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The Seven Sisters: Book One by [Lucinda Riley]

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Lucinda Riley

The Seven Sisters: Book One Kindle Edition

by Lucinda Riley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Book 1 of 8: The Seven Sisters

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The first book in a series from #1 internationally bestselling author Lucinda Riley, author of The Midnight Rose—hailed as “an extraordinary story [and] a complex, deeply engaging tale filled with fascinating characters” (Library Journal).

Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each sister is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue that takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story.

Eighty years earlier in the Rio of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski’s studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

In this sweeping, epic tale of love and loss—the first in a unique, spellbinding series—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talents like never before.

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481 pages
Language

English
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Atria Books
Publication date

May 5, 2015
File size

4872 KB
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Popular Highlights in this book

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Maia, the beauty; Ally, the leader; Star, the peacemaker; CeCe, the pragmatist; Tiggy, the nurturer; and Electra, the fireball.
Highlighted by 308 Kindle readers
But most of all, I wish that you will find love. It is the only thing in life that makes the pain of being alive bearable.
Highlighted by 148 Kindle readers
We all hold secrets inside us, but please believe me when I say that family is everything. And that the love of a parent for a child is the most powerful force on earth.
Highlighted by 146 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Riley has written another intricately plotted, compelling family saga, which presents historical and cultural attitudes of the time and place in which her characters live. Like the famous statue that brought the lovers together and hovers over Rio today, the story is elegantly sculpted and rich with history... the book will please fans of romance as well as historical fiction lovers." (Library Journal)

"A brilliant page-turner, soaked in glamour and romance." (The Daily Mail)

"Riley is a skilled storyteller of epic romances, intertwining established history with imagined backstories. An engrossing, sweeping tale, the first in a new series that explores the mythology behind the constellation, The Seven Sisters will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah and Linda Gillard while leaving readers anxious to learn about the histories of the stars’ other namesakes." (Booklist)

"Lucinda Riley is one of the strongest authors in this genre of historical fiction. Her ability to weave stories together, using modern-day and historical settings, is top notch...This novel will appeal to readers of multiple genres as it contains excellent historical detail, heart-wrenching romance, and an engaging mystery." (Historical Novel Society)

"Riley launches her most ambitious and exciting writing project to date...…a labyrinth of seductive time-switch stories, the enchanting brand of novel writing which has made Riley one of the best women’s fiction authors on the market… An epic start to an epic series." (The Lancashire Evening Post)

About the Author

Lucinda Riley was the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including The Orchid House, The Girl on the Cliff, and the Seven Sisters series. Her books have sold twenty million copies in thirty-five languages globally. She was born in Ireland and divided her time between England and West Cork with her husband and four children. Visit her website at LucindaRiley.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Seven Sisters

1

I will always remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that my father had died.

I was sitting in the pretty garden of my old school friend’s townhouse in London, a copy of The Penelopiad open but unread in my lap, enjoying the June sun while Jenny collected her little boy from kindergarten.

I felt calm and I appreciated what a good idea it had been to get away. When my cell phone rang and I glanced at the screen and saw it was Marina, I was studying the burgeoning clematis unfolding its fragile pink buds, giving birth to a riot of color, encouraged by its sunny midwife.

“Hello, Ma, how are you?” I said, hoping she could hear the sun’s warmth in my voice.

“Maia, I . . .”

Marina paused, and in that instant I knew something was dreadfully wrong. “What is it?”

“Maia, there’s no other way to tell you this, but your father had a heart attack here at home yesterday afternoon, and in the early hours of this morning, he . . . passed away.”

I remained silent as a million different and ridiculous thoughts passed through my mind. The first one being that Marina, for some unknown reason, had decided to play some form of a tasteless joke on me.

“You’re the first of the sisters I’ve told, Maia, as you’re the eldest. And I wanted to ask you whether you would prefer to tell the rest of your sisters yourself, or leave it to me.”

“I . . .”

