The True Meaning of Love

by Danielle Steel

As Russian troops amass on Ukraine’s borders and the city of Kyiv swiftly comes under attack, the lives of four very different women change in an instant.

Tatyanna, the orphaned young ballerina who dances with the famous ballet school is devastated when her boyfriend and best friend are killed. She must now decide whether to stay and fight, or flee to safety and join a Paris ballet.

Yulya, the young wife and mother whose happy, normal life is destroyed by wartime forcing her to leave her husband and elderly parents to flee to another country to keep her children safe.

Sasha, the dedicated doctor who risks all to selflessly stay and save lives regardless of politics.

And Oxana, the elderly grandmother, too old to leave and devoted to her husband, is determined to stay in their home and care for him while life disintegrates around them.

The impact of war on these women and the people they love, and how they face the challenge to keep safe comes down to the true meaning of love . . .

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Romance, Adult Fiction, Ebooks

256 pages, Hardcover

Published August 11, 2026

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

[Jennie]

This book is fiction, but it is about a real life event which has been happening for the last four years in the Ukraine. This book really shines the light on what exactly is happening in a country when it is at war. I don’t think a lot of us know what goes on since we are not close by. This book takes a group of people and follows them throughout several years. I thought the characters all were believable and it was very sad in many places in the book. I would recommend the book.

[Laura Biesemeyer]

I read a number of Danielle Steel’s books and this was not one of her finer efforts. I loved the concept of the book, but the characters did not form well and something was up with the writing. I don’t know if it was the writing or editing, but the information was relayed multiple times within the same paragraph. When you explain to me that a person is tired and hungry, I typically get the idea the first time, you do not need to explain it over and over again. Sorry, can’t recommend

[Allison Ridenhour]

I am giving this 5 stars because it is an important book about the Ukraine war. It IS the true meaning of love.. what is important to us when we are stripped of everything, even human dignity: family & love - of each other & country. Danielle Steele presented a well researched, emotional, engaging, hard to out down & hard to read. This reads almost like a documentary. You can tell this subject & the telling of it was very important to the author. READ IT and then, appreciate our freedom.

[Megan Norred]

Boring. It sounds like a third or fourth grader wrote this. There’s not a bit of emotion in this book. Already a character has died and I feel nothing. Flat characters and basic descriptions. As popular a write Danielle Steel is, I hope the rest of her books are better.

[Lora Cimino]

I just finished the new book by Danielle Steel. I am not good at reviews so I just wanted to say that it is a very powerful and moving book. It takes place in the Ukraine; all of the characters are from there. Either she did an amazing job of research or she witnessed some on hand. Yes there are love stories but also gave realistic storylines of destruction of buildings and people. It starts with the beginning of the attack when everyone was hoping that it would last just a couple of months. The characters are strong and there is so much hope within them. I learned a lot about the war and the resilience of the Ukraine people. This was such a good book and I recommend it to you.

[Terry]

I enjoyed this Steel book. The focus of this one is the Ukrainian-Russian war that is still going on. It talks about the devastation of war to the country, people, buildings and spirit of the citizens that have survived. A brief glimpse into the human side of an unnecessary war over the greed and power grab of mankind.

[Tara Prinsep]

This was very slow moving and boring in my opinion.

[Julie Simmons]

An emotional read that hits even harder considering the war in Ukraine is still going on. It's one thing to hear about the devastation on the news but quite another to read about what is actually happening to people in the midst of the destruction. This book follows several characters during the first months of the war, and because the war is ongoing, it's impossible to completely end with a happily ever after when the future of the characters remains so uncertain. However, it does end as happily as possible given the circumstances. This is a very heavy read; heartwrenching, yet incredibly touching.

[Robyn]

A historical fiction about Russia invading Ukraine.
At only 250 pages, this novel needed and deserved at least another 100 pages because the character development was very minimal. At the beginning, we are peppered with names, ages, occupations and then the names, ages, occupations of relatives. Then war breaks out. We are told the story instead of being shown the story. Not enough dialogue.

