This book is before Postwar America is brought to life by several families from varied backgrounds and circumstances to Paris and a debutante Ball for elite young ladies to be presented at the grande Palace. The setting is rich with wealth or with the opportunity for wealth. They are the debutante daughters converge in Paris for the ball of the century. The story revolves around four young American women, who are offered a lifetime opportunity, with some anxious to attend, and some being pushed by family; but the trip will open the door that will change their lives forever, as well as a wonderful friendship. We will meet Amelia, Felicity, Caroline and Samantha, as well as their family. Three of the ladies will find someone for each, having met them as escorts at the ball. I really like the girls, who’s life will change, mostly for the better. I also enjoyed Jane who is Amelia’s mother and Robert who is Sam’s father, who found love along the way. The boys who entered the lives of three ladies, Quentin, Willie, Rapheal were also very likeable to their designated women. Caroline, who suffered a bit at the ball, became close friends with the others, and eventually will find the love she deserved.

When four young debutantes from the United States are invited to the Palace of Versailles for the event of the century, they will be presented to international society and royalty. They are each assigned an escort that speaks English. Each of the girls has hurtles to overcome in order to get to Paris. For each of these women, the ball will change their life forever.

This is a wonderful story about challenges and about growing up in society. Wonderful characters and a great plot!

The Ball at Versailles by Danielle Steel is an interesting novel about different women whose lives intertwine in a ball at Versailles. This book chronicles their lives before and after this ball. Readers of this author should enjoy this book. I found it a bit hard to connect with and read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Thank you to Net Galley for this e-copy of The Ball at Versailles by Danielle Steel in exchange for a honest review.This is another gem from Danielle Steel with great character development.Amelia lost her dad at an early age and her recently jobless mothers views the invitation as a possibility of meeting a potentially rich husband.Felicity, an overweight but brilliant college student dreads going to the cotillion where she is afraid she will stick out.Caroline a daughter of the rich Hollywood set, has a terrible secret she is hiding and Samantha , a motherless child is afraid her physical limitations will be spotlighted at the ball.The 4 girls meet and become fast friends.What Will their debut mean for each girl? Read the book and find out..One of Steel’s best.

The Ball at Versailles is another great book in Danielle Steel's library. It is rich in descriptions of a time gone by, where debutantes were presented on the marriage market, both here and abroad. It follows Samantha, Amelia, Felicity and Caroline. From vastly different backgrounds, these young women were invited to a debutante ball held at Versailles. This event would have far-reaching consequences and forge new friendships.
Danielle Steel is a gifted writer; she draws beautiful pictures with her writings and one gets a sense of inclusion. It's like being a fly on the wall, or having the perfect seat in a production. I loved it!
5 stars

Another homerun by Steel.
Four American debutantes, Felicity, Amelia, Caroline and Samantha, accept invitations to the most prestigious and coveted ball at Versailles in Paris, in the summer of 1960.
From very different and somewhat complicated family dynamics, they bond almost at first introductions and their lives are changed from that point on.
A good relaxing, easy to read story of the value of enduring friendships and how they can oftentimes, change the direction of your life.
The characters and their background stories are extremely well defined; something Danielle always seems to get right without it ever appearing to be too laborious.
Just a really good read.
If you like her books as a rule, you will really like this one.

A glimpse into days gone by, 1959 USA and France. Debutante balls are still a thing, but some of the girls think they're an antiquated thing. However, they still participate. It's interesting to see how the events unfold and how the ball shapes their lives as well as the lives of some family members. Of course, it's all sunshine & roses, glitter & rainbows even when it's not. And it's all happy endings but still, an interesting & fun story.

Absolutely loved this novel. The initial pages and chapters felt a bit repetitive and dry but as the ball approached and the internal struggles of the characters were revealed, I bonded and adored them. I loved that every character had a happy ending that they deserved. Jane in particular was my favorite character. Initially she seemed vane and vapid, but as her sacrifices and motivation came to be known, she quickly became a beloved character. I wish Caroline had been given a larger presence in the book. Although her storyline was interesting, it almost seemed like an afterthought. Overall, I loved the novel and couldn't put it down despite a slow start.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

The year is 1959 and France is hosting a special debutante ball at the Palace of Versailles. This is a time for young women to be presented to high society and, for many of them, to find a rich husband.

