Zoya

by Danielle Steel

Against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution  and World War I Europe, Zoya, young cousin to  the Tsar, flees St. Petersburg to Paris to find safety. Her entire  world forever changed, she faces hard times and joins the   Ballet Russe in Paris. And then, when life is kind to her,  Zoya moves on to a new and glittering life in New York. The  days of ease are all too brief as the Depression strikes, and  she loses everything yet again. It is her career, and the man she  meets in the course of it, which ultimately save her, as she  rebuilds her life through the war years and beyond. And it is  her family that comes to mean everything to her. From the roaring twenties to  the 1980's, Zoya remains a rare and spirited  woman whose legacy will live on.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Chick Lit, Russia, Drama

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include All That Glitters, Royal, Daddy's Girls, The Wedding Dress, The Numbers Game, Moral Compass, Spy, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

Facebook.com/DanielleSteelOfficial
Instagram: @officialdaniellesteel

Reviews

[Beatriz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela que es el reflejo de gran parte de un siglo convulsionado e inestable, mirado a través de los ojos de Zoya Ossupov, una joven aristócrata rusa que, después de la muerte de casi toda su familia y la abdicación de su primo, el zar Nicolás II, huye a Paris prácticamente con lo puesto, acompañada sólo de su abuela y uno de sus fieles sirvientes.

No es un libro del género romántico, por el contrario, yo lo clasificaría como narrativa histórica, ya que a través de casi 60 años junto a Zoya, vivenciaremos sucesos tan importantes como la revolución rusa, las dos guerras, la crisis económica del 29, los avances de la industrialización y se cruzarán en su camino grandes e influyentes personajes de la historia: líderes políticos y artistas, entre muchos otros.

Es una novela muy emotiva, sobre todo porque la vida de Zoya no fue fácil, incluso en los momentos de bonanza tuvo que hacer frente a duros reveses del destino. Cuando la terminé, me dejó una sensación muy melancólica.

Su pero es que tiene muy pocas páginas para todo lo que quiere contar; mientras leía sentía que apenas lograba atrapar un barniz del paso del tiempo e incluso, hacia el final, me parecía estar leyendo una crónica de los hechos más relevantes de la historia. Obviamente, así no se puede profundizar en los personajes, aunque, a pesar de todo, sí lograron traspasarme el dolor y el sentimiento de pérdida de seres queridos, de lugares, de otros tiempos...

Me recordó mucho El jinete de bronce, aunque, por supuesto, le falta mucho para estar a la altura de la maravillosa obra de Paullina Simons.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty much the only Danielle Steel novel that I ever liked. I would get her books as gifts, or I would pick one up thinking I would like it and just never did--they were all too similar, too lacking in substance--the cotton candy of books for me. Except Zoya. This one, I actually thoroughly enjoyed (it was a gift and at first I though, oh no...) Maybe it's because of the whole Russian history aspect...or maybe Ms. Steel was differently inspired for this book. At any rate, if you don't usually like Danielle Steel, this one might be different for you. It was for me.

[Maria Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuando decidí leer esta novela, lo hice pensando que sería una historia ligera, sin grandes pretensiones, y nada más lejos de la verdad. A mi modo de ver o entender es una novela triste, dura como la vida de la protagonista, y que se aleja totalmente de lo que yo considero es una novela romántica. De todas maneras, es una gran historia repleta de amor y sufrimiento...

[Carol Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book is like watching the trailer for an incredible movie -- and then realizing that you just watched the movie and there was nothing more to come!

Every time Zoya is in some new and interesting situation, you think, ah, now it will get really exciting and romantic. Only it never does! She's a pampered princess in Russia for like, five pages. Then she's poor in Paris. Then she's rich again. Then she's poor again. And all the time it was like, when will the action really start?

Danielle Steel writes like she's writing Cliff notes for a novel someone else wrote.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

В гимназията и университета с удоволствие четях някои заглавия на Даниел Стийл, посветени на исторически събития. Още тогава беше ясно, че историческият фон е шарена добавка към романтиката, но в някои случаи наистина и се беше получило добре.

Мотивът “принцеса Анастасия” е абсолютното любимо клише в романтичните заглавия. Царско потекло, зли болшевики, чудотворно спасение и любов с принца след емиграция в САЩ. Какво да не му хареса човек. С подобни маркери се изчерпва и целият сюжет тук. Всичко е абсолютно предвидимо. Но Стийл не прекалява чак много със сантименталностите, макар да пише в свръхсантиментален жанр, и носи искрена надежда. Това е разликата на по-старите авторки на “дамска проза” в сравнение с вятърничавите им сегашни посестрими. Споменът от войните е все още нещо реално, към което се подхожда с доза реализъм и разбиране, а не като към занаятчийски инструмент да шашнеш читателките с екзотична драма след драма.

2,5⭐️

[Lucille · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked this book when I was 10, mainly because I was obsessed with the Russian Revolution and cherished the possibility that I might be Anastasia Romanov. I've read it since then and it is the usual Danielle Steel schlock with tons of ellipses to fill space, lots of cliches, and banal unevocative descriptions. But, there's no such thing as a cliche when you're 10! It's a good read for people who are younger, not widely read, or big fans of Danielle Steel, as I used to be.

[Rachel Macik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one in High School. I really liked it because it was the only thing I could do while in detention hall. (that could be its own story). It was the biggest book my mom had, on her dresser. I stole it to keep me occupied. It worked. I want one of those eggs.

[Diane Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely read! good storytelling,depth and also a few tense moments between certain characters..one can feel the love of family..well written (paperback!)

[Misfit]

This was good, but not stay up all night reading it to find out what's going to happen next - you just know that after something good happens, something crappy happens to upset Zoya's apple cart. I did like the Russian ties to the Romanov family, that was a good touch.

The book starts around the time of the Revolution, takes Zoya and her grandmother to Paris where they struggle with the rest of the Russians who fled the war, and eventually to New York and a new world with lots of losses and ups and downs amidst the good times. I think it ended with a much older heroine in the 1970s.

Glad I read it, enjoyed the name dropping throughout, but after finishing several days ago it's not sticking with me.

[Onka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danielle Steel once again proved that she is a great author. On the contrary to popular belief, she does not write these 'sweet' romances. Her heroines have to overcome so many obstacles to reach their happy ending that a reader only wonders 'Should a life be so cruel and hard?' and 'Is it even worth it?'. I don't know but I find all of her novels so realistic and believable...
In this case, our main character a young countess Zoya lives a pleasant life with her family in St. Petersburg. However, when she is 17 a revolution breaks out and she is forced to leave. She ends up in Paris but as a countess she doesn't know hard work. We see her struggling … but step by step she finds a new life there. And finally, when you think everything is ok… BAM… you realize that you're not even in the half of the book! And that's what I love about this book the most. You never know what's going to happen next and … Well, it kept me on the edge of my seat.
I admired Zoya for what she did and also her strength. She went through so much and still she kept going. I cannot even imagine how she was able to do that (and yes, I realize she is a fictional character but I believe she represents many people affected by war).
And I also enjoyed this book because of its setting. I've always been interested in that era – the Romanovs, and the Russian revolution so when I heard about this book I just knew I had to read it!

[Shainlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book in high school. My friends and I passed it around. We all thought czars and their families were fascinating. We all loved this story and thought Zoya must have been the most beautiful name in the world. One of these days I would love to read it again. Maybe I can find a copy to own. ❤️

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down! Danielle Steel at her very best. A classic.

[FlewB'DoobeyDoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book as a gift from my grandma a little over two years ago. Now, being the lover of all romance books labeled as steamy , this one was definitely not at the top of my too reads. Well, here i was yesterday, guiltily staring at the beautiful 1988 cover of this giant hardcover book and finally said, FINE. Lets do this.

Oh. boy. This frickin' book.
I wish i could genuinely find the words to properly convey the vast array of emotions that went down through this harrowing experience i went through. I shall use interpretive gifs and the simplest terms of what i have felt. Buckle up bitches. Here is my review of Zoya.

At first i was feeling pretty confident. I'm two chapters deep and pretty well immersed in the Russian royalties world, as well as falling in love with all the characters we get introduced to.


BUT UH OH BABY apparently in Danielle Steel books its a trap.

Everything. EVERY. DAMN. THING.
It was like Danielle Steel had a personnel vendetta against Zoya and proceeded to strait up John Wick each of the characters she diligently added to the story to get you to care about. Strait up. She feels like the George R.R. Martin of romance.
Her hit list includes:
Zoya's ENTIRE family Including her brother, mother, father, grandmother, trusty man servant, the entire sector of the Romanov's (her cousins, one of which her best friend Maria). Zoya's first husband, Zoya's second husband, Zoya's daughter (with her first husband), Zoya's late in life lover. AND, lastly but definitely most furiously, HER G.D. DOG.


SERIOUSLY. I don't know if it was just how the relationships were built here, or that i'm just a big blubbering mess, but good god this hole book had me going from
to

and finally to this.

Seriously. This book. It did me in. I'll prove that point; I strictly keep a sleep schedule where i am literally in bed by 8 and asleep by 8:30. It is now 10:15 here on the west coast and not only am i not in bed, but i had to get out of bed in order to write my review for this book.

But why you may ask? Was it really that good?
Honestly, it was pretty dang good. Was it something different than anything I've read before? Yeah.
Have I been in a book slump and apparently needed something that was going to take an emotional wrecking ball to my temporal lobe and blow out my tear ducts? Heh, apparently. So, in total, yeah this book was pretty dang good. It was entertaining, had a bit of romance, had a rich (if slightly loose) basis in actual historical events, and had a heroine whose story was so freaking tragically dramatic that i, among all others who see a train wreck happening and cant look away, genuinely could not look away.
I found myself praying throughout the book that it would end on happily ever after, and in a way it did. Was it a classical romance where the man of her dreams and her ride off into the sunset to their castle of no-mo-troubles land? No. In fact a lot of the peace you get at the ending is that such a strong women endured such horrors and still came out the other side.

I could only hope that in Miss Steel's world Zoya someday is able to ride of into her own sunset. God knows that girl deserved it.

(okay side track note here) Being someone of the non-fiery red/copper/flameish color hair variety, i find the excessive descriptions of Zoya's hair color to be, well, excessive. You got good locks babe, cool. Or is this chick the walking equivalent of cousin IT, cause all peoples reactions to her, have to do with her hair. Move on.

5 stars. It made me cry. So, yeah, it was definitely a soulful investment.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the first time I have read this. I first read this when I was 9 or 10. Probably too young but who cares. Being 38 now, I've read it probably 20 times since then. I am in no way a Danielle Steele fan. normally I read fantasy. But I always reread this. I love "old war love stories", The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simmons is my all time favorite book. Such simple acts of love are so romantic. This is one of the few books I literally fly through. Pages turn fast then faster still. I guess it's a secret indulgence. The ONLY thing wrong is I'm really not a fan of dogs dying in books but that's life. I will reread this a few dozen more times in my life.

[Guillermo Maddalena · Rating 4 out of 5]

No te la podes perder!!! Zoya, una joven aristócrata de San Petersburgo, tras la revolución rusa y la primera guerra mundial viaja a París....donde los acontecimientos se suceden con un vértigo atronador...una mujer que nos dejará una marca para siempre.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came out when I was sixteen and I remember reading it when it was new and was all in. I am sure that I reread more than once (as I was wont to do) and found myself remembering it fondly over the years. I suspected, rightly, that I knew too much about Russian History and Orthodoxy now for it to be as amazing as remembered, but the nostalgia factor was high, and it was a lovely reread. 3.5 stars.

