Danielle is one of my go-to authors and this book did not disappoint. It discussed real life issues - cancer, child loss, the church, and grief, all while keeping the reader entertained enough to not be completely sucked in by all that sadness.

Our main character loses her son and then her sister, who went and became a nun, convinces her to search for the baby girl her parents forced her to give up as a teen. The journey is a beautiful one and I'm so glad Mrs Steel took us on it with her!! 😻

Thanks netgalley for giving me the pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

Finding Ashley is a wonderful story of sisters coming together after years to right a family wrong. Danielle Steel writes a realistic story that will tug at your heartstrings.

You'll be caught up in this emotional journey in no time! Danielle Steel weaves a tale like no other, so I'm always prepared to be drawn into her characters quickly and FINDING ASHLEY was no exception. The backstory is powerful, the main characters are attention grabbing and the coming reunion is at the top of our mind as we move through the story. I loved it!

Melissa is so easy to sympathize with. Her world fell apart when she lost her young son to cancer, and the salvation of remodeling an old Victorian house became her life for the last few years. While reconnecting with her sister, she divulges info from the past that leads to a discovery.

Hattie has given her life to the pleasure of serving god and his people, so when she sees a window into easing her sister's suffering, she sets out on a journey of healing. Along the way her beliefs are challenged and her past resurfaces.

I loved the emotional depth that arose from this story and each aspect of it. Highly recommend!

3/5 stars

Thanks for providing this precious arc in regards to the publisher and author!

This is what y'all have been hyping up?.

Liked this book! Definitely some areas of improvement, but overall I enjoyed it. It was not my favorite Danielle Steel book, but it was definitely different than her other books. I liked the relationship between the two sisters, though it wasn't as believable at first.

This latest Danielle Steel novel is very different from her other novels. In Finding Ashley, Steel does a great job with developing her characters, especially Melissa. The story begins with Melissa as a young girl and has her life develop with death of parents, her becoming a mother to her little sister, Hattie, at an early age, to an adult. Melissa's life has sadness, tragedy, loss of a spouse, child, career and metamorphizes to a completely different person.
I would like to thank netgalley for allowing me to read Steel's latest novel before its publication. Her versatility in writing from romance, historical novels, and women's fiction proves her brilliance as an author.

Melissa Henderson is working on a house she bought in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. It is A 100-year-old Victorian house with lots of acreage. She is divorced from Carson. The last 4 years before she bought the house had been a terrible time for her. Her 8-year-old son, Robbie, had died from a brain tumor. At the time, she had been a very successful author but never ent back to it after Robbie died.

Melissa’s mother had been a harsh woman who took her anger out on Melissa. Her father had been an alcoholic. When her parents died, she was left to care of her younger sister, Hattie, who later became a nun. This infuriated Melissa because she had always hated nuns. Now, she lives alone in her house and she loves it that way. She works alongside contractors as she improves the house and they are impressed with her hard work and determination. Norm Swenson, a contractor who works for her admires her even when other works find her harsh and cold.

Melissa and Hattie have been estranged since Hattie became a nun. Now, Melissa reaches out to her. Melissa became pregnant when she was 16 and her mother sent her to a convent in Ireland. There she gave birth to a little girl but was not even able to see her because the nuns took her away immediately. A rich family was waiting to adopt her. Melissa was never able to find any information on her daughter because the nuns burned the paperwork. Thus, Melissa’s hatred of them.

Hattie undertakes to go to Ireland and see what she can learn about the baby. It’s only by luck that she meets a ex-nun who helps her find Melissa’s daughter. Her name is Michaela and was adopted by a famous actress from California.

Thus, we follow the signature smooth story of Melissa, Michaela, and Hattie told only the way that Danielle Steel can. I have read so very many of her books which are all written in that special style of hers. Her stories show angst but calm endings. This one is yet another keeper. Don’t miss “Finding Ashley.”

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

An excellent, moving story!! I read this book in one sitting.

Melissa Stevens Henderson used to be a best selling author until her little boy Robbie got sick with an inoperable brain tumor and he died two years later. She was so consumed with her grief, Mel stopped writing, gave up on her marriage, and moved to the Berkshires for solitude. She bought an old Victorian house and hired a contractor to help her restore it back to its former glory. For the last four years, she's worked side by side with her contractor, Norm, making her house a home again. Mel enjoyed the quiet, no-one knows who she used to be, no one feels sympathy for her lost child, and she's OK with that.

