Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the opportunity to listen to this audio book.

VERY generously voted up. This was not a hit for me. It was at best OK........ Barley got to like characters and it was DONE - just ended. END.



On the occasion of her daughter Valerie’s wedding and her upcoming fiftieth birthday, bestselling author Halley Holbrook finds herself reflecting. Raising twins Valerie and Olivia is her proudest accomplishment. Halley has been able to give them the loving and safe home she never had, having survived a childhood so traumatic she’s never talked about it with her girls. Long ago, Halley decided to live in the sunlight of the present, not the dark shadows of the past.

After Valerie moves to Los Angeles with her producer husband and Olivia follows to be close to her sister, Halley is empty nesting in her Fifth Avenue apartment. Facing her first holiday alone in years, she books a trip to Paris.

Flying over, she meets charming Bart Warner, and the two become fast friends. She hasn’t dated since her partner died three years ago, yet Halley quickly begins to feel more like herself. But when a cunning thief makes off with her handbag, and then begins to harass her, it reawakens old ghosts from her past. Vowing not to be a victim, and, with Bart’s help, she chooses a bold course of action.

The moving story of a woman determined to give her daughters what she never had—a mother’s love—Danielle Steel’s gripping novel is a story of emotional resilience and truly letting go

I loved the narration on this book and would probably pick another book just because of the narrator. This one is about a woman with a very troubled child hood, turning 50 and finding herself with an empty nest after she raised her two daughters to live their best lives. The relationship between the twins and their mother is beautifully written. it leaves the reader with a deep understanding of how the mom's childhood played out with her children. She finds herself with no plans at Christmas and New Year's so her daughter talks her into flying to Parris for a couple of weeks and just doing what she wants. She decides to go and meets a great person on the plane and they share phone numbers. Her purse is stollen by a very fierce person and this brings her closer to the man on the plane who is also in Paris for a few weeks. Great story and great characters. Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook. This is one of my favorite authors so it was a real treat to get an advanced copy.

I really wanted to like this book but couldnt get past the first chapter. First the narrator is a male which it's hard to get into as the story is told from a female perspective. Secondly there are no trigger warnings and in just the first chapter there is child abuse.

I just finished listening to a good audiobook. A Mother's Love by Danielle Steel is available soon. Check it out.

This is Danielle Steel’s first audiobook I’ve listened to. “A Mother’s Love” was a lighthearted and quick read/listen. Despite liking the narrator, I was surprised it was a man given the story was told from a woman’s perspective. Halley Holbrook, a single mom, travels to Paris solo over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays for the first time. Her two daughters recently moved to California, and her long-time love passed away, leaving her alone to find her way. In Paris, she faces several demons and meets a wonderful, single, rich, and gorgeous man, as is typical of Danielle Steel’s style. It’s a lighthearted story and quick read.

Halley Holbrook just wanted to avoid an epically sad Christmas. Her twins are off living their best yacht lives for the holidays, one a newlywed, one very single, both very loved. Halley, however, gets violently seasick, so no yacht for her. Instead, she books herself a solo Paris trip. A little adventure. Some intense shopping. Take in the city lights. Eat pastries like she’s contractually obligated.

But this is a Danielle Steel book, so naturally we go from croissants to crime in record time. Enter Bart, the charming man sitting next to her on the plane, who flirts for five minutes and basically becomes her soulmate before they’ve even landed. Enter the purse thief, who starts with snatching her bag and escalates to full-blown stalker levels of unhinged. And of course, enter Halley’s unresolved childhood trauma that picks now to show up and ruin Paris.

Everything moves fast, everyone’s rich, and Halley’s inner monologue walks the line between reflective and repetitive. She loves her girls, she’s proud of them, and while she misses having them close, she’s more focused on figuring out how to enjoy this new chapter. She’s not falling apart, but she is dealing with old wounds that keep creeping back as the trip takes a darker turn.

The suspense plot kicks in around the halfway mark and fully turns into a mid-budget Lifetime thriller. The villain? A cartoon character. The threats? Escalate like whiplash. The resolution? Wrapped up with a pretty little bow. Was it predictable? Absolutely. Did I stop listening? Absolutely not. This is comfort-food fiction. You know exactly what you signed up for.

Dan John Miller’s narration was solid, though it always feels a little weird having a man narrate a woman's experience and trauma. But his pacing was solid, even when Halley’s inner monologues were fully running laps.

Peak Danielle Steel chaos. It’s ridiculous, comforting, a little messy, and exactly what I expected — call it a solid 3.5 stars for the drama, the insta-love, the unhinged villain, and the Parisian trauma tourism I didn’t know I signed up for. Would I read the next one? Obviously. I’m already buckled in.

Big thanks to RBmedia and NetGalley for the early access to the audiobook. And for letting me take this very dramatic Paris trip without leaving my kitchen.

First of all a big thank you for allowing me to listen to this book prior to release! I really enjoyed this book. I absolutely loved the metaphors that Danielle used in a way I understood and imagined exactly what she was trying to express. “The abuse she had survived was not a death sentence it was a challenge to face and overcome” This quote immediately was written down and I will always remember I believe this is a work of art! I did receive the audiobook, and was unsure as to why it was narrated by someone with a more masculine voice when the book has more feminine characters and themes. I also am unsure if the first half and the second halves of the book go together. In the first half I really get the title and synopsis but in the second half I feel like we went to a thriller? I also found the second half very predictable. There is a moment where the author foreshadows what is to happen in the second half and I immediately knew what was going to happen. I feel like maybe as she was leaving her home would have been a better time? Also I would have loved a separate book for the twins? What was going on in their lives while Hallie was simultaneously in here seemed to throw off the book and I didn’t seem them necessary to the plot line or themes. I also feel like if this book had a stronger ending not so rushed I could have rated it 5 stars.

This was a lovely story. I'd liked to have had a little closure with both Olivia's and hallie's budding relationships but am happy with the resolution and the character growth in the second half of the book

This book reads like most Danielle Steel books, rich people who have unlimited funds, romance and heartbreak. This book did have some mystery to it. I enjoyed the story itself, however her books are just so much alike. I had the opportunity to receive an advance copy of the audiobook and the narrator did a great job. I still enjoy a Danielle Steel book even though I totally know what to expect. Maybe that is the draw for me with this author as I have read a great deal of her books.

This was an okay listen. Good, but not my favorite by this adored prolific author. There was so much repetition that was irksome. Could have been 1/4 shorter with nothing lost to the listener or reader. The title is a bit misleading. Yes, she unquestionably loves her twin daughters, but this book is about Halley, the mom. Halley has lost the love of her life to cancer and then her twin daughters moved to the opposite side of the country. For the first time in what seems like forever she is feeling untethered. She heads off on her first solo vacation. She meets a nice man on the flight and their story is sweet throughout the book. Her purse is stolen and thus begins a scary encounter with a dangerous creep. There was a lot of story about the theft, but the wrap up took about a paragraph. A good wrap up. Easy listen.


I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Title: A Mother’s Love
Author: Danielle Steel
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Dan John Miller
Publisher: RB Media
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Pub Date: June 24, 2025
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages 288

On the occasion of her daughter Valerie’s wedding and her upcoming fiftieth birthday, bestselling author Halley Holbrook is approaching the Big 50. Her daughter Valerie one of her twins is getting married and Halley finds herself reflecting. Valerie moved to LA as her soon –to-be husband Seth as he is a producer. Her twin Olivia an artist follows as the twins have always been close.

Now that the wedding is over Halley funds herself an empty nester in her Fifth Avenue apartment. Her partner Robert died three years ago and Halley finds she is bouncing off the walls. She decides to arrange a trip to Paris.

Flying over, she meets Bart Warner, and they become friends; although dating is something strange for her.
Story started out a slow but once we find out more about happened to Halley as a child the story turned in a direction I didn't expect.

We find out she was verbally and mentally abused as a child, The cruelty she experienced as a child is haunting her now.
Although her parents are no longer around; a threat from a thief has triggered nightmares.


The ending was intense!