Still no words would form coherently on my lips, as I began to realize that Marina, dear, beloved Marina, the woman who had been the closest thing to a mother I’d ever known, would never tell me this if it weren’t true. So it had to be. And at that moment, my entire world shifted on its axis.

“Maia, please, tell me you’re all right. This really is the most dreadful phone call I’ve ever had to make, but what else could I do? God only knows how the other girls are going to take it.”

It was then that I heard the suffering in her voice and understood she’d needed to tell me as much for her own sake as mine. So I switched into my normal comfort zone, which was to comfort others.

“Of course I’ll tell my sisters if you’d prefer, Ma, although I’m not positive where they all are. Isn’t Ally away training for a regatta?”

And, as we continued to discuss where each of my younger sisters was, as though we needed to get them together for a birthday party rather than to mourn the death of our father, the entire conversation took on a sense of the surreal.

“When should we plan on having the funeral, do you think? What with Electra being in Los Angeles and Ally somewhere on the high seas, surely we can’t think about it until next week at the earliest,” I said.

“Well”—I heard the hesitation in Marina’s voice—“perhaps the best thing is for you and I to discuss it when you arrive back home. There really is no rush now, Maia, so if you’d prefer to continue the last couple of days of your holiday in London, that would be fine. There’s nothing more to be done for him here . . .” Her voice trailed off miserably.

“Ma, of course I’ll be on the next flight that I can get to Geneva! I’ll call the airline immediately and let you know what time the flight is. And in the meantime, I’ll do my best to get in touch with everyone.”

“I’m so terribly sorry, chérie,” Marina sighed. “I know how you adored him.”

“Yes,” I said, the strange calm that I had felt while we discussed arrangements suddenly deserting me like the stillness before a violent thunderstorm. “I’ll call you later, when I know what time I’ll be arriving.”

“In the meantime, please take care of yourself, Maia. You’ve had a terrible shock.”

I pressed the button to end the call and before the storm clouds in my heart opened up and drowned me, I went upstairs to my bedroom to retrieve my flight documents and contact the airline. As I waited in the calling queue, I glanced at the bed where I’d woken up that morning to simply another day. And I thanked God that human beings don’t have the power to see into the future.

The officious woman who eventually answered wasn’t helpful and I knew, as she spoke of full flights, financial penalties, and credit card details, that my emotional dam was ready to burst. Finally, once I’d been grudgingly granted a seat on the four o’clock flight to Geneva, which would mean throwing everything into my luggage immediately and taking a taxi to Heathrow, I sat down on the bed and stared for so long at the sprigged wallpaper that the pattern began to dance in front of my eyes.

“He’s gone,” I whispered, “gone forever. I’ll never see him again.”

Expecting the spoken words to provoke a raging torrent of tears, I was surprised that nothing actually happened. Instead, I sat there numbly, my head still full of practicalities. The thought of telling my sisters—all five of them—was horrendous and I searched through my emotional filing system for the one I would call first. Inevitably, it was Tiggy, the second youngest of the six of us girls and the sibling to whom I’d always felt closest.

With trembling fingers, I scrolled down to find her number and dialed it. When her voice mail answered, I didn’t know what to say, other than a few garbled words asking her to call me back urgently. She was currently somewhere in the Scottish Highlands working at a center for orphaned and sick wild deer.

As for the other sisters . . . I knew their reactions would vary, outwardly at least, from indifference to a dramatic outpouring of emotion.

Given that I wasn’t currently sure quite which way I would go on the scale of grief when I did speak to any of them, I decided to take the coward’s way out and texted them all, asking them to call me as soon as they could. Then I hurriedly packed my luggage and walked down the narrow stairs to the kitchen to write a note for Jenny explaining why I’d had to leave in such a hurry.

Deciding to take my chances hailing a black cab on the London streets, I left the house, walking briskly around the leafy Chelsea crescent just as any normal person would do on any normal day. I believe I actually said hello to someone walking a dog when I passed him in the street and managed a smile.

No one would know what had just happened to me, I thought as I managed to find a taxi on the busy King’s Road and climbed inside it, directing the driver to Heathrow.

