I really enjoyed ‘The Pearl Sister’, the fourth in Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters adoption mysteries. While Maia, Ally and Star have already investigated their birth stories, Celaeno, CeCe, has shown no interest in her own. She is feeling sorry for herself, alone now that Star has become independent. Until her curiosity is piqued. Pa Salt’s lawyer tells her about a bequest, a large sum of money, and a photograph of two unidentified men. He advises CeCe to investigate Kitty Mercer from Broome in Australia.
On her journey to Australia, CeCe stops off in Thailand, staying at Railey Beach where she has holidayed in the past with Star. As she wonders why she is there alone, feeling envious of Star’s new home and new love in England, she meets a mysterious man on the beautiful beach. They bond over the morning sunrise, both are hurting - CeCe is missing Star and feeling betrayed by her sister’s newfound life, while Ace is hiding a big secret he cannot, or will not, explain. Riley hints that behind the beauty of Railey Beach there is a dark, sordid side. Could Ace be involved in drugs? Then when CeCe steps off the plane in Australia, she discovers Ace has been arrested and believes CeCe betrayed him to the press. As the journalists identify CeCe’s name and location, she runs away to Broome.
As with all the earlier novels in the series, the story of ‘The Pearl Sister’ is told in two strands. CeCe is in 2008, Kitty Mercer’s story starts in 1906. The eldest daughter of a Edinburgh preacher, Kitty goes on a nine month trip to Australia as companion to the wealthy Mrs McCrombie. It changes Kitty’s life. She drinks alcohol for the first time, kisses a man, and acts immodestly in ways that would shock her clergyman father. Two men, twin brothers, pay attention to her. Drummond is the dangerous brother, the one who kisses her. But Kitty reverts to type by marrying the steady, safe, Andrew Mercer, and moves to Broome where he runs the family’s pearl fishing company for his father.
I found Kitty’s story enthralling, she is a true rebel at a time when women were finding their feet and their voices. She has a way of identifying people needing help. Along her life’s journey she collects waifs and strays, rescuing them from hunger, mistreatment, poverty and racism, giving them opportunities, security and winning their loyalty. Each of them comes to play a critical role in Kitty’s life; from Camira, the pregnant Aboriginal servant girl thrown from the house by her master, to Sarah, the fifteen year old orphan met on a boat from England who has a gift with the sewing needle.
Australia the country and the lives and customs of its Aboriginal people are a dominant presence throughout this novel. Be warned, it will make you want to visit. Throughout it all runs the enticing descriptions of Aboriginal art, by real artists such as Albert Namatjira who lived and worked at the Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission outside Alice Springs, which CeCe visits.
The loose ends come together in the end though Riley did keep me guessing on a couple of the links. The significance of Ace and CeCe’s time in Thailand was one such puzzle. These are all hefty books, but I read this one quickly. It’s my favourite of the series so far which seems to get better with every book.
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I didn't connect with CeCe like I have the previous 3 sisters. I found her a little naive, immature and unrelatable to me. I couldn't form a personal connection with her. I felt the Ace side story was a little unneeded, and it just made the book drag a bit more than it should have. Everything seemed to be plain sailing for her.

Kitty's story on the other hand was more enjoyable for me. I would have read a whole book about Kitty's life, her problems, her loves. I loved Kitty's story in Australia.

The difference between the two stories is unbelievable, I would go as far as to say that it felt like they were written by 2 completely different authors.

This is the fourth book in the Seven Sisters series of books. This could be read as a stand alone book but I highly recommend reading all of the others as well.

CeCe is the fourth adopted daughter of the recently deceased Pa Salt. When he died Pa Salt left the sisters enough clues for them to trace their origins and find some birth relations. CeCe's take her to Australia where she traces some contacts with a pearl fishing company. One thread in this book tells the story of CeCe's family up until her birth and the other thread follows CeCe as she travels around Australia & learns the history.

I have very much enjoyed this series of books and this one lives up to the standard set by the previous ones. CeCe is a complex character who has hidden behind her slightly younger adopted sister, Star. As Star starts to build her own life CeCe is feeling very rootless and heads off to trace her family.

I very much enjoyed the historical background to this book. The history of Australia is not something I know a lot about & this book deals with a small part of it very sensitively. This is especially the case in relation to the Aboriginies. The background characters are excellent with clearly defined and strong personalities. There is a smattering of a love interest and also a side story in CeCe's everyday life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My attention was gripped from start to finish. Unfortunately I just need to wait for the fifth book in the series now!

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

I have so far read all the books published in this series except the second one and it's such a wonderful series. I really love how reach book takes one of the sisters through a journey, not only to a faraway country, like Australia in this book, but also a journey into the past.

