The Kiss

By: Danielle Steel

Narrated by: Joseph Siravo

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Isabelle Forrester is the exquisite wife of a prominent Parisian banker who has long since shut her out of his heart. For lonely years, Isabelle has lived a life of isolation, pouring her passions into caring for her desperately ill son, Teddy, and into making their Paris home as happy as possible for her teenage daughter, Sophie. Isabelle allows herself one secret pleasure: a long-distance friendship by telephone with an American man, a Washington power broker who travels in the highest circles of politics and who, like Isabelle, is trapped in an empty marriage.

To Bill Robinson, Isabelle is a godsend, a woman of extraordinary beauty and intellectual curiosity - a kindred spirit who touches him across the miles with her warmth and gentle empathy. Their relationship is a gift - a lifeline that sustains them both through the heartache of marriages they cannot leave and will not betray. Agreeing to meet for a few precious, innocent days in London, Isabelle and Bill find their friendship changing. Then, amid the sudden crash of steel against steel, they are thrust onto a new path, a path fraught with pain but also with possibility.

Now, inside the cool, sterile wards of a London hospital, Isabelle and Bill cling to life, their bodies shattered almost beyond repair. In the days and weeks that follow, they slowly, painfully traverse a road to recovery littered with challenges of the body, spirit, and heart. Together, they must find the strength not only to embrace life again but to face what they have left behind. For Isabelle, a loveless marriage turns into a brutal power struggle. For Bill, a time of healing exposes wounds that cut deeper than steel and realities that will test him to his core. For both, a tangle of changing relationships and the tragedy of another loss conspire to separate them once again. And this time they could lose each other forever.

©2001 Danielle Steel (P)2001 Random House Inc., Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, a Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"Steel pulls through with skillful plotting, steeping a gentle brew that will once again gratify her legions of fans." (Publishers Weekly)

Boring, not one of her best

Very boring, predictable and the plot was not what I expected. Disappointed in her last few books that I've read.

A roller coaster of emotions!

loved it! i'm a Danielle Steele fan. Was worried in the beginning that the narrator was a man. It worked out beautifully. As usual the story took me for a ride. Brava!

You will want to read this book again and again.

It's a great book to just get lost in for an evening in front of the fireplace.

'What a Kiss' ........

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this audiobook. I love Danielle Steele stories and would go as far as saying this was in the top 10 of my favourites.

What did you like best about this story?

Fistly it was set in France and UK and not upmarket parts of America, which makes a difference. The storyline keeps you on the edge until the end.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Joseph Siravo?

I think that Joseph Sravo has a great voice but he is not good at accents, especially British accents, he sounded nothing like a British person . I would however listen to another book narrarted by him.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole book!

Any additional comments?

Lovely story, could not 'put it down' and finished it in record time (for me that is)

Good story, unbelievably repetative

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

As capturing as I found the story, I also found myself wondering how many times and in how many different ways the author could say the same things over and over again. It was as though she had a quota to fill where a specific number of pages had to be used to complete the novel. For me, it was a distraction to what otherwise was a very good story.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The story was good enough to carry the day. Simply eliminate the repetitive fluff

What does Joseph Siravo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I thought the reader was excellent. I felt I was observing the story unfold without concious thought as to the telling of it.

Any additional comments?

The only other thing that would have made the story better for me [and its only a personal feeling] would have been to have the character of the selfish,controling husband reconciled to the justice we would all like to see for such people. Just a thought...:)

Typical

Your typical and predictable Danielle Steele novel. Did not enjoy the reader. He sounded in a rush.

Glad this was not the first Danielle Steel book.

Would you try another book from Danielle Steel and/or Joseph Siravo?

Boy, not if it is like this book. What a downer from the beginning to the end.

Not one of her best

What would have made The Kiss better?

It was way to drawn out...same thing over and over!

What was most disappointing about Danielle Steel’s story?

it was the same thing over and over

What about Joseph Siravo’s performance did you like?

I did like the story teller...he was good and there was no trouble understanding him.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

no

Any additional comments?

Not one of her best, typical love story...married woman...married man...both in awful marriage....both got divorced and after a long battle in different countrys ended up together.

To drawn out

This was a good story but I think it would have been more enjoyable if it wasn't so long. There was way to much repeating.

The Kiss

I thought this was a good story line, however, it kept repeating things over and over. I don't know if this is Danielle's writing style, but I don't think I will read another one of her books. I don't understand how it ever received a 4.5 stars??
Lisa Ruder