I’ll begin this review by stating that it’s slightly different from what I normally review on Sepia Tinted Window, since it’s not 100% historical fiction. What I mean by this is that it’s a dual timeline novel – Maia, the main protagonist, lives in modern-day Geneva, but throughout the book she discovers her family heritage which we experience through the eyes of Izabela Bonifacio in 1920s Brazil.

That being said, The Seven Sisters is certainly 100% historical fiction in terms of the quality of research and ability to bring its setting to life. The story Lucinda Riley constructs around Maia’s heritage is fascinating and highly educational, merging vibrant fictional characters with some of the real events surrounding the construction of Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue.

The whimsical premise of this novel (the first in a series of seven) instantly captured my interest. Each book centres around a different one of the D’Apliése sisters, who were adopted by a man affectionately known to them as Pa Salt as he explored different parts of the world. The story begins with the death of Pa Salt, and the subsequent discovery that he has left each sister a clue to their heritage, sparking Maia’s trip to Rio.

Lucinda Riley moves seamlessly between the past and present-day timelines, bringing colour and development to each of her protagonists’ tales. The only thing that really niggled at me was the heavy focus of the narrative on beauty, and the strong correlation between outward beauty and ‘goodness’ of the characters in a way which felt a bit Disney-esque.

I also found both the past and present-day romances pretty predictable, and they didn’t really do anything for me. Luckily there’s plenty more to be enjoyed from the story – I adored the interactions between the adopted sisters, and devoured all the historical detail surrounding the creation of the Christ the Redeemer statue.

Overall this was a light, dreamy read which made for a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. The next book in the series has been added straight to my TBR, and I’m excited to find out which time and place in history Lucinda Riley will take me to next!

My thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an A R C of this novel in return for an honest review. Wow ! What a glorious story And so deeply researched. You know that the author has been to every place she describes and has done extensive historical investigation. It promises to be a wonderful series. This first book sets the general scene against which all the other books will be placed. We are introduced to all six sisters as they return to their opulent childhood home on Lake Geneva following the death of their father who they call Pa Salt. They have each been adopted by him and brought to Atlantis their lake side home where they are cared for by Marina whom they call Ma who has been employed by their father, frequently away on business, to bring them up. They are each named after the stars, the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, but a seventh baby is never adopted. They are surrounded by luxury and love, but know that they all have different origins. When their father dies he leaves each girl a letter and has an armillary sphere placed in the garden which bears their names and coordinates for their place of birth in various parts of the world should they wish to trace their origins.

.As each sister departs back to the life that they have made for themselves we are left with Maia, the eldest sister in her thirties, who still lives at home all be it in her own house on the estate. We follow her as she traces her roots in Brazil. This involves the reader switching their allegiance to a different heroine, Izabela, who might perhaps be Maia’s great grandmother. We now follow her story set against the 1920s in Rio de Janeiro, then Paris and back to Rio. With bits of modern day Maia slotted in. The early story is set against the construction of the vast Rio statue of Christ the Redeemer and fact and fiction are very cleverly inter woven. I normally dislike the current fashion for dipping in and out of a past story, the reader’s sympathies being pulled back and forth, but this is done so skilfully here that it caused me little problem. Both Maia’s story and Izabela’s were a joy to read and superbly worked together.

At the end the first person narrative passes to the second sister, Ally, who’s story will come next. My cynical self says this is a piece of clever marketing. My avid reader self says this is to assure us that the story goes on. Hopefully it’s the later. Several big questions are left unanswered at the end of the book. Will they be worked out in later books ? However these, I’m sure, are going to be the best series of books in this genre for a very long time. I can’t believe that I missed this book when it was first published and I’m grateful to the friend who told me about it. It’s one sumptuous read.

What an amazing start to a series of novels about the D'Apliese sisters who were brought up in a home on the shore of Lake Geneva by a loving adoptive father, Pa Salt who remains a bit of a mystery. Maia learns of his sudden death and how the funeral has already taken place and when the girls gather, they are given a series of clues about where in the world they all came from and they are linked to the story of the Seven Sisters Consellation with the co-ordinates of their birth families put down for each. The sailing sister translates it for each of them. How Maia lands up in Brazil and her connection to a famous sculpture is beautifully written. this novel by Lucinda Riley takes the reader on the quest to find out the mysterious origin of this sister and I found it hard to put down once I had begun. I look forward to reading the remaining novels.

I really enjoyed this book - it was quite epic, especially considering it is the first of 7 books but it was well written and engaging and the number of interwoven stories meant the length of the book was necessary. I think the highest compliment I can give is that I will be reading the next one!

Thanks for allowing me to review this book.

What a wonderful intro to the series. A beautiful story told of the first of the sisters. I cannot wait to read the series. This is the story of Maia the eldest of them & the discovery of her life and ancestors. Excellently written, its going to be purchased for my mum for Christmas. I love it when you are excited throughout a book, not only by the story being told, but also where the author is going to go next. I am very excited to know there are more.

Perfect for long winter nights under a blanket, or lazy days on the beach. I think this series will be a huge hit.

This is such an intriguing opening to a series. The series is going to tell the stories of the seven sisters referred to in the title of this book, each book focusing on a different sister. This first book sets the scene and then follows the oldest sister, Maia, as she tries to unravel the clues left to her by Pa Salt. It blends her story with the story of her family beautifully, at each point where the narrative shifted from one to the other I was also equally sad to be moving away from the time period and eager to get back to the other. I really enjoyed this and am already looking forward to catching up with the rest of the series as it stands.

I love this book, it reminds me of the books by Elizabeth Gouge that I read growing up. I am looking forward to the coming stories of each sister. Hopefully they will all be different and unique but have the same 'fairy tale' quality.

