fashion

Fiona Monaghan, editor in chief of a high-fashion magazine, had vowed never to marry. She enjoyed the company of a few select men, but had determined that no man would ever have the opportunity to hurt her. When she was a child, her father had abandoned her and the pain of that experience reared its ugly head every time she allowed a man to become too close to her emotionally.

Fiona was not just beautiful; she was exotic. Although she certainly knew she was considered beautiful, she didn't seem to think too much about her looks. Her obvious weakness, and the one thing that seemed to consume her, was the clothing that filled her closets. Indeed, Fiona had often been known to say that no man would ever be worth giving up closet space for. As she wrapped herself in her high fashion job and lifestyle, her constant companion was a snoring English bulldog by the name of Sir Winston whom she loved completely.

Fiona lived her life in the style of her work, jetting to Europe for fashion shows and supervising model shoots on glamorous beaches, as if there was nothing else - and for her, there truly wasn't. She was at the peak of her career, totally self absorbed and enjoying every minute when John Anderson stepped into her life.

John is the head of a thriving ad agency, and is also a handsome widower with two daughters. Although John and Fiona are attracted to each other at first sight, it soon became clear (to Fiona at least) that they are total opposites. John doesn't seem to notice this small fact, though, and of course they do marry.

Throughout this story, we come to think of Fiona as oblivious to certain situations, inflexible and more than a little bit selfish - especially where John's living space and her clothes closets are concerned. On the other hand, we find that John is a headstrong widower who caters to the whims of his two almost-grown daughters, who are complete brats. Add to that mix Fiona's flamboyant houseman who runs around her apartment half-naked wearing her high heal shoes, and John's two brats and maniac housekeeper who sic the psycho dog from Hades on Fiona - not once but twice - and you have a story to hold your interest. It certainly held mine.

Divorce was inevitable, of course, because John finally realized that Fiona's lifestyle was vastly different from his - plus there were those two half-grown college-age brats (who wrapped him around their little fingers) to consider. So, less than a year after they married, John filed for divorce causing Fiona's worst fear to come true. Once again a man she loved abandoned her, and she was devastated. She quit her job, moved to Paris, and began to purge herself of her demons by writing a book that that closely resembled her life. That's where John found her again and thus the title of this book, Second Chance.

*****Because I could listen without interruption to Danielle Steel's latest book, Second Chance, on audio CD, I found lots of excuses to get into my car and run errands for everyone. I enjoyed it tremendously!*****

Fiona Monaghan is the best of the best in the magazine world. She is editor of Chic magazine. She meets John Anderson, head of an ad agency through the magazine. It is instant attraction for John but Fiona drags her feet when it comes to a romance between the two. She uses lack of closet space as a reason to not become close to John or any man for that matter. But as happens, opposites attract and the two soon find themselves in love--although it may not end with a happily ever after. Fiona is a steadfast woman who leads a somewhat exotic lifestyle with a house man who wears high heels and a dog whom she thinks of as a person. And John has issues of his own with his two grown daughters and his housekeeper and also the psycho dog from %&^$! These two must try to put their differences aside and deal with their different lifestyles while being a couple. It's a question though if they'll be able to succeed.

Second chance was an easy read. At just a little over 200 pages it is not a long read, though it is repetitive. Ms. Steel is still in her "repetitive stage" and tells the reader over and over again about the characters and their downfalls. This is a story though of opposites attracting and the problems that can spring up in a relationship of this kind. Being one half of an attracted opposites couple I could relate to the issues at hand here. It is sometimes hard to compromise with someone who is at times completely different than yourself. Ms. Steel did a good job of showing this aspect of the relationship.

While this isn't a deep, thought-provoking read, it is a nice quick, easy read for a sunny day outside.

I haven't read many of Danielle Steel's books, but from those that I have read they are your typical romance novels and this is no exception. That's not necessarily a bad thing and one can always use a little romance in their lives and I'm not exception.

I breezed through the book in one day not because I couldn't put it down, but because I was afraid that once I did I may not be motivated to pick it back up again. The characters were a bit whiny and a great deal of time was spent describing every detail of each person's wardrobe. While I realize fashion was a big part of Fiona's life, I thought it was a bit much at times. I enjoyed John and almost wished a man like him would come into my world until we met his two daughters and housekeeper. Eeee gads, had I been Fiona I would have run far away. It was to the point his relationship with his daughters was utterly ridiculous, but sadly that does happen quite often in our society.

If you're looking for a romance novel with some twists and turns that ultimately lead to a happy ending then this is the book. The author won't win awards for her writing style, nor will the ending surprise you, but whoever said that was a bad thing?