A Woman's Place by Danielle Steel

 

A Woman's Place   by Danielle Steel  243 pages

In April 1912, twenty-three-year-old Lady Victoria Oldbrooke is traveling with her beloved father from England on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. But when the ship strikes an iceberg and lifeboats are lowered with women and children first, Lord Alfred gives his place to another, and they are separated. Before he goes down with the ship, he asks his friend Bert Banning, a mill owner from Manchester, to promise he’ll marry his daughter and care for her. Devastated by the loss of Lord Alfred, Victoria and Bert take comfort in their growing friendship. Bert accepts his role as her guardian but, as friendship turns to deeper feelings, hesitates to propose. Not only is he forty years her senior, but her marrying an industrialist will cause Victoria to be ostracized by the aristocratic world she comes from. But she marries Bert and -- cruelly shunned by everyone she knows, even family friends -- moves to his home in Manchester. Isolated from her familiar universe and peers, she becomes fascinated by Bert’s business and learns all she can about it. When he meets a tragic end, she steps into his shoes and applies everything she has learned, in spite of opposition from all sides. Taking on the risks, the hard decisions, and the responsibilities, Victoria has the sheer grit that it takes to make a difference in a man’s world and change the limitations women have had to face and defy for centuries. 

This is one of the best Danielle Steel books I have read since the 1990s.  This is the old Danielle Steel that I love.  This book takes you through the Titanic sinking and is written historically correct and shows what it was like to be a woman in that time period, especially a single woman.  I highly recommend.

COLOR OF HOPE by Danielle Steel

 

Color of Hope  by Danielle Steel   253 pages

Following the unexpected death of her beloved husband, art gallery owner Samantha Thompson finds herself adrift in their Malibu beach house. Her three adult children -- scattered from New York to London to Milan -- are concerned for her well-being and encourage her to take a trip to Paris. An impulsive day trip from Paris to Biarritz leads Samantha to discover the charming medieval village of Arcangues in the Basque countryside, with its unique and iconic blue shutters and historic château. The château is the ancestral home of Xavier de Bonport, who is trapped in a loveless marriage and trying to dig himself out financially after a business failed due to the pandemic. He needs rental income as urgently as Samantha needs a refuge. With Xavier living in a smaller house on the property, Samantha begins to transform the château into a temporary home. As they each sense compassion and resilience in the other, as well as kindness, a friendship blossoms. Inspired by the stories of Xavier's grandmother, who saved hundreds of Jewish children during World War II, Samantha considers fostering some children at the request of the local Dominican nuns, whose orphanage is filled to capacity. As a newfound family begins to fill the château, Samantha and Xavier wonder if their friendship is becoming something more.

This Danielle Steel novel I did not enjoy as much as the others I had read.  It kept me reading until the end, but I did not feel a connection to this character.  I also felt like the writing was very repetitive.  I would read the same thing from one page to another, almost like she was just trying to fill up pages instead of quality work.   So, not my favorite book.

JOY by Danielle Steel

 

Joy   by Danielle Steel  240 pages

When she is only six years old, Allegra Dixon's party-loving mother leaves without so much as a goodbye. Her father, an emotionally distant military officer, is also unable--or unwilling--to care for her. Sent to live like a ghost in her grandparents' joyless home, Allegra finds her only solace through an escape into books. Attending boarding school, life finally takes a turn when she meets a dashing young West Point cadet named Shep Williams. Soon their friendship blossoms into something more, and they fall deeply in love. After college, Allegra has established herself as a book editor and Shep is rising through the ranks of the military. But then Shep suddenly receives a posting to Afghanistan, and they decide to marry before he goes. Between his deployments, they cling to their brief and fraught stolen moments together. Each time he leaves, Shep promises the separations will soon come to an end. But soon Allegra realizes that the horrors of war have begun to change her husband into a man she no longer recognizes. The trauma he has experienced proves to be too harrowing, and Allegra will find herself feeling utterly alone again just when she thought she'd finally found happiness.

Another Danielle Steel novel that I really liked, but did not like the ending.  I felt the sorrow that Allegra felt throughout the whole book and was happy when she found a new person to love.  But I did not like the ending...she loses again and finds a new love interest with 2 pages left, reallly??? Overall, a very good read.

A Mother's Love by Danielle Steel

 

A Mother's Love   by Danielle Steel 271 pages

On the occasion of her daughter Valerie’s wedding and her upcoming fiftieth birthday, bestselling author Halley Holbrook finds herself reflecting. Raising twins Valerie and Olivia is her proudest accomplishment. Halley has been able to give them the loving and safe home she never had, having survived a childhood so traumatic she’s never talked about it with her girls. Long ago, Halley decided to live in the sunlight of the present, not the dark shadows of the past. After Valerie moves to Los Angeles with her producer husband, and Olivia follows to remain close to her sister, Halley is empty-nesting in her Fifth Avenue apartment. Facing her first holiday alone in years, she books a trip to Paris. On the flight over, she meets charming Bart Warner, and the two become fast friends. Halley hasn’t dated since her partner died three years ago, yet she quickly begins to feel more like herself. But when a cunning thief makes off with her handbag and then begins to harass her, it reawakens old ghosts from her past. Vowing not to be a victim, and with Bart’s help, she chooses a bold course of action.

Not my favorite from Danielle Steel but it kept me interested all the way through.  It was a great story and kind of believable.  I love her stories about family.  This one really pulled at my heart strings with a mother and her children facing the world. 