With that being said, I’m still glad I read this because the realities of what is going on in Ukraine deserves to be better understood. Reading historical fiction can help us have better understanding.

[Kathleen]

Definitely not one of her best books. Characters were not developed, not much of a storyline at all. Repetitively describing the bombings, the damage- which I get - yes, she’s writing a war story, but there was not much of a storyline at all, jumped among characters with just little short stories about them. I am a top fan of her books and for the last couple of years I think she is pushing so many books out so fast that most are not developed like they used to be. Only 250-300 pages, if that, which means the characters and plots aren’t very developed. Let’s go back to longer books please! I actually stopped buying the books and now just read them from the library:(

[Tracy Lewis]

A story about many characters caught in war torn Ukraine has so much potential… but once again it feels like DS can only have less than 250 pages so it just skims over so much;

I mean, come on Vlad seems like just an afterthought
Tatyanna leaves Paris to go back?! 🙄🙄
what the hell happens to her after she’s back??

and then Symon is just hanging around in a recovery ward months later?! 🙄🙄🙄


Sorry, too many eye-rolling moments to be above 2 stars

[Jennifer Cooley]

This was such a good book but heartbreaking to read. I cried many times reading it but I could not put it down. Only took me so long to ready because I work too much. Make sure you have Kleenex when you read it.

[Tracy Lowe]

This book was very hard to put down. Once you start reading it you really are wanting to find out what happens. I read it in two and a half days. I could have finished it in a day and a half if I had time. I think this was one of her better books

[Sheila Penwell]

Loved this story that is based on the war in Ukraine. Several love stories are involved and for most of them the love of their country. There are the people who stayed, the people who came back to help their country and to help rebuild their country. The characters are amazing and play an important part in this story. A GREAT READ,

[Denise Cox]

great book by one of my favorite authors.

I loved this book by one of my favorite authors. Her books are always amazing to read and I usually read them in a few days! This one is so relevant to what is happening in Ukraine right now. I have read her books for years. My parents used to read her when they were alive. If you want to read a great book, read this one!

[Carolyn Napolitano]

One of her better books that makes one think sbout what is actually happening with the rissian-ukraine war. Felt sad reading how this world today has such disregard for life💔

[Susan Halvorsen]

Not her usual fluff- subject was gritty and I really enjoyed her characters- quite a change from her norm

[Amy Sunkle]

I’ve always loved Danielle Steel’s books and this one did not disappoint.

[Debbie St Romain]

the true meaning of love

Oh my, this was a difficult book to read….and I’m sure hard to write. She must have had to do some in-depth background study. It sure isn’t like most of her latest books. The stories of these poor people in a war zone were tragic and some had better results than others. The names and places were hard to get straight in my head so slow start. As it went on it became a faster page turner. It took me a bit longer to finish it. I couldn’t do anything else until I did. The war in Ukraine is a terrible thing and the people have very difficult circumstances to overcome . I hope one day it will be over and they can get their country back to a new normal.

[Sherri Valencik]

Very timely. A nice departure from her last few.

[Denise Vasfaret]

War I ukraine

Very touching story about war torn Ukraine and its people. Ravished , hungry and dying their stories of willingness to survive and take care of their countrymen. God bless ukraine

[Mary Byrne]

Wonderful story with great characters as they struggle through the war in Ukraine.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were wonderful as they struggle in war torn Ukraine. Found it very hard to put the book down.

[Tammy Savage]

The content of this book is noble and well intentioned. However, what I am finding with the latest books by this author is that she often repeats or says in different words what had already been said or explained. It happened repeatedly in this book and made the book boring.

[Tara Fournier]

My new favourite of her books :)

[Glenna]

This is not like her usual books. It’s like a tribute to Ukraine. There was a lot of repetitiveness in this book but overall it was a good book. This was a great teaching book about the Ukraine war that many people have no knowledge of.

