Allegra's story is a sad and emotional one but she is determined to find her joy and peace in life. I enjoyed her story and thought this was a nice, quick read.

This book seems very similar to others that Danielle Steel has written, with the exception that the main character, Allegra is exceptional likable. My interest in reading further and further into the story was I couldn’t wait to see what would happen. Reminding me of Danielle Steel’s early books. I would stay up far too late for being a Mom of young children, because I couldn’t put them down. Danielle Steel is still one of my favorites!.

First off, I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to the ARC for Danielle Steels, "Joy". My mom is an AVID Danielle Steel lover and I knew that once I saw this, I had to request it.

I had a feeling about what would happen with Shep, given the direction of the story, but Allegra's life took a turn I didn't see coming.
It's incredible how much can change when you step out of your comfort zone.

Allegra has spent most of her life being left behind by any and everyone who was supposed to love her. Her mother left without a goodbye, her father disappeared into the military, the same for her husband, one set of grandparents who took her in because there she had nowhere else to go, but sent her to boarding school and so on. She only wanted to find a place to fit in, feel safe and loved. Her journey to finding love, losing it and finally and most importantly finding herself was emotional, sad, smart, well written, exhausting, hopeful and all of it eventually leads her to joy. This is one of my favorites from this prolific author.

This is an incredible story, albeit heart wrenching at times. Allegra was a survivor, no doubt about it . She endured a horrible childhood of rejection and abandonment. Everyone she cared about left her without so much as a goodbye. As a child she never knew love , nor had anyone ever cared about her. But this strong, resilient woman made a great life for herself, all alone , until she was able to find a love worthy of her..

Joy is Danielle Steel's latest novel centering on Allegra whose childhood didn't contain much Joy and how much of her life is searching for joy and someone to truly love her and see her. A more appropriate title might have been Resilience. Still, like all Steel books, it's a quick read with a plot that you will likely see coming and yet it's a relaxing afternoon read.

This book like so many of her recent novels feels like she has to quit a certain number of pages and so she ties it up so quickly. That's quibbling though, if you like Steel you will likely enjoy this one.
3.5 stars rounding up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Joy in exchange for an honest review. Joy is available now.

I thoroughly enjoyed Allegra through her years of turmoil and having a HEA. My heart broke many times for Allegra starting in her early childhood through her adulthood but she never gave up. I must admit that they shed a few tears through out the book it broke me over Shep, I thought they were so perfect. This was a hard book to put down, very emotional.

Joy by Danielle Steel is, like most of her books, an unlikely romance, told mostly in third person narration. Like most of her books, it is a totally relaxed and feel-good book. Allegra had grown up an unwanted child. Her mother didn’t want her; her father was gone most of the time; her grandparents took her in only out of duty. Her mother left her father when she was six. He was no fun. Fact. He was a high-ranking military man, sent mostly to war zones. He was cold and unfeeling; partly because of the way he was raised, partly because of his experiences in the military. Her mother didn’t even say good-bye. She saw and heard from either of them seldom and was sent to boarding school when she was eleven. The only bright spot was the son of her grandparents’ neighbors at Newport Beach: Shep. They became friends and then fell in love. They got married before he was deployed. He was in the service because he attended West Point and so owed the military time. He wanted to get married. He thought it would keep him safe. They did but never told anyone. It kept him alive, but not safe.

This is not the love story. That came later for Allegra, after she moved to California. Allegra was supremely well-organized and worked very quietly. That came from years of trying to be invisible, mostly from her grandparents. She became indispensable to the composer she worked for. He was notoriously difficult to work for. He was a genius, thirty-eight years her senior. She loved her job; she loved her life. It was a moving story of love bridging the generational gap. It was written with Steel’s typical compassionate narration. She is a master and this is a terrific book. Is it different from her other books? No. But, that’s what makes it so satisfying. I loved it. Thanks Danielle Steel for making my day!

