Lazos de familia

by Danielle Steel, Ángeles Leiva Morales (Translator)

Una llamada cambió la vida de Annie Ferguson para siempre. De la noche a la mañana, tuvo que dejar las fiestas y los viajes para convertirse en una madre de familia improvisada y hacerse cargo de sus tres sobrinos.

Dieciséis años después, Annie se ha convertido en una reputada arquitecta tremendamente orgullosa de sus «niños»: Liz es editora de la revista Vogue, Ted estudia Derecho y Kate, Diseño. Ahora que ya llevan vidas independientes, Annie comienza a sentirse un poco sola en casa y a arrepentirse de haberse resignado a vivir sin el amor de un hombre durante tantos años. Sin embargo, un esguince de tobillo hará que se tope de frente con el amor en el lugar más inesperado: la sala de urgencias de un hospital. Allí conocerá a Tom Jefferson, un apuesto y exitoso presentador de televisión con el brazo fracturado que no está dispuesto a dejarla escapar.

Con Lazos de familia, Danielle Steel nos ofrece una historia conmovedora sobre la fuerza indestructible de la familia y el descubrimiento del amor verdadero.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Adult, Drama, Family

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

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

[Erika · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been reading Danielle Steel books off and on since I was a teenager. I don't know if any of them were as bad as this. Wow.

Basically, it was the standard Steel repetition of her most recent works as written by a thirteen year old. I never felt like I knew the characters really well, but I sure as hell knew what they wore on a day to day basis. Blah, blah, blah.

It could have been a good book. The plot sounded like an interesting one. It just really lacked depth. Sort of makes me wonder if Steel is even pretending to write her own stuff anymore. Ugh.

[Yvonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Danielle Steel has some great ideas, and she really is a good writer, but I feel that her books lately just don't measure up to her older books. The ideas behind her stories are fine, its the way she repeats certain things over and over and over. It feels like she isn't really re-reading or going back over her writing to ensure a good flow, or in this case, less repetitive narration. Every time she mentioned Ted and Pattie, she mentioned their age difference. And with Tom, she always threw in the fact that he was an anchor. I kept saying to myself, "I know, I remember that detail. I'm actually paying attention." I think what she really needs to do is slow down her writing a little bit and take some time to re-read her work and rewrite her work a little bit to make the reader feel less like they're reading the same details over and over. Aside from that, the story itself was a good, short, and sweet story to get lost in. And that's what I have always loved about her novels. The repetitiveness is easy to forgive, its just slightly annoying.

[Noella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Als Annie 26 jaar is, sterven haar zus en schoonbroer in een vliegtuigongeluk. Annie neemt de zorg voor hun 3 kinderen, Liz, Ted en Kate, op zich. De relatie die ze destijds had, kan de druk niet aan.
16 jaar lang blijft Annie single, ze heeft het druk met de kinderen en met haar werk als architecte.
Maar nu zijn de kinderen volwassen, en leiden hun eigen leven, met alle ups en downs. Annie vindt het moeilijk om hen los te laten.
Dan leert ze, als ze haar enkel serieus heeft verstuikt, in de wachtkamer van het ziekenhuis, Tom kennen. Hij is eigenlijk een tv-persoonlijkheid, een journalist die de hele wereld rondreist.
Annie en Tom hebben direct een klik en het duurt niet lang voor Annie beseft dat nu het moment is om haar leven terug op te pakken, met Tom aan haar zijde. Maar eerst zijn er nog wat serieuze zaken op te lossen, want op een of andere manier bevinden haar neef en nichten zich allemaal op een keerpunt in hun leven...

Geen slecht boek, sentimenteel, en sommige dingen worden naar mijn gevoel eindeloos herhaald. Ontspannende lectuur.

[Maede · Rating 2 out of 5]

She is a well-known author and I think she's supposed to write like one. Other than flaws that are mentioned above, like repetitive sentences, I think she should have done more research about Iran when she wanted to include an Iranian character and his family in her novel. I'm an Iranian girl and frankly, it sounded quite absurd to me. All she has done is looking up some names to make it sound real. She has mentioned a conservative family that has accepted a girl as a friend and a companion of a boy but not as a girlfriend! How can it be possible!if they are conservative and traditional they wouldn't accept any of this. They live uptown and in TEHRAN and their daughter is getting married when she's only 15??even my mother wasn't married until she was 26 and I come from a religious family! And the part that the uncle took their passports (not mentioning how he gave in that easily!) was just ridiculous. Nowadays in Iran going abroad is very desirable ,especially for young people who sees it as a good opportunity. And families are usually proud when their children are studying abroad. And what kind of Iranian name is "Paul" anyway!

