Author: Danielle Steel
ISBN: 9781509800360
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
The silly season came and slapped me in the face, I am so far behind on EVERYTHING that there is just no way I am going to be able to get through all the December books in time to get readers feedback links. I am 3 days out from my holiday with no packing and no cleaning but now wrapping completed.
So, I have decided the best way to tackle the holiday season book club reads is to get a post up for readers to leave their feedback on and I will read and review separately. It helps ease the pressure on me and that is what I am in dire need of right now.
Past Perfect is the latest by bestselling author Danielle Steel; a prolific writer with lots of books under her belt, and screen adaptations. She is currently the best selling author alive, and I don’t think I have read any of her books. I can’t say I remember seeing any of her movies either.
All of that aside, the premise for Past Perfect is intriguing and not what I would have expected.
Manhattan power couple Sybil and Blake Gregory have a predictable life raising their children until Blake is offered the CEO position of a start-up in San Francisco. He accepts the position without consulting, or considering, the family and buys them a new home in Pacific Heights, a magnificent historic mansion.
The Gregorys get more than they bargained for when they discover that they are sharing with the spirits of the family who inhabited the mansion a century ago. The family are only visible to the Gregorys and the mansion manages to straddle both centuries simultaneously.
I had a quick glance at some reviews online and opinions are divided. I think this is one that you really need to do your own checking on to see if you will like. I am certainly still intrigued and look forward to seeing how Steel approaches the subject matter.
I am really looking forward to reading this one, and sharing my views in a separate review. I am also looking forward to hearing what our readers think.
You can follow Danielle Steel on Facebook, Twitter and her Website.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan 15 of our Beauty and Lace club members will be reading and reviewing Past Perfect so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
Past Perfect is available now through Pan MacMillan, Booktopia, Angus & Robertson Bookworld and where all good books are sold.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I found this book easy to read but a little bit predictable.
A family meets a family of very friendly ghosts, learn to live and to coexist comfortable with each others, only they are hundred years apart.
I do wish I could see the house that they lived in the book. I liked the history and the life lived through the ghosts. I though that a strory about a family of friendly helpful ghosts, was a refreshing change to the normal ghost story.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for selecting me to read Past Perfect by Danielle Steel
I have read nearly all of these authors books and was looking forward to reading this new book personally I don’t think this is one of her better books,
The book started out ok just like a normal story but when the ghosts appeared ( friendly ghosts ) at dinner time and the Gregory family ate dinner with the ghosts I thought “right” and as far as teaching a child ghost to play video games and an adult ghost how to use a computer sorry just can’t relate to any of this,
The mansion the Gregory family purchased did sound incredible
The book was easy to read
Hopefully I will enjoy the next Danielle Steel book more than this book
The name “Danielle Steel” is synonymous with romance stories so imagine my surprise when I read her latest novel and discovered that it was a ghost story set in an old house in San Francisco. Two families come together and share a lot through their time together under the one roof.
The story is a pleasant-enough one about history and different emotions but it isn’t Steel’s best work.
A well-to-do family buy a beautiful historic mansion which is full of a friendly family of ghosts. It is 1917 and 2017 at the same time. Can these two families live together harmoniously and should the past be re-visited and/or re-shaped?
I was eager to read popular author Danielle Steel’s Past Perfect to see how the history of the past collides with the present.
While the story was captivating and well-written by the author, I was left wanting more. The characters felt very much alive including the spirits that had already passed but I would have preferred if there was a bit of a twist at the ending.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed the story but unfortunately I wish there was a little more to it. However, the writing was very enjoyable so I can see how the author is well-liked and very popular.
I have read many books by Danielle Steel in the past and have always enjoyed them and Past Perfect Is no exception although I had some reservations about the ghost aspect but purely because of my own feelings on this.
This is the story of Sybil who lives in Manhattan with husband Blake and their
three children Andrew, Caroline and Charlie.
All is well until Blake accepts a job in San Francisco and buys a magnificent
mansion as their new home without consulting the rest of the family.
Within this house they meet up with a family who lived there one hundred
years earlier called the Butterfields.
I must say at this point that I am not a fan of ghost stories and a number of things did not gel with me but putting my feelings aside this was a very mesmerising story of two families who are brought together in unusual circumstances and most people would truly enjoy this book.
I did really enjoy this book in many ways. I found it very easy to read and I had finished reading it before I realised it.
Definitely worth reading. Thank you for the opportunity!
Thanks so much for the opportunity to review this book.
I’m new to Danielle Steele and this was not one of my favourite I’m afraid.
The story was nice enough but I was always waiting for it to get going. As others have said, it’s very hard to relate to a ghost story. And a little difficult to understand as, at times, the ghosts use the modern computers, yet they never ask what will happen in the future. I was probably over thinking it somewhat!