Nobody would know.

Five hours later, just as the sun was making its leisurely descent over Lake Geneva, I arrived at our private pontoon on the shore, from where I would make the last leg of my journey home.

Christian was already waiting for me in our sleek Riva motor launch. And from the look on his face, I could see he’d heard the news.

“How are you, Mademoiselle Maia?” he asked, sympathy in his blue eyes as he helped me aboard.

“I’m . . . glad I’m here,” I answered neutrally as I walked to the back of the boat and sat down on the cushioned cream leather seat that curved around the stern. Usually, I would sit with Christian in the passenger seat at the front as we sped across the calm waters on the twenty-minute journey home. But today, I felt a need for privacy. As Christian started the powerful engine, the sun glinted off the windows of the fabulous houses that lined Lake Geneva’s shores. I’d often felt when I made this journey that it was the entrance to an ethereal world disconnected from reality.

The world of Pa Salt.

I noticed the first vague evidence of tears pricking at my eyes as I thought of my father’s pet name, which I’d coined when I was young. He’d always loved sailing and often when he returned to me at our lakeside home, he had smelled of fresh air and the sea. Somehow, the name had stuck, and as my younger siblings had joined me, they’d called him that too.

As the launch picked up speed, the warm wind streaming through my hair, I thought of the hundreds of previous journeys I’d made to Atlantis, Pa Salt’s fairy-tale castle. Inaccessible by land, due to its position on a private promontory with a crescent of mountainous terrain rising up steeply behind it, the only method of reaching it was by boat. The nearest neighbors were miles away along the lake, so Atlantis was our own private kingdom, set apart from the rest of the world. Everything it contained within it was magical . . . as if Pa Salt and we, his daughters, had lived there under an enchantment.

Each one of us had been chosen by Pa Salt as a baby, adopted from one of the four corners of the globe, and brought home to live under his protection. And each one of us, as Pa always liked to say, was special, different . . . we were his girls. He’d named us all after the Seven Sisters, his favorite star cluster. I was Maia, being the first and eldest.

When I was young, he’d take me up to his glass-domed observatory perched on top of the house; lift me up with his big, strong hands; and have me look through his telescope at the night sky.

“There they are,” he’d say as he aligned the lens, “look, Maia, and see the beautiful shining star you’re named after.”

And I would see. As he explained the legends that were the source of my own and my sisters’ names, I’d hardly listen but simply enjoy his arms tight around me, fully aware of this rare, special moment when I had him all to myself.

Marina, whom I’d presumed as I grew up was my mother—I’d even shortened her name to “Ma”—I’d realized eventually was a glorified nursemaid, employed by Pa to take care of me, because he was away so much. But of course, Marina was so much more than that to all of us girls. She was the one who had wiped our tears, berated us for sloppy table manners, and steered us calmly through the difficult transition from childhood to womanhood.

She had always been there, and I could not have loved Ma any more if she had given birth to me.

During the first three years of my childhood, Marina and I had lived alone together in our magical castle on the shores of Lake Geneva as Pa Salt traveled the seven seas to conduct his business. And then, one by one, my sisters began to arrive.

Usually, Pa would bring me a present when he returned home. I’d hear the motor launch arriving, run across the sweeping lawns and through the trees to the jetty to greet him. Like any child, I’d want to see what he had hidden inside his magical pockets to delight me. On one particular occasion, however, after he’d presented me with an exquisitely carved wooden reindeer, which he assured me came from Saint Nicholas’s workshop at the North Pole itself, a uniformed woman had stepped out from behind him, and in her arms was a bundle wrapped in a shawl. And the bundle was moving.

“This time, Maia, I’ve brought you back the most special gift. You have a new sister.” He’d smiled at me as he lifted me into his arms. “Now you’ll no longer be lonely when I have to go away.”

After that, life had changed. The maternity nurse who Pa had brought with him disappeared after a few weeks and Marina took over the care of my baby sister. I couldn’t understand how the red, squalling thing which often smelled and diverted attention from me could possibly be a gift. Until one morning, when Alcyone—named after the second star of the Seven Sisters—smiled at me from her high chair over breakfast.