I appreciated the way she described Tehran as a modern city ,which it is,but paying attention to more facts, not myths would have been nice!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light easy read. The character Pattie sort of irritated me because not only did she have to be plain looking, unlike Annie, but she also had a mean side. Seriously, I wish there could have been something redeemable about Pattie because I felt a bit sorry for her. Now I really did not sympathize with Ted having slept with his professor. Sure Pattie took advantage by encouraging her student, Ted, to come over and "study" with her, but he was an adult and should have known better. No sympathy for a guy that keeps going back to a dysfunctional relationship just because the sex was great. I do not care what mind tricks Pattie pulled on Ted, I believe he was the one that put himself in that situation. He should have cut it off right after the first night, or after he ended up in the ER. So I really do not think it was all Pattie's fault as Ted acted a bit foolishly. For the most part I liked her book, but no sympathy for Ted and his often reckless behavior. Locking yourself in your apartment and drinking for several days just because you are upset your girlfriend said she is pregnant is also a problem, and it is just as much of a problem as any Pattie had.

[Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

اول قراءة لدانييل استيل.
تحمل لك الحياة احيانا مفاجئات وصدمات غير متوقعة،اني الشابة ذات الستة والعشرون عاما تجد نفسها فجأة مسئولة عن ثلاثة اطفال بعمر5سنوات و8سنوات و12 سنة،بوفاة الاخت وزوجها اصبحت المسئولة الوحيدة عنهم.
ستة عشر عاما كافية لتصل بهم الي بر الامان،لكن هل تستطيع التخلي عنهم الآن وقد اصبحوا اهم ما في حياتها؟
هل تستطيع ان تتركهم يواجهوا مشاكلهم وحدهم؟
هل تستطيع الالتفات الي حياتها الخاصة؟
امر صعب ان تكون وحيدا في عمر الثانية والاربعين،والاصعب محاولة الرضي بهذا الامر الواقع،لكن الحياة دائما تحمل لك المفاجئات.
استمتعت بسهولة وبساطة الاسلوب ورسم ممتاز للشخصيات.
يعيب الرواية غياب عنصر المفاجأة او الغموض،توقعت سير الاحداث والنهاية مبكرا جدا وصدقت توقعاتي.
استمتعت بقرائتها حتي وإن لم تحمل احداثها اي مفاجئات.

[C-shaw]

I don't really care for Danielle Steel's writing, but a friend loaned this book to me, so I am reluctantly reading it.
* * * * *
Sorry, I can't read this.

[Karla Giselle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Es el primer libro de Daniel Steel que me decepciona.
Demasiado descriptivo
Exageración a la hora de dwcir la persona que habla.
Anni estoy, Anni lo otro.
Hasta más de la mitad del libro no había nada interesante.
No le veo nada bueno a éste libro. Y eso me pone triste.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second Danielle Steel book I've read. After the first one (Matters of the heart), I thought to myself, 'Well, maybe that one was bad, I will try another and see if I like her any better...' -Nope! Still poorly written, repetitive, boringness that pushes me to NEVER pick up another D.S. book again! Sure, the family drama is a little interesting, but definitely not good enough to put yourself through reading it.

[Marta Clemente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca tinha lido um livro da Danielle Steel. Não sei porquê, mas os livros dela nunca "me puxaram". Este veio parar cá a casa como prenda de Natal, e acabei por lhe pegar agora.
Achei um livro fofinho, daqueles que se lê bem. É uma leitura fácil e descontraída.
Começamos por conhecer a jovem Annie com 26 anos. No primeiro capítulo está promissora arquitecta em início de carreira perde a irmã e o cunhado num trágico acidente e fica com os seus 3 sobrinhos a cargo. O namorado da altura não quis assumir essa responsabilidade com ela, então Annie ficou sozinha. Criou os seus 3 sobrinhos e uma carreira de sucesso sem espaço apara relações nem para a sua vida enquanto mulher.
Dezasseis anos depois os miúdos cresceram e enfrentam os seus próprios problemas e angústias, alguns deles bem graves.
Claro que tudo "acaba por acabar" da melhor maneira. Anna encontra-se enquanto mulher e os seus sobrinhos crescem com os seus erros e seguem a sua vida felizes.
Em conclusão, um daqueles livrinhos que não exigiu muito de mim, que me prendeu e que me fez descontrair de outras leituras mais pesadas.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before diving into this book, I read some of the reviews and to be honest, it got me thinking, some of what people wrote is true, Danielle Steels writing is all based on romance novels, not that I'm complaining, but I would like to try one of her novels that doesn't involve romance, marriage, wedding etc.
Overall, I absolutely love the book. It was certainly different from any of her other books, apart from the romance side of it, it definitely got me hooked. The only thing about it was that all the twist plots and major situations throughout the story, I had already guessed and knew what was going to happen, so in all fairness it was no surprise. That was the only thing that annoyed me slightly with the story. Other than that after I knew my prediction were right I was still completely intrigued to know what would happen next and how it would turn out in the end. :)

