Audio Books

Allegra Steinberg has all the real-life problems of a Hollywood mover and shaker. As the daughter of two prominent producers and the entertainment lawyer for some of the most famous stars, Allegra spends her time supporting those who stand directly in the glare of fame. When Allegra's fragile personal life starts to crumble, however, she finds the courage to turn her attentions to her own life. And when she meets Jeff Hamilton, a sincere, sexy writer, she finds a reason for self-examination. The course of true love soon takes its required detours, and Jeff and Allegra must learn to compromise, grow up, and grow together.

Once again, Steel delivers the goods: a novel full of fame, fashion, and modest passion. Though the story starts off a bit unfocused, and takes minor side trips to investigate unrelated issues, fans should find it a satisfying Steel fix. The Wedding has no pretensions of being anything other than what it is--a perfect read for a plane trip or a long, lazy weekend

A Good Woman by Danielle Steel

Annabelle Worthington, 19, lives a fairy-tale life thanks to wealthy and doting parents. Then she gets the flu and is unable to accompany her family on vacation. Unfortunately, the Worthington clan has booked passage on the newest luxury liner, the Titanic. Her father and brother die when the ship goes down, and although her mother, Consuelo, survives, she is traumatized. As for Annabelle, she throws herself into work as a medical volunteer at Ellis Island. There she meets Josiah Millbank, a gentle, loving man who’s old enough to be her father, and marries him. But Josiah has a scandalous secret, and after their divorce, Annabelle is unfairly relegated to life as a pariah. Embarrassed and disillusioned by the treatment she receives from her acquaintances and so-called friends, Annabelle leaves for war-torn France to put her medical skills to good use in a female-run hospital on the front. But fate has even more in store for Annabelle. Once again, the legendary Steel, with 570 million books sold, has combined triumph and tragedy to create the story of a woman who, though tossed by the whims of fate, still manages to survive on her own terms.

Unabridged 8 discs 10 hours

SPECIAL DELIVERY Unabridged 4 cassettes DANIELLE STEELE

Dashing Jack Watson is the playboy owner of Julie's, a chic Beverly Hills toggery. He's sworn off marriage after the love of his life perished in a car accident a decade ago. One day, his son's mother-in-law--the glamorous ex-starlet Amanda Robbins--is suddenly widowed after 36 years of wedded bliss. Throughout their children's marriage, Jack and Amanda have always maintained a cordial loathing for one another ... You can guess what happens next. Danielle Steel's Special Delivery is a bon-bon of a book only a mother could love. Well, not only, but especially--it's a paean to middle-aged romance, uxorial devotion, and maternal sacrifice. The characters are all about a micron thick (maybe less), but there are greater crimes than obviousness, to be sure. This heaping teaspoon of glitz--every car's a Ferrari, every drink "French champagne"--will cheer Steel's legions of readers. Mission accomplished

SILENT HONOR Abridged 4 cassettes DANIELLE STEELE

The doyenne of bestseller lists weaves another romantic story in her 38th novel, a tale of separated families and shattered lives set against one of the most morally reprehensible events in U.S. history: the internment of Japanese-Americans during WW II. In 1941, 18-year-old Hiroko Takashimaya, the beautiful, painfully shy daughter of a modern-thinking professor and a tradition-bound mother, is sent from her home in Kyoto to live in California with her American cousins and attend a prestigious women's college. Terribly homesick yet determined to make her parents proud, dutiful Hiroko begins to adjust to her new life and even does the unthinkable when she falls in love with Peter Jenkins, a handsome American professor. The joys of Peter's love painfully contrast with the humiliation Hiroko suffers at the hands of her racially prejudiced school mates, but worse is to come when war breaks out and Hiroko and her cousins are sent to segregated camps. Separated from Peter, now a soldier fighting in Europe, Hiroko sheds her sheltered, girlhood innocence and evolves into a strong, independent woman. Steel's slapdash prose and stereotypical characterization produce a formulaic tale, albeit more earnest and didactic than her usual fare, but she does succeed in telling a poignant story.