I was invited to read Joy by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingBallantine #DanielleSteel #Joy

Allegra has been left behind by everyone all her life. She fights to have a relationship with someone after her party hungry mother leaves her and her military father sends her to live with grandparents. In boarding school she meets Shep. He's in West Point and joins the military after graduation and again Allegra is left behind. Eventually she leaves New York and heads to California to start over fresh. Can she find joy in life again? I really enjoyed this story about finding joy in life despite life's challenges and tramas. Great summer weekend read!

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.

Great story.

Allegra had a traumatic childhood. Her mother walked out on her father and left her behind without saying goodbye when she was only 6 years old. Her father was a career military man who spent 10-18 months away from home on missions; he's never been there for his daughter either. So he sends her to live with his cold parents in upstate New York. When Allegra was 11 her father sends her to boarding school and shamed his ex-wife's parents into spending some time together over the summer in Rhode Island. Allegra has always made herself invisible around the adults, knowing that she wasn't wanted or loved. She's never been taken care of emotionally.

During her time at Columbia, her boyfriend Shep, who had a job in intelligence is sent to Afghanistan after 9/11. She's afraid that he'll come home as emotionally dead as her father. When they secretly wed, Allegra believes that her love be will be enough to save him. It helps him cope after he comes home from his first tour. But after the army entices him with an offer he can't refuse, he goes back for 10 more months. When he comes back after that tour, Allegra doesn't recognize her husband anymore. He goes back to Iraq and divorces her; trying to protect her from himself.

Allegra decides to leave her job and NY behind and moves to the West Coast. She gets a job for a famous composer and they fall in love a year later. That's when Allegra finally discovers joy for the first time in her life. She can conquer anything now with her husband's love. When he dies 7 years later, she doesn't want to start over again. But meeting the right guy changes that.

A must read!

Allegra is a woman of fortitude. This is the story of her life, her loves, and her struggles. I enjoyed seeing how she was able to succeed in life, even though it wasn’t always easy.

Joy by Danielle Steel is another one of her wonderful novels. The story follows Allegra Dixon, who had a sad childhood, when at six years old, her mother, who never wanted a child, walked out of her life. Her father was in the military, and sent Allegra to stay with her grandparents; with her spending time reading books, and little joy in her life. She spent her childhood at boarding schools, camps and rare visits from her father or mother.

At school, she meets Shep Williams, who comes from a prestigious family, and became her best friend; they both fell in love; while he went to West Point, Allegra went to college. Upon graduation, they got married before he left for the Army, keeping it a secret until he got back from time overseas. After college, Allegra got a job as book editor, while Shep began to rise through the ranks of the military. Allegra and Shep had a happy marriage, but over the years, he began to suffer PTSD, especially after his deployment at Afghanistan. Allegra knew her father was still at Afghanistan, and worried that Shep was changing. After a few assignments, every-time Shep came home, the nightmares became worse, and he was putting her through dangerous dreams. Shep decided to go back to Afghanistan, and decided to get a divorce, since he had no control of his PSTD and wanted Allegra to be safe; she couldn’t convince him to stay home and get help.

Once the divorce was complete, Allegra decided to move to California and looked for a job. She managed to get a job as an assistant to Henry Platt, a famous workaholic music and film composer, who is 30 years her senior. She loves her job, as she is willing to work long hours, and their friendship escalated to a bond. Over time, the two fell in love, as Allegra’s life will give her more joy and purpose with Henry; as he treats her like a queen and takes her on travels to Europe. After being together for 9 years (7 married years), Henry will succumb to Cancer. Still in her early stages of her life (30 +), Allegra decides to write, and begins to do a biography of Henry’s life and career, which was successful; leading into her becoming a famous author.

Allegra will go through two decades of her life, with disastrous family, sadness, two marriages, love, emotional and closer to the end joy. Joy was an emotional, sad, happiness, compelling and inspiring story throughout. Joy was so very well written by Danielle Steel. I suggest you read Joy, as it was a very good story.