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Annie was 26, she was a talented architect in Manhattan, her career was advancing perfectly, and suddenly, in the blink of an eye, her world changed forever. Her gorgeous sister Jane, and her pilot husband Bill were killed in a plane crash, when a storm hit them on their way home from a weekend away at Martha’s Vineyard.

Overnight, Annie became Mum to Jane and Bill’s three children, Katie 5 years old, Ted 8 years old and Lizzie 12 years old. They were devastated, and Annie had to be there for them, as there was no-one else...

Now, 16 years later, Annie’s nieces and nephew had grown into well adjusted, happy young adults. Lizzie was a fashion editor, Ted was studying law, and Katie...well Katie was the rebellious artist, with her tattoos and piercings, and was so different to the other two, but Annie loved them all. They were her life now, and she was happy staying single, she was still an architect, but a very famous one, and was very satisfied with her life, and the lives of the children.

But recently, Katie had moved out of home, she was the last to do so, and Annie was suffering from ‘empty nest syndrome’. When an unexpected encounter led to more changes in Annie’s life, things began getting chaotic for the family again!

This is a very emotional story, and it shows us how unpredictable life is, but also how family bonds are the most powerful there are. A quick, enjoyable read.

[Reham · Rating 5 out of 5]

الحياة توهة وتجارب وتضحية شابة يتخلى عنها حبيبها بسبب موت شقيقتها وزوجها لتترك لها ثلاثة اولاد بنتين وولد وتبدأ خالتهما آنى بالتفرغ لهم وتربيتهم لتعيش لهم ولعملها فقط لتنسى حياتها الخاصة وتقنعها صديقتها دائما للبحث عن رجل لتكون حياتها كاملة ولكنها ترفض ويكبر الاولاد ويشق كلا منهم طريقه ف الحياة الكبرى ليز مصورة فى مجلة فوغ وتيد ف كلية الحقوق تقع ف حياته مشكلة كبيرة تتعلق به امراه تكبره باثنى عشرة عاما وتكاد تعرقل مستقبله ولكنه يكتشف خداعها له والصغرى كايت تحب شابا امريكيا بجذور ايرانية وتسافر معه لبلده كزيارة ولكن يعلقان هناك وتستعدى خالتها لمساعدتها وتحصل آنى على حب حياتها وسط كل هذه الجلبة عندما كسرت رجلها وذهبت للمشفى وقابلت طوم صحفى شهير كان تم كسر ذراعه.... رواية دانيال استيل رواية اجتماعية بها مشاعر عدة تعرض خبرات حياتية شيقة

[jennie larse · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was painful. i can't believe i finished it.

i guess i was hoping for something to redeem the weak plot and insipid characters.... tattoos are evil, taking a break from classes for a semester to try to work is evil, but being in a relationship with an abuser is ok and having a raging eating disorder is celebrated. and constant worry is normal and makes you a good caregiver. also, if you're not constantly busy doing undefined things for work, you're a failure in life.

these are things i learned from this book.

highly recommend if you want to waste your time and be frustrated and annoyed and roll your eyes so hard they pop out of your head.

[Dion Ribeiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Não sei se é caso para dizer que já gostei mais dos livros de Danielle Steel. Há 20 anos era uma das minhas autoras preferidas, mas não creio que seja o caso atualmente. No entanto, tenho ainda alguns livros dela a aguardar leitura pelo que veremos a conclusão a que chegarei muito em breve.
A história em si tinha tudo para dar certo, mas teve muitas passagens que não me conseguiram prender..... Não sei se foi pelo facto da história se ir desenvolvendo em torno de todos os personagens, o que dava a impressão de avançar a um ritmo muito lento, mas este livro não me seduziu.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I did enjoy this book more than her others. It's still poorly written with so much repeating the same thing over and over [I have said her books will be great when I lose my marbles but I'm beginning to think possibly the author has and can't remember what she wrote from one chapter to the next]. The plot is better than her usual and her characters are very likeable. Sure her main character is a saint as usual but this one really is a nice person!

