As always, Danielle Steel sucks you in and leaves you wanting more after the last chapter.
With life so complicated, it is so refreshing to get engrossed in a love story, that you can count on for a happy ending. Is there love after loss?
Maggie is dealing with more losses than any one person should have to. She’s lost several family members to unspeakable tragedy and is learning to live life again. She is encouraged to take a trip to Europe and reconnects with an old friend that is rich and famous 30 years later. He is a risk taker and Maggie is looking for a quiet life free of risk. The journey Maggie takes is a story of courage, hope and of course, love. A wonderful read.

This was an emotional packed book and as with all Danielle Steel books, I found it to be amazing. She is the absolute queen of writing. Another winner from her.

As with most of Danielle Steel’s books that I’ve read, this was very formulaic in style. The first third (or half of the book) was a lot of fact based history to set up the story, and the second half was super fast paced and lack depth. I loved the concept of the book and I enjoyed the second chance, high school romance in this one. My favorite part was the international travel. However, it just wasn’t my favorite book. We see Maggie who has had a lot of tragedy in her lives make hard decisions and while I enjoyed the characters, I wasn’t emotionally attached to any of them. This was an ok read.

There's a lot going on in Nine Lives, Danielle Steel's latest drama. Maggie is a somewhat reserved protagonist who has been scarred by the devil-may-care attitude by the men in her life. Her father and brother are both adventurers, and Maggie yearns for the security that they couldn't provide her. Her mother once warned her not to trust wild men, and Maggie takes that advice to heart when she married Brad, an accountant with traditional values. It doesn't matter to her that Brad is boring--at least he's stable.

But all that changes when Brad is killed in a tragic plane accident. Devastated, Maggie spends the next year in shock over the loss. Then she reconnects with her first love, a boy who broke her heart 30 years earlier when he chose adventure over stability. Now he's a famous race car driver who thrives on the rush of adrenaline--his drug of choice. Now Maggie has to decide whether she can live with the uncertainty of her lover's choices. Can she really depend on a future with a man who gambles with life every time he goes on a death-defying adventure?

I enjoyed this brief story. As with all of Steel's novels, there's a lot of repetition and not a lot of detail. The books read somewhat like outlines and character sketches. But it's still entertaining stuff, and perfect for anyone looking for a light read with lots of drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Maggie has dealt with two love ones passing. Only to grow up and settle for a homebody husband. Because she grew up thinking risk takers end up dying. Later in life once again she mourns for the passing of her husband. It leaves her feeling lonely and sad. A friend suggest she take a trip. To help get over this latest death. Maggie is one strong lady. Even though she might not think so. Thirty years later she bumps into her first true love dare devil ex. Can he help her overcome her fear. That risk takers are most likely to die. I truly enjoyed this sad to happy read.

A charming read that was full of emotion!

Our main character Maggie has experienced great loss in her life and doesn’t take many risks, but when an unsuspecting loss details life plans Maggie starts to realize that maybe playing it safe isn’t always best!

This was a story of how to cope with loss and the beauty of second chances! It was an easy read and the characters are great! The title becomes clear at the end and really brings to story to light!

I loved the strength of our heroine and how kind and caring she is even through all the pain! An unforgettable read!

I always enjoy Danielle Steel books and this one was no exception to that. I love how you always feel like you are on the ride with the characters in the story as you are reading it. Mrs. Steel has not lost her touch yet and I have enjoy reading her books more and more these days!

Maggie Kelly has tried to stay away from bad boys who want to gamble with their lives after losing both her father and brother to airplane crashes. That's why she let her high school boyfriend go off when they graduated and never spoke to him again. Maggie married an accountant, that should be safe enough right? While Maggie and her family have been on their safe ride in life, no one could have ever imagined what would happen one fateful day for them. Maggie's whole world is upended and she quickly realizes that sometimes even playing it safe is just not safe enough.

After Maggie tries to pull her life back together, her sweet friend suggests that Maggie take a trip to a place that she has always wanted to go and just breathe for a little bit. Maggie has been making all the tough decisions and moved her son to college so now she just need time away to reset. Maggie takes the advice of her friend and books her trip.

Maggie has enjoyed herself and is taking the time to see the sights that she has always wanted to see on her trip. When she goes into this casino one night, she never could have imagined who she would run into, especially in another country. When she hears her name across the room, she immediately know the voice and who it belongs to. Maggie has run into her old boyfriend from high school that was the risk taker and made her nervous for his life in almost everything he attempted. They reconnect and begin to spend some time together while she is still in the country. Come to find out, Paul is now a world renown race car driver. Maggie knows that he is still the daredevil that he used to be and hasn't changed. Paul's life is one that is in the fast lane and he has done very well for himself.

