This story is about women working at a talent agency, how their lives are impacted by the choices they have to make trying to balance work and family. The women in the end were stronger for their choices. I did have a problem with both owners of the agency, one of them for abusing women sexually for years and the other for not doing anything about it. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Another amazing book by Danielle Steel, this is a great story. Timeless characters with real flaws and very real issues that readers we be able to relate to into their everyday life. This book could easily of been a great weekly show or even a movie. This book has a lot of meat in it, meaning lots of details of the women involved. I love being able to still read a Danielle Steel book and fall in love with it again.

HIGH STAKES
BY: DANIELLE STEEL

4.5 Stars for tackling a difficult subject!

With this one I have to applaud Danielle Steel for dealing with a difficult subject matter, which was sometimes hard to read about. I thought that it would interest me because as a voracious reader of practically all genres, agents and publishing is particularly interesting to me. I didn't know the extent of the abuse that these brave women had to deal with. It is about two male owners of a business that have two separate divisions of the agents that represent both Literary and Drama branches. The two men are who are the owners are completely different in how they treat their female employees. As I write this my heart is still breaking for Francine who gets TEN YEARS of torture from one of the most vile men I have read in Fiction. His name is Dan and he has been blackmailing the head of Literary named Francine to meet with him twice per week at night after hours forcing her to be his sex slave. She already probably felt worn down and I can imagine how low her self esteem and self worth was when her husband left her for a much younger woman. Needing her job it isn't any wonder that she acted like his robot and most likely felt self hatred because Dan the owner and her boss threatened to fire her if she didn't meet him and on top of that threatened to "Blackball" her with everybody in New York City. I think it's possible when one is already a single parent and the sole earner of two teenagers that she believed him when he said that he would make sure that she wouldn't be employed by anybody. A mother that already feels traumatized with two teens my heart goes out to her. Not everybody is going to allow that to happen to them but since she fell victim to doing it just once would that make her less believable if she went to the authorities? If she did what he wanted was she less of a victim? No. I saw her as a victim of despicable acts that she felt afraid and that nobody should have to endure what she did. I just saw this poor woman who needed her job and was so traumatized she kept their arrangement because she needed to support her daughter and her son and was afraid that she didn't have a choice. It brings up many negative consequences such as the crippling shame and I am making a big assumption in thinking that she had possibly felt because she had more to lose and perhaps coming from a different generation that she felt terrified and trapped and that quite possibly nobody would believe her even if she did report him.

Thank Goodness for the rescue of the young and bold new hire Jane Addison who comes from a wealthy family and when Dan sexually harasses her and pushes her up against a copy machine Jane calls the police and sees an attorney who empowers her to press charges. Jane is brand new to the Agency and doesn't have the fear that Francine felt. Jane works for Hailey and I admired them both for different reasons. I would think being arrested for what the owner Dan did to Jane that he would have learned his lesson.

I thought that all of the women that worked in the Agency were brave and admirable. I liked the Chief Financial Officer Merriwether Jones and like Francine she suffers a more subdued form of abuse from her jealous husband in his constant criticism of Merriwether because she is the sole big earner. He doesn't work and she affords him the chance to pursue his dream as a full time writer by earning enough to support him. He chips away at Merriwether by complaining and acting childish because she is the high earner and he knows deep down that he isn't contributing financially.

Allie who works as the head of the Drama Department acts the most carefree of all of these women as she has short lived affairs with Actor's until she falls head over heels in love with one of them. I thought Bob the upstanding other owner acted sort of like a hypocrite by warning Allie that by being seen with her boyfriend was hurting the Agency, while he bails his partner out of jail after what he did. I think that Allie acted very inappropriately at Bob's party by doing what she did, but I ended up warming up to both Bob and Allie because of their taking responsibility for their actions.

I enjoyed Hailey West and admired her for her for supporting three young children and her willingness to read Phillip's manuscripts who was an Author and client. She attained super power status with me as always putting her three children's feelings ahead of her job. She was able to attain the right type of balance by traveling with Phillip on his book tour. At work she was all about being efficient and she was never one to call in to not come to work because of her three children. She was left a widow and she was highly organized and she made sure Phillip's book tour was a success by anticipating his every need.

I applaud Danielle Steel for addressing this difficult subject matter. I didn't expect it to go in the direction that it did. In Jane being the youngest with less to lose she creates a voice for two other women in the Agency to come forward. I hope that anybody reading this will draw inspiration from these women and illuminate that there doesn't have to be silent suffering of any of the behavior that Dan put three of these women through. This book would make a great book club pick as there is much more to say about the book.