Far From Home by Danielle Steel

 

Far From Home   by Danielle Steel  242  Pages

In July 1944, Arielle von Auspeck arrives at the glamorous Hotel Ritz in occupied Paris. Half French, half German, she is happy to be back in France, where her husband, Gregor, a retired colonel, will join her soon from Germany. Arielle and Gregor have thus far been able to hide their private opposition to Hitler. Then her world falls apart. She receives word that Gregor was part of Operation Valkyrie, a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in Poland, and has been shot as a traitor. Now, holding a French passport handed to her by another high-level collaborator, she is whisked away from Paris under cover of darkness for her own safety. As the Allies storm the beaches, she goes into hiding in a small village in Normandy under an assumed name, unable to contact her adult children. There, she forms a friendship with Sebastien Renaud, whose wife and daughter were deported in 1941, and who eventually reveals himself as a forger in the Resistance. As war wages on, Arielle and Sebastien work for the Resistance and hold out for the time when they can search for their loved ones.

A story of loss in World War ll times, but also one of finding family and love again. This is a book that I could not put down because I wanted to see how it ended, But about 2/3 of the way through I figured it all out. I really enjoy reading about World War ll as sad as that time period is, so it was a great book for me!

Flying Angels By Danielle Steel

 Flying Angels by Danielle Steel-6 Audio CDs; 7 hrs. 25 min. (288 pages, print)

"Flying Angels" is the story of Four American nurses who enlist as Army/Air Force Nurses during World War II. Eventually, Audrey, Lizzy, Louise, and Alex sign up for the Medical Air Evacuation Transport and are deployed to England. Plenty of back story precedes the women's enlistment. In England, the four women meet Pru and Emma who are English army nurses. They all quickly become friends. Each experiences love and loss as was the case in reality during World War II. This is well-written and a good listen/read. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I listened to the audiobook on a recent road trip. 

Second Chance by Danielle Steel

Second Chance by Danielle Steel, 230 pages

I have not read a Danielle Steel book in about 20 years.  Her books were always such mushy love stories.  This one was no different.  But, I must say I did enjoy this book.  It was a great escape.   Woman loves man, his kids dislike her, and then they find their way back to each other.

Sisters by Danielle Steel

Sisters by Danielle Steel - 341 pages

Four sisters, a Manhattan brownstone, and a tumultuous year of loss and courage are at the heart of Danielle Steel’s novel about a remarkable family, a stunning tragedy—and what happens when four very different young women come together under one very lively roof.

Candy–it’s the only name she needs—is blazing her way through Paris, New York, and Tokyo as fashion’s latest international supermodel…Her sister Tammy has a job producing the most successful hit show on TV, and a home she loves in L.A.’s Hollywood Hills. . . .In New York, oldest sister Sabrina is an ambitious young lawyer, while Annie is an American artist in Florence, living for her art. . . .

On one Fourth of July weekend, as they do every year, the four sisters come home to Connecticut for their family’s annual gathering. But before the holiday is over, tragedy strikes and their world is utterly changed.

Suddenly, four sisters who have been fervently pursuing success and their own lives—on opposite sides of the world—reunite to share one New York brownstone, to support each other and their father, and to pick up the pieces while one sister struggles to heal her shattered body and soul. Thus begins an unscripted chapter of their lives, as a bustling house is soon filled with eccentric dogs, laughter, tears, friends, men . . . and the kind of honesty and unconditional love only sisters can provide. But as the four women settle in, they are forced to confront the direction of their respective lives. As the year passes and another July Fourth approaches, a season of grief and change gives way to new beginnings—as a family comes together to share its blessings and a future filled with surprises and, ultimately, hope.

His Bright Light by Danielle Steel

His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina by Danielle Steel, 399 pages

In His Bright Light: the Story of Nick Traina, Danielle Steel shares the heartbreaking story of her son Nick Traina's struggle with mental illness, depression, and drug use. Danielle writes from the very beginning of his life of how Nick's father struggled with drug addiction and drifted in and out of Nick's life.  It is a very sad story as it follows Nick growing up as a conflicted teenager.  Nick is adopted by Danielle Steel's husband John Traina and is brought up in a privileged household with six biological siblings.  Danielle Steel details her many struggles trying to get him help. She also includes some of his personal journals.  He committed suicide in 1997 at the age of 19.  This was a very sad story.

A Gift of Hope, Helping the Homeless by Danielle Steel

A Gift of Hope, Helping the Homeless by Danielle Steel,  128 pages

I have not read a Danielle Steel book in about 20 years.  This is the first nonfiction book I have read by her.  This was truly a very eye opening book.  This book not only gives insight into the life of Danielle Steel, but also into the plight of the homeless in San Francisco.  Danielle Steel shares the tragic death of her son Nick Traina who committed suicide by overdosing.  She talks about how after his death she went to church almost daily to pray.  It hit her that she needed to do something.  That something was helping the homeless anyway she could.  She began by handing out gloves, coats, and sleeping bags.  It started with just her, a van, and a few friends.  The effort grew to two vans and many friends, even former police officers.  She details many of the interesting people she met on the streets.  Her efforts increased to include packing all the items into duffel bags for each individual.  She kept giving by including toiletries and food.  She continued doing this until she could no longer fund it.  What Danielle Steel showed the homeless was there are people out there who care.  The bags she distributed gave hope to many desperate people on the streets.  At Christmas time, she even included teddy bears!!