Customer Reviews

Family Ties: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Twenty-six year old architect Annie Ferguson looks forward to starting on her new job and living in Manhattan with her boyfriend Seth. As she is euphoric and confident about the changes in her life, she thought nothing about her vow to be the guardian of her two nieces and nephew she made to her sister Jane. That is until Jane and her husband Bill die in a plane crash, so Annie raises the three preadolescent children (Liz, Ted and Katie). Seth cannot deal with the change so ends their relationship.

Sixteen years later, Annie raised her wards with love while running a successful architectural firm. Ted attends law school, Katie is studying design at college; and Liz is a globetrotting Vogue editor. When Annie sprains her ankle, she goes to the emergency room where she meets TV news anchor Tom. Katie drops out of Pratt to work at a tattoo parlor while traveling to Teheran with her Iranian-American boyfriend Paul. Liz's French lover Jean-Louis seems back with his former lover Francoise, the mother of his child. Ted has a tryst with his older law professor, but when he tries to end their sexual relationship, Pattie stabs him in the hand.

This intriguing family drama is an enjoyable contemporary as the aunt of the three orphaned children proves she is A Good Woman when she takes over raising them with the deaths of their parents. The tale contains way too much angst keeping the four subplots from gelling into a cohesive story line, but instead competes for the lead. Still fans will enjoy Danielle Steel's latest as the strong cast makes the case that family is the ultimate proof of chaos theory.

Harriet Klausner

I read this book in about 6 hours. That's because by page 6, I only had to read the first two sentences of each paragraph. The rest of the paragraph was a repeat of a previous paragraph, or in a few cases an almost exact repeat of the paragraph above it. This has been an ongoing problem with Steel's books for several years now.
The story line was good and interesting, that's why I gave it 2 stars, but I'm really glad I quit buying Danielle Steel's books and now get them free from the library. I would definitely feel cheated out of my money otherwise.

One of the things I like most about reading Danielle Steel is that I know exactly what kind of story I'm about to get. I know that the experience will be a warm, emotional read, and that I'll usually whip through the story in one sitting. She writes very likeable characters that you root for and that keeps the pages turning, wanting to know what will happen next.

This isn't her best book, but it's not her worst either. It's a very light and easy read. It's an ensemble book, where we follow the main character as well as the lives of the three children she inherits at age 26. I found myself very interested in the love lives of the children, which was more dramatic than the somewhat too perfect romance of the main character, though that was a nice escapist fantasy.

Overall, if you're looking for a romantic escape with a happy ending and nice, likeable characters, you may enjoy this.

If this was written by Danielle Steel I hope she was forced to get a story out no matter how bad !!! Truthfully I have a hard time believing this was written by the same writer I've been reading for 25 yrs. I enjoy a good cheap romance story and I've read many Harlequin romance books and this book isn't even as good as some of the worst Harlequin. This book is so bad I really believe Steel should give all of us a refund or at the very least send us a coupon to purchase her next book free which is probable the only way you could get me to read it.

I agree with the reviewer that said the same paragraph was written over and over again! She needs a new editor! Every chapter reiterated how Annie sacrificed herself for the kids! How many times does she have to tell the reader? I found myself skipping over pages; very disappointing. This certainly wasn't worth the money.

Family Ties of Danielle Steel is one of her best. I have enjoyed Danielle Steels last 2 books very much.
I am not going to go into a storyline here about the book, however, I urge Steel lovers to buy this book and enjoy the story lines of all four characters; Annie, Ted, Katie, and Liz. Each character is faced with life's choices and decisions (especially Ted - I was rooting for him; I enjoyed his storyline the most)!
Okay, enough...buy this Danielle Steel - it's fun.

Bright young architect Annie Ferguson seemed to have it all--good looks, a promising job, a new boyfriend, a cozy Manhattan apartment--then, with shocking suddenness, a phone call ended it all. Her sister and brother-in-law were killed in a tragic accident and, keeping a promise she'd made to her sister, Annie is left with her sister's three small children to raise. Although it meant a drastic change in her lifestyle, and even losing her boyfriend, who couldn't imagine being saddled with three kids not his own, Annie never hesitated in accepting the responsibility. Now at 42 she's independent and successful and has never regretted what she had to do, even if it meant putting her own life on hold. Her two nieces and nephew are now grown with careers of their own--Liz, at 28, has a high-powered job as an editor at Vogue and is leery of trusting any man, Ted, an ambitious law student, has gotten involved with a much older and experienced woman, who leads him down a path he doesn't want to take, and Katie, the youngest, an art student, has fallen madly in love with a boy from a different culture that leads her to Iran and possible danger. Annie wants to help them, but realizes she must let them go, as hard as it is at times. Faced with an empty nest she is feeling her lowest when she meets a man unexpectedly in the ER of all places, and her life takes a turn for the better.

This book is standard Danielle Steele fare, where all problems are solved and everything turns out all right in the end. But it's a good read and enjoyable nevertheless.

Thought it kind of went on without much substance......expected more from such a competent writer....wouldn't really recommend this one, I'm sorry.

The last several books that I've read seemed to have the same charachters over and over - just a different city and job. I can understand writing about strong women...but there's no difference in them!

The other reviewers hit the nail on the head about the repetition - how many paragraphs is needed to say "She respects her daughter's opinion and has always respected it."? (paraphrased) And how many chapters does that same thought need to be repeated?

I hope Ms. Steele goes back a couple of years to a prior writing style - those books were meaty, with original people and situations that made it difficult to put down.

Easy to read and understand characters. Annies character is very realistic to an empty nester. I would recommend it....very good!