As Diana Morrison laid the table for six at her elegant Central Park apartment that New Year's Eve, she had no idea of what was to come in the coming year. New Year's Eve dinner together was a sacred tradition for Diana, her husband of 32 years, Eric, and their best friends, Pascale and John Donnally and Anne and Robert Smith. The future looked rosy for the six friends as they sipped champagne and discussed their plans to rent a villa together in the south of France for that summer. But life had other plans...Just two weeks after New Year's, tragedy strikes their close-knit little circle when Robert Smith suffers a sudden and unexpected loss. Without hesitation, Diana and Eric and John and Pascale rally to his side, united in their support, love and grief. In an effort to ease Eric's pain, and as a change of scenery for themselves, they urge Robert to join them on the Riviera in August. The ramshackle old mansion that they rented in St. Tropez - sight unseen - is nothing like the exquisite villa and sun-drenched gardens touted in the brochure. Cobwebs hang from the ceiling, beds collapse beneath them and the would-be housekeeper sashays around the house in a leopard-print bikini, six-inch stilettos, with a trio of yapping poodles at her heels.What is really surprising though, is the woman who Robert brings along as his guest. A lovely, much-younger film actress with a million-dollar smile and mile-long legs. Diana and Pascale instantly hate her, but Eric and John are dazzled. Amid the crumbling furniture and glorious sunsets, the strained relationships and acts of forgiveness, more surprises are in store for the villa's occupants. With the last days of summer fast approaching, the couples find themselves changing in unexpected ways. Old wounds are healed, new love is discovered and miracles unfold beneath the dazzling sun of St. Tropez.I really enjoyed this book. It was a light and fun read; not that particularly strong on plot, I suppose, but still very sweet and engaging. I give it an A!
If I could, I would give this book 2-1/2 stars. I'm a fan of Ms. Steel, but this was not her best work. There wasn't much of a plot, and a lot of the descriptions were very repetitious. I wanted to like Diana, but she was portrayed as pretty unlikable, and that kept me from caring about what happened to her or her marriage. I found myself more sympathetic to her cheating husband, and I wish we had insight into their marriage other than it going from perfect and storybook to completely falling apart with little explanation. I did think the other characters were much more fully-developed and multi-faceted, but the story seemed more like an outline than a full-fledged book. I also wish the setting of St. Tropez had been explored a bit more. Other than a few references, it really could have taken place anywhere. I also felt that it would have been far more enjoyable if there had been an unpredictable twist or two. Nothing that happened was a surprise."Sunset in St. Tropez" is a fast, easy read, and a perfect book to pick up and put down on the beach, while waiting for appointments, or traveling. It's enjoyable if taken for what it is, but not anything more than that.
What do You think about Sunset In St. Tropez (2003)?
In Danielle Steel's Sunset in St. Tropez, she took us from New York to a tropical paradise for a circle of friends and three couples. When Diana Morrison set the table in her home for her house, she didn't know what the new year would bring for her husband Eric and herself, and for the best of friends, Anne and Robert Smith, and John and Pascale Donnally. For them, it was a year to forget and a season of change, when they planned to rent a French villa. For Robert Smith, he lost his wife to a sudden death, right after New Year's, while his friends rallied together to help him get through the grief. They convince him to join him on the Rivera for a change of scenery to a beautiful home. But it was nothing like what was advertised on the brochure--it ended to be a ramshackle old mansion with a beautiful and younger woman who sashayed across the home as their housekeeper. Later on, she invited him as their guest. Before summer winded down to their sunsets over tropical paradise, new surprises were in store for the circle of friends, especially for the Donnallys in return.
—Kristen