Publication Date: March 8th, 2022

A Huge debt of gratitude and Thank you to Net Galley, Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine-Delacorte Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#HighStakes #DanielleSteel #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantineDelacortePress #NetGalley

In this thrilling novel, Danielle Steel tells the story of five incredible women finding their way through the challenges of balancing their families, their personal lives and the high stakes of the risky situations of her job, in which, someone will win or lose a great deal. They each have a lot of ambition and is at the top of her game.

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
High Stakes by Danielle Steel is one of my favorite of her books that I’ve read recently. I liked that she took on the #MeToo movement with a vengeance. These characters were realistic and I was drawn into this book from the very beginning.

Jane Addison arrives in New York City ready to start her new job at Fletcher and Benson, a literary and talent agency. Jane is assigned to Hailey West, one of the best literary agents at the agency. Hailey is a widowed mother to three children and still struggles to balance her home life and the busy life of a literary agent. Also in the office is Francine Rivers, a divorced single mother to two children and head of the literary department. Her stern appearance hides some deep emotional hurt that she can’t let anybody uncover. Allie Moore is one of the drama agents and she loves her job mixing with top actors and actresses and wining and dining with her clients. Merriwether Jones is the CFO of the company, she’s married to an aspiring writer who also stays home and cares for their daughter.

The new woman, Jane, soon finds out the agency has some secrets and she’s not about to let the status quo continue. As the newest woman on the team, she has the least to lose, and she’s not afraid to shake things up.

I’ll admit at first there are a lot of characters, and it’s a bit difficult at first to remember who is who and who is married to whom. But, eventually, these characters become very clear and the journey each of these women takes makes for a very engaging story that kept me turning those pages as I read this book in only one sitting. What I loved was the way these women supported each other and took back their power. I thought the book was inspiring to all young women out in the workplace.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves women’s fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I read this novel all at once. This novel was about 5 women in a literary and entertainment agency. The main focus was on the Me Too movement. I did have an issue with Bob one of the owners of the agency. Probably because he allowed things to happen even when his gut told him something was probably wrong. Overall it was an enjoyable read. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #HighStakes

I absolutely love Danielle Steel, love her books and her style of writing. This was yet another fantastic book of hers-I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Another good Danielle Steele book regarding four women working in the business world and the problems that women have dealt with over the years when working. These four females lives were affected differently because one was single, one was a widower with small children, one was divorced with teenagers and one single with no children. Because of the actions of one person each one was affected differently in the workforce. Good book and I would recommend this book to others.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of High Stakes by Danielle Steel. D.S. sure knows how to tell a story. Her words and sentences just flow making her novels easy to read. She is definitely one of my favorite authors and I will read everything she releases. This novel was about an agency, all the players in it and their lives. The focus of it is the "Me Too" movement. D.S. created a powerful story and I loved every second of it.

High Stakes is Danielle Steel’s foray into the MeToo Movement. This book follows the lives of five women and how they choose to deal with circumstances which fall into this movement. Although, it is difficult at times to keep up with the many characters and their lives, it is refreshing to read a depiction of the struggles that some women face each day when it comes juggling home life and work life. The setting and the lives depicted are believable and heartbreaking, as well. It allows us to see what choices some are forced to make and the reasons behind those choices. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed reading another of Ms. Steel’s books, and I applaud her willingness to tackle this subject. Thank you to her, NetGalley, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

High Stakes is a novel that focuses on the lives of five women who worked at a boutique literary and talent agency. Two of them were single moms, one of them was just starting out and was eager to impress her boss, one has in a failing marriage and the final women was single and had a habit of getting involved with her clients. Hailey and Francine juggle their careers and children and struggle to find the balance. Jane, the newest of the women, is the latest to fall prey to one of the partners of the agency, who has been sexually harassing the women in the agency for years. She is determined to stand up to him.

It took me a few chapters to keep the characters straight. I didn't care for the character of Allie. Yes, she was playing a "high stakes" game, but I feel the pressures put on her were of her own making and didn't make her as sympathetic as the other women. I think Merriwether's husband went from annoying to a villain way too fast. Hailey and Francine were strong female characters who were put in awful positions but had to do what they needed to do in order to survive, especially Francine. Jane was the catalyst for change.

High Stakes is one of those books that I am glad I read but could never read again. It leaves a mark on you. You are glad you read it. I have been a long time reader of Danielle Steel. This was not one of my favorite Steel novels.