We follow 4 young woman from America and their families who are invited to the ball. The girls come from different backgrounds and have different issues growing up. Some are wealthy and others have faced tragedies - both personal and financial.

Although each of the girls believes that the idea of being presented is old fashioned and passe, their families strongly encourage them to attend.

I enjoyed this historical fiction book which presents a look at high society in the late 50s when women of this class were expected to marry rich and raise families. Working was for poor people. The descriptions of the gowns and the ball itself were fascinating. I wish there could have been illustrations of the dresses.

It's been years since I read a Danielle Steel novel. I really enjoyed this one!

It's set around the debutante ball in mid 1950's Versailles. It's a little slow in the beginning, learning the backgrounds of the characters. Four debutants are chosen from the US to attend. The story follows their lives prior to their trip to France and while there. It's entertaining to see how this one event effected their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Another great feel-good book from Danielle set in 1958 about four young women coming of age and being Debutants amongst love, family and friendships, with a few trials and tribulations along the way. A really nice read.
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Delacorte Press and the Author Danielle Steel for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely story! Big thanks to Delacorte Press for granting my wish for new Danielle Steel!

As a Danielle myself, while learning to love reading with my Nana back in the day, I read a LOT of Danielle Steel. I remember liking the stories (although it has been 800 years so maybe I have a foggy memory LOL). This didn't disappoint!
I think this is about a 3.5 stars for me, rounding up because it has all the feel-good vibes and that made me happy to read.

The girls meeting each other and getting along off the bat was so sweet, their love interests were swoony, and even the family members relationships were lovely.

If I have a negative aspect it was the POV. I suppose third person is necessary when there are so many characters but it felt like more telling rather than showing.

Danielle Steel is one of the world's most prolific published writers. I have read most if not all of what she publishes and she continues to amaze me. I know when I start the book likely how it will turn out but her writing style is so good that I keep reading. The characters in "The Ball at Versailles" have incomes and lifestyles way beyond anyone that I know. They travel and live a life of luxury but somehow Ms. Steele makes them relatable. Their tragedies and triumphs are much like our own. In this book, there are four young women from the United States invited to an exclusive coming-out event in France. The book is set in post-World War II fifties and sixties, and women are struggling to come into their own and with tradition that has defined their female ancestors. Somehow all emerge from this time friends and in spite of the issues of their generation women that will define their generation. I enjoyed the book and will continue to read Ms. Steele's entertaining and often inspirational work. Thanks to #NetGalley#TheBallatVersailles for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this one from Danielle Steel. This is historical fiction set in 1958, mostly in France during the first "Le Bal des Debutantés," a ball for American and French debutantes held in Versailles. We follow four girls from America who are invited to France as part of this ball. Caroline has little interest because she's already in love, but her movie star parents think it will be fun. Brilliant Felicity is constantly battling her weight and her verbally abusive sister, so a night in the spotlight is not appealing to her at all. Amelia and her mother Jane once had money, but are now in dire financial straits. How can they afford to go? Samantha has problems with her balance due to an accident years ago, and she is a bit worried about falling during the ball. Her very protective father has the same concerns.

This is set in a time when women had fewer rights and some families still thought that their daughter's best "career" would be finding a rich husband. The financial struggles of Amelia's mother Jane are very real, as her late husband came back from the war a different person and had left her with little money when he died. Her career struggles are very true to the time period, as women were passed over for promotions and paid much less than men. In some of Ms. Steel's previous books, someone with money might come in and rescue her, but I was pleased to see that did not happen in this one.

I loved the setting in Versailles, the decadence of the ball, and the descriptions of France. Steel has a tendency to "tell" instead of "show," but she's sold a billion books that way, so who am I to judge? Sometimes her style works for me and sometimes it doesn't. This time it worked. The character Felicity was my favorite. Despite the fact that she is a brilliant student at MIT, all her mother and sister can see is her weight. That's very true even today, and I loved that one of the characters did not have a "perfect figure." So few of us do.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys books set in France and in the 1950s.