“She knows who I am,” I said in wonder to Marina, who was feeding her.

“Of course she does, Maia dear. You’re her big sister, the one she’ll look up to. It’ll be up to you to teach her lots of things that you know and she doesn’t.”

And as she grew, she became my shadow, following me everywhere, which pleased and irritated me in equal measure.

“Maia, wait me!” she’d demand loudly as she tottered along behind me.

Even though Ally—as I’d nicknamed her—had originally been an unwanted addition to my dreamlike existence at Atlantis, I could not have asked for a sweeter, more loveable companion. She rarely, if ever, cried and when she was a toddler there were none of the temper tantrums associated with children of her age. With her tumbling red-gold curls and her big blue eyes, Ally had a natural charm that drew people to her, including our father. On the occasions Pa Salt was home from one of his long trips abroad, I’d watch how his eyes lit up when he saw her, in a way I was sure they didn’t for me. And whereas I was shy and reticent with strangers, Ally had an openness and trust that endeared her to everyone.

She was also one of those children who seemed to excel at everything—particularly music, and any sport to do with water. I remember Pa teaching her to swim in our vast pool, and whereas I had struggled to master the technique to stay afloat and hated being underwater, my little sister took to it like a mermaid. And while I struggled to find my sea legs even on the Titan, Pa’s huge and beautiful oceangoing yacht, when we were at home, Ally would beg him to take her out in the small Laser dinghy he kept moored on our private lakeside jetty. I’d crouch in the cramped stern of the boat while Pa and Ally took control as we sped across the glassy waters. Their joint passion for sailing bonded them in a way I felt I could never replicate.

Although Ally had studied music at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and was a highly talented flautist who could have pursued a career with a professional orchestra, since leaving music school she had chosen the life of a full-time sailor. She now competed regularly in regattas and had represented Switzerland on a number of occasions.

When Ally was almost three, Pa arrived home with our next sibling, whom he named Asterope, after the third of the Seven Sisters.

“But we will call her Star,” Pa had said, smiling at Marina, Ally, and me as we studied the newest addition to the family lying in the bassinet.

By now I was attending lessons every morning with a private tutor, so my newest sister’s arrival affected me less than Ally’s had. Then, only six months later, another baby girl joined us, a twelve-week-old named Celaeno, whose name Ally immediately shortened to CeCe.

There was only three months’ age difference between Star and CeCe, and from as far back as I can remember, the two of them forged a close bond. They were like twins, talking in their own private baby language, some of which the two of them still used to communicate. They inhabited their own private world, to the exclusion of us others, and even now, in their twenties, nothing had changed. CeCe, the younger of the two, was always the boss, her stocky body and nut-brown skin in direct contrast to the pale, whippet-thin Star.

The following year, another baby arrived, Taygete—whom I nicknamed “Tiggy” because her short, dark hair had sprouted out at strange angles on her tiny head and reminded me of the hedgehog in Beatrix Potter’s famous story.

I was by now seven years old, and I’d bonded with Tiggy from the first moment I set eyes on her. She was the most delicate of us all, suffering one childhood illness after another, but even as an infant, she was stoic and undemanding. When yet another baby girl, named Electra, was brought home by Pa a few months later, an exhausted Marina would often ask me if I would mind sitting with Tiggy, who was continually suffering with a fever or croup. Eventually diagnosed as asthmatic, she rarely left the nursery to be wheeled outside in the pram, in case the cold air and heavy fog of a Geneva winter affected her chest.

Electra was the youngest of my siblings and her name suited her perfectly. By now, I was used to little babies and their demands, but my youngest sister was without doubt the most challenging of them all. Everything about her was electric; her innate ability to switch in an instant from dark to light and vice versa meant that our previously calm home rang daily with high-pitched screams. Her temper tantrums resonated through my childhood consciousness and as she grew older, her fiery personality did not mellow.

Privately, Ally, Tiggy, and I had our own nickname for her and she was known between the three of us as “Tricky.” We all walked on eggshells around her, wishing to do nothing to set off a lightning change of mood. I can honestly say there were moments when I loathed her for the disruption she brought to Atlantis.

And yet, when Electra knew one of us was in trouble, she was the first to offer help and support. Just as she was capable of huge selfishness, her generosity on other occasions was equally pronounced.

After Electra, the entire household was expecting the arrival of the seventh sister. After all, we’d been named after Pa Salt’s favorite star cluster and we wouldn’t be complete without her. We even knew her name—Merope—and wondered who she would be. But a year went past, and then another, and another, and no more babies arrived home with Pa.

I remember vividly standing with my father once in his observatory. I was fourteen years old and just on the brink of womanhood. We were waiting for an eclipse, which he’d told me was a seminal moment for humankind and always brought change with it.

“Pa,” I said, “will you ever bring home our seventh sister?”

At this, his strong, protective bulk had seemed to freeze for a few seconds. He’d looked suddenly as though he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Although he didn’t turn around, for he was still concentrating on training the telescope on the coming eclipse, I knew instinctively that what I’d said had distressed him.

“No, Maia, I won’t. Because I have never found her.”

As the familiar thick hedge of spruce trees, which shielded our waterside home from prying eyes, came into view, I saw Marina standing on the jetty and the dreadful truth of losing Pa finally began to sink in.

And I realized that the man who had created the kingdom in which we had all been his princesses was no longer present to hold the enchantment in place. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00LD1OREU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria Books; Reprint edition (May 5, 2015)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 5, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4872 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 481 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #16,667 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #32 in Historical Irish Fiction
- #108 in British & Irish Literary Fiction
- #132 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books)

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9,983 ratings

About the author

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Lucinda Riley

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Lucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with all cultures around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre, and there are plans to create a seven-season TV series.

Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella prize, The Lovely Books award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – an award last won by J K Rowling for Harry Potter.

In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised and wrote a series of books for children called ‘The Guardian Angels’ series.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written.

Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on June 11th 2021, surrounded by her family.

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Mary T.

A chore to read

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018

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Caution...SPOILERS...I do not understand all the raves about this overlong, frustrating book. I found it rambling, tedious, and painfully dull. The characters are two dimensional and soooo boring. I kept reading and reading, hoping the ending would make it somehow worth it...but literally NOTHING is resolved. The heroine comes somewhat to grips with some past issues, but other than buying sexy new dresses, not much has really changed. There are so many hanging plot threads, I felt this was the 500 page teaser to get folks to buy the next book. Not a chance of that.

36 people found this helpful

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Tracey Henderson

Going to hang in for No.2

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2017

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For me, this book started out so well - I really enjoyed the book's setup for what the series, the introduction of Pa and Marina, as well as the adoption and arrival of the 6 sisters, and beginnings of the mystery of the 7th. After Pa's death, the solicitor gives each sister a letter which, I expect will send them all off on a road trip to find their birth roots. And so we begin on eldest sister Maia journey to Rio and Paris, and then, for me, it slid into romantic tosh. I could tolerate one romantic thread, but not two. The historical story in particular was (for me) a grinding read, the contemporary tale was more bearable, but a little predictable. I remain, however, intrigued by the series' setup, and think I will go to book two (Ally's story?) because despite my boredome reading about the romances, I am curious about the overarching story (I just hope it has a little more complexity to it than the Rio leg).

21 people found this helpful

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lissa wells

Epic and Enthralling, like a fairytale

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017

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This book deserves 10 stars !! I highly recommend this fabulous ,fairytaleesque ,love story to everyone! What an epic journey Lucinda Riley takes us on. Although the book is titled "The Seven Sisters", we son learn the story revolves around 6 adoptive daughters and the seventh so far is a mystery. When the sisters reunite at their childhood home, or castle,on Lake Geneva to mourn their fathers death, they soon learn there are plenty of secrets to go around. In this first installment of this series Riley focuses on Maia, the older of the clan. Each of the girls are given envelopes upon their fathers death that gives them each a clue as to their own heritage. Thus begins Maia's journey ,taking her to Rio in the 1920's. I love how this story intertwines the past and present while we learn about her true lienage of 2 incredible women and their courageous love stories!

