Emma Harte is the most controlling woman ever, and her granddaughter Paula isn't much better. Page after page has Emma meddling in people's lives as if she was entitled to just because she had once, long ago, suffered long and hard, and was now wealthy and on top. Annoying and irritating. And isn't she just omniscient -she always sees through everyone's motives - she's always steps ahead of everyone. Oh, sure! If you hate control freaks, don't read this book.

I most certainly enjoyed the book Hold the Dream. I read the book about a year ago and my only regret was that I was not able to get all the books in this set for I only read the one part. I like women who know what they want and set their goals to achieve it. Women are no longer just homemakers but can be expert bussinesswomen. Keep up the good work.

Unfortunately, our currency is 2 to 1 US therefore some of the prices are steep.

Paula McGill Fairley is another replica of Emma Harte. She is badly suited against Jim Fairley who is a weak person. The way she dealt with Jonathan is what Emma Harte would have done. So to speak, pride comes before a fall.

I just finished "Voice of the Heart" and it was good, if not slightly tacky. The middle section was pretty long (like about 600 pages) but held my attention though most of it, and the ending was fairly satisfying and unpredictable enough to surprise you. Good character descriptions and a good storyline. Worth a read.

Sorry I did not wait to buy this book used. Was not worth the full price I paid.....The main characters were very predictable and kind of boring....You know from the start where this story is going....Too much descriptions of the streets of Paris and houses....The story is about four women who return to Paris 7 years after graduating from Anya Sedgwick's School of Decorative Art....These women were best friends while attending school, but had a terrible fight and left after graduating. each persuing her own life and career without contacting each other all the years since..... They each received an invitation to attend their beloved teacher, Anya's 85th birthday party......They all attended and the rest of the story is spent rekindling old memories and revisiting all their old haunts.....etc. etc...If you want to read this book I suggest you borrow it from your library.

For those looking to escape the reality of todays headlines, this book is a really good diversion.

Barbara Taylor Bradford in a wonderful story teller and this book is surely one of her best.

Although she has created 4 interesting lead characters, the star of this story is the lovely city of Paris (which is described in great detail). BTB makes the most of the city in setting up the story as the drama unfolds.

Readers will also enjoy the character of Anya who is the mentor to the four successful women who return to Paris for her milestone birthday. Anya is spunky and sharp, as she tries to reconcile old friendships and encourage her pupils to make sense of their past.

Suspenseful and well written, this is one of Barbara's better novels.

One of the most delightful books I have read in a long time. If you want to escape the daily stress and pressures of your busy life, by all means, read this book. I could not put it down. The plot is fairly simple, the characters memorable. An enjoyable, easy read as you curl up in your favorite chair on a rainy weekend, or stretch out on your lounge chair in the sun in your backyard.

This is my first encounter with Barbara Taylor Bradford and will be my LAST! She spent more time "Name Dropping" with all of the tourist places and restaurants in N.Y. and Venice assuming we know what she's talking about. Her love scenes were a JOKE. The dialog between Bill and Vanessa were awkward and stillted, not steamy or passionate. The story jumped around too much to keep track of where Bill and Vanessa were and how they were supposed to meet? And it doesn't make sense for Vanessa to divorce one husband because he is never home and seriously think about settling down with Bill WHO'S NEVER HOME. Then once Vanessa has divorced her husband, Bill is killed by terrorists which only leaves Vanessa alone with no one but Bill's old mom and young daughter? WHAT'S THE POINT! THERE IS NO MORAL TO THE STORY. The ending just made me mad enough to take it and...WHIP IT AT THE WALL!

Too perfect, too swampy, too Danielle Steele-ish for me. As a love story, it goes a long way in that genre. It is well written, the characters are lovable, the story is a good one. But you really need to be in the mood for a rather mindless, uncomplicated novel to enjoy this. I much prefer stories with a little depth. I was able to read this story in two days, there isn't much too it, and I found it pleasant yet boring in many places. If you like Harlequin, or Danielle Steele, you will enjoy this book. If you are looking for something to delve your mind into, perhaps you should look elsewhere.

This was a book I couldn't stop reading. True, it's a romance story, but I think it's more than that. It's very poignant, and it has a bittersweet ending...all the good things that make for a great romance book.

This has to be the worst book I have ever read and I'm seriously not kidding either. It was boring with uninteresting characters. I kept reading thinking that it would get better and neatly come together at the end, but it never did. The bizarre, disturbing ending stamped it as the worst book ever for me. I never read a Bradford novel before and certainly expected something better than this. Don't even ask me how I was able to get through it, but somehow I did!

I only got about 1/3 through this book because it was written in the first person and I couldn't relate at all to the weird narrator or any of the other unrealistic characters, plus it was boring.

Even though I am no a big fan of this author I did find this book to be very entertaining even though I threw it against the wall of my prison cell many times. But Over all it was a good read. In prison there aren't a lot of good things to read. Heck I even told my mother about it and she had a tough time reading through it. But in the end she liked it too.

