Neighbors by Danielle Steel

☆☆1/2
.ePUB, 232 pages
Expected publication: January 5th 2021 by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Delacorte Press

About the Book:
Meredith White was one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California, plunging the Bay Area into chaos. Without a moment’s hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors into her mostly undamaged home as the recovery begins. These people did not even realize that movie star Meredith White was living on their street. Now, they are sharing her mansion, as well as their most closely kept secrets. Without the walls and privacy of their own homes, one by one, new relationships are forged. For every neighbor there is a story, from the doctor whose wife and children fear him, to the beautiful young woman dating a dishonorable man, to the aspiring writer caring for a famous blind musician. In the heart of the crisis, Meredith finds herself venturing back into the world. And thanks to the suspicions and the dogged detective work of a disaster relief volunteer, a former military officer named Charles, a shocking truth about her own world is exposed. Suddenly Meredith sees her isolation, her estranged family, and even her acting career in a whole new light.

My Review:

This book dragged a little bit too much for my liking and it was really repetitive, one of my biggest pet peeves about books. The story also almost felt formulaic but it was short and good enough for a rainy Sunday in Toronto. I would have enjoyed the book more if the characters were fleshed out a little bit and we were given more background information. We had lots of info about Meredith and her two live-in servants but everyone else felt lost along the way. 

All in all, I believe the book was just an okay read. I think Ms. Steel is past her prime and I have to remember that the next time I request one of her books as some of them are just too monotonous and repetitive. Overall a middle of the road story that gets 2.5 stars...rounded down.

Disclousure:
Thank you NetGalley, Danielle Steel, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#Neighbors #NetGalley