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Matters of the Heart (Limited Edition)
This cloth-bound special edition of Danielle Steel’s Matters of the Heart is enhanced with gold leaf, comes with a special slip case, and is signed by the author.
In a spellbinding blend of suspense and human drama, Danielle Steel tells a powerful and unusual story of one woman’s journey from darkness into light, as she fights to escape a mesmerizing sociopath who holds her...more
In a spellbinding blend of suspense and human drama, Danielle Steel tells a powerful and unusual story of one woman’s journey from darkness into light, as she fights to escape a mesmerizing sociopath who holds her...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
June 23rd 2009
by Delacorte Press
(first published 2008)
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"Matters of the Heart
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Matters of the Heart
by Danielle Steel
Matters of the Heart 3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars 3.37 · rating details · 653 ratings · 149 reviews
In a spellbinding blend of suspense and human drama, Danielle Steel tells a powerful and unusual story of one woman’s jour...more
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View a preview of this book online
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Matters of the Heart
by Danielle Steel
Matters of the Heart 3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars3.37 of 5 stars 3.37 · rating details · 653 ratings · 149 reviews
In a spellbinding blend of suspense and human drama, Danielle Steel tells a powerful and unusual story of one woman’s jour...more
When I first started this book I did so with high hopes. After all, it had been referred to my by a trusted friend, and I'd seen this authors books everywhere, so it was a very good chance that this author/book would be good.
I can't believe how wrong I was. This book was so poorly written and so badly outlined that I literally found myself both squirming (picture it like being in a dentists chair getting drilled) and rolling my eyes as I continued on. About halfway through I rarely r...more
I can't believe how wrong I was. This book was so poorly written and so badly outlined that I literally found myself both squirming (picture it like being in a dentists chair getting drilled) and rolling my eyes as I continued on. About halfway through I rarely r...more
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I've avoided Danielle Steel for years. Her books are formulaic and her writing is passable. But a coworker recommended this, and I decided to give it a try. The verdict? Meh.
Hope Dunne is, of course, incredibly wealthy, successful, kind, and beautiful. And tiny; how many times were we reminded of how tiny she is, and how her eyes are violet? Steel beats the reader over the head with her female protagonist's perfection, to the point where, instead of sympathizing with the protago...more
Hope Dunne is, of course, incredibly wealthy, successful, kind, and beautiful. And tiny; how many times were we reminded of how tiny she is, and how her eyes are violet? Steel beats the reader over the head with her female protagonist's perfection, to the point where, instead of sympathizing with the protago...more
Another Danielle Steel...another good read. This one got off to kind of a slow start, but then the hook finally grabbed me and kept me very interested until the end.
Hope Dunne is a top photographer and has carved out quite a name for herself. Her personal life has been less successful as she has been thru a divorce (her husband has cancer and divorced her because he didn't want her to watch him waste away...kind of a crazy idea if you ask me) as well as suffered the death of their ...more
Hope Dunne is a top photographer and has carved out quite a name for herself. Her personal life has been less successful as she has been thru a divorce (her husband has cancer and divorced her because he didn't want her to watch him waste away...kind of a crazy idea if you ask me) as well as suffered the death of their ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was my first Danielle Steel novel, and overall, I found it disappointing. I got the impression it was quickly, and not carefully written, not well-edited, repetitive, slow, and simplistic. Matters of concern are so overly-explained that it speaks down to those of us who are still awake. I agree with reviewers here that are frustrated with DS's 'tell-it rather than show-it' style.
On the positive side however, 2 points are worth mentioning. First, the action speeds up nicely for ...more
On the positive side however, 2 points are worth mentioning. First, the action speeds up nicely for ...more
Synopsis (taken from the book)
Hope Dunnne is a top photographer, living alone in her chic Soho loft. After a tragic loss she is finally content with her life...until she flies to London at Christmas to photograph one of the world's most celebrated writers.
Finn O'Neill exudes warmth and a boyish charm, and has soon whisked Hope away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate. Hope finds his magnetism and his brilliance irresistible. But cracks soon begin to appear in his stories:g...more
Hope Dunnne is a top photographer, living alone in her chic Soho loft. After a tragic loss she is finally content with her life...until she flies to London at Christmas to photograph one of the world's most celebrated writers.
Finn O'Neill exudes warmth and a boyish charm, and has soon whisked Hope away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate. Hope finds his magnetism and his brilliance irresistible. But cracks soon begin to appear in his stories:g...more
I just finished Matters of the Heart a novel by Danielle Steel. It is the very first Danielle Steel novel that I have read and I truly enjoyed it. I have always avoided Danielle Steel classifying them as junk grocery store novels that probably dripped in sex and talk about breasts ;o) but it was anything but. I found it to be a classic pink book about a strong woman going through the perils of love and life. It only took me about 3 days to read and the pages literally turned themselves. The only...more
It's been ages since I've read any Danielle Steel, and I was anxious to see if it was the same as I remembered. I spent one summer living in Texas with no telly, no radio and no furniture. But I did live close to a second-hand bookshop and Danielle Steel novels became my escape.