I really enjoyed this book and was captured by all the different characters and their stories. It was difficult to put it down once I had started it. It was good to read about journey to find her relatives and the stories behind them. I love how it went back and forward between past and present. I really felt I knew the characters. This my first book by Lucinda Riley but it won't be my last. Great book great writer.

The Seven Sisters introduces use to Maia and her five other sisters and their billionaire adopted father, Pa Salt.

They were named after the Seven Sisters stars, and they (like us) expected there to be a seventh sister, but I think that is one of the mysteries in this book, along with who Pa Salt was to jet around the world and adopt all of these girls, and then take them to his home in Switzerland, to his house called Atlantis.

The Seven Sisters is the start of what I think of as family saga. We're going to be looking in depth at each of the sisters, with a book per sister. This first book belongs to Maia, the eldest, where we join her just as she learns of Pa Salt's death, who leaves her, and the other sisters, clues to their biological family, and how learning about her great grandmother helps Maia understand herself.

I haven't read any of the other books yet, and I would like to, and whilst I am a bit worried that these will be formulaic, at the same time, I really enjoyed this story, so I will read the next one (The Storm Sister), and see how that is!

The reason I read The Seven Sisters is because the fifth book in the series, The Moon Sister, is being published on 1st November, and I was interested enough in how that looked to want to read from the beginning (that's how I roll! Book series, podcasts, tv shows, all are consumed from the beginning!).

If you'd like to be whisked away to exotic locations, then I think this book series is going to be for you, as each of the sisters are very different, and live in different parts of the world!

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley is available now in all good book shops and libraries, but here's a link for Amazon in case that's how you best buy books!

The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley is due to be published on 1st November 2018. Here's the pre-order link from Amazon!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile for more reviews.

Initially I was concerned that this novel would rely heavily on myths and legends, an area which I am not well versed in. Happily the background was clearly explained and any references within the novel put into context.
Pa Salt adopted six girls and they lived a life of luxury for many years in Switzerland – until the death of Pa. After his death, Pa left clues for the women to follow if they wished to discover their birth heritage.
In this, the first book, Maia the eldest learns about her Brazilian heritage and her links to the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Alternating between the present (2007) and past (1928) this is the start of an enthralling saga which I suppose would be better read in sequence instead of my haphazard way of 1,5,3,4 then 2.

Lucinda Riley is fast becoming one of my favourite authors... another stunning book that I had originally put off reading as I know there are more to come and I like to read a series from start to finish... but just could not resist any longer so jumped on in... I was not disappointed one bit... but I'm now chomping at the bit to read the rest of the series.

A tale of six young women who had all been adopted as babies and brought up as sisters... the story starts with Maia D’Aplièse, the eldest of the six young women.

They gather together at their childhood home – a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva – having been told that their beloved adoptive father, the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt, has died.

Each of them is handed a tantalising clue to their true heritage – a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil . . . Eighty years earlier, in the Belle Époque of Rio, 1927, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into aristocracy.But Izabela longs for adventure, and convinces him to allow her to accompany the family of a renowned architect on a trip to Paris.

In the heady, vibrant streets of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

The Seven Sisters is a sweeping epic tale of love and loss - the first in a unique, spellbinding series of seven books, based on the legends of the Seven Sisters star constellation - Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talent like never before.

Absolutely Amazing... and as I have the other books in paperback I'm going to continue with the series so I can read in order and follow on with a review of The Moon Sister

Thank-You Netgalley for the temptation and my ARC.

Have never read anything from this series. I totally loved this book. It is so well written. The story is beautiful and wonderful-it flows well. Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book. In exchange for my open ,honest and unbiased review.

A saga with depth, interest and intrigue
We are introduced to Pa Salt and his six girls... and the story unfolds as the eldest, Maia, finds out about herself after his death.

From Switzerland to Paris via Brazil, this tale weaves both modern and historical stories. It was fun to learn about the Christo, the giant statue in Rio De Janeiro.

Beautiful, compelling and interesting, this is a book that had a profound effect on me.
I look forward to reading more of the daughter’s stories

4.5* - a fascinating book

This is a really great book a fabulous story which takes Maia to Brazil after her father who had adopted her dies it's here she learns the story of her past which is brilliantly told and where she starts to realise she can look forward to the future really looking forward to the next book in this series a fabulous read

Recommended this series by a friend and I have loved every one so far. Looking forward to reviewing the newest one too.

What a fabulous read, the first book in the wonderful Seven Sisters series with each book concentrating on the life and history of one of Pa Salt’s adopted daughters. Highly recommended and what a treat that there are more in the series to look forward to.

Absolutely loved every single second of this book and have recommended it to EVERYONE I know. The other books in the series are also amazing and I have just been lucky enough to get sent a copy of The Moon Sister which I will start as soon as I have finished Hothouse Flower (also by Lucinda Riley and also as fabulous!)

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What an absolutely 5 star fantastic book. I cannot wait to read the second in the series.

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley was an excellent historical novel, the first in a series of books about six young women who had all been adopted as babies and brought up as sisters.
The girls are devastated when their father dies and they all come home for the funeral. They are all given letters written by their father with clues to their natural parents.
This first book is about Maia the eldest daughter and the story of her search to find her family.
I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is absolutely amazing and has to be a new favourite. It is very well written and not something I would normally pick put but I'm so glad I did.

Maia and her seven sister are all brought back to their family home after their adopted father died. This story follows Maia find out how her life started before Pa Salt found her.

This is a super book that will transport you to the other side of the world. Can't wait to read the other stories from the other sisers.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.