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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Okanagan Regional Library.
Jan 07, 2018DBRL_KrisA rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I'm pretty sure this is the first Danielle Steel book I've read. I was not looking forward to it, because I had the preconceived notion that Steel's novels are all saccharine sweet romances. While the romance element is central to this story, there was plenty of other material to catch my interest. Danina Petroskova (which does *not* sound like an authentic Russian name, btw) is a ballerina and, surprisingly, a friend/acquaintance of the Russian royal family. She falls in love with, and has an affair with, a married doctor who serves the Tsar's family. Having an interest in Russian history, especially the story of Tsar Nicholas and the last days of Imperial Russia, I found this part of the story to be entertaining. Of course, Danina and her doctor lover are fictional characters, but Steel has obviously researched this era of Russian history. I have a few quibbles, including the age difference between the lovers (almost 20 years) and the ease with which Steel justifies the doctor's adultery (to say nothing of the Tsar himself, the nominal head of the Russian Orthodox church). But overall this was an entertaining story.