Thank you @book_buff for reviewing my book. Also the picture looks very Good. Thank you for that as well. . . . . . #bookreviewed #bookreview #thankyouforreadingmybook #thankyouforreading #firstbookreview #vrpthewriter #VRamPraneeth #VRamPraneethWriter #VRamPraneethShortStories https://www.instagram.com/p/CQqt8BdLfOw/?utm_medium=tumblr
Thank you @solitudeandbooks for reading my book and putting up the review.. Glad you liked the stories. . . . . . #bookreviewed #bookreview #thankyouforreadingmybook #thankyouforreading #firstbookreview #vrpthewriter #VRamPraneeth #VRamPraneethWriter #VRamPraneethShortStories https://www.instagram.com/p/CQqtLNULrZ0/?utm_medium=tumblr
Book 1 of the Seven Sisters Series
Author: Lucinda Riley
Publication date: 2014
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
A/N:Ā Having read the six of the seven books in the series, I can say that the books in this series can work as stand-alones as they all give the necessary bit of introduction that you need at the beginning. That being said, I would still recommend starting at the beginning [The Seven Sisters] if you think you're going to want to read the whole series; and there are some threads that weave through all books.
I accidentally had bought the third book first when I didnāt know it was a series, but when I found out, I decided to get the books before that and began reading. I defiantly have more understanding of the sisters and the other characters from reading this book before the others.
The Seven Sisters is a 7 book series, of which, in the time that Iām writing this, only 6 books are published- the 7th book coming out some time in 2021.Ā
Each of the 6 books in the series has been focused around one of the 6 sisters- one book for one sister, starting from oldest to youngest- all adopted by a mysterious billionaire they all callĀ āPa Saltā mainly for his love of the ocean and how he always smells of sea salt.
Pa Salt had adopted the sisters over the period of several years from different countries, naming all of them from the 7 sisters of the Pleiades- known as the Seven Sisters in Mythology. Thereās Maia, Ally(Alcyone), Star(Asterope), CeCe(Celaeno), Tiggy(Taygete), Electra, and Merope.
Even though there are 7 stars in the constellation, Pa Salt had only managed to find only six, Merope being the 7th sister that he was never able to find[One of the many mystery in this series that I hope to find out about in the 7th book that has been titledĀ āThe Missing Sisterā]
When the sisters are all grown up, their father, Pa Salt, dies suddenly, and each of them come back to their secluded island in Switzerland that they all named āAtlantisā and reunite.Ā Here they each receive a letter from their departed father, along with a quote coordinates to give them a clue to their origins should they wish to discover them.Ā
Aside from what the title suggests, this first book of the series is not the story of the Seven Sisters as a whole, but just one, the eldest, Maia.
Maia is known as theĀ ābeautifulā one out of the six sister, her profession being an interpreter who translates books for authors.Ā
I assume she is the only one out of the six daughter that had remained at Atlantis as an adult because of her work, having her own little house next to her family mansion home on the island where she mostly lives in isolation.Ā Though she conveniently happens to be visiting a friend in England when Pa Salt dies. There is mystery not only surrounding her adoptive fatherās life, but also his death. He instructed that he was to be buried at sea, before any of his daughters were informed of his death. So when all the sisters return home it is to find that their father is already gone and the burial has taken place without them.
Even though she is the most cautious and studious of the six, roused from a call from someone from teenage years she is not yet ready to face, she leaves her little home and is the first to investigateĀ her past and where she came from.
The clues offered to her about her past from her fatherās letter and coordinatesĀ all past point to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Portuguese just so happens to be one of the two languages Maia speaks fluently.
In Rio, she meets up with a Brazilian author whose book she had translated, who also happens to be an historian, Floriano Quintelas. Florianoās curiosity into the mystery of Maiaās past, allows him to join Maiaās adventure to uncovering her ancestry.
The coordinates from Pa Salt first lead them to a dilapidated old mansion, that houses a very old woman and her maid.
Through a series of old letters and stories handed down through generations, given by the maid, Maia starts to uncover her past, through the story of her great grandmother, Isabel āBellā Bonifacio who was born in Rio.
As an engagement present from her fiance, Gustavo, Isabel was sent to Paris with her friend to experience the world and learn more about art. Isabelās POV is set partially in Rio and partially in Paris during the 1920ā²s and 30ā²s as the story centres around the construction of Christ the Redeemer.
While reading, I became really invested in the Isabel's story which is set in the past. It jumps back to the present with Maia and vice versa(this becomes a common theme in all the books in the series so far), but not in an annoying way. It kept me engaged and urged me to continue reading.
I donāt want to spoil too much, and if I did there would too much to write about!
This story has so many intricate and well thought out layers fulled with compassion and depth, but enough is left for us to judge from our perspective.
The characters are well-crafted and brilliant.Ā
From the first chapter of the book, Lucinda gave me a character sketch/story board of all the six sisters along with their nurse and their father to understand about their behaviour briefly. And in Isabel's story, we can feel each and every character, like from the moment Isabel described her would-be husband, Gustavo in her words, and then her french lover Laurent. I can almost picture while reading how they communicated and acted around her.
This story is a beautiful back-story that is connected with the history of Brazil. Lucinda has unfolded and lay-out the stories of Maia and Isabel strikingly and consecutively, with Isabel's story breaking at such vital points that it burnt me yet made my heart bleed.
Reading this has simply made me feel as if Lucinda has poured all her emotions into her words. And it defiantly shows that she had done a astounding amount of research with this book, since this is a historical fiction.
Not only did she live for a month in Rio, next door to the granddaughter of the architect of Christ the Redeemer and read his personal letters and journals, she also did research into both Paris and Rio in the time she was writing about and the historical characters involved. Thereās a bibliography in the back of the book with all her sources.
[Some of the characters in the book are drawn from the history books, but the stories going in and around their lives are all fictional!]
Sadly, while finishing the book, I forgot this was a fictional story, and I'm still in belief with the story of Isabel and Christ the Redeemer's statue is true, since Lucinda makes her story so very convincing enough to fall for the trap.
I'd describe this book as a true masterpiece that not only took me back in time but also took me the amazing lands of Brazil and Paris.
Although I though the conversations and dialouge between the characters where a bit messy and patchy, the emotional pull in this book is very strong, one of the reasons being that the story is told from Maiaās and Isabelās POV, who both happens to be deeply emotional human beings and strong female figures.
This is a solid work of historical fiction with some travelogue and romance thrown in the mix. Itās an adventure, a journey of discovery, and a book to lose yourself in. Well worth your time if you decide to give it a go.
Iāve begun writing my first book review today!!!! it is scheduled to go up on Monday so hopefully, it will all go well!! if you have any books youād like me to review just send me a message and Iāll have a look at it for you.
