Hotel Vendome

Title:  Hotel Vendome

Author:  Danielle Steel

Publication Information:  Delacorte Press. 2011. 323 pages.

Book Source:  I went through a "Danielle Steel phase" in my life. I have outgrown that phase, but I still sometimes read her books, perhaps for the nostalgia.

Favorite Quote:  In the end they were a family, and the only thing that mattered was being there for each other and being loving and forgiving.

Hotel Vendome is the story of Hughes Martin, a hotelier and a single parent to his daughter Heloise Maritn. The story covers a span of about twenty years following Heloise from her toddler days to her early twenties. The book is set in New York city at the Hotel Vendome, which Hughes Martin owns and runs. This is their home and where Heloise is raised.

In typical Danielle Steel fashion, the book is about beautiful people and beautiful places and some trying circumstances. The central relationship in the book is that of father and daughter, and Hughes' attempts at managing his needs as an individual and responsibilities as a parent.

The best thing about Danielle Steel books is their predictability and the similar pattern they all follow. Predictable characters, predictable story, predictable ending. That is what her readers expect and look forward to. The books do not make you think or reflect or challenge. They serve the purpose of light, easy reading for a beach afternoon or a winter afternoon by the fire.