JEWELS Abridged 2 cassettes DANIELLE STEELE

Birthdays are a time for reflection, especially for Sarah, Duchess of Whitfield, who is awaiting the arrival of her far-flung family. Years earlier, reeling from her pending divorce, Sarah Thompson is force-marched through Europe on the grand tour by her concerned parents. Disinterested in the sons, grandsons, and nephews paraded before her by well-meaning acquaintances, Sarah chances upon William Whitfield, the Duke of Whitfield, 14th in line for succession to the English throne. Disarmed by his wit and intrigued by his intellect, Sarah allows William to become her companion in London, warning him they can only be friends. Undeterred, William dismisses Sarah's protestations that her divorce makes her unsuitable to be his duchess and finally convinces Sarah to marry him. While honeymooning in France, Sarah and William happen upon Chateau de la Meuze. Enchanted, the Whitfields buy and set about restoring the estate. But World War II looms, threatening their idyllic existence. Following the birth of their first child, Phillip, William joins the RAF when England declares war on Germany. Reluctantly, he leaves Sarah and Phillip at the chateau. German troops, led by the courtly commandant Joachim von Mannheim, take possession of the chateau to establish a hospital, removing Sarah and Phillip to the caretaker's cottage.

LEAP OF FAITH Unabridged 3 cassettes 5 hours DANIELLE STEELE

Leap of Faith is a great read. Danielle Steel has written a wonderful book. The main character, Marie-Ange, is likeable from page one. The reader is guaranteed to feel her joy and pain as she feels them. Marie-Ange is faced with tragedy at the young age of 11. She is forced to leave her home country and live with a relative who doesn't really show any emotion except hate, of everyone and everything. I literally had tears in my eyes as I read of the horrible things that happened to Marie-Ange when she went to live with her aunt. Hurrah for Billy. He was definitely a blessing from the first meeting between him and Marie-Ange.

A Kiss Remembered Sandra Brown4 cassettes 5 hours

Shelley Browning, recovering from a disastrous marriage, is determined to get the college degree she abandoned to wed a young doctor. She's back at Oklahoma University at age twenty-six, a little older and a lot wiser. But Shelley can't explain why she takes a class in government taught by Grant Chapman -- except that she feels compelled to see him again.

Ten years ago Grant was the best-looking teacher in her high school. He left after a few months to take a glamorous job as a congressional aide, but not before "the kiss." Unplanned, stunningly hot, and never repeated, a single kiss with Grant haunted Shelley as a symbol of "what might have been" with the right man.

A man to call my own Unabridged 6 cassettes 9 hours

Twists and turns galore and a Wild West setting make for a delightful romp by veteran romance writer Lindsey. Identical twin heiresses Marian and Amanda are as different as night and day. Amanda has been spoiled rotten by their father; Marian has been ignored. Marian has rendered herself as unappealing as possible to avoid having Amanda destroy the life of any man who might find her twin alluring. Their father's will specifies that they cannot claim their inheritance until they marry with the approval of their Texas aunt, a rancher called Red, so off they go on an eventful journey complete with stage robbers, train robbers, and a bounty hunter. Along the way, they are rescued by Chad, Red's foreman, the son of a local cattle baron. Marian falls for Chad but thinks that he is infatuated with Amanda. Marian's attempt to learn how to ride a horse turns into a session of passionate lovemaking with Chad, but Amanda claims that she was the one involved, making Red order Chad to marry Amanda. Then, when Marian is kidnapped from a barbecue, things really get cooking!

The Villa Abridged 4 cassettes 6 hours

Sophia Giambelli has never worried about competition. For three generations, the Giambelli wines have been renowned for their quality - from Napa Valley to Italy, and throughout the world. The pride of the Giambelli family and a top PR executive, Sophia loves her job - and excels at it.

