Sometime next week, my fourth Danielle Steel book review will post on the site. I can’t wait to share with you all my thoughts on The Whittiers. It was a family drama with really relatable characters.
But I am currently looking for my next Danielle Steel read. I decided that I would make it be one of the books that I own…since I have somehow amassed over a dozen in the recent weeks!
I also decided that I think I want to take a trip back in time–in Danielle’s career, that is. Steel doesn’t often write novels with a historical setting.
Luckily for me, I have a couple books that fit the requirements. While it’s true that most of the titles I own were published in the last couple of years, I do have two that are from decades ago now.
Why Her Early Works?
I am leaning towards Zoya, a hefty novel that Danielle Steel first released back in June of 1988. It’s also not the oldest book of her that I own. That title is currently Summer’s End which came out way back in October of 1980; 17 books sit between Summer’s End and Zoya! Danielle Steel has always been a prolific author, it seems.
Three of the four books I’ve read of hers have all been relatively recent publications. And one could argue that when dealing with an author who averages more than a half dozen books each a year, is 2017 and 2013 really recent anymore?
Nevertheless, her more recent works are pretty formulaic. So was The Cottage which was published over 20 years ago now! Will her very early novels be the same? That is the question I intend to answer.
Expect this review to not be released until sometime in May. Zoya is a larger novel than many of her others and it will take time to read, digest, and write a review worthy of it.
About Zoya
I don’t know much about this book. I know that it stems from Danielle Steel’s early career. According to the list that I’m using, it is her 23rd published novel. I also know that it was turned into a movie thanks to a list of adapted works on her website.
Publisher’s Summary
Danielle’s website has the following summary.
Against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and World War I Europe, Zoya, young cousin to the Tsar, flees St. Petersburg to Paris to find safety. Her entire world forever changed, she faces hard times and joins the Ballet Russe in Paris. And then, when life is kind to her, Zoya moves on to a new and glittering life in New York. The days of ease are all too brief as the Depression strikes, and she loses everything yet again. It is her career, and the man she meets in the course of it, which ultimately save her, as she rebuilds her life through the war years and beyond. And it is her family that comes to mean everything to her. From the roaring twenties to the 1980’s, Zoya remains a rare and spirited woman whose legacy will live on.
I am excited to start reading it and seeing where this story takes me.
Until next time… ~RJ
Shelves of Steel 