[Beth Newell]

I have really mixed feeling about "The True Meaning of Love" by Danielle Steel. On the one hand, this book seems to be the first time that Ms. Steel wrote a fictional story about an ongoing situation and that was interesting to me. But on the other hand, the way that the war ends has yet to be told. But the war has come to Ukraine. For dancers Vald and Tatyanna it may be time to stop dancing and take up arms. For doctors and secret lovers Sasha and Anton, their lives will now become a grind of never-ending wounded need their care with supplies running low. For parents Yulya, Symon and Yulya parents Petro and Oxana the struggle has just begun.
And to be honest Ms. Steel's writing has defiantly changed over the years. I remember when a book by her was anywhere 350 - 400 pages long. Now you are lucky if the book is 250 pages. Not sure if she has written into her contact now, but that really takes away from the stories that she is telling. It feels that she rushing to tell the reader a story and doesn't take the time to develop her characters anymore. Her books are not worth $29.00 retail anymore. Like this book, any further books by Ms. Steel will be coming from the library.

[Alex (Alex's Version)]

With Russian troops massing at Ukraine’s borders and Kyiv under attack, four distinct women’s lives change instantly.

Tatyanna, an orphaned ballerina, is devastated when her boyfriend and best friend die. She must choose between staying to fight or fleeing to join a Paris ballet.

Yulya, a young wife and mother, has her normal life destroyed by war, forcing her to leave her husband and parents to flee and protect her children.

Sasha, a dedicated doctor, risks everything to stay and save lives regardless of politics.

Oxana, an elderly grandmother too old to leave, is determined to stay in her home with her husband as life crumbles around them.

Quite honestly, this book was actually pretty good and quite serious—not what I would expect from Danielle Steel. However, I found it quite depressing, and so many of the characters died. To be honest, I lost track of all the deaths; too many people died, and I just didn’t care anymore. There were too many characters, but I felt this book was good and very different from the other Danielle Steel books, which are silly fairytales.

[CJ]

I won a Kindle copy of this book and I am grateful for that. However, I stay true and honest in reviews with how I feel about them and won’t lie just to get free books. It’s happening so often now and it’s truly despicable to see people give raving reviews for books when A) They never read them or B) They only want to impress to receive more free books.

This might just end up being a soft DNF where I may come back to it later, but I just can’t condone the way the cheating between two doctors is pushed upon us like it’s romantic in a time of war amidst the chaos of the trauma in the hospital setting and tragedy around them. Cheating in marriage is wrong.

There’s also a lot of repetition like the author didn’t remember writing something already. So many things that should have been caught by an editor and removed were left in.

I did like the other characters and am interested in reading more about the war in Ukraine because it’s tragic and eye-opening but this might not be the best book for that.

[Natalie Cerdeira]

Review: The True Meaning of Love by Danielle Steel
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
I really wanted to love this book. The focus on the war in Ukraine gives the story a lot of heart and real importance, highlighting the resilience of ordinary people caught in a crisis.
However, the execution fell flat for me:
* Too Repetitive: The same details and emotional points kept being explained over and over again. It felt like filler just to make the book longer, which slowed down the pace.
* Underdeveloped Characters: None of the characters really evolved or had much depth. Because of that, I couldn't fall in love with any of them or feel fully invested in their stories.
* More Reporting Than Storytelling: The book tells you what the characters are feeling instead of letting you experience it with them, taking away from the emotional impact.
It’s a quick read with a meaningful message, but the repetitive writing and shallow characters hold it back.

[Cheryl Schlesinger]

A tribute to Ukraine

Different than her other books in that it is based on the current war in the Ukraine following the fictional lives of several characters and the horror and violence that affects the people of Ukraine today. The suddenness of the Russian bombings, the crimes against humanity in the bombing and killing of women, children, and the elderly; the bombing of suburbs outside of Kiev, and the total destruction of cities, housing units, hospitals, and schools. It’s been four years and the war continues with the epilogue detailing the statistics of deaths so far. It was a difficult read as I had no vested interest in the characters of the story as they were superficial to the real story which was the actual war and the decimated lives of the actual people of Ukraine. Tragic.