Melissa had a hard childhood. Her younger sister, Hattie, never saw the abuse that occurred in their Park Avenue apartment, she was too young to realize it. Their mother was a bitter, religious woman who's sharp tongue was her most powerful weapon. Their father was an alcoholic with a large inheritance that the family had to live on because he could never keep a job. The only love in that home was between Mel and Hattie. When Melissa was just 16 years old, she went searching for someone to love her and she got pregnant the first time. As a punishment, her boyfriend was sent away to a military academy, and Melissa was sent to Ireland to a convent for 7 months to deliver her baby. The convent was nothing but a baby mill that the Sisters and Church made a fortune from. All the girls there were from wealthy families and the babies went to even wealthier ones, mostly movie stars.

Melissa never forgave her mom for sending her away, her dad was too weak to stand up for his children. There wasn't any counselling for the young pregnant girls, and once they delivered the babies, the girls were shipped home 2 weeks later. Melissa's mom died a year later of cancer, blaming her daughter for the disease, A year after their mom died, her father went on a drinking binge, ended up in a coma, and died. Melissa was 18 years old and Hattie was only 12. She always considered her sister as her responsibility because their parents were cold people. So she raised Hattie, sold the apartment and moved them to a different part of the city. Mel went to Columbia University while Hattie became a teenager. They lived on her dad's life insurance policy, and due to Mel's budgeting, they were both able to go to college.

Hattie wanted to be an actress. She was very good at it. When she was 25, she got an offer for a part in a movie in Hollywood, she went all excited. But something happened there and she came home immediately and joined a convent becoming a nun. Mel was married by then, with her first book a major success, with a baby. She never forgave Hattie for becoming a nun because she saw it as giving up on her dreams and hiding. Melissa never forgot how terribly she was treated in Ireland and it affected her so deeply, that her books became more successful. She put all her demons on the pages of every book.

Hattie and Mel lived in the same city but were estranged. After her son died, she got divorced, and moved, they would send an email on birthdays and holidays only. Four years after Melissa moved, wildfires spread within a few miles of Melissa's home. She refused to evacuate, she'd rather die with her home. She had nothing to live for anymore, no one would miss her. When Hattie calls the next morning to check on her, Mel's shocked. Hattie then asks if she could come out to see her. Mel was taken by surprise by the call and the request and told her that she'd think about it. When Mel called her back extending an invite, Hattie got permission from the convent and went to see her sister. The girls cleared the air and Melissa told her everything about what really happened when she was sent away to Ireland. Years ago, Melissa tried to contact the convent asking for her records so she could reconnect with her lost daughter. But the convent burned all evidence of their files, making sure no one could get into trouble.

Hattie, being a nurse herself, never understood why her sister was so upset 18 years ago when she joined the Order. Her sister sacrificed so much to raise Hattie, that she wanted to give Melissa the one thing she always wanted, to meet her daughter. Her sister needs to start living again. With permission of her Mother Superior, Hattie flies to Ireland with high hopes. After staying in the same convent her 16 year old sister did, she was horrified that everything Melissa described was true. The living conditions, etc. She didn't find any records. But she did find a former nun who was a nurse at the same time her sister was there. She met with her and listened why the nun gave up her vows after witnessing the greed of the Church. The woman gave her three famous Hollywood actors who bought children from the convent the same time when Melissa delivered her daughter.

Hattie then flew to L.A to seek them out. She struck out with the first two families, but the third woman was an exact replica of both Melissa and their mom. After telling her sister's story, they both got DNA tests to make sure. With good news, she flew home to tell her sister.

Melissa never forgot about her daughter. Knowing that Hattie traveled the world alone to do this for her opened the door to forgiveness for the sisters. Melissa's daughter, flies to NY and for the first time in 6 years, Melissa returns to NY. Meeting her daughter and son-in-law, and her grandchildren is an experience she never thought she'd ever get. With promises of staying in touch, Melissa goes back to New England lighter. She also starts dating Norm, her contractor turned friend.

When a scandal hits Hollywood, and numerous women start coming out and accusing a successful producer of rape and assault, things start to change drastically. Hattie was one of those women almost 20 years ago. That's why she joined the Order. Now she's conflicted being a nun and wants to be released from the church. Melissa stands by her sister, but she doesn't want to lose her again. She's off to Africa to work at an orphanage.

With Melissa finally getting the happy ending she's due, Hattie needs her own as well.

A lovely book.

A definite must read!!

Melissa was a top selling author but when her son died she escaped to the mountains in Massachusetts. She lived for her home when she had been remodeling for a several years. She gets back into contact with her sister Hattie that has become a nun years before. They become loving sisters again.
This was a very uplifting book and would be great to read on the beach.
The characters were more believable and not crazy rich, so many of Danielle Steel's characters are beyond relating to due to the fact.

Finding Ashley
by Danielle Steel
Publishing Date: April 27,2021

What a remarkable career Danielle Steel has had! We have readers that request her books long before they are published. We thank Danielle and her publisher for keeping our patrons guessing! This was a great book and I will recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley as well for providing the digital ARC.

4star

Finding Ashley by Daniel steel follows the story of two sisters .. One is a Best selling author and the other is a quiet and sedate nun. But both have vastly different but equally tragic stories dating back to their teens and young adulthood. After a wildfire threatens Melissa's home, had he reaches out and the sisters begin their journey of reconnection. Along the journey, family secrets are revealed, sibling ties are strengthened, self-discoveries are made, and what was once thought impossible turns out to be possible. Written in classic Danielle Steel style, This poignant and touching book is unputdownable!

I have been a fan of Danielle Steel novels for more than 30 years - since I was old enough/allowed to read her work, and Finding Ashley is like two of her best storylines neatly woven together. Another timeless tale, Finding Ashely tells the story of two sisters, their past and present together with a ripped from the headlines tragedy. Melissa and Hattie are relatable and likeable, and the cast of supporting characters are just detailed enough for the reader to get to know them but not bogged down in minutia. I miss Paris and would have liked a little more exotic setting than Ireland but it almost is a minor character itself. I flew through my copy and very much appreciate #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read #FindingAshley by #Danielle Steel

Finding Ashley is a very real life book. Growing up Catholic and attending a parochial school for eight years, I felt like I was reading a journal of a teenager that I attended school with. Melissa's situation was something that happened to a lot of girls in the fifties. I knew some girls that "went away" for seven or eight months. and returned home to not tell where they had been. Adoption was a very secretive issue and was a subject that was not talked about. Parents that were lucky enough too adopt a child, many times did not tell anyone or the child, that the child was adopted. The journey of finding one's birth parents was a difficult one and very rarely accomplished. The two sisters in this book definitely looked out for one another and went to extreme means to improve the lives of each another. The people they each met certainly were influential in the decisions they made for themselves. This book was one that was hard to put down as I wanted to find out what happened next. There were some situations that were quite surprising and turned out to be for the best. Up until the very last page, the book was astounding and a must read.
This book was another exceptional one of Danielle Steel's.

Finding Ashley by Danielle Steel is vintage feel-good stuff. It has so much trauma filling it from every direction and yet is has a happy ending. Melissa Henderson had lived in the Berkshires for four years, rehabbing a gorgeous old house, much of it herself. She was working on doors now. She led a solitary existence, exactly what she had needed after her little boy died of an inoperable brain tumor and her marriage couldn't take it and so there was a divorce. She had a sister, Hattie, was a nun. She never saw her and was rarely in touch. She hated the church for reasons of her own and never could understand why Hattie had thrown over a promising acting career to become a nun. She had been a writer, a well known one with a promising career, but that all ended when Robbie got sick. She had no one and that was OK. The contractor she worked with was Norm, a man about her age who gave her her space but had taught her so much. Then there was a forest fire. As she wetted down her house, Norm arrived to see how he could help. When he refused to leave, she fed him coffee, and they talked. She told him about her life and how she had ended up here. Hattie had seen the news of the fire on the television and called to check on her. Doors were opening.

