Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Seven Sisters

Top positive review

Epic and Enthralling, like a fairytale

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017

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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Mary T.

A chore to read

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018

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.

37 people found this helpful

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From the United States

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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Luc Abraham

A bit cliche, but oh so captivating

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2019

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Overall, I enjoyed this book. Maia is a good character to be introduced to as you get to know her throughout the book. I wasn't expecting the jump in time as I'm not familiar with other Lucinda Riley books. It was a bit of a struggle at first to read about Bel, as all I wanted to know more about was Maia, but I loved how their lives were intertwined.
Also enjoyed the setting and the way Rio and Paris are described makes you want to visit and see for yourself. The overall storyline was a bit cliche in my opinion, nothing shockingly new about it but I remained interested throughout the whole book. Biggest problem for me is that at times the dialogue seemed very forced, not every word has to be spoken by the characters, it can become clear in non verbal ways too.

I'm reading book 2 as I type this, I like that we are 'introduced' to all the other sisters briefly which makes it fun to look out for the book about the sister that you are drawn to the most!

4 people found this helpful

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Diana Faillace Von Behren

Fabulous Setting and Retelling of the Creation of Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2015

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Okay, okay! After reading Lucinda Riley's "The Italian Girl" and finding it maudlin and overdone, I swore I wouldn't read another of Riley's romantic novels. Here I am, breaking my word. I listened to "The Seven Sisters: Maia's Story" on unabridged audio and during the first few chapters, I chastised myself for again falling prey to what seemed like an interesting premise. Riley sets the stage in this her first book for a series of seven books dedicated to each of the titular seven sisters, all of which have been adopted by a wealthy benefactor who lives in a luxurious estate on Lake Geneva. In this first offering, Riley builds her premise from scratch. Maia, the oldest of the siblings, explains to the reader about her father, the late Pa Salt who has traveled around the world looking for orphans to adopt and bring back to his estate. Each is named for one of the seven sisters of the Pleiades. Unfortunately Pa Salt doesn't ever bring back the seventh sister so whether there is one or not remains a mystery. This portion of the book where Riley sets up her goal becomes a bit redundant as each of the sisters is given a cursory glance. For those readers who do enjoy a mystery in the present being solved by delving into the past, wait for Maia's story to actually kick in; for the most part, you will not be disappointed.

Upon Pa Salt's death, each of the sisters is given an envelope by their father's lawyer along with the latitude and longitude coordinates of their birth place. Maia quickly discovers that she was born in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and off she flies to discover something about her past. Her findings take her to Corcovado Mountain where the great Christ the Redeemer statue stands blessing its people; the back story told in the voice of Izabela a young beauty of the Brazil of the 1920s reflects the work of architects and sculptors who actually created and put together the magnificent statue. This portion of the story, although fictionalized is quite good, involving an interesting cast of characters that move the story along at a fast pace.

Nonetheless, Riley does have a penchant for repetition; the scenes between Izabela and her mother go on a bit too long with a bit too much melodrama. Once the reader reaches the conclusion that Riley wants them to reach, she should quickly end Maia's story and segue into the next in the series: The Storm Sister. She does not; the ending goes on a bit longer than necessary; the reader gets the point even though Riley prolongs the ending to tie up loose ends that no longer have any punch once the reader already knows the truth.

The characters are attractive and likable if a bit stereotypical. Again, this read is for those who enjoy this sort of a novel and want to while away their time with stories of coincidence and melodrama.

Bottom line? I'm glad I broke my own vow of never reading one of these stories again. I enjoyed reading about Brazil and the Christos on the Mountain; Riley made a good choice setting her story during this time and place. Otherwise, the characters and situations will be familiar to readers of this genre. Sit back and enjoy, but don't expect great literature.

15 people found this helpful

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Margie

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2020

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Interesting story - started slow the first part of the book, but picked up and then enjoyed to the finish. The story is so different from other books I've read recently and kept my interest. I think there are 6 more books in the series and this book introduces you to the others sisters....very tempting, but the sequels are $$ .

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Chic lit - but that’s fine!

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2021

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A pleasant, easy read with the touch of glamour provided by wealthy characters & being staged in Paris & Rio

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Amazon Customer

Seven Sisters brought down from the sky...

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2020

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Loved this book. It is an intriguing story which kept me reading to the end. I look forward to reading the rest of the series

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Kindle Customer

Lovely storytelling.

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019

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Can't wait to get into the next book. Nice flowing storyline. Came to learn a little about Rio in Brazil.

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E. Cochran

AND I AM SO GLAD I DID

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2017

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I would have never picked up this book if I were browsing for a summer read at the library. It was my book club book and, when I read the summary, I thought "ew this sounds mystical and weird, I dunno" but I wanted to participate in book club so I read it anyway. AND I AM SO GLAD I DID!!! It took a few chapters for me to get sucked in, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story. THOROUGHLY. In fact, I was very surprised at how emotional I was when it was over... I'd elaborate, but I don't want to give anything away!!! Let's just say I am very excited to start on #2.

2 people found this helpful

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Mar

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

Enjoyed this book. But, had to roll my eyes at her ignorance of Asperger’s Syndrome.
The characteristics of AS that she stated aren’t an accurate description of people with Asperger’s Syndrome.
She seemed to just throw that in at the last minute to justify the behavior.
Other than that I thought it was a good read and glad she concluded Maia’s story. I was afraid it would continue on into the next book.

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