Another wonderful book from my favorite author! This one has just the right of intrigue and romance. Olivia and Joachim are from two different worlds but they form a working relationship that turns to friendship. This book made me shed a few tears and I highly recommend it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Butler by Danielle Steel has created an impeccable balance of suspense, dedicated friendships, exotic locations, personal growth, and unexpected romance. The hero, Joachim von Hartmann, is an identical twin estranged from his brother. He fell into a career as a butler and excelled at it. Olivia White is taking a break after a failed business venture and has travelled to London where her path crossed with Joachim.

This book is unique and examines challenging situations with grace. Nazi war crimes, Argentinian drug lords, art reunification, losing assets due to government seizures, and much more. It is also told from the male perspective of Joachim. Due to his specialized training and long employment as a English butler he is overqualified for most positions in Paris.

However, Olivia agrees to temporarily employ him and finds his talents are just what she needs. They have an excellent working relationship, but circumstances are conspiring against them to end all ties for the safety of everyone involved.

Danielle Steel has created a world where the characters are fully fleshed out and perfectly imperfect. This is not her usual love story and is far from a happily ever after, but what it is is a pleasure. The gyrations between Joachim and Olivia will have you rooting that they can find their own happily ever after, but it is far from a sure thing. The Butler met all of my must haves by engaging the reader, tugging at my heartstrings, and keeping me guessing.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

I love Danielle Steel, so reading this was exciting. Absolutely loved it. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Sometimes you just need to let yourself dissolve into a Danielle Steele book and forget the real world. Always a pleasure!

I've read just about all of Danielle Steel's books and I've been reading them for over 30 years. I love how easy it was to slip into this book and care about the 2 main characters. Olivia and Joachim have become loners due to their family situations. They meet when they are both at crossroads in their lives and form a partnership. There was just the right amount of historical and real world action to keep me interested and guessing how this would all play out. I think this was another great book by a wonderful author who allows us to relax and get away from our world when we read her stories.

A butler takes a job as a personal assistant for an American decorator. Set in Paris, London, Argentina and a NYC.

Reading The Butler takes you on journeys to several different cities and you can tell the vibe is different in each city. The story tells about the lives of the characters and how the cities work to form their lives. The grit and determination shows through in the characterization. Great book!

This was a very sweet and poignant story and I breezed right through it. The main characters were relatable and although the prose was somewhat repetitive, it was not any more than we are used to from Danielle Steel. Life throws some hardballs at us sometimes and the true worth of a person is how they deal with those hardballs. Set in Paris, we learn to love The Butler and he is very well fleshed out. I could see this being made into a TV movie. Well worth the few hours it takes to read.

Fantastic. Danielle Steel did it again. I was getting discouraged, but her last few books have renewed my faith in her as a writer. She is still one of my favorites. If you haven't read any of her books start with this one! If you want a good read, I highly recommend. Great details, characters and plot. Read from start to finish in one day! Could not walk away!

Danielle Steel brings us Joachim and Olivia. Joachim arrives in Paris with his mother leaving his brother behind in Buenos Aires. Olivia arrives in Paris after her magazine fails. When Olivia needs help organizing her new apartment, she meets Joachim. With his previous experiences as a butler and his knowledge of the French language, he helps her navigate setting up everything she needs. As they work together, they learn more about each other. Soon, the past starts to invade the present when Joachim is mistaken for his twin brother who has become a dangerous criminal. As Olivia starts to get her life in order and finding her new calling, Joachim's life is falling apart when truths are revealed when he has a candid conversation with his mother. Olivia and Joachim must each see beyond the past and reconcile with it before being able to move on to a better future. Will they be able to do so in order to secure their future or will they get stuck in the past?

Danielle Steel brings us another story of love, hardships, and friendship. Two very different lives who end up meeting in Paris. Ms. Steel catches us up with their histories to show how these events affect their life decisions. Through Olivia and Joachim, we get to see what may have been. I enjoyed reading their story. I look forward to the next adventure.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for this privilege.

Another good book by Danielle Steel. Twin brothers, one good and one evil. Javier becomes a drug dealer and Joachim after several jobs decides to go to Butler school and he becomes a butler in England. The couple he works for passes away and he goes back home to live with his mother for awhile. HIs mother works at getting paintings stolen by the Nazi's back to descendants.. After awhile she tells Joachim why it's so important to her. They don't see or hear from Javier for over 20 years. Olivia came from New York to stay in France at least for a year after her mother passes and the magazine she developed folds after 10 years. Joachim takes a job helping Olivia. He becomes her assistant on a project fixing up a large house. Javier comes back and aims a gun at his mother and brother. Joachim convinces him to leave.. Javier gets shot by the police and Joachim decides to return to England believing to be a danger to his mom and Olivia.. He returns to France and he and Olivia confess their love for each other

Even though it proved to be predictable, it kept me engaged. Danielle has a way of writing that keeps you rooting for love and happy endings

Sometimes you just need to forget everything and read a Danielle Steel book. The story and characters are predictable and something about her style is almost comforting to experience. This story followed her standard writing style, although I noticed that details were repeated frequently throughout the story.

The Butler by Danielle Steel is different from her usual books as it is told mainly from a male character. Joachim Von Hartmann and his twin Javier take different paths in life. Joachim becomes a butler and finds success in a life in service. Javier becomes involved in the world of drugs and finds success as a criminal, to the despair of his mother and twin.