When Paul has to face some consequences for some gambling with life choices he has made, will Maggie be able to stick it out with him or will she bail ship? You will have to read this one to find out. I think the message from this story that I took away was that you have to keep thing in perspective in life. Money is not everything and sometimes you have to be willing to give up some things in order to have the real valuable stuff. This was a great read and I am glad I got the chance to read it early.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC of Nine Lives. This is my personal review.
I adore Danielle Steel and all her books. Nine Lives is another one to add to my collection!
Maggie was a woman who had to endure loss in her life, and she saw the effects it had on her Mother. Having a father and brother taken from them way too soon was heartbreaking for them both. Maggie was told thru her whole life not to fall for a man who lives on the edge of life doing dangerous things. Maggie fell for a boy in her teens who was always doing things to put himself in danger. She knew she had to break away from him and did just that. She married a man who was living a safe life, but she had no control of what happens in her life to change that.
Maggie runs into her daredevil first love thirty years after last seeing him. Has he changed – will her life change after connecting with him again?
I enjoyed this book as much as her others I have read. Thank you, Danielle Steel, for another fantastic book.

This is about a woman who longs to not take risks at any cost and tend to fall for men who love danger and have interest in cars. Characters struggle to take risks w fear of getting hurt. There was some parts that kept you interested and some that make things complicated and may make some not want to finish

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Mary Margaret Kelly had a carefree childhood she came of age in the shadow of grief. Her father was a dashing daredevil Air Force piglet who died when she was nine. Maggie watched her mother struggle to put their lives back together. As her family moved from one city to the next her mother warned her to beware of dare devil men and avoid the risk at all cost. Maggie sought out all the things her mother had lost. She found a predictable partner, a stable home and regular paychecks. She married a dependable, kind man who was a reliable husband and successful accountant. They had a son and found happiness in a conventional suburban life. Until tragedy struck again. Ultimately while Maggie tries to outrun her fears and painful memories she walks a tightrope between danger, courage and between wisdom and love. An amazing story true Danielle Steel style. Love her books and read everyone she writes.

This book is amazing!

Danielle Steel hits it out of the park with this one.

A woman who is surrounded by dangerous men and tries her best to avoid them.
After losing 2 important men in her life she marries a safe person and is hit with tragedy anyways.
In order to recover from his dying she goes on vacation only to see her first love who loves all things dangerous.
She has to decide: can her heart take another heartbreak when he does all his dangerous pasttimes or put herself first and live without him.

This book reminds me of why I fell in love with reading Danielle Steel.

This was a great book! I would recommend this to everyone! It’s romantic and suspenseful but I also like her books. It’s about a couple that get back together but he decides that he wants to be a daredevil! Will they be able to survive this.? Only time will tell.

This was a typical Danielle Steel book. Woman grows up with some tragedy in her life, overcomes it and life is calm and steady. Then something magical and life-changing is thrown her way. Should she pursue or keep her calm and steady life? Of course you know what the answer is already, right?
Don’t be mistaken, I did like this book. I know what I’m getting when I read these books and it is a brief moment that takes me away from daily stress and routine. I know these plots and romances are utterly unrealistic, but I grew up with Disney princesses. So this is just continuing that trope for me. If that is your thing, then you’ll be picking up this book.

Typical Danielle Steel fare. In this book, the protagonist is married to a very stable man with a very stable job working (then owning) the family hardware store. She had lost a father and a brother in flying accidents while they were military pilots.

Her husband dies in an airline crash and she survives only to reconnect with her HS sweetheart who engages in very dangerous sports which is hard for her to accept. Lots of time spent in fancy hotels, on yachts and in a London Penthouse. It's nice to be superrich.

Nine Lives is my 38th book by Danielle Steel. It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it. Danielle Steel knows how to entertain us from the very first page to the last. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published July 2021.

I received this ARC from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read a Danielle Steel book in a long time, which means it's possible that I do not recall her style of writing very well. However, this style of writing was not my cup of tea. I felt like the story of Maggie was very rushed and there was little to no dialogue, which is something I am just not used to in any book. I considered DNF'ing the book very early on because I could not get past no dialogue but I found myself wanting to know how it ended. I stuck with it and it went from something I would have given 1 star to about 3 stars. Maggie's story is extremely heartbreaking but I found myself annoyed with her because she was scared of her own shadow. But I couldn't possibly put myself in those shoes and figure out how I would feel or what I would do, so I cut her some slack,
The story itself was intriguing, but again, I would have liked more dialogue between the characters. With this story of writing and the way I felt it was rushed through, it felt more like someone was TELLING ME a story instead of me being immersed in the story and feeling like I was one of the characters on this ride with them.
If this is normal writing for Steel, then I have no doubt her fans will continue to enjoy her stories with this book as well. It just was not for me, unfortunately.

Nine Lives by Danielle Steel. I really liked the book. The story has love, romance and all the prerequisites to a story you need. You may need tissues beside you. Read the book you will love it.

This heart wrenching and later heart warming story is filled with drama, love, angry, grief, and sadness. Finally, love conquers all by weaving a story that leaves you content. Some twists and turns make the pages fly quickly.

Maggie Kelly watched her mom be shattered by the loss of her husband and son in military operations. She is determined to find a stable partner who doesn’t take risks. She marries an accountant and they raise a son. Though her life isn’t exciting it is happy. When her husband dies in a plane crash that Maggie survives, she is crushed. A friend encourages her to live out her dreams. She encounters her first love on her travels. Their reunion poses the dilemma—does she become entangled with a daredevil or does she leave him to resume her “safe” life? Though this was well written and the characters were liable it was a bit too predictable for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC.