44 Charles Street

By: Danielle Steel

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

The plumbing was prone to leaks, the furniture rescued from garage sales. And every square inch was being devotedly restored to its original splendor - even as a relationship fell to pieces. Now Francesca Thayer, newly separated from her lawyer boyfriend Todd, is desperate. The owner of a struggling art gallery, and suddenly the sole mortgage payer on her Greenwich Village townhouse, Francesca does the math and then the unimaginable. She puts out an advertisement for boarders. Soon her house becomes a whole new world.

First comes Eileen, a fresh, pretty L.A. transplant, now a New York City schoolteacher. Then there’s Chris, a young father struggling with a troubled ex-wife and the challenge of parenting a seven-year-old son who visits every other weekend. The final tenant is Marya, a celebrated cookbook author hoping to start a new chapter in her life after the death of her husband. As Francesca’s art gallery begins to find its footing and Todd moves on to another woman, she discovers that her accidental tenants have become the most important people in her life. As the roommates bond, and the house fills with the aroma of Marya’s exquisite cuisine, there are shadows as well as light. Naïve Eileen explores the precarious boundaries of online dating with a series of strangers. Chris’s custody fight for his son escalates to devastating levels. Marya faces an unexpected choice that will take her into untested waters. And Francesca herself will contemplate what had seemed impossible: opening her heart once more.

Over the course of one amazing, unforgettable, ultimately life-changing year, the house at 44 Charles Street fills with laughter, heartbreak, and, always, hope. In the hands of master storyteller Danielle Steel, it’s a place those who visit will never want to leave.

©2011 Danielle Steel (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A Charming Story

More like the saga of a house. An engaging story of how housemates can indeed become family through shared experiences. The only real drawback in the story is that sleeping together before marriage has become commonplace.

Good on e to read.

Really liked this book. Easy story to follow.. Never wanted to put the book down.

Decent

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It helped the time go by. There didn't seem to be anything extravagent about this book, but it was a decent story.

Robot?

It took a lot of clenched-teeth effort to finish this audiobook. We have a human sounding name of the narrator but I'd swear it was a bad Text-to-Speech robot reading it. Inflection and phrasing were lacking ir terrible. It definitely affected my enjoyment of the book, and if future books start out sounding this wooden I won't continue them and will request a refund or replacement.

Okay, but wanted more character development....

The story was okay, but a bit predictable. I wish that Ms. Steel would have gone beyond the surface of the main characters. This would make a good Christmas movie, though. There was a good performance by the narrator, except when he wasn't consistent with the French prononciations.

Worth the listening

Feel good book
Really nice and easy to listen to
Glad it was on Audible

not classic danielle steele

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

it felt like it kept stoppng and starting

Who was your favorite character and why?

not really anyone i didnt find much depth j to any of the characters.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

Did 44 Charles Street inspire you to do anything?

find another book this one didnt make me feel much at all

Any additional comments?

ths book left me wanting more and not in a good way.

Amazing!

Wow! What a great book! This is my first Danielle book and I loved it! The reader did an amazing job!
Love love the story! What a plot twist!

Good Book Shocking Narration

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it except for the narration. Firstly most of her books lend themselves to a female narrator rather than a male. In this instance I broke my policy of not buying romantic novels unless they are read by a female. I always buy her books regardless as long as they are narrated by a female. Doing so this time I finished the book but it was hard to put up with the narrator he was really bad. I would not buy it for this reason only.

Rich relationship-building

Would you listen to 44 Charles Street again? Why?

No, once is enough for almost any story. So many stories, so little time; explore the unexplored!