[Amin Radhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية بسيطة وجميلة وعائلية فيها الكثير من الأمور الواقعية مابين طيش سن الشباب والوصول إلي النضج والوصول إلي نتيجة .. ونهاية سعيدة جميلة ..

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of slow.

[Dawn T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always my guilty pleasure. Steel yourself (pun intended), for a contemporary and formulaic Danelle fraught family fun fest. Everyone is beautiful and rich, all find their way to True Love, and you’ve enjoyed your diversion from real life.
Really 3.75 stars, but I just can’t make myself round up.

[Sheri · Rating 1 out of 5]

only about half-way though the book
-Awful.... so repetitive I was truly shocked. The number of times "she gave up her life to raise her sister's 3 kids, but she didn't regret it!" was thrown in was kind of amazing... it felt like the author was fulfilling a dare to see what she could get away with.
-Filled with boring details that are obvious or add nothing, and are oddly thrown in.
-So far, the characters are annoying... they act like every little problem in their charmed life is the end of the world- except the one major crisis that actually happened at the beginning! Weird.

**added after finishing**
During the 2nd half, the story got a little more interesting, but unfortunately, the writing did not improve. It also continued to be oddly repetitive. This was not only accomplished by 2 nearby sentences being extremely similar, but also at the beginning of some chapters when it seemed to recap earlier events. It was like the book knew you would be so exasperated you would leave it and come back 3 months later to read another chapter and need to be refreshed. Maybe a great idea, except for the coming back part.
Oh... I almost forgot... of course, the "gave up 16 years to raise kids- but no regret" continued excessively throughout! I may have been disappointed at this point if it hadn't. If I still drank, it might have caused me to think of using it as a drinking game, although some may not be able to see straight enough to read for long.

[Carol MacInnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Danielle Steel classic.

The amazing bond between sisters is like no other. Annie and her sister Jane have always been very close despite their 10 year age difference. Jane is married to Bill Marshall and have three children, the youngest six and the oldest twelve. Then the unforeseeable happens. While away, Jane and Bill are in a fatal plane crash that means Annie's promise to Jane to step up to the plate and care for her now orphaned children is now happening. Annie is single, twenty-six years old and her career as an Architecture has just taken off in full swing. Her love life has now been put on hold for the next sixteen years as she attempts to bring up her sister's children.

The struggles of an instant family becomes real to Annie but she is happy to do what she can to ensure these children have as normal and happy a childhood as she can give them. Now, sixteen years later, they have grown and are young adults now with decisions that only they and they alone can make.

This was a wonderful read and I just couldn't put it down until I discovered the outcome of each of the children and their Aunt, who now, may have found true love.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

"It was her dream come true. AND the handsome pair had spotted each other across a crowded room, AND it was infatuation at first sight."

"She knew she had to blow their socks off, AND the plans she had been working on were meticulously done, AND her immediate supervisor had shown a lot of respect for her ideas AND was giving her a chance to shine."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! This tripe would not fly in an English Comp 101 class, let alone from a best-selling author, and that's just the first two pages!

I have never in my life not finished a book by a (formerly) favorite author, but I'm stopping here and giving it a 1 star rating because, unfortunately, Goodreads will not allow 0 or negative stars. Between this sentence starting, paragraph running "AND" nonsense and continually shoving the same lines down our throats 38 different ways by the second or third chapter, this has become her typical MO with these more recent books.

She needs to buy a clue and fire her editor, ghost writer, or both if she wishes to remain a best-selling writer earning any shred of respect. You can't expect to rest on your laurels and stay on top!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading Danielle Steel books for years and really enjoy her. I do agree with some other readers that she tends to repeat herself quite often, but overall, I really enjoyed this book. As a mother, I could only imagine how Annie felt when Ted was in an abusive relationship. So sad to know that there are probably some men out there who just can't say no and leave. We usually hear about the women being abused, not the men. I also felt for her when Katie and Paul went to his home land in Iran and what happened there. I was happy to hear that Liz was hopefully finding true love and ready to settle down. Most of all, I was really happy with the story of Annie and Tom. What a wonderful sister/aunt Annie was for so many years, stepping up to be their mom. Now it was time for her to find true love too!

