Preston and Connie Whittier have spent their lives in successful lucrative careers and raising their six children. Many thanks to Delacorte Press | Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read The Whittiers in advance of its publication.

I do believe this author has potential, because something about the writing seemed like it could be interesting, I just wish there was an interesting plot as well. I see the author has written a ton of books maybe that's the problem I don't know. I only give 5 stars to books I would consider reading again, and this latest offering from Danielle Steel fits that criteria as a feel-good, entertaining read. The Whittiers by Danielle Steel is another one of her wonderful standalone novels. The Whittiers is a fantastic family-oriented story line. We meet the entire family from the start, with the parents, Preston and Connie, as well as their children, Lyle (oldest at 42), Gloria (39), twins Charlie and Caro (33), Benjie (28- autism spectrum) and Annabelle (youngest at 21); as they all celebrate Christmas every year. They are a very close-knit family, with only Amanda, Lyle’s wife being an outcast, only caring about money. After the holidays, Preston and Connie always go away to Europe for an annual vacation, with this year going skiing to France.In every family, each member has their own personal struggles. The Whittiers are no exception. Lyle is successful but has an unhappy marriage. Gloria is a genius on Wall Street but lonely. Twins Caroline and Charlie work all hours on their growing fashion brand, but have no time to enjoy life and discover who they really are. Benjie has personal challenges and requires additional support. And rebellious Annabelle has fallen in with a bad crowd. Lyle, worried about his two children, bringing them to the mansion every other week, and doing everything he could to finalize his divorce. Gloria was a successful lawyer, who had no relationships with others. Caro and Charlie, were running a fashion business, which were long hours, and more funds were needed to help promote their work. Benjie was at times hard to handle, but the love of his family always helped him; he also had two cute dogs. Annabelle was the wild one, always staying out all hours, until she needed help from her family.

Everything is explained at least 4 times. In case you didn't know Gloria is 39. And yes, the sister Gloria who is 39, is also 39. Oh and then entered Gloria, the sister, aged 39. That's pretty much the first half of the book. There were 6 siblings after all, lots of ground to cover.

The Whittier family, composed of two parents and six siblings ranging in ages from 42 to 21, have always been close, but when tragedy strikes these adult children are drawn even closer to provide emotional and physical support. Five of the siblings return home to the family estate and the story unfolds over the next year. Not only are they coping with their grief, they face an unplanned pregnancy, hostile divorce proceedings, a major business expansion and budding romances. As excellent and well known Danielle Steel is as an author, in my opinion her latest novel "The Whittiers" is not one of her best works. The main idea of the book was ambitious but not all that well developed. To summarize, the story follows a total of six siblings and their various storylines in the aftermath of a tragedy (respectfully, I won't divulge the details any further than this for those who decide to read the book). As the beautiful cover indicates winter is special. Every year after Christmas, Preston and Connie go on a trip ~ the children call it their Parent’s “Wintermoon”! This year they went skiing in France ~ unfortunately there was a deadly avalanche. But with this year’s trip comes tragedy, and suddenlythe Whittiers’ adult children find themselves reuniting in the family home without their parents for the first time ever.The oldest, Lyle, is reaching a breaking point in his marriage and must decide whether a divorce would be best for him and his two children. Gloria’s big job on Wall Street has kept her single at thirty-nine, and growing ever more cynical. The twins, Caroline and Charlie, moved out long ago to start a fashion business that may now be faltering. Benjie, with special needs, is hit hard by the loss of his parents and needs his siblings’ help. And Annabelle, the youngest, drops out of college and starts to spin out of control. The Whittiers" by Danielle Steel is a comforting and enjoyable read. Steel's books have always been like literary popcorn for me, providing a bubble bath for my brain. Out of all her books in 2022, this one stands out as the best.

The entire purpose of the book seemed to have a political agenda to it, but not enough to convince the reader or get the reader to fall in love with the characters. If I had to rate it out of five stars, I would give it one. The Whittiers is a heartwarming story about the importance of family, home and being true to yourself, from the world's favourite author Danielle Steel. There were also some love stories going on, but even that didn't have much meat to it. The partners the characters had fallen in love with had also been flat, and the storyline of how they got together seemed too easy and set up. The eldest four are forced to put aside their personal issues and their grief to keep the family together and support each other and their two youngest siblings. Selling the house, along with all the memories that live in its walls, feels like yet another devastating loss. Could there be another way, as unconventional as it seems? Connie and Preston Whittier raised their six children in a once-grand Manhattan mansion. The children are now adults, but the house remains the heart of the family and somewhere they all love to return to, particularly in times of stress. But on Connie and Peter’s annual skiing holiday in Europe, an avalanche hits their resort, resulting in tragedy.

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What follows is a wonderful heartwarming story, with the family determined to keeping everyone together, especially with the older siblings helping to support Benji and a pregnant Annabelle. The Whittiers was a fabulous storyline, with fantastic family that had to deal with grief, hostile divorce, expansion and wonderful romances along the way. The Whittiers was so very well written by Danielle Steel. But with this year’s trip comes tragedy, and suddenly the Whittiers’ adult children find themselves reuniting in the family home without their parents for the first time ever. The oldest, Lyle, is reaching a breaking point in his marriage and must decide whether a divorce would be best for him and his two children. Gloria’s big job on Wall Street has kept her single at thirty-nine, and growing ever more cynical. The twins, Caroline and Charlie, moved out long ago to start a fashion business that may now be faltering. Benjie, with special needs, is hit hard by the loss of his parents and needs his siblings’ help. And Annabelle, the youngest, drops out of college and starts to spin out of control. I enjoy romances so I like that many of the siblings find love during the course of the story. There is representation as one of the siblings comes out to the family. Something they couldn’t do while the father was alive. One brother is on the high end of the autistic spectrum and needs extra attention and care. It helps that everyone in the family is likable. Even the oldest sister who has some harsh things to say to the the youngest. The oldest son is going through a divorce so his wife is the only villain in the story.