I received a free copy of this book from Random House via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

In England, Queen Elizabeth has stopped their annual debutant ball because it is a tradition that no longer has significant meaning. So, in the summer of 1959, France holds the first debutant ball at Versailles. Invitations are sent out to certain debutants in America. Amelia, Felicity, Caroline and Samantha receive invitations. They do not know each other, but at the ball they bond and become friends. Each has their own struggles related to growing up and works through them over the year. This debutant ball is supposed to bring fortune in finding a husband. Will it be the escort they are assigned?
This is a delightful tale of society and the costs of being in that elite group. It's also a story of finding the path to maturity.

An interesting look into the world of debutantes in 1959. Four young American women have been invited to participate in a deb ball in France. None of them really want to go, but their parents convinced them to go and participate. The don't know each other prior to the ball, but meet at a party before the ball and quickly become friends. One night transforms all four of their lives and makes them better women. Danielle Steel writes in a way that allows you to imagine what is happening in the story and what these women were experiencing. Loved the story!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

The Ball at Versailles is a story from a bygone era where social status was a way of life. In the summer of 1959, 40 debutantes are invited to attend a ball at the Palace of Versailles. Four American debutantes who receive invitations, where they will be presented to international society and royalty with the possibility that it might change their lives.

Amelia Alexander wants to attend law school after college. Her mother Jane sees this as an opportunity to meet someone with the means to take care of her daughter. Eventually Amelia agrees but is not as excited about the event as her mother would like.

Felicity Smith, although already comes from the Dallas social scene, but prefers to be anywhere her older, thin and beautiful sister is not. Just being in her sister's presence is enough to start the cruel barbs in her direction. Felicity is not thin and doesn't seem to care which only adds unwanted attention from her sister. Her mother gently pleads with her to consider going and doing something nice for herself. After thinking it over, she agrees to go which infuriates her jealous sister who did not get invited.

Caroline Taylor is the daughter of Hollywood royalty. After being rudely dumped by her actor boyfriend, it's an opportunity to get away to heal.

Samantha Walker is an art history major and has had a hard life after her mother and younger brother were killed in a car accident that left her in a coma for 3 months. After recovering she is left with a slight limp, a weakness in one of her arms, and falls on occasion. Her father is overprotective, has mixed emotions about the invitation. Glad for the opportunity but fearful it might change their lives that he has created for just the two of them.

This one event will bring these four young women together and become lifelong friends as they grow into mature young women and find love.

This was a wonderful tale of four women given a unique opportunity and changes their lives going forward. I really enjoyed the story as it went from the United States to France, and England. The story weaves the lives of these families seamlessly together for a beautiful tale. Each young woman is relatable and very likeable. Following their paths through this was enjoyable and worth the rewarding ending.

Danielle Steel is a master storyteller. She skillfully weaves a story the enfolds the reader until she is finished. We are richly rewarded with a wonderful story from a special time in history.

Reading this book sends you back in time, in good ways and in bad, and shows you how much and how little things have changed.

The stories of these four young women, all of them with their own problems and their own things that make them spectacular, all seem so real, the path that brought them to each other seemingly written in the stars.

If you're looking to step back in time, with friends who become family, and concepts like destiny and meant to fill the pages, this is the book for you.

I have to say the only negative for me was the constant talk about wealth, who had it, who was losing it, and what they had to do to get or keep it, by the end of the book, it just seemed like it was a bit much.

Thank you to Random House Publishing House and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a Women's Fiction. I had a hard time with this book, and I ended up DNFing this book around 40%. The characters were ok, and I never got pulled into this book. I just wanted more from this book and the characters. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

At first glance the title of this book may make us think it is all about glamour and wealth which would be far from the truth. This story gives us four young women who are invited to Versailles to come out into society. These young women come from a variety of backgrounds but all have real life issues they are dealing with. We can easily relate to their characters.

I think a strong message in this book is education. Set in the late 1950s there is a strong push for these young women to finish college. There is plenty of romance for the young women and they grow friendships from their time at the ball. Overall I think this book has a lot of substance and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book.