Happy Birthday

By: Danielle Steel

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Valerie Wyatt is the queen of gracious living and the arbiter of taste with a successful TV show. Since her long-ago divorce, she’s worked hard to reach the pinnacle of her profession and to create a camera-ready life in her Fifth Avenue penthouse. So why is she so depressed? All the hours with her personal trainer, the careful work of New York’s best hairdressers, cosmetic surgeons, and her own God-given bone structure and great looks can’t fudge the truth or her lies about it: Valerie is turning sixty.

Valerie’s daughter, April, has no love life, no rest, and no prospect of that changing in the foreseeable future. Her popular one-of-a-kind restaurant in downtown New York, where she is chef and owner, consumes every ounce of her attention and energy. Ready or not, though, April’s life is about to change, in a tumultuous transformation that begins the morning it hits her: She’s thirty. And what does she have to show for it? A restaurant, no man, no kids.

Jack Adams once threw a football like a guided missile. Twelve years after retiring from the NFL, he is the most charismatic sports analyst on TV, a man who has his pick of the most desirable twentysomething women. But after a particularly memorable Halloween party, Jack wakes up on his fiftieth birthday, his back thrown out of whack, feeling every year his age. A terrifying act of violence, an out-of-the-blue blessing, and two extremely unlikely love affairs soon turn lives inside out and upside down. In a novel brimming with warmth and insight, beginning on one birthday and ending on another, Valerie, April, and Jack discover that life itself can be a celebration — and that its greatest gifts are always a surprise.

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

Easy listening romance

Just a pleasant way to pass time whilst exercising, but nothing particularly memorable about this book, if fact I realised when it got to the siege at the television station that I had already read the book.

Overall, a nice story

What made the experience of listening to Happy Birthday the most enjoyable?

This story concentrates on the big birthdays of the 30's, 50's, and 60's. It showcases three individuals and it is well written and a pleasant story to listen to. I love all of Danielle Steel books... At times she can repeat herself quite a bit in her books, but I found this book to have less repetition.

Happy Birthday......

...just "okay" ...... a typical Danielle book - all of her books seem to be the same. Very predictable.

Great story with an excellent conclusion!

As usual Danielle Steel does not disappoint. She is definitely one of my favorite writers.

Happy Birthday

A love story of two couples who meet in unusual ways and find love after difficult times.

Drew me in

Any additional comments?

This book was so convoluted that I am not sure how I feel about it. It did draw me in however and I could not put it down. The characters seemed real even though some of the situations were extreme. I did enjoy seeing them work through their problems, focus more on family and find happiness.
Not for everyone.

Nice and slow: typical romace

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

The book is a great pastime to someone who just wants to relax and forget about stresses and disasters. The language is very educated and performance is brilliant. Action is a bit slow, but this is a matter of taste. I would recommend it to anyone who has a difficult period of life, really helps!

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

Just a brilliant performance, nothing to add.

Smile on your face

If your a DS fan you will love this.
I’m smiling from ear to ear
Patti

Absolutely Awesome!

I have never read a Danielle Steele book in my life and this book hooked me. I didn't want it to end and wished there would be a sequel. A definite read.

Fun, Fast, Good Read

Great Characters, Creative plot, Issues to Traverse... all done expertly by Steele. It is a fun book to read, what I think is often termed "a good read".
With Points of View from women at different times in their lives, this book allows us to see some distinctly different ways that women deal with the issues of age, men, and self-esteem.
A fun plot, people you want to meet in real life, good writing, good listening... If you are looking for a book to read that isn't going to pull you down, but bring you "up" this novel is a good candidate for you.