Another Danielle Steel easy nice read for me. This one on the sad side basically about a girl who has to fend for herself with two absentee parents and then a husband who is no better. As with all these books the Female protagonist triumphs and the book has all the feels. A nice, good 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.

I was looking forward to reading this book, but I'm afraid it fell a little short for me. The writing style seemed a bit flat and didn't bring out the feelings I was expecting, Perhaps a longer novel would have allowed for a more in-depth story. I did admire Allegra's resilience as she reminded me of moving out of state many years ago for a fresh start. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for an advance copy to read and review.

I read this book because I have never read anything by Danielle Steel (or maybe I just don't remember) and I wanted to see if I liked her since she is such a prolific author.
I really liked the main character, Allegra. She seems like the kind of person I would choose as a friend. She perseveres through many difficult things in her life. How she moved through her life was engaging and this was a fast read; I finished it in two days.
However, if this is representative of Danielle Steel's writing, it may not be my cup of tea except perhaps for being a once in a blue moon palate cleanser.
I find the writing rather flat. This book was full of exposition telling us rather than showing us. There was not a clear plot; it was more or less of this happened to Allegra then that happened to Allegra and so on. Finally, the first third of the book focused on Allegra's marriage to Shep which ended and then he was totally gone and she moved on. It felt to me like Shep should have returned at some point--either as a lover, friend, or enemy but I think there needed to be a reason he occupied so much space in the book and then he was dropped like a hot potato. I do think we learn about Allegra through her relationship with him but nonetheless. I thought this was a loose end, even if they divorced.
Thanks to NetGalley and to Random House Ballantine for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my unbiased review.

I throughly enjoyed this book! Allegra is a strong determine women who had a challenging life but kept on trying to find happiness. I read other reviews of this book stating there was not enough “Joy” in the story. The reading world would be pretty boring place if all books were 100% “happy”. This story had some heart wrenching scenes that brought tears to my eyes and other scenes that made my heart happy. This is what makes Danielle Steel my favorite author and why she has been since I was 15 and read “The Promise”. Thank you for telling the story of Allegra! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Its title is a bit misleading but it does come around in the end. Allegra, the MFC, has a lot of trauma in her life & the book revolves around the different aspects of that. Overall a good read, especially for a fan of Danielle Steel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

Joy has a familiar theme for Danielle Steel, namely a woman who has survived difficulties, triumphed, and ended up in an idyllic life. But at times, this one has more substance and also some twists.
Joy is the story of Allegra. As a child she is abandoned by her narcissistic parents to the care of boarding schools and grandparents who act like emotionally remote custodians.
What kept me reading was that I really liked Allegra, although the fact that she was as mentally healthy as portrayed was unrealistic given her background, isolation and repeated traumas.
The title is in sharp contrast to most of the book, but does eventually make sense. There is a subplot involving military combat induced PTSD which is very timely but doesn’t quite get the attention it deserves.
Ms. Steel’s books often have something important to say and this is no exception. Her writing style, beyond repetitious and often superficial, do however diminish the message. For me the abandonment and PTSD messages resonated and provided a worthwhile read and the basis for further thought.
Thank you to the author, the publisher Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

This is a good book. The main character is Allegra. Her mother likes to party, her father is in the military and gone for a year. When Allegra is six her father comes back from a mission. Her mother tells her father she wants a divorce and he can have Allegra. She goes to her grandparents till her grandfather has a stroke. Her father sends her to a boarding school. She has no one to show her love. She does eventually have someone to love Some families do not show love. Allegra moves to California and meets the man who is older than her but loves her.

⭐️3.25

I grew up on Danielle Steel, being a teen in the 80’s. Some of my favorites were Zoya, Now and Forever, and Kaleidoscope to name a few.

I didn’t like some of the repetitive parts in Joy, and the bulk of the book was heartbreaking. It was an easy, fast read that would be great for the beach if you’re looking for something mindless. If you love classic Danielle Steel, you’ll still like this, but it wasn’t a favorite for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6742338725

Pub date: August 13, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.