THIS WAS THE FIRST BOOK I HAVE READ OF MS.BARBARA'S. IN THE BEGINNING I COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN,BUT TOWARDS THE MIDDLE IT GOT A LITTLE DULL.I SORT OF LOST INTEREST,BUT IT GOT BETTER AT THE END. OVER ALL IT WAS A GOOD BOOK AND I PLAN ON READING MORE OF HER BOOKS.

This novel had a very timely twist to it which made it a real page turner. It was much too short and I wanted to know more about some of the characters that were brought up such as Samantha -- what ever happened to her? Overall I enjoyed every page of the book and can't wait to read more of this author's works. This book was not cluttered with lots of characters and made for a quick and easy read!! Thoroughly enjoyable!

I loved this book because it is a wonderful short story by an author always known for extensive (400+ page) novels. The story is captivating and leaves the reader wanting more! Too bad this was only a short story. It was also a wonderful TV movie!

I keep borrowing BTB books from the library (won't pay for this) hoping she'll get better - and she only gets worse! This story has holes you could drive a truck through. The characters are flat, the action non-existent. It's bad! BAD! BAD!
Spoiler warning - two quick examples. The entire story is based on two children ages 5 and 10, being best friends. Ain't goona happen. And, in one crucial scene, two dying women are found shot on the floor, and their rescuer(?) calls an ambulance, then makes a pot of tea and sits there for 30 minutes. Does anyone in her world know first aid?!
Do not buy this book. Do not read it.

My sister warned me not to read it, but i did anyway. It was like reading a badly written soap opera. It was not at all what i expected from the book.

I've read most of BTB's books. When I'm done with them, I donate them or sell them. But to me "A Sudden Change of Heart" was one of her best and I'm keeping it.

Even though I agree with some of the other readers, that the "language" the characters spoke was a bit antiquated and formal, I really enjoyed the book.

I was at a doctor's appointment today, and I started to tear while I was reading what happened to Claire. I had to stop for awhile.

The friendship between Laura and Claire is very much alike to my best friend and me. We've known each other since we're 5 & 6 - and we'll be celebrating our 30th anniversary next year - so this kind of friendship does exist.

Don't be afraid to buy this book. Try it, you may like it!

Don't waste your time or money. Everything-the characters, plot, etc.-was not believable. It was a chore to get through this "novel".

This was the first novel I read by Barbara Taylor Bradford. I agree with the reviews that say it is alright when you just want to make the time go by (good for a long flight or to read lying in the sun). I'll give the author a second chance, since I'm sure others are better, but despite all the good things, thebook was rather disappointing.

I don't think there will be any BTB books that equal her trilogy, "A Woman Of Substance", "Hold The Dream" and "To Be The Best". In my opinion, those three were phenomenal. I've read a number of her books, but I just consider them light entertainment. I heard this one on audio CD, as I travel quite a bit for my job, and it really passes the time while driving. "Angel" did just that, passed the time. Agreeing with others, yes, it was predictable. There was no closure to a few subplots but the reader, Lorelei King made it quite enjoyable to listen to. I'm not sure that had I read the hard copy, I would have liked it nearly as well. All in all, not bad, just not great.

The story was continously jumping ahead so it could be told in the past tense. The word "had" appeared in most sentences one or two times except in the Epilogue. A low estimate, I would guess the word was used 1200 times. Very annoying.

I READ THIS BOOK ALTHOUGH I HADN'T READ THE ONES PRECEDING IT. AND TO BE TRUTHFUL I'M GLAD I DIDN'T. IT WAS ALITTLE "JUMPY" GOING FROM ENGLAND,NEW YORK, AUSTRALIA AND I THOUGHT THEREWAS ENOUGH SADNESS IN FAMILY WITH THERETARDED SON OF PAULA AND THE LEUKEMIADEATH OF ALEXANDER BUT IT WENT TO SOAPOPERA LEVEL WHEN PHILIP'S WIFE MADDYSUCCUMBED TO A BRAIN HEMMORAGE. I COULDNOT BELEIVE SHE HAD HER DIE. BARBARA,WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

I was very disappointed with this book. The characters were not very well developed and I felt that the author spent more time describing the character's opulent surroundings rather than put any thought into the plot or the characters' personalities. I kept thinking it would get better but it didn't.

Barbara Taylor Bradford is a wonderful writer. I do think she is the Danielle Steel of England. Here in Brazil she's a famous writer, and most of the women who reads her usually enjoy her books. I'm a boy who soon learned to read almost every kind of book. And romantic books are also in my shelves. POWER OF A WOMAN is an excelent book. One of Barbara's best ever. It has a fast plot (I started reading it and when I realized I was on page 100!), an interesting plot and, better, a good ending. Buy that book. You won't be disappointed. You couldn't be, when talking about Barbara Taylor Bradford. A master!

Barbara Taylor Bradford's fans will love this story about precious jewels and precious relationships!