You know what you're getting when you read one: woman (usually living in Boston or New York) has a tragedy; woman moves to California; woman meets wrong man; woman meets right man (of course I'm generalising,...more
You know what you're getting when you read one: woman (usually living in Boston or New York) has a tragedy; woman moves to California; woman meets wrong man; woman meets right man (of course I'm generalising,...more
Acclaimed photographer Hope Dunne falls in love with Finn O'Neill, an Irishman who excudes warmth and boyish charm. He courts her as no one ever has before, whisking her away to his palatial, isolated Irish estate. But, soon cracks begin to appear in his stories: Gaps in his history, a few innocent lies and bouts of jealousy unnerve her. Suddenly Hope is both in love and deeply in doubt, and ultimately frightened of the man she loves. The spell cast by a brilliant sociopath has her trapped i...more
I HATED the last book of hers that I like, but I loved the first (Wanderlust, because I was on a trip to Europe at 18, my first time out of the country). And I think I enjoyed this one because of the parrallels in my life at the time. (as scary as that sounds....) There are so many similarities between the guy I just broke up with and her man, that it makes me think he is a sociopath too! And that Im NOT crazy, I couldnt put my finger on what was wrong, but thats why they do! Make you feel l...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Matters of the Heart
I just finished listening to this book. It deals with the phenomenon of relationship abuse. Whether it be physical or verbal, this books goes through the different phases. How a wealthy, self-confident and self-assured woman can be turned into a blindly in love, needy individual in a matter of a year, once she becomes involved with an abusive individual, charming...but a sociopath. I know this was well written because all through the book I was talking to my radio s...more
I just finished listening to this book. It deals with the phenomenon of relationship abuse. Whether it be physical or verbal, this books goes through the different phases. How a wealthy, self-confident and self-assured woman can be turned into a blindly in love, needy individual in a matter of a year, once she becomes involved with an abusive individual, charming...but a sociopath. I know this was well written because all through the book I was talking to my radio s...more
This is my 1st Danielle Steel book in probably 10 years. So far it's predictable for her novels. Ok, I finished it this morning and now I remember why it's been 10 years since reading the last one. It will probably be another 10 years before I pick up another. I used to love her.
I hated this book. All her characters are always poor little rich girls. This one though I just wanted to smack. How a character that's 44 years old would put up with someone who abused her like that a...more
I hated this book. All her characters are always poor little rich girls. This one though I just wanted to smack. How a character that's 44 years old would put up with someone who abused her like that a...more
Matters of the Heart is Danielle Steel’s fourth best novel for me following The Long Road Home, Journey, and Granny Dan!
Matters of the Heart is about a woman who falls in love with a sociopath. Though the sociopath is famous, he isn’t rich because he spends as quickly as the money comes in. His career is his targeting wealthy women, marrying them, making babies with them, and then convincing them to kill themselves.
Matters of the Heart is a must read for those in sociop...more
Matters of the Heart is about a woman who falls in love with a sociopath. Though the sociopath is famous, he isn’t rich because he spends as quickly as the money comes in. His career is his targeting wealthy women, marrying them, making babies with them, and then convincing them to kill themselves.
Matters of the Heart is a must read for those in sociop...more
Curiosity got the better of me. I had never read a Danielle Steel book which didn't seem right. By reading "Matters of the Heart" I confirmed that I'm not missing anything. Maybe her other books are better? I felt as though this was written for a lower reading level than what I'm used to. The author repeats lines and facts several times throughout the story (as though I wouldn't remember the first and second time). This was a completely unbelievable plot. No one in their right m...more
From the time Finn arrives unannounced on Hope's doorstep, I could see this would not end well. One question repeatedly came to my mind while reading this book: Why can this 44 year old woman not see the obvious red flags?!
I laughed while reading the last forty pages or so because 1) the plot and characters had become so outlandish it was comical and 2)I was imagining how I would react to Finn if I were in Hope's situation-it would have gone a completely different way (not that I ...more
I laughed while reading the last forty pages or so because 1) the plot and characters had become so outlandish it was comical and 2)I was imagining how I would react to Finn if I were in Hope's situation-it would have gone a completely different way (not that I ...more
Can't really recommend this book. I've never read Danielle Steel before but since I don't know many authors & she was one that I'd heard of & the book was on sale, I grabbed it. How in the world did this woman sell so many books? Maybe this wasn't one of her better ones but the storyline was completely predictable. A lot of it was redundant; she could have cut out 1/3 of the books since it was the same stuff repeated over & over. Hope, the main character is SO stupid & brainless & unable to list...more
This is your typical Danielle Steel book, you have a main character, Hope who has had a tragedy occur before the book begins and you are left for 100 pages wondering what it was! She then finds happiness with a new man, who happens to be a well known author and very attractive. Skip another 100 pages and Hope starts having problems in the relationship and she suffers another tragedy. However, our Heroine Hope does get a happy ending as most Danielle Steel books do.
