Title: Lost and Found
Author: Danielle Steel
Published: June 25th 2019
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Pages: 288
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
RRP: $29.99
Rating: 3 stars
What might have been? This tantalizing question propels a woman on a cross-country adventure to reunite with the men she had loved and let go.
Madison Allen is a renowned, career-driven photographer. Sifting through old photos in her fashionable New York fire-house apartment, she reflects on what could have been. She’d had three men in her life who were very important to her in different ways, but it was the fourth love, her job, which always won in the end.
Consumed by old memories and with a forced pause in her demanding schedule, Maddie embarks on a road trip. She hopes to answer questions about the men she’d loved and might have married in the years after she was left alone with three young children. As Maddie sets off to reconnect with her past in Boston, Chicago and Wyoming, she hopes to learn that the decisions she made long ago were the right ones.
And as her life comes into clearer focus, a new unexpected future takes shape, and is a valuable lesson to all of us who have ever wondered ‘what if?’
From New York to Santa Fe, Lost and Found by Danielle Steel is a novel about first love, second chances and whether there is such a thing as happy ever after.
Review:
What might have been? This is the intriguing question that encircles Danielle Steel’s latest novel, Lost and Found. A contemplative story, busting full life, complete with good and bad times, Danielle Steel carries the reader away with her latest novel.
Lost and Found opens up the life adventure of Madison Allen, a woman who was once at the very pinnacle of her chosen career as a respected photographer. However, in recent times, Madison has found that she continues to cast her mind back to the past. Although she has a very modest life in her New York apartment, Madison can’t help but wonder what life would have been like if she had chosen a different pathway. Madison grapples with memories of three doomed love affairs, each with their own pitfalls. She also questions her commitment to her own true love, photography, and how this has impacted the life she now leads. As Madison fights with box of old memories and the decisions she made in the past, she is consumed by a desire to take a road trip. She hopes the road trip will serve as a wake up call and allow her to trace back her connections to a number of key figures, as well as places in her life. It is a difficult and emotionally complex journey, but Madison knows she cannot put it off any longer, she must face the past in order to build her future.
I really loved the cover design of Lost and Found. I have to admit that the front cover pulled me in to this title, I was looking forward to taking a journey with Madison, a once highly renowned photographer on an eventful road trip to confront her past. Lost and Found was a light touch story that placed no demands on my reading.
Lost and Found features Madison Allen, a mature age protagonist, looking back on her life with lots of uncertainty, some regrets, along with a set of unanswered questions. The strength in Lost and Found can be found in the main character of Madison. She is extremely relatable and connective. I am sure many readers from across the globe will be able to compare themselves to and sympathise with Madison. Even if you cannot directly connect with Madison, I am sure some similarities can be drawn to known figures, such as a mother, sister, aunt, cousin, or friend. Steel has shaped the character of Madison well and I enjoyed her character journey, as well as the growth she experiences. There is a nice supporting cast that rounds this novel off well, including a token nasty figure. However, in true Danielle Steel signature style, there is the inevitable happy ever after the look forward to!
Ultimately, this is a story of relationships, love, life, careers, choices, regrets, second chances and above all, reflecting on the past. The concept is deceptively simple, questioning the ‘what if’ aspect, but in retrospect, it is actually quite a taxing process. Lost and Found will be sure to enthrall fans who love to get their regular Danielle fix, it is classic Steel fare!
Lost and Found was published on 25th June 2019 by Pan Macmillan. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of Lost and Found, Danielle Steel, visit here.
*Thanks extended to Pan Macmillan for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