I have been a Danielle Steel fan for many years. I did drifted away from her Romance/Chick-Lit stories and moved to psychological thrillers. However, this is #48 for me ~ so yes; there is a loyalty magnet that has a hold on me as I still have soft spot for Ms. Steel’s stories.

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for June 24, 2025.

This is a good book but with the suspense it became a page turner. It was slow the first half of the book but got better. The twins boat trip was uneventful. Just the regular romantic setting to have a secret relationship, so they thought. I would read it again.

Although I enjoyed this I felt the ending was a bit rushed and I felt I had unanswered questions of what happened with some of the characters. I did enjoy all the Hermes bag talk as I love handbags. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I can honestly say this Steele novel was not my favorite. From the title I thought the book would be about Halley and her love of her twins, but at time I felt the focus was more on the twins. This was confusing, what was the focus supposed to be on? The book read like telling facts instead of telling a story. I wanted to love the story, but I couldn’t.
I found the male narrator to make the story more confusing. The focus of the story is a woman and should be told by a woman.
Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for my advanced audio copy.

Thank you Delacorte Press, NetGalley, and Danielle Steel for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

So I did not love this, but it was not bad. I think the romance was incredibly instalove, I didn’t understand what the actual plot was with Halley’s daughters. The books seems like it’s supposed to be about Halley but it sort of follows Valerie and Olivia as well? It was unnecessary and didn’t move the story along at all, if anything I would’ve just preferred for a separate book for the sisters. There is also SO much telling in this book, and almost no showing. The majority of it seemed to be driven by inner monologue, which I know some people do not mind, but I am not one of those people. For me that really impacts my enjoyment of a book. This book was also INSANELY repetitive. Halley would go over the same like 3 inner monologues about how she’s so “happy her girls are happy and enjoying themselves even if she has to be alone for Christmas for the first time since having them, it’s okay because they are growing up.” After the 4th time that happened I had to turn the book off for a minute because it made me so mad. The plot that was there was interesting and I did want to know what happened (that is why it gets 3 stars), and I didn’t find myself dreading listening to this, so I definitely got some enjoyment out of this. I don’t know, maybe my expectations were just too high? I’ve never read a Danielle Steel novel before, but she’s a romance novel staple/legend so I really did expect to be in love with this story.

It's been decades since I last picked up a Danielle Steel novel, and I was genuinely looking forward to revisiting her work with "A Mother's Love." While I've certainly developed a preference for different genres over the years, I'm finding that perhaps my reasons for drifting away from this author's style run deeper.
Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book. The primary reason for my decision to DNF was the overwhelming redundancy in the storytelling. The same plot points and emotional beats were revisited not just once or twice, but several times throughout the portion I read. This repetitiveness significantly detracted from any narrative momentum and, regrettably, overshadowed the potential of the underlying story. It's truly a shame, as I believe there was a compelling tale to be told at its core.
Having DNF'd only a handful of books in my entire reading life, it's always a disappointment when I'm unable to complete a title, especially one I was honored to receive via NetGalley.
I will not be posting this on Goodreads or anywhere else due to not finishing.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

There's one thing Danielle Steele knows is how to write a romance novel. I had read her books previously years and years ago and she just doesn't fail. There was a touch of mystery along with the romance in this story that follows Halley Holbrook taking a trip to Paris after her adult twin daughters decide to go sailing over Christmas and New Years. She meets love interest Bart on the flight over and after her bag is stolen, their friendship becomes more as they try to get it back.
A very sedate romance novel that lovers of Danielle Steele will enjoy.
Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook arc for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia/Recorded Books for the ARC. Another solid read from Danielle Steel. Second chance of love at a later age. I listened to the audio version and I kind of wished the narrator had been female since the main character is but that is just my pet peeve. It was also on the shorter side so you could immerse yourself and get the reward of finishing it fairly quickly.

This author, Danielle Steel, first inspired me to read in the 70's/80's.... I find her writing style engaging. A Mother's Love proved to be equally captivating. Family sagas are a genre I so enjoy... Always looking forward to her next novel.

Danielle Steel never disappoints!

This book was amazing and I did not want it to end. Another amazing book by this author. Character build was awesome and kept you wanting more

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.