21 people found this helpful

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Bookfan

An evocative story set in exotic Rio

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016

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Maia D'Apliese is the eldest of six girls adopted by the wealthy billionaire Pa Salt. After his sudden death the girls get together at their childhood home, a secluded mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva. There they learn about their father’s legacy and find clues that will allow them discover their ancestral origins.

As with most of Lucinda Riley’s books the story is told over 2 timelines one set in the past and one in the present.
In the book we follow Maia on her journey to uncover her roots, which takes her to Brazil and a dilapidated mansion in a wealthy suburb of Rio de Janeiro. As the story unfolds we learn from the past how Maia’s life is connected to Issabella Bonifacio and how the construction of the famous Christ statue on Corcovado Mountain in Rio is part her heritage. In the present we see how Maia copes with the loss of her adopted father while coming to grips with the knowledge of her familial beginnings. A journey of self-discovery, of learning to trust oneself and others in the process of healing.

The story is vividly described, the characters are complex but interesting. They display real emotions like love and fear while demonstrating loyalty, passion and compassion, making them convincing and easy to relate to.
From a historical perspective the book is also set in an interesting period in Rio de Janeiro. The 1920’s to 1930’s, the heydays, when coffee exports were booming at the time the Christ statue was under construction.

This is the first book in the Seven Sisters series. Each book can be read separately as the plot concludes nicely at the end. Some teasers are left unanswered which helps set up the next book in the series but without leaving the reader hanging or forcing you to get the next book in the series.

Overall this is an interesting evocative story. The book is well written and the story flows well. Fans of historical fiction and woman’s fiction will love it.

21 people found this helpful

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A Great First Book to a Series

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2017

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7 Sisters is a new series from Lucinda Riley, I thought I would give this a try to see if I would be interested in reading the rest of the series and wow this book pulled me in and never let me go. I am giving it a 4 star and not 5 star rating because I was disappointed in the ending, which left me hanging for more, and so I will be purchasing Book 2 of the Series. I can see it now, that I will be reading all 7 books, which I assume was the intention of the Author, hence the ending.

The plot sets you up with the background of the family raising the 7 Sisters, then branches off to the story of the older sister, the loves, disappointments, lies, deceits, heartbreaks, infidelities, which make her make some unwise choices in her life.

The author is a superb writer. The characters are believable - the story flows and is an easy read. I suggest you read it but be ready to have your time reserved for the next 6 books if they are anything like this one you will most definitely want to read this entire series.

11 people found this helpful

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Gram B

Unusual plot!

Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2021

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I read a lot (don’t own a tv), and eventually I recognize plot lines. This series piqued my interest because it’s not like any book I’ve read before. A single man adopting six baby girls from around the world, giving them a safe life rich in possibilities, and upon his perfectly planned death offers them insights about their origins should they choose to know? Nope. Never read anything like that! I’ve just finished the second book and am looking forward to reading the rest in the series.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Umut Rados

AMAZING BOOK!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2017

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Seven Sisters easily became one of my all time favorites! This book is the first of a 7 book series. There's a wealthy guy (whom the girls call Pa) who adopts 6 girls and names them after the Seven Sisters star galaxy. They live in a mansion in Switzerland and they have a Nanny who looked after them all their lives (Ma). 7th sister is also a mystery, as everybody expected to complete the fleet with the 7th sister, and we don't know why she hasn't come. One day, Pa dies suddenly of heart attack and leaves different clues to each sister to find their origins.
So, each book is a story of one sister taking place in the present and the past trying to find their origins and their adventures while doing that. We will have the 7th book tie everything together after reading about the 6 sisters.
This book is the adventure of the eldest sister to find her heritage. I cannot praise this book enough. Not only it's a page turner, it's also very interesting with real historical moments and periods. We go back and forth between the present and past. All characters are very well built. You feel for them and live with them while reading about them. The total plot is very complex, yet gripping. it's very well thought and beautifully written.
I read other 2 books as well, I ADORE all characters. I love that each book takes place in 2 different countries with different historical scenes and elements. It's very rich and enjoyable to read.
If you like historical fiction, and stories that go between past and present, don't miss out. It's a GREAT book.