Ashley was the name of the daughter she's been forced to give up for adoption 33 years ago. It was at the root of her sorrow, her feelings about her mother, and her hatred of the Catholic Church. Now Hattie, secretly, wanted to find her for her sister. Amazingly, she did. This was a tear-inducing story that had it all: sexual abuse at the highest levels, forced adoption, renouncing of one's religious vows, death in a helicopter crash, love, hate, reconciliation. It is what Steel does best. She writes sympathetic characters, and ones not so sympathetic. She weaves them together with the news of the day, the hot spots that have every one talking, and creates a story so moving that the reader can't put the book down. This was a wonderful read. Just what I needed that day. It's feel-good and faith inducing. Things can get better.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Finding Ashley by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #findingashley

Danielle Steele has done it again with another novel of love, loss and lives reconnected. Finding Ashley is one you don't want to miss. Two estranged sisters get the opportunity to come together after many years. The first, Melissa who was once an author, lives a quiet life renovating her home. Her marriage is over and her son died of cancer six years ago. She feels she has nothing left and no purpose. This house has given her a purpose again. As a wildfire approaches she is desperately taking precautions to protect her home. News of the wildfire is televised, and her sister sees it. Hattie decides to call Melissa to make sure she is safe. After speaking with her Hattie, a nun is determined to right things with her sister even if it means opening up painful memories from the past.
At 16 Melissa, pregnant and unmarried is sent to a convent in Ireland to finish out her pregnancy, give birth and then give up her baby in order to save her family from being disgraced. Hattie decides after all these years to seek out the child Melissa gave up. This is one book you want to add to your reading list. Thank you to Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

Melissa Henderson is diving into fixing up a new house she bought after her son’s death and her subsequent divorce. Burying herself into fixing it up beautifully . She has no friends and wants it that way. The contractor who she worked with on her house is a gentle nice man who has taken a liking to her but. giving her the space she needs. Some call her cold and abrupt and she is. She just wants to be left alone to heal. Hattie her estranged sister reaches out and Melissa lets her. Melissa always hated that Hattie became a nun, and Melissa has good reason to dislike nuns.. When Melissa shares a secret with Hattie her sister sets out to try to help. But at what cost to herself? How much bad can happen to one person? As you meet the characters they all have serious life burdens that they each carry, it’s what happens after that determines their futures. Thank you NetGalley, Danielle Steel and publishers Penguin Random House LLC NY for this ARC as always this is my honest opinion.

I have been reading Danielle Steel's novels for many years. Some I have loved and some I have liked. I initially felt this book was going to be predictable, but I was wrong. There are so many substories that kept my interest. The character of Melissa was hard to connect with to begin with. All of the characters and their stories meld together making a very interesting book.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley for my voluntary, honest review.

I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine through NetGalley. This story is about Melissa Henderson and what happened to her in life. When she lost her young son to cancer, she lost everything. She just couldn't live, so she ran away and bought a house and became an unforgiving person who didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. There was a lot that happened to her before she lost her son and she became an unforgiving woman who she said she was sounding like her mother. Something happened that almost took the only thing she had left her home, and that is the beginning of her protective armor starting to crack and moving forward once again in living.

Danielle Steel can still write the most heart-wrenching books I've ever read. She pulls you into the story line like you are a part of it. Love, fear, reconnection, sorrow, "rebirth"............ you will find it all in this phenomenal book. If you gave up a baby when you were a teenager would you look for it when you got older??

I received an ebook ARC from Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

I am a long time fan of Danielle Steel and am always astonished at how many books she has read, especially recently! I do love how her tone and subject matter has changed over time, and I welcome both in Finding Ashley. The usual woman protagonist is the main character, but this time she is more down to earth than the ones in her precious books. I felt a touch of Jodi Picoult in this book; emotional and controversial topics, family turmoil and drama, and compelling and relatable characters. There are some tough and sensitive topics, but Steel presented and covered them with the just the right touch and degree. Her writing is so easy, so flawless, and so welcoming, despite even those sensitive topics. I read this book in only two days and could not put it down.

I just can’t get enough of this extremely talented author and love that she keeps writing such wonderful books, they are always a guaranteed go-to for what I know will be a great read.

#findingashley #netgalley @penguinrandom @officialdaniellesteel @daniellesteel