Danielle Steele was very good at describing the buildings, decor and outfits which did build a nice picture in my mind.
I haven’t read a Danielle Steel book since I was in my late teens/early twenties when I absolutely loved them. When I saw the opportunity to read her latest book, I jumped at the chance, remembering how much I used to love her stories. Although there were some aspects of “Past Perfect” that I liked, I was also reminded of why I stopped reading Danielle Steel books in the first place. I really enjoyed the aspect of the ghosts and think it would be really cool for something like that to happen in real life. However, the story focused a bit on the modern family not telling the ghost family what was to happen in their futures, but I wondered why the ghost family didn’t ask anything about the future that the Gregory family were in. The ghosts were keen to learn how to use computers and play video games, but didn’t seem wonder about any of the other technology, clothing, hairstyles, attitudes etc of the future. It also didn’t seem to phase the ghosts when one of them died.
“Past Perfect” was a quick, easy book to read that was enjoyable if you take it for what it is. If you want something with a bit more substance, I’d give it a miss. I did also think about how much money the Gregory family was saving on food given that they were eating so much ghost food . Thank you Beauty and Lace for letting me review this book >:o)
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book.
As I’m sure many people have I grew up with the name Danielle Steel always on the radar but I have to admit I believe this is the first of her books I have read.
That being said it was the historical factor that drew me in, but truth be told this book wasn’t what I was expecting or hoping for. The conflict between knowing what was coming but it not having the same impact watered the historical events down a little.
It was a nice, relaxing read with a quick pace but it did lack the historical details I am used to.
Still, it is a good book for reading on holiday or as a way to spend an afternoon.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. I haven’t read a Danielle Steele book since my teens, when I found the historical ones very good. I enjoy the fantasy genre and I thought this book may well suit me. I did find it an easy read but it wasn’t gripping, on the edge of your seat, can’t put it down stuff. I found it to be an enjoyable story with no dramas or mystery. As with a lot of books there were anomalies in the premise posited. Given there was 100 years between the families there didn’t seem to be much questioning of the older family of the newer family’s life and times. Also the dying and reappearance of ghosts was a little bizarre…though it would be nice if it happened in real life. All in all, pleasant, feel good story but with little substance.
After Returning Home from Holidays Away of the Silly Season I was delighted to find amoungst the mail my neighbor had collected for me the Past Perfect book.
OMG, this totally blew my mind. I loved it.
The story line was far more than I expected and I read it across two nights as I had to force myself to put it down.
After suffering from Post Holidays Blues it was lovely to engulf myself in the deep and personal story line of the linking of two beautiful families into one. They are so very different in every way, yet they molded perfectly under the roof of the grandest house I have read about.
Its lovely to think that by chance the families came together and struggled though lives daily drama together, even with 100 years of change between them they didn’t let it deter them from such a strong and loving relationship and such a romantic tail of family history and finding out about our own histories and how they intertwine.
I know I have many questions for my ancestors, to be within the time warp of this story is inspiring and uplifting.
I love the way Danielle requires the characters to keep their stories pure and honest to the past while still offering the ghosts the chance to continually reconnect with their loved ones when they pass over during their time in the house. Returning to their family and continuing their lives.
Such heartfelt story line,
Following the lives of each family member as they go through the struggles of war and the depression with juxtaposing it with the technologically savvy world we live in today.
Beautifully written and lovingly crafted to inspire our own thoughts of family and the changes of the last century.
Sorry my original review has gone missing so once again thanks for the opportunity to read a Danielle Steele novel
I was so elated to read this book but unfortunately it didn’t grab me as her other books have maybe because it’s completely different in my mind
As has been said the house sounds incredible but I found the characters lacked substance & weak compared to the ghost family Interesting storyline but could not really get into it at all
once again thanks for the opportunity
I am a massive fan of Danielle Steel and was excited to read her latest book. I found this a different style for her usual stories however it was a great storyline. The ghost family is interesting and I loved the characters and the setting .. Highly recommend !!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book easy to get into and hard to put down not like Danielle’s other stories but now I have to get the rest of them to read and having the ghost story was right down my alley. I recommend this book to everyone, so enthralling and slightly predictable but still worth reading
Past perfect is about a family who leave their perfect life in New York and move to San Francisco to pursue an exciting new lucrative career for Blake, who is the father. The plan to rent a modern unit in San Francisco went out the window when Blake saw a gorgeous mansion built in 1902 that was for sale. The family moved into the house and only two days later were rocked by an earthquake. Life took an interesting turn when Sybil, the mother, went to investigate the damage and instead came face to face with ghosts of the original owners of the house.
To be honest the beginning part of the story was the most exciting. Unfortunately after that it was too predictable and no twists. It was pleasant enough to read but I don’t think I would recommend this to my close friends.