103 people found this helpful

Yorkshire Rose

Quite simply wonderful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2018

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I felt I needed a change of genre (mystery/thriller) with something different and this one had been on my kindle for some time so, whilst awaiting a book that I was asked to review, I picked this one up; I have emerged two days later in tears, missing the characters, Paris, Brazil and Switzerland, and quite simply, adoring this one.

I started it, was pulled into a vice like grip which didn’t release me until I turned the final page today. I was totally and utterly engrossed by the terrific writing, the wonderful characters and the descriptions of beautiful people and places. Well, you get the picture.

I won’t cover the plot as I feel this would have been covered by other reviewers - plus it’s so hard to cover the twists and turns and I wouldn’t want to give one little bit of it away in order to spoil this glorious book.

Maia is such a wonderful person, I took to her immediately, but it is safe to safe to say I loved just about everyone, except the despicable mother in law, and literally screamed ‘No’ when I realised I had turned the final page and Maia wasn’t in my life any more and it ended with a humongous cliffhanger. I actually burst into tears 😭.

I am not sure the second in the series could possibly top this and I cannot wait to read them all.

I think I have sussed out who Pa Salt was and why he did what he did but as I, most reluctantly, neared the end and knew there wouldn’t be time for revelations, I am left wondering when the truth will out.

This is a massive 600+ pages (my kind of book) which I read in two sittings as I just couldn’t put it down.

After the most lengthy and incredibly hot weather here in the UK, the rains came and this book was like an oasis in the desert - totally refreshing and wonderful.

5 stars is not enough and I highly recommend this.

49 people found this helpful

~ Bookworm ♡

Delightful ..... :) x

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 14, 2019

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I'm so pleased I took the plunge and bought this book based on the reviews ...
I nearly didn't as I have piles of 'to read' books everywhere, being rather book obsessed, and really have been trying to stop buying any more !
This book was a delight, transporting me into a most beautiful world filled with passion, art, history ...
places and characters that i could feel and picture in my mind .. needless to say I was gripped from the first page!
And so much for no more books ... amd now nearly at the end of book 3, they get better and better :) ...
and i'm so grateful to Lucinda. Having been unable to read for far too long due to chronic stress, I am now thoroughly enjoying losing myself in these characters lives :) .... thankyou!

34 people found this helpful

Sara

My New Favourite Author

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2019

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This is by far the best novel I have ever read and I believe I have found my new favourite author in Lucinda Riley.

Not usually the type of book I would go for, I wanted to try something new and I was far from disappointed.

Lucinda's style of writing has you immersed within the story in an almost hypnotic way.

I finished the very long book in 3 days!

I have just started the second book and I am already hooked.

Thank you Lucinda for the joy you bring to your fans!

20 people found this helpful

Pippa

Absolutely love this series...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2019

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I happened upon this series by Lucinda Riley, by chance here on Amazon. Reading the reviews - I thought I'd give them a whirl. So glad I did... absolutely love them all and am now excitedly awaiting the next one in the series "The Sun Sister" which is released on 31st October.
They are not a literary masterpiece but having said that, they are storytelling at their best and if you almost look at them, as almost a fairy tale - some of the details which might bring up questions... dissolve into nothing. Each book is based around each sister. Their stories are spellbinding and I haven't been able to put any of them down. I also think they are getting even better, as we proceed further into the series.
I have also just started "The Midnight Rose" also by Lucinda and am already barely able to stop reading.
This is story telling at it's best and clearly written by a strong and wise lady... if you're looking for a compelling but easy read... look no further. So happy that I have discovered this writer... she is my new favourite!

15 people found this helpful

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