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A review by jodiesbookishposts
H.R.H. by Danielle Steel
1.0
H.R.H by Danielle Steel (1 Star)
And here it is, the worst book of the year so far. In fact, it is the worst I’ve read in a very long time.
H.R.H is about a Princess Christiana of a small European country who is bored of her life, so she becomes a Red Cross volunteer and goes to Africa. She is due to return after a short time, but when she falls in love with an American Doctor it all gets a bit complicated.
As I was writing that, I rolled my eyes. I really struggled to care about Christiana. She was hardly living a tough life, yes she was a little bored and had little privacy – so what! I found her self-pity incredibly self indulgent and off putting. So what if she had duties to fulfil, it didn’t make her different from anyone else. She was snobbish whilst trying to appear a bit of a martyr.
Anyhow, before I rant about poor rich people, I’ll talk about the writing. It was dire. I was so surprised because the previous Steel book I read, I really enjoyed. I don’t know whether this book was written before the other but either way, it was dreadful. The prose was repetitive, she reused metaphor and similes. I felt like I was rereading it over and over again and getting nowhere.
The characters were stock and flat, slotted in to suit the purpose of the plot. It was all a little too perfect. Even the violence was contrived.
I really hated the romance. Again there was no real build up – it just sort of happened. It felt like a teenager had written it, there was no depth to it. Suddenly there was attraction and then before you know it, there was love. It is easy to believe that in a young adult story where the emotional maturity of the characters is younger, but in a story where the characters are much older it is so hard to believe.
Nope. I hated this book. I can excuse a dull plot for good writing. Hell, I can excuse bad writing for a good plot. But, when the two are combined and both plot and writing are bad – well then, I’ve wasted my time.
And here it is, the worst book of the year so far. In fact, it is the worst I’ve read in a very long time.
H.R.H is about a Princess Christiana of a small European country who is bored of her life, so she becomes a Red Cross volunteer and goes to Africa. She is due to return after a short time, but when she falls in love with an American Doctor it all gets a bit complicated.
As I was writing that, I rolled my eyes. I really struggled to care about Christiana. She was hardly living a tough life, yes she was a little bored and had little privacy – so what! I found her self-pity incredibly self indulgent and off putting. So what if she had duties to fulfil, it didn’t make her different from anyone else. She was snobbish whilst trying to appear a bit of a martyr.
Anyhow, before I rant about poor rich people, I’ll talk about the writing. It was dire. I was so surprised because the previous Steel book I read, I really enjoyed. I don’t know whether this book was written before the other but either way, it was dreadful. The prose was repetitive, she reused metaphor and similes. I felt like I was rereading it over and over again and getting nowhere.
The characters were stock and flat, slotted in to suit the purpose of the plot. It was all a little too perfect. Even the violence was contrived.
I really hated the romance. Again there was no real build up – it just sort of happened. It felt like a teenager had written it, there was no depth to it. Suddenly there was attraction and then before you know it, there was love. It is easy to believe that in a young adult story where the emotional maturity of the characters is younger, but in a story where the characters are much older it is so hard to believe.
Nope. I hated this book. I can excuse a dull plot for good writing. Hell, I can excuse bad writing for a good plot. But, when the two are combined and both plot and writing are bad – well then, I’ve wasted my time.