Rating: 
Summary: Journey
Review: A wonderful book about an attractive girl named Maddy who breaks free from an emotionally abusive relationship with her husband Jack. Jack is a control freak and is a powerful and wealthy man. With Jack, Maddy has a spectacular life filled with fine things and special privileges. Maddy chooses to give those up for personal dignity, freedom and self determination. As she breaks free from his control, she is able to help others in similar situations. She soon develops a new life on her own. And she meets Bill Alexander. The story has a great message and a happy ending!
Rating: 
Summary: Is this the 1st draft? Dangerously ignorant.
Review: Having been in abusive relationships, I couldn't wait to read this although I rarely real Steel. The 1st thing I noticed, from page one, is that Steel starts off every other sentence with the word And. She uses run-on sentence (4 sentences in one, all separated by the word And) one after another. I'm also a writer & there is no possible way this book was edited or went through a second draft. It is written at the level of an 6th grader at best.The story would have been great if it had been realistic, as other reviewers have noted. I applaud that someone finally wrote about the more subtle forms of abuse. The problem is Steel repeated herself for about 1/3rd of the book! Then Maddy only breaks free by using another man! If only Steel had consulted with a psychologist about the sickness of ending this book that way & the message that gives to the public, this book COULD have been great. Unfortunately, it tells abused women that they NEED a man in order to break free. Also Maddy was supposedly seeing an experienced psychologist about her abusive marriage, yet Maddy's excuse for not getting out was not knowing how. Excuse me Ms. Steel, next time call a hotline from any phone book or at least consult a professional. First of all, ANY woman in an abusive relationship of ANY kind if urged to get out immediately, while Maddy was encouraged to STAY WITH her abuser while trying to figure it all out, with her life at risk on a daily basis! The first thing a psychologist must do in this situation is provide resources for an abused client to get out of harms way! Every city has women's shelters, safe houses for immediate escape. All phone books should include toll-free hot lines, if not, call a local hospital and ask for the number of a Domestic Violence/Abuse hot line. No one should read this book & take ANY of Maddy's actions to heart as a valid way to respond to this kind of abuse. Instead, call the hotline & get help NOW. Emotional & verbal abusers can turn physically violent at any time, as Maddy's husband Jack did when he bit her nipple til it bled--yet Maddy stayed with him for almost a year afterwards, suffering progressively worse abuse from her husband that was absolutely unnecesary! One aspect that was apparent from how Steel structured this book--she must believe having access to a plane, a weekend house, luxury and more is worthy of continuous abuse. Maddy was definitely addicted to her luxurious lifestyle, which she used as an excuse not to leave her abuser! I hope Steel at least has an editor to do the work for her before she attempts writing another book on any serious subject such as this one. It is terrifying that someone as widely read & "famous" as Steel could write so dangerously bad--grammatically & ignorantly.
Rating: 
Summary: Could not get into it...total waste of time
Review: I absolutly love D.S. but this book was just boring. I dont like reading about things with political issues and stuff like that, but other than that, I just couldnt get into it. Save your pennies for Star, Malice, and mixed blessings.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: I am a writer of romance novels and find Ms. Steele's popularity a bit confusing. In the past, she seems to basically repeat the same story, rich man, rich woman, only changing the characters' names and the setting. I was hoping this one would be different, since it deals with an abusive relationship. But alas, she still seems to follow the same guidelines as with her others. Much repetition, and I was disappointed with the writing style.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish I'd written this book...
Review: I have to hand it to Danielle Steel; in spite of some writing flaws, she keeps the reader reading. I liked this novel better than "Malice" (unconvincing) and the few others I've read (except the one about The Titanic). "Journey" hung together pretty well, with enough minor suprises to keep the reader interested. Why is it, though, that the heroines (who are all beautiful and sweet) invariably end up with **won't give it away** (who are all handsome and successful)? I know, I know. I may have not read the exceptions. My, what a prolific writer she is!--Sophie Simonet, ACT OF LOVE, a romantic suspense novel (Fictionwise)
Rating:
Summary: Can't she be alone??