When Joachim's elderly employers die and their children no long need his services, he returns to Paris to stay with his mother while trying to decide what to do next. Butlers for grand homes are not in high demand so he speaks to an employment agency who finds him an interesting position, helping set up an apartment for American Olivia White.

Olivia's mother has died and her magazine has folded. Unsure of what to do, she heads to Paris and eventually hires Joachim to help organize her new apartment. A tentative friendship forms, though trust issues and privacy cause some problems. A trip to America and an unsettling event with immigration and the police over mistaking Joachim for Javier cause a fracture in the growing friendship.

I enjoyed this different type of format from Danielle Steel and look forward to what is published next.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

This was a different take on things with the perspective being from a male instead of a female in Danielle Steel's books. I rather liked this perspective though and thought that this book was well written as usual from Danielle Steel. Just not what Danielle Steel reader's are used to getting from her though.

Joachim and his twin brother Javier were raised in Argentina. Joachim later moved with his mom to Paris and Javier stayed behind. Javier gets himself into trouble and later looses touch with his mom and brother all together. Joachim and his mother believe that Javier is involved in drug trafficking but they have never been able to prove it.

Joachim is close to his mom and is always finding ways to take care of her. Joachim decides that he is going to attend Butler school and get himself a job that he will enjoy. Joachim does very well in the school and makes quiet a name for himself. He lands a job working for one of the more reputable families but when they no longer need him after many years, he moves back to be close to his mom in Paris.

Joachim doesn't really know what he wants to do after moving back to Paris and realizes that the more formal role of butlers has changed. Joachim puts in his application with some of the agencies and waits on the call for a job then. One day he gets a call from the agency and they are looking for someone to fill a specific role, not necessarily as a butler but they think that he will be a perfect fit for the job.

Olivia White has recently gone through the loss of her mother and is wanting to just get away from the daily life and take a break. Her magazine has just folded and she needs a change of scenery. Olivia decides to move to Paris for a couple of months. She finds a lovely apartment but needs help getting the kitchen ordered and decorating the place. She calls an agency to send her someone and guess who they send?? You got it, Joachim.

The connection between Joachim and Olivia you feel from the start but neither one of them are ready to really approach a relationship. They both have suffered great loss and know what the other is feeling so they can relate to each other there. The story goes on and you will have to read it for yourself to find out what happens between Joachim and Olivia. I enjoyed being on the ride with these two.

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

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion. I have read Danielle Steel books for now over 25 years and this book reminded me the most out of all of her recent books of her books of the 80s and 90s. I wasn't sure if this was a book I was going to enjoy because I thought it was going to be about a butler running a great house (ala Carson in Downton Abbey). It was so much more. The book starts off with Joachim who is an identical twin. He is young and growing up in Argentina. His mother is a single mother after being widowed when the twins were young. She finally finds love again when the twins are teenagers and Joachim and his mom move to Paris. Javier stays behind in Argentina and he is lost to his family to being a drug dealer. Joachim decides, after floundering for a few years after schooling, to go to Butler school. He ends up loving service and he stays with his second job until both of his employers had passed (16 years). Joachim decides to return to Paris and finds a job with Olivia, an American down on her luck living in Paris for a year. Joachim and Olivia hit it off (as employer/employee) until Joachim's past (via Javier) returns. There are a lot of twists and turns in Joachim's past that come out and your heart breaks for him. When this book ended (I won't be spoiling it), I legit kept hitting forward as if there would be additional chapters. This is one book I wish went on for another 100 pages. If you love old school Danielle Steel, you'd love this book!

'Danielle Steele's smooth narrative and superb writing style once again have a winner in the latest of her romantic books, The Butler. What does a young man struggling with what to do with his life do? He goes to butler school of course. Yes, according to this book there is still such a thing and there is a school that trains one for what appears to be an interesting career. The main character has a twin who chooses a different type of life, one that provides background and intrigue as our young butler grows and learns his trade. His romantic interest is a young woman from America that visits Paris to heal from her experience as the editor of a failed magazine. She starts an estate renovation business and meets the main character during one of his trips home after his long-term job has ended with the death of the elderly couple he served. The lives and the business of each seem to intertwine seamlessly together until the twin returns to Paris. Ms. Steele's books continue to entertain her readers after years of romance writing. The Butler entertains and takes us on a romantic journey in the "City of Lights". It feeds our fantasy and allures the romantic part of all of us. It is an entertaining, relaxing, romantic read. Thanks to #NetGalley#TheButler for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I am a huge fan of Danielle Steel and have read her books for years!

The Butler tells the story of Joachim and his twin brother Javier who were born and raised in Argentina. Joachim later moved to Paris with his mother and step-father, but Javier stayed behind and eventually led a life filled with trouble. As Joachim struggled with the separation from his twin, he decided to enroll in butler school and found a lifestyle that brought him great joy. Olivia moves to Paris for a break from life and her path cross's with Joachim as he assists her with some projects.

This book was a little flat to me to be honest. I liked the overall story, but I felt like something was missing and at times I lost interest.

Another great Danielle Steel
Novel. This time the story revolves around a male character. Fans of hers will not be disappointed!!!

Wow! This is a wonderful book. It was definitely different than I thought it was going to be. It’s about a family and what happens to them and how a family paths cross and come together. It has romance, but not like a lot of her books with romance. I loved this book and would definitely recommend this to everyone.