Review: Upside Down

Upside Down by Danielle Steel
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Unless some are re-issued, Ms. Steel has published six books so far this year, with this one scheduled for Jan 2. Based on this book, Ms. Steel may want to slow down a bit and put more thought into her books. In this book, each chapter seems to be a rehash of the one before it. At the 50% mark, the story is just so obvious, with mother and daughter pretty much disliking each other and each of them falling for what seems to be inappropriate men. Dare I risk more of my time and continue?

Morgan, the main character Ardith's daughter, is quite dislikable, cold, and rigid, and it amused me to see Morgan fall for a man who was just like she perceived her mother. Never there as she was growing up, selfish, and aloof. Ardith also falls for someone inappropriate, or at least that's what she thinks. Frankly, I did too! Josh is childlike.

Eventually, major issues happen to test each woman's love for the men and for each other, and ta-da, there is a happily ever after for all!

It's a fast read that you need little thought to get you through.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press, the author, and by NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "Oscar-winning actress Ardith Law is a Hollywood icon. Radiant at sixty-two, she is the epitome of glamour and a highly respected artist. But her success has come at a she has a strained relationship with her daughter, Morgan, who at thirty-eight still blames Ardith for putting her career before being a mother. Morgan is a successful plastic surgeon in New York City—and the distance from Ardith’s Bel Air mansion is not lost on either of them.

Ardith became a single mother when Morgan was seven, after her unfaithful husband died in a helicopter accident. In recent years, she has found amiable companionship with fellow actor Bill West. But Ardith’s comfortable world is turned upside down when she hires a temporary personal assistant, Josh Gray, while Bill is away filming in London. Josh’s rough-around-the-edges persona is the opposite of what Ardith is used to, but an unexpected tragedy brings them closer, stirring up conflicting feelings in her for this younger man.

In New York, Morgan is swept off her feet by world-renowned TV anchorman Ben Ryan. Though more than two decades her senior, Ben is handsome, charismatic, and just as smitten as Morgan. But when a blackmail scheme puts his career—and their relationship—on the line, Morgan doesn’t know where to turn. Perhaps . . . to her mother? As each woman navigates an unconventional romance, they cautiously approach each other on new terms and attempt to put aside their past for a new future.

In Upside Down, Danielle Steel tells an unforgettable story of bold choices, second chances, and the hope of reconciliation."