The best dual storyline books are the ones where both tales are equally interesting and Lucinda Riley has managed to achieve that with this book. I loved how the contemporary story first takes the reader to Thailand and then to Australia as CeCe searches for clues to her past. One thing I really liked was that the expected love story didn't occur. I'm always pleased when a writer managed to surprise me and I'm delighted with the way the storyline took when it came to CeCe's private life.

The second storyline, the one set a century before with Kitty McBride traveling from Edinburgh to Adelaide, it was just as interesting, although the romantic part in this storyline was a much more expected. Still, I love getting a story set in Australia, learning more about the Aboriginal people and the unjust treatment they got. If there is one subject that always makes my blood boil is the white man's treatment of the natives in whatever land they set their eyes on.

I want to end this review by saying that the books don't need to be read in order, yes it's probably wise to read from the beginning, but you quickly get to hang on the story, the background for all the adoptions, etc. in each book. The different sisters make appearances in each other's stories and I quite liked that since I grew fond of each sister I get to know.

I love Lucinda Riley she never ever fails to delight. This is the 4th book in the seven sisters series following the fortunes if 7 adopted girls who were adopted by Pa Salt the books follow the girls trying to find their birth parents after Pa's sudden death I cannot wait for the next book fantastic!!!

This is the fourth book in the Seven Sisters series and I have loved each and every one of them.
This is Cece's story. It follows her as she travels from Thailand to Australia and all the character's that she meets along the way whilst in search of her ancestry. It also tells the story of Kitty McBride and their connection.
The book works well as a stand alone read but but as part of a series it is spectacular.
The fifth book is out later this year.....I can't wait!

5 - "So far, it's been an utter... Adventure." Stars!

There aren’t many authors I’d willingly sign up to read a 700+ page book by, but Lucinda Riley’s work is definitely one of the illustrious few that I have absolutely no problem saying yes to in that regard. The Pearl Sister perfectly highlighted why, because it never felt like I was reading a book of that length.

The past is who I am…

The story the author told, took me to present day Thailand, Australia and the UK, as well as Scotland in the early 1900’s and on a boat voyage to Australia in those times as well, and as with every other book, interweaved two women’s lives perfectly together in its telling.

As usual, I felt left out, not part of the crowd…

CeCe D’Aplièse is up this time, and having found her a little dislikeable in the previous book I was interested to read of the origins of this adopted woman’s blood lineage. This is a character who has already displayed quite a strong personality, so much so that she had pretty much took over the running of her closest sisters Skye’s life, but that changed in the previous book; The Shadow Sister as Skye discovered her past, and met her future, a future that didn’t solely revolve around doing what CeCe thought was best for them as a duo.

"Everyone I love leaves me…"

This unexpected separation leaves CeCe floundering, and not used to being in charge of herself solely, the book displayed very quickly that this is a woman who although on first assumptions appears very confident, almost arrogantly so on the outside, is actually suffering from a huge lack of self-belief when she looks at herself on a deeper level. The journey she then takes to discover her true self is an unputdownable read.

I felt like I’d been reborn. Like all the bits of me that hadn’t fitted… had been stripped down and rearranged.

Alongside CeCe’s incredible journey, you are also given the story of Kitty McBride, a Scottish ministers daughter, who leaves the dreary shores for Australia as a Ladies maid in 1906, her story is tied closely to CeCe’s but it’s not until further down the line that you actually link everything together fully, by that point you are literally immersed in the lives of these two very different women.

"It’s time now, isn’t it..? For us…"

I think the authors own words succinctly sum up my thoughts about how highly I rate this book for the quality story-telling and depth of background for everything that happens –

I am a fiction novelist, but I take the background research to my novels as seriously as any historian.

Never a truer word was written, and once again it delivered an absolutely outstanding read to add to The Seven Sisters series as a whole. Tiggy is up next later this year in The Moon Sister and from the little glimpse you get of her at the end of this one, I cannot wait too read where the author takes her on her journey of discovery, and who she will meet along the way.

‘I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard that my father had died, I thought to myself as I stared out of the window and saw the complete blackness of the night. Intermittently below me, there were small clusters of twinkling lights indicating human habitation, each light containing a life, a family, a set of friends….None of which I felt I had any longer’

…opens The Pearl Sister, very exotic story of Cece, the fourth sister in The Seven Sister series.