[Chrissy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to read a lot of Danielle Steel when I was younger, but I stopped as I got older. Reading this book, I remember why I stopped. Tragedy after tragedy happens to the main character, almost to the point of "Damn, give this woman a BREAK already!" The writing style is amateurish and weak. Really, I only picked this one up because of the Russian Revolution aspect of it. While that part of it was interesting, the book dragged and dragged...mostly because you knew just ONE more tragedy was waiting around the corner. A little too melodramatic for me.

[abby ❤ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this wasn’t “good” by any means but i didnt expect it to be (even my mom admits that she only read it because her english-teacher mom and history-teacher dad disapproved)

it was poorly written and melodramatic and predictable like nothing else and the way every man fell deeply in love with zoya made me roll my eyes as far back as they could go. i’m also convinced it made me actively dumber and now i’m very ready to start reading for school

that being said its not like i expected anything more and i was amused by all the drama. happy end of summer i guess

[Olean Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, Zoya was a good "beach" read while vacationing in the Outer Banks of NC. In typical Danielle Steel fashion, leading character, Zoya, is a strong, determined, beautiful woman who must face and overcome many challenges and obstacles. The writing was somewhat "flat" and when characters died I didn't feel any emotion. The historical setting and connections to the Russian Tsar were the most interesting part of the book for me.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is still as enjoyable as I remember the film adaptation to be from my teens!

[Laraemilie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A l’aube de la révolution russe, Zoya, une jeune cousine du tsar se voit obligée de fuir son pays avec sa grand-mère. Toutes deux gagnent Paris, où elles doivent s’habituer à une existence en tout point différent du luxe qu’elles ont connu auparavant. Heureusement, la force de caractère de la jeune fille lui permettra de survivre et de se construire une vie agréable, entre la France et New York.
Zoya retrace le portrait d’une jeune fille incroyable, qui fera preuve d’une capacité d’adaptation inimaginable. N’ayant rien connu d’autre que le luxe de la haute société jusqu’à ses dix-sept ans, la révolution la force à découvrir un monde tout différent, dans lequel elle doit travailler pour assurer sa subsistance et celle de sa grand-mère. Traumatisée par le sort de sa famille en Russie, elle se relèvera pourtant à chaque échec, poursuivant son rêve de bonheur. Et, comme dans toute fiction romantique qui se respecte, elle rencontrera l’amour.
Je dois admettre que, à ma grande surprise, j’ai été transportée sur les pas de l’héroïne sans même m’en rendre compte et j’ai apprécié ce roman qui me laissait au départ sceptique. Il est vrai que les romances ne sont pas vraiment mon genre, mais j’ai décidé de tenter ma chance avec Zoya en raison du contexte de la révolution russe, qui m’intéresse beaucoup. C’est donc sans surprise que je dirai que la première partie a été ma préférée : on y découvre Zoya dans son enfance et son adolescence, on entrevoit la beauté des palais de la famille royale et les paysages d’hiver de ce pays, bientôt détruit par de sanglants combats.
La deuxième partie est située à Paris et offre un contraste marqué avec la première. Fini le luxe, Zoya et sa grand-mère ne sont plus rien. Dans la misère, toutefois, la jeune fille fait preuve d’un courage sans pareil et se rend très attachante de par son fort caractère. C’est là qu’elle rencontrera l’amour, une histoire touchante, mais bien trop romancée et rapide à mon goût.
Voilà donc l’héroïne partie pour New York, où elle fera à nouveau partie des personnes influentes. Cela signifie une fois de plus un changement, et le fait qu’elle doive s’adapter à un nouveau système, mais elle le fait naturellement, sans problème visible. Le bonheur est toutefois de courte durée en raison de la crise de 1929, auquel son mari ne survivra pas. Zoya, elle, s’en sortira, tout comme ses enfants, et quelques années plus tard, elle rencontrera à nouveau l’amour. Bien qu’ayant apprécié cette partie, j’ai trouvé que l’auteur basculait trop dans les clichés, et qu’on passait trop souvent d’un moment de pur bonheur à un instant de profond désespoir, où les évènements tragiques s’enchaînent à une vitesse incroyable.
Malgré ces extrêmes, l’histoire m’a plu, sans aucun doute grâce à Zoya elle-même. Si les autres personnages manquent de profondeur, elle est tout simplement admirable. Le contexte y est aussi pour beaucoup, car Zoya a non seulement traversé la révolution russe, mais aussi la première guerre mondiale, le krach économique de 29 et la seconde guerre mondiale. Oscillant entre la haute société et les couches plus pauvres, elle nous donne un aperçu de la vie à cette époque historique importante et nous emmène par la même occasion dans le monde de la mode.
Zoya plaira donc aux amateurs de belles histoires d’amour. Elle est sans conteste l’héroïne idéale pour un tel roman de par son caractère et le contexte dans lequel elle évolue. J’aurais toutefois aimé avoir davantage de détails historiques et un peu moins de clichés, mais ce fut néanmoins une lecture agréable.

[lacy white · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

tw: epidemic of measles, hemophilia, mentions of war, mentions of murder, death, mental illness portrayed in an unsavory light, questionable age gap in a couple, threats of child abuse, mentions of abortion, war, mentions of the holocaust, anti Semitism

This will be a pretty short review as I don’t have much to say about this book. I’m attempting to get through my massive book collection and so I’m rereading pre-goodreads books and writing reviews on them. I’m reading a bunch of Danielle Steel as well so I can give the ones I don’t care for to my mom. I got a lot going on.

This book was alright. It wasn’t anything special. I remember loving this book because it was a russian main character who was a dancer, things I still love reading about to this day. It’s also a typical riches to rags to riches story, if there is such a thing. Zoya was a beloved member of the royal family and when the revolution happened, she had to escape. This is the story of her life after that.

Overall, this is a good filler book if you are looking for something in between books. It’s a rather large book in terms of page number but the good thing with Danielle Steel, is that her books, no matter how big, reads fairly quick. This only took me a couple of days to read.

[Autumn · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were so many things that I didn't like about this book and even though Zoya's first husband and her's age difference was accurate for that time in history it still made me sick how they talked about it. Clayton often referred to her as a child and Zoya said something to him in regard to their age gap along the lines of: "it wouldn't matter if you were 10 years old, I would love you just the same," and that was just plain gross in my opinion. I would have been more tolerant of the age gap if the author didn't say "child" so much and have Clayton, Zoya, Zoya's grandmother, and her grandmother's friend all agree that he was too old for her but they all did nothing to stop the relationship from happening anyway. I really didn't like Clayton's character and I often felt that his main reason for liking Zoya was for her looks. I was honestly a bit glad when he died but I think the way he died was kinda weak on the author's part.

Also the whole stock market crash part of the book takes to me my next point: way too many bad things happened in this book and I became numb to it very quickly. The word "death/died" lost its meaning about 60 pages into this book. I never read a book where a character had this much bad luck. It didn't even make me sad, just tired.

The pacing in this book was also horrible. I really liked how the book started out and I liked the detail that the author included about the escape from Russia and the revolution. I liked how we got updates on how everything was going while she was living in Paris. What I didn't like was that the second half of the book was so rushed in comparison. I wanted more detail about Zoya's husband Simon and I'm sad that I never got that. Their relationship felt rushed. I felt like so many characters were introduced just for nothing but death to become of them and it made me question why they were even added in the first place.

There was so much name dropping and it was pointless and not relevant to the story at all. Considering a decent chunk of this book took place during WWII I expected more detail about its big events and the anxiety that it caused Zoya but once again the detailing was just not there. So many great concepts were introduced only to be brushed over which made this book a very disappointing read.

To sum up, this book was so frustrating and so much happened, a little too much actually, and it's a book I'll complain about for years to come.

[Ces · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the two books from Danielle Steel that I've read. And I can't even remember the title of the other one (Update: Hey, It's The Gift! Lol). But this one's something else.

I have always been curious about the Russian Revolution since having watched the animated movie 'Anastasia'. I've researched extensively about the Romanov family and watched a lot of documentaries about it. So when my Algebra Tutor mentioned that she used to read this book about the Czar and his fallen family (it wasn't really about them, though), my heart skipped a bit. I MUST read this book!

Well, it was hard to find a new copy of this at that time so I wasn't able to read it right away. But after chancing upon it at a pre-owned book store, I just HAZ TO HAZ EET! :)

The wait was well worth it. Steel almost made me believe this character is really the cousin of the Czar! The way she describes each member of the family is just seamless. I even researched her on the internet! Lol. I also sympathized with this heroine a lot throughout the story (well, she did have lots of ups and downs).

So yeah, I generally loved this novel, maybe trim down the cliches and banal scenes, it could've been one of my favorites. Well, it was for a while, but after re-reading it earlier this year, I'm not digging it as much. Huh..

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorites. I'm not a huge D.S. fan but this story is one that I love to read; over and over again. Fictional characters fit so seamlessly into actual historical events and she describes it all so beautifully. Almost makes you wish you had been there to see it and enjoy the ride of highs and lows along with the characters in the story.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving it three because I loved it when I was younger, but I'm almost positive I'll hate it now like I do with both the Titanic and Vietnam war novels she's written. I'm sure it's full of historical inaccuracies and I'd rather look back on this book as a read I loved as a teen and leave it in the past.

[Jamey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to read right before visiting St Petersburg. Easy read that held my attention, but too many huge tragedies happening to one woman. Not believable and lacked real historical meat.

[Cheti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le doy 3.5 casi 4... con dudas, al principio me estaba encantando, enganchada, mucho drama toda la novela, algunos párrafos y frases te las repite.... traducción regular y el final deseando terminarlo. Demasiado párrafo que sobra. La protagonista, un amor ❤️

[Ruci Tukana · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the beautiful stories I ever read.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was written in that dim corridor of days between the 22nd and 28th of October, 2025 — a week blurred by the hiss of oxygen and the slow drip of IV lines at Bellona Nursing Home & Diagnostic Centre Pvt. Ltd. I was then a reluctant guest of illness, recovering from an infection that had seized both lungs and kidneys. Forgive, therefore, the infrequent tremor in my language; it bears the soft delirium of painkillers and the fragile clarity of a mind half-dreaming between fever and thought. But Slime does that annoying, delightful thing some tales do — it pretends to be campy horror and then quietly slips a mirror into your hands.

Zoya begins in the crumbling grandeur of Tsarist Russia, giving us a heroine who feels like she stepped out of a ballet — graceful, sheltered, but tougher than she realises.

When the Russian Revolution sweeps her world into chaos, Steel shifts gears from opulence to survival, and the tonal contrast makes Zoya’s journey hit even harder. Watching her flee her home with only scraps of her old identity is like watching a diamond get dropped into fire — she doesn’t melt; she transforms.

Zoya rebuilds her life not once but multiple times: Paris, New York, love lost, love regained, fortunes made, fortunes shattered. Steel pulls off that rare trick of making a decades-spanning narrative feel intimate.

Zoya’s heartbreaks — the deaths, the poverty, the relentless need to start over — land with emotional weight but never melodrama. Steel draws her with respect: she’s fragile without being weak, resilient without being hardened.

The novel becomes a tapestry of history: the Great Depression, the world wars, shifting cultures — all seen through the lens of one woman who keeps choosing life even when life refuses to choose her back.

By the end, Zoya feels less like a character and more like someone’s fiercely beloved grandmother telling the story of how she crossed continents with nothing but hope in her pockets.

It’s sweeping, luminous, and surprisingly grounding — one of Steel’s most elegant works.