Book Review: The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley (2024)

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 of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which 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 and its beginnings.

Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque 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 of seven novels—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talent like never before.

Review:

Intriguing, heartwarming, and incredibly captivating!

This is the first book in “The Seven Sisters” series and boy is it a good one.

This isthe story of Maia, a young woman who embarks on a journey to discover her parentage and ancestry after recently suffering the loss of her beloved, adoptive father.

Itis predominantly set in Rio, Brazil during both the late 1920s, as well as present day,and is told fromtwo perspectives, Maia and Maia’s maternal great-grandmother, Izabela.

The story, itself,is a sweeping sagafilled withself discovery, family, loss, determination, strength, grief, heartbreak, happiness, and everlasting love; as well as an in-depth look into the culture, history and landmarks of Rio, complete with the construction of the iconic Christ the Redeemerand the boom and subsequent demise of thecoffee industry.

The prose is precise, poetic, and exquisitelydescriptive. And the characters are multi-faceted, genuine, empathetic, and engaging.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first about the size of this novel, but don’t be daunted. This istruly a powerful, fascinating story that will make you cry, make you smile and will haveyou mesmerized from start to finish.

I can honestly saythat after reading this novel, The Storm Sister (Book #2) available now, and The Shadow Sister (Book #3) releasing soon, will be jumping to the top of your “to read” pile.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy of this storyfrom your favourite retailer or from the following links. You won’t be disappointed.

Amazon UK,Amazon US,Amazon Canada,Chapters/Indigo,Book Depository,

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley was born 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 sold thirty million copies worldwide. She is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestseller.Lucinda's Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster, has become a global phenomenon. The series is a number one bestseller across the world and is currently in development with a major TV production company.

Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 Lucinda 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 in June 2021

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