[Kiri Falls · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel reads like someone submitted a story outline and it got printed by accident. I genuinely don't understand why Danielle Steel is so popular. I thought I'd give her a crack since it was one of the few English novels in the hotel library, and mass-market does not automatically mean poorly written (cf. Michael Connelly, who is amazing). I was sorely disappointed. Rather than letting the reader experience what the characters are going through, she tells us how a character thinks or feels in a way that reminds me of high school essays, repeating those explanations every few paragraphs or pages as though we didn't get it the first time. Said characters are pretty two-dimensional, too. The tension was mild at best. The text laden with cliches. I could go on. But suffice to say, I'll be steering clear of any more D.S. in future.

[McKenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this out of a mystery box of books from eBay (very cool) and I was instantly sucked in and wanting to read it. The premise of a young successful woman who lives a bougie life in NYC gaining custody of her three nieces and nephews at her prime was fascinating to me and I was so ready for THAT story. However, that story is started, played out and wrapped up in the first 14 pages. The rest of the book is an entirely different ride. I was annoyed. I wanted the beginning story to be the entire book. I wanted Annie to learn about parenthood and have silly mishaps happen along the way. I wanted heartfelt moments about grief and moving on. If Danielle Steel wants to write about that story, I will devour it instantly. This story however, fell flat on its face.

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t get really far into this one, it started out alright about the woman raising her sister’s three children, 2 girls and a boy, after she and her husband perished in a plane crash. But then once the kids were grown, it launches into the boy who’s a law school student at age 24 who hooks up with his 36 year old teacher, a mother of three. But then the two of them cannot go out to eat or a movie or anything because they just can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Marathon sex seems to be their only connection. It’s immature and not believable. I gave up on it.

[Kamalika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like I am reading a commentary written by a teenager.

[Marta Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Já há muito tempo que não lia um livro da Danielle Steel, mas gostei imenso deste livro.

Uma leitura que nos deixa um quentinho no coração.

Aqui conhecemos a Annie, a Lizzie, o Ted e a Katie que viram a sua vida mudar de uma forma trágica de um momento para o outro.

Vamos acompanhar as suas vidas, alegrar-nos com as suas conquistas, mas também sofrer juntamente com eles com os contratempos que lhes aparecem pela frente.

Uma vez mais a Danielle Steel consegue transportar o leitor para o interior da narrativa e fazer com que ele faça parte da família.

Aqui ela descreve situações bastante reais, situações essas que poderíamos estar a viver neste momento ou a presenciar através de familiares ou amigos próximos.

No final deste livro vemos que todo o esforço, carinho e dedicação que a Annie dedicou aos sobrinhos é recompensado, o que nos mostra que nunca devemos ter medo de fazer o bem e ajudar o próximo.

[Vanessa Loro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romanzo molto interessante e con un lieto fine. Annie è una donna che ha dovuto crescere troppo in fretta dopo la morte della sorella e del cognato in quanto ha dovuto rinunciare a se stessa e alla sua felicità per crescere i suoi tre nipoti, diventati per lei come tre figli. Per Annie è difficile pensare a se stessa e alla sua vita anche quando i ragazzi diventano grandi. Fortunatamente l’incontro con Tom la farà ricredere. Ricomincerà a pensare alla sua vita e si abbandonerà ad un amore travolgente e arricchente e soprattutto riuscirà ad allentare quel cordone ombelicale che la tiene legata ai tre ragazzi.
Consiglio. Linguaggio comprensibile e lettura scorrevole. In questa stampa ho trovato anche alcuni errori di battitura che però passano inosservati.

[Raffaella De Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una buona storia sull’importanza dei legami familiari e di come l’amore possa presentarsi inaspettato in qualsiasi momento e cambiare l’esistenza.
Annie a 26 anni ha dovuto mettere da parte la sua vita per crescere i tre figli della sorella, morta improvvisamente insieme al marito in un incidente aereo. E quando sedici anni dopo i ragazzi, ormai grandi, intraprendono la loro strada si ritrova sola in una casa troppo grande e vuota. Un incontro casuale e la sua vita prenderà una piega inaspettata.
Nel complesso una lettura piacevole e avvincente che mi ha soddisfatto.