Jane Addison comes from a successful family and dreams one day of owning her own magazine. She goes to work for a friend of her fathers at Fletcher & Benson, a prestigious talent agency in New York. She will be as an assistant to Hailey West a literary agency. She is in awe of the women working there, especially Hailey, Francine and Allie! They seem to have it all but each has struggles in their lives outside the office. Jane runs into Dan who thinks he has the right to take liberties with all the females. This is acceptable in the office. When he approaches Jane she fights him off but no one seems to think it is a big deal. Jane must decide to go along with this or fight to right the wrong that is going on. Her decision would affect the entire office!



Thanks to Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the book!

A bit intense, it’s the day of the #Metoo movement. It’s a story of one woman’s courage to stand up for herself in the face of losing all that she has worked hard for.

A young woman, Jane is highly qualified for a job as a literary agent and gets a job where there are strong successful women that she admires, but at what cost? Jane has a few run-ins with one of the managing partners who is misogynistic and of the mindset that young women are only asking for attention. Unfortunately, after a few untimely encounters, Jane presses charges and the consequences implode. More women come forward, leading to the downfall of Dan as well as the repercussions affect others in the firm. Bob, the other partner, sympathizes with Dan and had been willing to look the other way for years, even ignoring his wife’s pleas when Dan hit upon her. Julia, also a victim, had accepted that this was the way it was done. Francine, lived in numbness for 10 years while succumbing to Dan’s threats that she must submit to his sexual wants or be fired. Jane was the only one with the actual courage that Dan’s actions were not okay which helped these other women to finally say that they were victims too.

This book, while timely in its message, was one disaster after another and not an enjoyable story to read. It was very predictable and more like an accounting. Walking a fine line between sexual harassment and inappropriate relationships in the work place seemed to abound. As the reader, you applaud the women as they find their voice and their courage. However, you also shake your head at the inconsistences with what is right and what is not. This was just not my favorite Danielle Steele book to date.

Many thanks to #netgalley #daniellesteel #highstakes for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was pretty standard fare from Danielle Steel. It is the story of five women who work for a literary and talent agency in New York City and the plot centers on sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement. At times, it felt like an episode of Law & Order: SVU in the ease and short amount of time in which things were wrapped up.
I was glad to see that this author wrote about this critical and timely topic. The beginning of the book flowed well, and I thought to myself that it was different in that the main characters may not have as charmed a life as in previous books. But, unfortunately, that was not the case. Of course, each of the five women had their “happy ever after” ending, and most of the women ended up with a great guy.
Even though each character’s story does have a picture-perfect ending, not only in this book but in all of the other books by the author, I will continue to read them. I know what I’m getting when I read them, they are comfortable, and I was happy that this one dealt with this timely topic.

I grew up reading Danielle Steel novels, and I always look forward to a new one.

In High Stakes, Danielle Steel brings us into the world of literary and talent agents. We get a glimpse into the lives of five vastly different women who worked hard to get where they are in this exclusive agency.

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from this author.

I will be recommending this book to all of my girlfriends! The stories of each of these women were woven together and just kept me so engaged in their lives. I was rooting for each of the main characters from the beginning!

High Stakes features strong working women fighting against harassment in the work place while trying to balance their personal lives and the costs are high.
As these woman work to achieve personal/professional goals there will be those that take advantage of them. They fight through this trying terrible ordeal. Soon they learn that the problem is much bigger then they are and take a stand to end it. But at what costs?
This is another great book by Danielle Steele as she continues to tell true life stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC

Good new addition to the Danielle Steel library. Yet again, she is tackling the #metoo movement, which is maybe her 3rd book in this theme. I would like to see some additional current topics covered. I liked the strength of the main characters, and I liked how all of their lives were not "perfect". Overall its a quick read with good characters and good plot.

Just finished this book. A great read about sexual assault in the work place and how you need to stand up for yourself and get the person or persons pay for their crimes.

I loved digging into the newest Danielle Steel novel, which delved into deeper themes than her usual works. In High Stakes, we follow 5 women in the workplace, thrust deep into the #MeToo movement.

5 women in varying positions work at a publishing house/talent agency. The novel goes through various characters and their experiences in their day-to-day lives. From the rookie on the job to the most senior editors, readers are given a chance to see what exactly life is like for each protagonist. Themes of bravery, balancing motherhood and work, happiness, and the importance of mental health are all prevalent in the story.

A quick, interesting, read. this one grabbed me from the start and I couldn't put it down. Thank you, for this advance copy of High Stakes!