But things are about to change at Villa Giambelli. Tereza, the matriarch, has announced a merger with the MacMillan family's winery - and Sophia will be assuming a new role. As a savvy businesswoman, she knows she must be prepared for anything . . .but she isn't prepared for Tyler MacMillan. They've been ordered to work together very closely, to facilitate the merger. Sophia must teach Tyler the finer points of marketing - and Ty, in turn, shows her how to get down and dirty, to use the sun, rain, and earth to coax the sweetest grapes from the vineyard.

As they toil together, both in and out of the fields, Sophia is torn between a powerful attraction and a professional rivalry. At the end of the season, the course of the company's future - and the legacy of the villa - may take an entirely new direction. And when acts of sabotage threaten both the family business and the family itself, Sophia's quest will be not only for dominance, but also for survival.

Falling Angels Unabridged 6 cassettes 7 3/4 hours

No small part of the appeal of Chevalier's excellent debut, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was its plausibility; readers could readily accept the idea that Vermeer's famous painting might indeed have been created under circumstances similar to Chevalier's imaginative scenario. The same cannot be said about her second novel. While Chevalier again proves adept at evoking a historical era this time, London at the turn of the 19th century she has devised a plot whose contrivances stretch credibility. When Maude Coleman and Lavinia Waterhouse, both five years of age, meet at their families' adjoining cemetery plots on the day after Queen Victoria's death, the friendship that results between sensitive, serious-minded Maude and narcissistic, melodramatic Livy is not unlikely, despite the difference in social classes. But the continuing presence in their lives of a young gravedigger, Simon Field, is. Far too cheeky for a boy of his age and class, Simon plays an important part in the troubles that will overtake the two families. Other characters are gifted with insights inappropriate to their age or station in life. Yet Chevalier again proves herself an astute observer of a social era, especially in her portrayal of the lingering sentimentality, prejudices and early stirrings of social change of the Victorian age. When Maude's mother, Kitty, becomes obsessively involved with the emerging suffragette movement, the plot gathers momentum. While it's obvious that tragedy is brewing, Chevalier shows imaginative skill in two neatly accomplished surprises, and the denouement packs an emotional wallop. While not as accomplished a work as Girl, the ironies inherent in the dramatic unfolding of two families' lives ultimately endow this novel with an impressive moral vision. Agent, Deborah Schneider. (Oct. 15) Forecast: The popularity of Girl with a Pearl Earring among reading groups and its record as a bestseller will provide a ready audience for Chevalier's new effort. The perennial appeal of books set in post-Victorian England should be another asset.

Abridged 2 cassettes 3 hours

From the canals of Venice to the streets of New York and the beaches of East Hampton, two very different people--a respected American TV newsman and a talented young artist--struggle to come to terms with their complicated lives after they embark on an illicit but fateful love affair.

Abridged 5 CD set 6 hours

The deplorable practice of sending orphan children to the far reaches of the British empire, which continued even after WWII, provides the factual background for bestselling author Bradford's 12th novel (after Love in Another Town). The prologue, set in 1955, introduces five-year-old Mari Sanderson, who adores her mother, Kate, and enjoys an idyllic childhood that includes sitting on her favorite rock near the river, watching the teeming wildlife near their Yorkshire home. One morning, however, Mari finds Kate dead on the kitchen floor. The scene shifts to New York in 1995, where 44-year-old Australian migre Meredith Stratton can't understand her unexplained bouts of fatigue and frequent nightmares. Meredith heads the highly successful Havens Inc., which operates six inns. On a business trip to Europe, she visits an inn overlooking the ruins of Fountains Abbey and is oddly drawn to the ruins and the water, acknowledging a sense of deja vu. When she falls in love with Luc de Montboucher, the architect who will remodel the inn, she becomes convinced that she must confront the mysteries in her past. Emboldened to begin a focused search and to consult a psychiatrist, she ultimately discovers the circumstances that sent her to Australia. Though her serviceable prose lacks all style and resonance, Bradford's narrative does hold a few surprises, and its revelations about the "lost children of the empire" (as they were identified in newspapers and TV documentaries in England) makes this a surefire tearjerker.

