She's back home but Sergio has sold all of her familys possessions and she knows she will get revenge. The war has ended and her home has been under terror. She had lived 4 years with the sisters in upstate NY and now she was on her way back home. Saraina feels like she's been on the train for days and she has been. However, despite my penchant for less dramatic / sentimental books now, Remembrance still has, and will always have, a soft spot in my heart. Truthfully, I don't think my present self would have enjoyed this book as much as the 14-year-old me did. There were a lot of emotional scenes, a lot of 'wtf! how can someone be so vile' moments, lots of jealousy and bitterness, lots of crying, and a bajillion 'OMG Teddy is so adorable, it's a pity Serena doesn't like him that way' gushing. The whole book was one soap opera compressed in 400 pages, more or less. But what I remember loving most about this is the emotional roller-coaster the whole story was.

Steel's description of Italy, of the travels by train, of the life of Europe's aristocracy prior to the World War. Yeah, 10 years later, I still know their names. I did a lot of crying while reading it I cried over Serena's platinum blond hair, over Brad's death (he was handsome AND American, and handsome American guys don't die early in romance books), over Teddy's humour and boyish charms, over his unrequited love, and over Vanessa's relationship in the end, which was too fucked up for my then innocent mind.

I probably brought it to school a few times, too, a pocket-sized haven during those gruelling Math hours.

I'd sleep with it, tuck it with me to bed, and carry it everywhere around the house. Back in the day when adult romances were all I read (though I was far from being an adult then), this book was my ultimate literary buddy.

Remembrance danielle steel synopsis