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Book Review of One Day at a Time

One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time
Author: Danielle Steel
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
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Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega bestselling author who writes under the pen name of Florence Flowers and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood's top producers. They are not your typical family by any means...Jane has lived with her partner Liz, in a solid, loving relationship for ten years. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco - a law school dropout, turned dog walker - is her family's black sheep, who has fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.

But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane's luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a matter of days. It turns out Jane's house comes complete with an unexpected house guest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who is fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn't be more different. Their attraction couldn't be more immediate.

Suddenly, Coco is seeing things totally differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he is a loving single father with an adorable six-year-old daughter. Her mother's not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she is a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of all - into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood's hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their new lives, old wounds are healed and new families are formed - some traditional and some not so traditional.

As I have said before, I consider Danielle Steel to be my "guilty pleasure" author - the type of author that I read in order to experience my "Calgon, take me away" moment. Usually, I can count on Danielle Steel for fluffy, feel good plots and characters. Unfortunately, this particular book had no such plots or characters for me to enjoy. I found that in the 320 pages of this book, Danielle Steel concentrated almost too much on the minutest details of characters' reactions to events, and not as much as she should have on furthering the plot.

Perhaps I didn't enjoy this book as much as I usually do when I read a book by Danielle Steel, but I did end up giving this book a B+! I still enjoy Danielle Steel as my "guilty pleasure" author, I just don't think I will read another Danielle Steel book for several months.