took me a few times to dig into this book, but it picks up speed as you go along.
COMPLICATIONS By Danielle Steele
Romance fiction
256 pages
In Danielle Steeles newest book we are transported to the Hotel Louis XVI in Paris, France. In this hotel we meet 5 people whose stories all mesh together because of this iconic hotel. None of them would have ever met if they hadn't visited this hotel. While staying in this hotel complications in this group of people's lives pop up as they happen to do. Almost death, scandals, love, miracles- it all happens in the Hotel Louis XVI and it changes these peoples lives forever.
Danielle Steele is the queen of romance and has been a favorite author of mine for 21 years now. I just automatically know that I'm going to adore any new book she puts out. How she manages to write so many different books amazes me but every one is different and unique. I highly recommend this book and any Danielle Steele book to everyone romance genre fan.
Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC. I finished it in a matter of one day which is not unusual for her books for me.
I've always enjoyed Danielle Steel's books and though they are simple and typical and mostly love stories, I enjoy them, including this one.
Complications is the right title for this book since Gabrielle and Alaistair meet at the Louis XVI hotel during which someone has a heart attack (or so they think) and he's an internist. She's healing from a broken heart when her ex marries a young girl. She has a successful art business in NY while he's an internist in London with a secret to be told.
It goes back and forth from NY to London to Paris throughout the whole book it seems and as usual health plays a part in this book. As a side story, there's Patrick Martin, a politician who's running for a big political office and he gets into a mess also and that's featured also but not as much as the love story between Gabrielle and Alastair.
It ends the way that I thought it would as most of her books.
Wow. Just wow! I read through this book in a day. As a go to author for me I am not surprised by how good it is yet I was just in love with the many ways the characters felt real and the story line is way more than the book blurb! Definitely a tear jerker so get tissues ready! One of my favorite reads this year and I highly recommend this!
Thank you NetGalley, Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of Complications. This is my personal review.
This book is based around people who meet at a hotel in Paris. They are connected in a variety of ways.
For me this book was just an OK read. It had too much going on with too many people that it was all over the place. I did not connect with any character. I am looking forward to the next book Danielle Steel has coming out. This one felt like she rushed.
Complications is yet another amazing Danielle Steel novel.
Gabrielle heads to her favorite hotel to try and move on with life after her divorce . While at the hotel , she meets a gentleman Alaistair who helps save another guest who had an unknown heart condition. Gabrielle and Alaistair get to know each other and he finally confides he is sick but doesn’t feel he has a right to put her through that . She agrees to visit him and help him through his treatments even though she is hesitant. Their relationship grows but they always worry about how much time he has .
Complications is full love resentment, love and new beginnings . Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an Arc for my opinion.
This slow-build book opens with an explanation about the Hotel Louis XVI, an exclusive boutique luxurious hotel, in Paris as it was before its 4-year long renovation. Then the author begins introducing her characters: a woman who is trying to survive the demise of her marriage to an older man who has left her for a woman who is the same age as her eldest daughter, a couple who found each other at the woman’s wedding to someone else, a London doctor who is in town to get a second opinion about a death-sentence diagnosis, and a French politician who wants to be the President, but has a career-ending secret that ultimately becomes common knowledge in one of the luxury rooms of the Hotel Louis XVI.
Steel’s writing is very good and will keep you reading about her characters even as you’re wondering when you’ll understand why she wrote the book in the first place. The characters are well drawn and interesting, if somewhat stereotypical. The two main characters, Gabrielle and Alistair, find that in life’s complications are “both the questions and the answers, the hidden solutions, and unexpected blessings.”
If you are a die-hard Danielle Steel fan, you’ll like (but likely not love) this outing. If you’re not a fan, you’ll may be disappointed, but may find several tidbits throughout the book that resonate with you.
My thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an eARC.
I've read many Danielle Steel books in the past, recently I've found her novels again. This one is a little different, but still very good. I enjoyed the drama and romance within the story and found it engaging and fun to read. The story is well rounded with lovely characters that I enjoyed reading more about, including their lives after they were hotel guests. This novel has a nice summer vibe and I find myself ready and waiting for the next Danielle Stell novel! Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC!
Sigh. I loved the idea of this book more than I liked the execution . The Hotel Louis XVI serves as the intersection point for a variety of guests either coping with challenges or doing something they shouldn't. And then there's the staff. It's a slim novel- too slim for the number of relationships and characters- making it a quick but less than satisfying read. I'm a long time fan of Steel and this one felt very different. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review
I have read several Danielle Steel books and this one is a bit different and I enjoyed it! Danielle writes women fiction well but I think I may be outgrowing her writing style!
