Antonia never lets go of her true dream of becoming a filmmaker, but to make that leap she will have to expose herself in ways she never has before. When tragedy strikes, she must decide whether she will remain center stage or retreat to safety once more. Will she face her demons, or run and hide? This was a heartbreaking novel from start to finish, but one that I enjoyed because not everything was wonderful and it had a more authentic feel. Brandon who is an American visiting Paris meets a dazzling young women who they get married. His wife wants to be an actress and when she gets pregnant she is miserable because the baby is interfering with her dream. She is very narcissistic and soon Brandon feels like he made a mistake marrying her because she hates being a wife and mother to their daughter Antonia. Antonia made me feel so sorry for her because she often hid or disappeared because she felt like her mother flew into rages because she thought being a wife and mother was keeping her from becoming an actress. Brandon spends more and more time away from their apartment working to avoid fighting with his wife. He is a very successful business man and has made a fortune in developing successful companies. Antonia tries to stay small and hidden and feels it is safer for her to be invisible. She has heard her parents fight and feels it is her fault. Before she was born, her mother Fabienne was clear that she DID NOT want to have a baby. However, Brandon her dad was so sure once baby was born she would change her mind. He did the entire baby prepping for the nursery etc. Dad tried but nothing worked and he soon resented Antonia as she was the reason his wife left. He turned into a mean person. Invisible is another contemporary fiction tale from prominent author Danielle Steel. A story of family, trauma, the past, distance, escape, perseverance, love, ambition and hope, Invisible is a novel of self-belief.

Antonia Adams is the product of a loveless marriage between a beautiful young model and a wealthy entrepreneur, abandoned in the chasm between them. Unprotected and unloved, she learns that the only way to feel safe is to draw as little attention as possible, to be invisible. In her isolation, films are her escape, and she dreams of one day becoming a screenwriter. During a summer job at a Hollywood studio, she meets a famous filmmaker, and is invisible no longer. He wants to put her in a movie and make her a star.Antonia loved the movies; they were a great escape for her. She wanted to be a screen writer and wanted to attend NYS’s Film school. She gets a job as the ‘tenth assistant’ on a movie production that was being produced by famous British Producer/Director Hamish Quist. She will never let go of her true dream of becoming a filmmaker, though, and if she wants to make that leap, she will have to expose herself in ways she never has before. When tragedy strikes, she must decide whether she will remain center stage or become invisible again, where she feels safest. Will she face her demons, or run and hide? Invisible covers the story of Antonia and follows her from her neglected childhood to her career in film. She’s the daughter of an aspiring actress and a businessman and grew up in a home where she was neglected. Her mother didn’t want a baby and eventually left the family to pursue an acting career. Her father blames her for his wife’s leaving and buries himself in his work, neglecting poor Antonia. She decides it’s best to stay invisible as that keeps her out of trouble. As she gets older she finds refuge in the movies and goes to the movies as often as possible. She decides she wants to be a screenwriter and applies to NYU film school. Spanning a number of years and different places, yet again Steel takes a cosmopolitan view to her featured locations. There is a narrowed focus on the film industry, with a specific look at the screen writing industry. I did find this an interesting set up, but again it left me feeling like I had scratched the surface only. The lead is well drawn and the support cast were fairly good too. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the romance aspect in this one, but others my warm to it. With themes of neglect, estrangement, persistence, forgiveness, acceptance, tragedy and accomplishments, Invisible does cross some interesting areas. I managed to follow this one until the end but I have to say it is not one of Steel’s best novels by far. In a way it does ~ she is delirious happy but something does happens. (I’ll let you read the rest.)

Invisible by Danielle Steel is a pleasant story about a young woman who wants to be, and stay invisible. The timespan covers post-war Paris, and modern New York City. When her father found out she was offered a role in a movie; he was irate and threw her out of the house. Hamish took her under his wing as though she were a little lost bird. It is a dazzling opportunity but a terrifying one. Suddenly she is thrust into the public eye – even more so when they fall in love. Thank you to Net Galley, Danielle Steel and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine-Delacorte Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.Although Danielle Steel's writing is horrific by my criticism, I wouldn't doubt that the plot would have been grand as most others have been talking about and I just wish I could see that for myself. Danielle Steel is not for me and I will sadly say that I will be staying far away from even considering reading any other books by this author. Antonia Adams is the product of a loveless marriage between a beautiful young model and a wealthy entrepreneur. As a child, she is abandoned in the chasm between them. Unprotected and unloved, she learns that the only way to feel safe is to draw as little attention as possible, to be invisible. She is extremely focused on her goals and her father warns her that if she becomes an actress he will never speak to her again. Antonia has no plans on being an actress because she doesn't want to be visible. She prefers to make scripts and write screenplays and maybe become a movie producer or a director. She is beautiful and meets young men in College that are studying to become actors and she is urged to become an actress which she has no interest. I again can't emphasize enough how well adjusted and likable Antonia is after being so neglected by her mother and then her father. She is determined to study hard and she isn't interested in dating, but she meets a nice young aspiring actor who invites her to spend Christmas in San Francisco and she agrees and it turns out to be the best Christmas she has ever had. There isn't any romance the young actor and her develop a mutual respect and become life long friends. Antonia feels like she is even more unwanted when her father turns her bedroom into a home office. It is Lara who tries to include Antonia and her father is only interested in his new wife and feels his job is finished with Antonia away at College.

Danielle Steel brings us Antonia Adams who becomes the target of her parents' bitterness and hatred relishes the feeling of being invisible to the world. We follow Antonia as she goes through life being ignored by her parents making her reliant on herself. After her mother leaves to pursue her Hollywood dreams of becoming an actress, Antonia spends time getting lost in books and movies.

Become a Member

Antonia has learned early on how to be invisible so not to cause any more difficulties and tried to hide from her father’s resentment. I was so amazed at how Antonia was so successful having been a witness to her mother and father's constant fighting and growing up knowing her mother abandoned her to become an actress. Then her father became so indifferent to her treating her with so much indifference. I felt terrible for Antonia but seeing as this is fiction she overcame her terrible childhood. This was interesting and a lighter read for me that I still enjoyed because of the resilience and triumph over adversity. I needed a break from some of the heavier novels and Non-Fiction that I had been reading before this. Danielle Steel can be somewhat repetitive, but this was a book that was well written and different than most of her books in everything wasn't perfect. In Antonia she has created a unique character who is able to thrive despite her cold mother and then her father's neglect to show her any warmth. This is just the beginning of Antonia's life trajectory. What I have included in this review will not reach spoiler territory as it is just the beginning. I would rate this about 4.5 stars. I am so grateful to have read this as it was imaginative and was unpredictable. I read this Author's book "Beautiful," which was powerful and this was enjoyable but not as in depth. Still all in all I won't soon forget this and it is one of this Author's favorite novels. I would recommend this and I loved Antonia. You will have to read this for yourself to find out how the story reaches its arc. Danielle Steel has released over half a dozen releases in 2022 alone, which is a significant achievement for any author. It amazes me that an author can produce so many titles in such a short space of time. Invisible relays the story of Antonia Adams, a woman who provides a glimpse into the film industry thanks to her life story. Antonia Adams is the product of a loveless marriage between a beautiful young model and an aristocrat. As a child, she is abandoned in the abyss that yawns between them, blamed by her mother, ignored by her father, and neglected by both. Unprotected and unloved, she learns that the only way to feel safe is to hide from the dangers around her, drawing as little attention as possible to herself, to be "invisible." I’m not an actress, Mr Quist, and I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be in front of the camera. I only want to write, and one day direct like you. I have no desire to be an actress. I like being invisible so no one can see me.”