This book is the 4th book of the seven book series inspired by the ancient myth of the Seven Sisters of Pleiades. There’s a wealthy man (whom the girls call Pa) who adopts 6 baby girls and names them after the Seven Sisters star galaxy. Maia, the beauty; Ally, the leader; Star, the peacemaker; CeCe, the pragmatist; Tiggy, the nurturer; and Electra, the fireball. They live in a mansion in Switzerland. They have a Nanny who looked after them all their lives (Ma). 7th sister (Merope) is also a mystery, as everybody expected him to complete the fleet with the 7th sister. However, she is missing, and we don’t know the reason behind it. One day, Pa dies suddenly of heart attack and leaves different clues to each sister to find their origins.
Each book is a story of one sister trying to find their origins and their adventures while doing that. So, we go back and forth between present day and the past while we learn about their real families. We will have the 7th book tie everything together after reading about the 6 sisters.
This book is the adventure of the 4th sister, Cece, to find her heritage. She is one exotic looking young woman, the artist of the family, and in my opinion the most complex of the sisters so far. She has amber-flecked eyes and skin the colour of dark butterscotch. This gives us clues already that she has a diverse heritage. And eventually, we follow a very interesting story taking place in a land far far away. Cece and Star (The Shadow Sister) joined the family just after one another, and became inseparable since then. Star, being short of her words, Cece finds herself speaking for both of them. She’s very extrovert, and maybe too much at times. But, we discover her vulnerable self behind that strong front, and how she struggles to find her self worth.
I will say as little as possible about where and when the story takes place, as I would love everybody to go through the journey and have their own surprises as I did. I would really recommend you to read as little as possible upfront. I enjoyed in every book to discover where the clues take them, as it’s a part of the mystery. In this one particularly, I found the events of the past, very thought provoking and interesting to learn about. The writing is very beautiful, very lyrical as it always is with Lucinda Riley. Her books are to immerse yourself in and enjoy the journey, different from a thriller/mystery that you rush for the ending. Here, it’s not the destination, but the journey 🙂 So, the length of the books didn’t bother me in any of them (they are on average 700 pages each!).
I have only one criticism for the books, since we now are on the 4th book. I love the stories that take in the past and how they bring us to the real family of our sisters. However, the story line of the past, all follow the same ‘lost love’ concept because of some unfortunate events. It started to feel like a soap opera. The stories of the girls in the present day are much more diverse and original, different than one another. I hope we can see the same diversity in the next book for the past as well.

Lucinda Riley has been one of my favourite authors since I came across the first book in this series The Seven Sisters and I have gone on since to read all of her books to date and although The Seven Sisters is still my favourite so far, none of her books have been a disappointment which is a huge credit to her writing.

I had this book pre ordered for months and couldn’t wait for publication day which seemed to take forever to come around! I also for the first time in several months took time off from my pile of TBR books that I’m working my way through in exchange for reviews to indulge myself with this book and it was well worth it! (The only other book to deviate me from my pile has been Stephen King’s Sleeping Beauties)

This is CeCe’s story. Up until now CeCe was my least favourite sister and no matter how much I was anticipating this book I wasn’t expecting to become as invested in the story as much as I had been with the others, especially Ally D’Aplièse’s story in book 2, but I was rooting for CeCe just as much about half way in! As she starts to come out of her shell and gain confidence in herself her true character starts to shine.

Having never felt she fitted in anywhere and watching her closest sister Star follow the clues left by their deceased father Pa Salt and discover her identity and new-found love CeCe decides to try to discover her own past with the hope of finding her own place that she belongs.

The story is told from two different view points as well as two different times, CeCe in 2008 and Kitty McBride a hundred years earlier in 1906. And despite the two significantly different periods the story flows effortlessly.

CeCe begins her travels in Krabi, Thailand where she meets Ace, who like herself is lonely and out-of-place. He helps her begin her journey of discovery from the clues left for her by Pa Salt but it soon becomes apparent that Ace has a secret he is hiding.

From Thailand she follows the clues to Sydney in Australia and meets some amazing characters along the way.

1906 Kitty McBride is the daughter of an Edinburgh clergyman that finds herself in Australia as the companion of the wealthy Mrs McCrombie. And it is in this new Land of Opportunity that she meets twin brothers, Drummond and Andrew, who is the heir to a pearling company. Andrew and Kitty are soon wed and she finds herself living in the isolated town of Broome and her story is also one of self-discovery as well as the trials hardships of living in the Australian outback in a pioneering age.

I loved CeCe but I think I loved Kitty more, she is an inspiration to women of all ages.

As the two women’s stories become entwined the conncection becomes apparent in a brilliant way and although the series still leaves some unanswered questions these women stories are left with a happy ending.

Now comes the extremely long wait for Tiggy’s story and just to warn you, this book leaves her in a place that makes the wait for us even longer!!!

If you havent read the other three books in the series this book will still be good as a stand alone but I can’t recommend reading the others high enough. All four are brilliant in their own rights.