All in all...I give it 3 1/2 stars!
After four long years the infamous Louis XVI Hotel has finally reopened. With a completely remodeled hotel and a new management staff at its helm its clientele of guests are excited to return to the hotel where luxury is top notch and the personalized experience is everything. But from the moment the doors of the hotel open everything that can possibly go wrong does. From a murder on the first night to a tragic medial emergency. While the hotel seems to be cursed the guests will form relationships and friendships that are anything but.
I had mixed feelings about “Complications”. The story starts on a high note where Hotel Louis XVI is reopening. I was immediately intrigued as to what would happen. It was interesting to see the various guests who attend, and I enjoyed how Yvonne and Olivier handled them. There is quite a lot of drama that happens in the first half of the story. Even though Patrick is a negative character, I think he was my favorite in the tale because he made the book exciting. He spiced the story with Sergei’s dealings, and it was interesting to see what happened to him. Moreover, with the events surrounding Richard, this book was hard to put down.
Now, here’s where I had trouble with the book. I felt like I read two different stories altogether; the first revolving around Hotel Louis XVI with Yvonne and Olivier, and the second around Alaistair and Gabrielle. I enjoyed the storyline revolving around the Hotel, and I wish characters like Yvonne were prominent throughout the book. Yet, the second half of the book primarily focuses on Alaistair and Gabrielle’s romance. Perhaps it would have been wiser if the author split the story into two books.
However, I did enjoy the romance between Alaistair and Gabrielle. The author is the Queen of contemporary romance and does not disappoint the readers with these two characters. I liked the parts where the daughters interact with them. Alaistair is also a memorable character in the story because of his health issues. It was interesting to see the decision he takes to be with Gabrielle.
Overall, “Complications” is a bit complicated in terms of pacing but still a fun read, especially if you are a fan of the author.
Hotel Louis XVI in Paris, is finally open again after being closed for four years due to necessary upgrades and renovations. The old manager, Louis LaValle, ran the this exclusive hotel with an iron fist, gave his guests his loyalty by never repeating any incident he ever had to fix. Louis dies a few weeks weeks before the grand reopening of cancer after working there for 38 years. The hotel was his life.
The new managers who will be checking the guests in are: Olivier Barteau, who's never run a high end place by himself. Yvonne Phillipe, who thrives on her job. She has a lot more experience dealing with people, guests, problems without a thought or worry. Olivier has an anxiety disorder and panics before thinking.
Checking in this morning are: Gabrielle Gates, an wealthy, famous American art consultant. It's been 2 years since she's been in the public eye, and now she's ready to start living her life again after going through publicized scandalous divorce. Her much older ex-husband left her for a for gold digger, who's only 3 years older than their oldest daughter.
Patrick Martin, France's Minister of Interior, expected to run for the President of France the following year. When he checks in and is given a large room upgrade from Olivier who's trying to impress him. Martin is irritated and furious at the manager by the gesture. He's there for a private meeting and doesn't need such an extravagant room.
Alaistair Whyte-Jones, a doctor from London, is in Paris for a meeting he probably won't even follow through on. The meeting was just his excuse to stay at the luxurious hotel for a few days.
Richard and Judythe, a couple from America, met each other when Richard was a guest at Judythe's wedding. The groom invited him, but they hit it off so much, after the wedding, they realized that they were both married to the wrong partners and divorced them. This trip is their start of a new life.
Each guest has their own reason for coming to stay at the Hotel. What could possibly go wrong the first week after their grand reopening?
A guest has a heart attack, later that same night a maid finds a murdered man in his room. The new phone system shuts down making it impossible to use. So the guests on the 3rd floor, the VIP floor, come together and lean on each other, forming a friendship no one saw coming. Someone decides to fight for his future rather than giving up, and a beautiful romance blossoms.
Lovely story. A must read!
Re-opening week for the luxurious Hotel Louis XVI was fraught with "complications". These complications led to the entwining stories of 5 guests of the hotel, and we get a glimpse into staff life as well.
One guest is being blackmailed because he is a public official and having hidden homosexual affairs. Another guest is in Paris to meet with an oncologist. Another is there for an art exhibit. Two others, recent divorcees, are traveling together for the first time since they've been able to publicly be a couple. One night, a perfect storm of complications arose, between hotel equipment malfunctions, a potentially deadly heart problem and an accidental death all come together, uniting the guests in a way no one expected. And what happens to them after?
I won't do spoilers, so you'll have to read for yourself who experiences which of these complications, and how their lives wind up meshing together. It was an easy read, as most of this author's books are, but enjoyable.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.