Please do not think...more
Please do not think...more
I haven't read a Danielle Steele novel in quite a long time so I thought it would be fun, easy reading, which it was. I liked the settings in London and Ireland. This is actually a dark story and it is an unusual twist on her past romance, love stories with a little intrigue. This is more intense, over shadows of future challenges that the "heroine" ignores. You want to shake her and tell her to wake up! She is lucky to get out of this one... That makes much of the tale predictable...more
I love Danielle Steel books, but this one was an exception. I have to wonder if this wasn't one of her earlier books. I found that ideas and thoughts were repeated over and over throughout the book. By the time I got through to the last few chapters, I was just skipping the information between the dialogue.
The story itself was a pretty good one, describing the thoughts and actions of women in abusive relationships. But the book could have been half the size it was and better if she'...more
The story itself was a pretty good one, describing the thoughts and actions of women in abusive relationships. But the book could have been half the size it was and better if she'...more
The first half of the book was a pretty typical two successful people meet and fall in love. It was a little too long to set the plot and maintain interest. In the second half you are wondering what choices Hope is going to make. Hope is very wealthy, a well-known photographer and a very independent woman. At certain points in the second half you just want to scream because you can't imagine her doing what she is doing based on the personality profile that was created during the first half o...more
This is a fantastic read.
Matters of the heart is a love story that captures your heart but in different ways than you would think.
It is all about a women Hope Dunn, she has been a wifew, mother, who has loved and lost. She went through so much sadness and heartbreak.
Finally she turned her life around and became a women, who has it all, and becomes a top photographer, who has become a big name.
Life is now settled and has found peace in herself.
Suddenly her life is turned upside down, by a charmin...more
Matters of the heart is a love story that captures your heart but in different ways than you would think.
It is all about a women Hope Dunn, she has been a wifew, mother, who has loved and lost. She went through so much sadness and heartbreak.
Finally she turned her life around and became a women, who has it all, and becomes a top photographer, who has become a big name.
Life is now settled and has found peace in herself.
Suddenly her life is turned upside down, by a charmin...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I have really avoided reading Danielle Steel. Mainly due to the fact that I love Dean Koontz and Stephen King, therefore I figured I should't even bother to try out Steel.
I agree with the statement that Steel "bangs you over the head with the fact that Hope is tiny and has violet eyes" however, I am used to King and Koontz both rambling and repeating themselves that this did not take me by suprise.
With that said I was very suprised to find myself actually liking the book....more
I agree with the statement that Steel "bangs you over the head with the fact that Hope is tiny and has violet eyes" however, I am used to King and Koontz both rambling and repeating themselves that this did not take me by suprise.
With that said I was very suprised to find myself actually liking the book....more
This was an interesting twist on the other romance stories I've read by Danielle Steele. It was a great book, and it brought light to a problem that many women have when it comes to men and relationships. Though not always to this degree, it is a good book to remind women how important it is to stand up for yourself, to know the importance of individualism and that we should be with someone because we want to spend our lives with them, not because we feel we need to spend our lives with them.
This was one of Steele's better books. She has never written one like this before and I have read most of her novels. It starts out sad and stays that way through most of the book, but then turns into a thriller before the end when of course everything works out great and the main character, Holly is getting her life back on track after a long and hard year in her existance. It was worth the read and actually moved along very quickly. If you are a fan of Steele, you will like this book. I d...more
I thought the second part of the book was far better than the first. There is suspense, a certain feeling of "what's going to happen next" and the main character, Hope Dunn, becomes stronger and more determined. However, I doubt whether in real life a woman would really put up with all that strain coming from a mad man ("mad" as in really crazy). Love has its limits, but Danielle Steel chose to ignore them. Oh, well, each to his/her own, I guess. Fun read, but not even by far...more
Hope Dunne is a world famous photographer. When she does a photo shoot for a famous author Finn O neal. He quickly persues her. they begin dating and then the lies begin. its an excellant read a psychologal type thriller. He gets her to move to Ireland. gets her pregant and when she loses the baby. and almost dies. the veiled threats begin and he starts asking for a lot of money for him to stay around.. he swings from a loving man to a terror making hope think she is going crazy.
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Since 1981, Ms. Steel has been a permanent fixture on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. In 1989, she was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having at least one of her books on the Times bestseller list for 381 consecutive weeks. But Guinness was premature. The fact is that one or more of Ms. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for...more
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