My first memory or romance reading is having read The
Promise by Danielle Steel. It is to Ms. Steel that I
therefore credit the journey I have been on the last
several decades. It is also because of that I feel a
loyalty to her that I know many other readers do not
feel. Therefore when her latest title ROGUE was released
I sat down to read with hopeful anticipation of
remembering a time long past.
ROGUE was a very pleasant surprise. Many of the issues
that I have had with Ms. Steels more recent titles didn't
appear to be as rampant in ROGUE, and Maxine William's
occupation of psychiatrist for troubled teens and the
story line that created was a story line I could easily
identify with.
Maxine was once married to Blake Williams an entrepreneur
who made his fortune early in the dot com industry, and
thus retired at an age most can only dream about. He
chose to use his fortune to support his adventurous
lifestyle, but Maxine with young children was focused more
on hearth and home. Eventually their different
perspectives and goals led to divorce, but fortunately for
all the divorce was friendly.
Years have passed since the divorce, and not much has
changed. Blake is still a playboy flying from one exotic
locale to the next, and Maxine is still a dedicated
homebody. However things are about to change for both of
them.
ROGUE was a story that for me flowed from one scene to the
next without me having to stop and think how did we get
from point A to point B. I believe in ROGUE Ms. Steel
wrote a story that gives readers character we love to
hate, and that we truly love, and perhaps even envy just a
bit.
ROGUE will give die hard Steel fans an excellent book for
their collection, and quite possibly could get readers who
have drifted away a bit the tug they need to give Ms.
Steel a second chance.
Meet Maxine Williams, a dedicated doctor with three great
kids, a challenging career, and the perfect new man in her
life. Her only problem? Her irresistibly charming, utterly
infuriating ex-husband, aka the . . .
Being
married to Blake had been an amazing adventure for Maxine.
Brilliant, charismatic, and wholly unpredictable, Blake
Williams made millions and grabbed headlines as a dot-com
entrepreneur. His only shortcoming was as a husband—first
his work and then his never-ending quest for fun kept him
constantly on the move, far away from Maxine and his family.
For five years Blake and Maxine have worked out an odd but
amicable divorce, with friendly though infrequent visits, a
yacht he lends her every summer, and three children they
both adore. Blake enjoys his globe-trotting lifestyle—dating
a succession of beautiful, famous, and very young
women—while Maxine raises their kids in Manhattan and
pursues her passion, working as a psychiatrist, a
world-renowned expert on childhood trauma and adolescent
suicide. Then everything changes….
For Maxine it
starts when she falls in love with Dr. Charles West, a man
who is everything Blake is not—mature, grounded, and
present. For Blake it begins when a devastating earthquake
strikes near one of his palatial foreign homes and he sees
hundreds of orphaned children in need of shelter. Now Blake
wants Maxine in his life again—as a partner in a
humanitarian project that could change countless lives. For
Maxine the choice is clear. But Blake’s sudden
transformation—from carefree playboy to compassionate,
responsible grown-up—raises questions she’s never
managed to answer . . . and some she’s afraid to ask. After
all, Maxine is on the cusp of a new life, about to marry
Charles, and almost certain that Blake Williams, aka the
Rogue, is a man capable of doing anything—except
change….
An unforgettable story of two people
pursuing happiness from opposite directions, Rogue is
a journey of choices and the amazing opportunities that come
together—just when life seems to have been successfully
rearranged at last.