Abridged CD approx. 5 hours

Heartbreak gives way to love and reconciliation in this poignant tale by veteran romance writer Rice (The Perfect Summer, etc.). After more than a decade as the owner of a trendy New York City bakery, Calamity Jane's, 35-year-old Jane Porter returns to her native rural Rhode Island to help her sister, Sylvie, care for their ailing mother, Margaret. Neighbor Dylan Chadwick has recently moved back to the Twin Rivers area, too, after abandoning his career as a federal law enforcement agent in New York. Both Jane and Dylan are badly scarred by life's blows: Dylan is still mourning the death of his wife and daughter in a shootout, and Jane can't forget the outcome of a doomed college romance. As Dylan embarks on the daunting task of restoring his father's beloved apple orchard, Jane takes an avid interest in Dylan's 15-year-old niece, Chloe, baking apple tarts for the orchard roadside stand where Chloe works. Sparks fly between Dylan and Jane, but the novel's plot hinges on Jane and Chloe's growing friendship. Rice relies heavily on coincidence and contrivance, concocting a tear-jerking mix of family strife, juvenile impetuosity and misunderstood motives, but her sympathetic protagonists keep readers engaged. Even secondary characters like Sylvie, a tightly wound school librarian, and Mona, Chloe's eccentric best friend, make an impression, and readers will breathe sighs of relief when the long-awaited happy ending comes for Dylan, Jane and Chloe.

Unabridged 8 cassettes 9 hours

Mary Higgins Clark's 22nd romantic thriller is destined for bestsellerdom on the strength of her reputation alone. Which is not to say that Before I Say Good-Bye doesn't have a bit of all the ingredients of the Clark genre: a little mystery, a likable heroine, and even a nice guy who turns up midway through the novel and promises her romance and a second chance at happiness. But while the set-up is promising and the bare essentials of a compelling read are all here, only readers who are already Higgins fans will be kept completely spellbound.

Nell MacDermott is the politically ambitious granddaughter of a canny politician in Manhattan's silk stocking district, and her grandfather wants her to run for his old congressional seat. But there are rumors that Adam Cauliff, Nell's husband, has been involved in a real estate and construction scam, and until Nell gets to the bottom of this her political future will be clouded. When Adam and his assistant are killed in an explosion aboard his boat, Nell is determined to clear his name. Nudged into action by her nascent psychic powers and a medium who may be her only link to Adam, Nell learns more about her husband's mysterious past than she bargained for and--naturally--stumbles onto a conspiracy that puts her own life in danger. The narrative seems more like an outline for a novel than a novel itself; the characters are sketched rather than fully explored--particularly Nell, whose back story doesn't provide enough information to make her actions understandable. But the pacing is expert, and Clark's dedicated fans will doubtless forgive her for not making this her strongest outing

Kay Lansing grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy and powerful Carrington family. One day, accompanying her father to work, six-year-old Kay overhears a quarrel between a man and a woman that ends with the man's caustic response: "I heard that song before." That same evening, young Peter Carrington drives the nineteen-year-old daughter of neighbors home from a formal dinner dance at the Carrington estate, but she is not in her room the next morning and is never seen or heard from again.

Decades later, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Peter, not only for his neighbor's disappearance but also for the subsequent drowning death of his own pregnant wife in their swimming pool. But when Kay Lansing, now a librarian in Englewood, asks Peter's permission to hold a literary benefit cocktail party on his estate, she comes to see Peter as misunderstood? and when he begins to court her, she falls in love -- and marries him. However, she soon makes a discovery that leads her to question her husband's innocence. She believes that the key to the truth lies in the identities of the man and woman whose quarrel she witnessed as a child. What she does not realize is that uncovering what lies behind these memories may cost Kay her life.

Abridged 5 hours CD