Review: I wanted to read this book because it was on the best-seller list and I had just finished reading His Bright Light, the story about the life of Ms. Steel's bipolar son. The subject matter interested me as the topic of a novel because I prosecute domestic violence cases as misdemeanors and know how hard it is for women to get out of the cycle of violence. Ms. Steel certainly did her homework. The thoughts Maddy had are very common among victims who are emotionally abused. Having been a victim in my first marriage of all those subtle put-downs, the book was somewhat painful to read. The book had a great deal of repetition. I thought it could have been shorter and just as effective. It bothered me that Maddy, who was a top-drawer anchorwoman, never got out of the abuse without a man to help her. I would have liked the story better if she had not gone from one man to another to another. What about a break in between so that she can figure out who she really is? That would have shown real growth on the part of the main character. Maddy was a real likeable character, however. I did enjoy the book for raising the consciousness of those of us who like fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A very improbable story
Review: I was very disappointed after I had read this book. I can't believe that this is a bestseller! First of all the main character Maddy who is incredibly rich and beautiful and succesful and famous and good and lovable and everybody love her and admire her and so on, just hasn't got the slicest bit of reality in her! She is so unbelievable because everything she does or is is just so goddamn perfect! And then when you add to that the fact that she was married to a man who abused and beat her when they were young and poor and that Maddy only survived because her current husband came there one day, saw her and decided to help her, the story itself seems quite farfetched. And when it becomes obvious that Jack (the current husband) is even more horrible husband than the first one, but she is still despite everything ready to fight him, Maddy starts to look like a saint. The another main character Jack was also poorly portrayet because there wasn't given any kind of indication why he treated Maddy the way he did. Besides he seemed quite irrational with his violent outbursts and it only made Maddy look this much a better person. In my opinion the book also ended in a bit strange way because Jack was kind of forgotten the moment Maddy got out of the marriage and it wasn't told what he did or tried to do to her after the divorce. It would have been interesting to read how he dealt with the public opinion or the lawsuits she was throwing in his face.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Steel effort
Review: I will admit I'm somewhat of a closet Steel fan. I've liked some of her earlier works, but I'm sorry to say this is not one of her better books. Steel has a very bad habit of telling instead of showing, and it's very evident here. The story's premise showed promise: a popular news anchor (Maddy Hunter) reflects on a bad marriage her current husband helped her escape, and slowly she realizes that her current marriage is also abusive. Though her husband doesn't beat her, he controls her through his position as her boss and belittles her every chance he gets, treating her like dirt. Maddy is in denial for much of the book, yet manages to screw up her courage for the predictable Steel ending. Of course, there is an understanding male friend, suffering his own demons, who eventually becomes Maddy's touchstone and lover and helps her escape. Steel glosses over some scenes which would have been more interesting had she written them as they happened - like Maddy's encounters with the abuse counselor. The constant POV switching and repetitive exposition was also a headache - Steel tends to explain things she had told us in earlier chapters as if she had never written about them before. Maddy's history of abortion is a good example. Overall, this was just disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: Journey is the story of Maddy Hunter, the victim of lifelong abuse. She witnesses her father being abusive to her mother and then is abused herself by her boyfriend-turned-husband Bobby Joe. After joining a commission on violence she discovers the husband who rescued her from Bobby Joe may not be the hero she thinks. Along Maddy's journey she meets a part of her past and her future. Ms. Steel did a fantastic job of writing about abuse, and not just physical abuse but emotional abuse, or invisible abuse, because it is harder for everyone to see. I must say this book opened my eyes to the subject. Overall journey is a good book. I found parts to be repetitous. I guess that could be chalked up to the fact that during Maddy's journey she keeps thinking about incidents from the past. I just found some of these parts to be (and I hate to say this) a little boring. I think every woman should read this book. It gets the messge of emotional and verbal abuse across very well. Towards the end the book is very good and reminds me of Ms. Steel's early work.
Rating: 
Summary: You'll hate her husband!
Review: Not Steel's best works, but a poignant story. What kept me reading with enthusiasm was hating the husband & wanting to see him get what he deserved! I think the story meant well, but it just didn't seem to mesh for me. If you're looking for something good by Steel, I'd recommend Message from Nam, No Greater Love, Safe Harbour or The Long Road Home- They're all about over-coming & surviving.
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