This is the sixth book in the fantastic seven sisters series by Lucinda Riley. Yet again I was absolutely blown away by how brilliant this book was. The Sun Sister tells the story of the youngest sister Electra .I will be honest and say after reading the other books in the series Electra came across as my least favourite sister, However I may or may not have had a change of opinion reading The Sun Sister. A story told over two timelines and we are sent on a journey through Kenya in the early 40’s and current day New York where Electra is based. A superb read.

I am a huge fan of this series. A great historical fiction which is so beautifully written.
Such great characterisation and storytelling. A must read

I have been holding onto The Sun Sister for reading when the time was right, I could have dived straight in but the trouble with that is Lucinda Riley's novels are so well written that I feel so bereft when I have finished them.

The time has come for me to become involved in Electra's story the sixth of the girls to be adopted by Pa Salt, the billionaire who has died at the beginning of all these novels and leaves clues as to where he found all of his daughters. I never had a warm feeling from what I knew of Electra when she had been mentioned in her sisters stories and she has been someone who has been described as aloof and rather scathing of her sisters and the paths that they have chosen to follow once they have found out where they belong in the world.

For Electra she is the person that is going to light up the room, she is rich, she is beautiful and is a famous model, known across the globe. It is this arrogance that comes across which makes her a character you are not going to warm to and for a while that was how I felt. As the story progresses you can see this was intentional. 

Electra whilst beautiful is fragile and her fragility is masked through drink and drugs and as the story opens in New York, not long after the death of Pa Salt, it seems that Electra has reached crisis point. Those around her are trying to protect her and her image, but it seems that it is about to all come crumbling down until a letter turns up from someone.... her grandmother, Stella Jackson. Alive and well, living in New York and as famous as Electra but for many different reasons.

Stella Jackson has a story to tell and that will be the story of how Electra came to be. It is the late 1930s and we are taken from America to Kenya and we meet Cecily Huntley-Morgan a young American whose marriage prospects have hit a bump in the road and she goes to stay with her godmother in Kenya, specifically what was known as Happy Valley.

The core of the story begins and just like the heat of Kenya, the heat of the story and the plot gets more interesting and draws you right in. Cecily falls in love not just with the place and the area but with the culture and her life changes beyond all recognition to her American relatives who are half a world away as war rages across the globe. When Cecily meets and agrees to shelter a local girl from one of the tribes this simple action changes her life forever.

All around her well known real life characters of the Happy Valley interact with Cecily and we witness some real life events weaved around this wonderful story. I had a very vague knowledge of the 'Happy Valley' set and as with all Riley novels I was educated as much as I was enthralled with the plot and the characters. Drawing real life characters into a fictional story can cause problems, but not here, for Cecily it reiterates the strength of hers. She is so much like a fish out of water at the beginning that you can feel how much she does not fit in, something to what Electra is feeling in the modern day tale. 

As the book moves back to Electra we are moved again to a very different hedonistic world from the one that many described the Happy Valley set to be. Electra's addictions take her to a place where she learns a lot about what problems these addictions can cause and the life it leads people to exist in, very different to Electra's privileged one, even when she was growing up. I found all of these scenes rather uncomfortable and you can see what a hold an addiction can become but it was the start of Electra finding her place in life. 

Electra's transformation in the face of it might seem rather contrived, but as the story has so many depths and we are taken back to the early days of her childhood and life with Pa Salt in the family home at Atlantis in Geneva we begin to understand more about her and the relationship she had with her adoptive father as well as her adoptive sisters. I am sure Electra has more to give but now we must make sense of the missing sister. 

I feel I have been all over the world with Lucina Riley and the Seven Sister series and I have learnt so much from all of the places I have been. The fact that real life events, real people are simply weaved into the fictional tale is a testament to the skill of Riley's writing and means that for me she is without a doubt one of my most favourite authors.

Once again Lucinda Riley takes us on an epic journey. Each book is a unique experience. This book is very different to the others exploring the celebrity life and addiction. Dual timeline as always and keeps your interest even though the book is another weighty page turner. Can’t wait for the seventh book to solve the mystery (hopefully) relating to Pa Salt.

This is the sixth book in Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters series inspired by the mythology of the star cluster known as the Pleiades or ‘the seven sisters’. Each novel tells the story of one of the adopted daughters of a mysterious billionaire known as Pa Salt who dies at the beginning of the series, leaving each sister some clues to help them trace their biological parents.

The girls all grew up together at Atlantis, Pa Salt’s estate by Lake Geneva in Switzerland, but they were born in different countries and came from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds. They are each named after one of the stars in the cluster – Maia, Alycone (Ally), Asterope (Star), Celaeno (CeCe), Taygete (Tiggy) and Electra. There should have been a seventh sister, whose name would have been Merope, but for some reason which hasn’t yet been revealed, only six girls were actually brought home to Atlantis by Pa Salt.

In the previous books in the series, we have heard Maia’s story, Ally’s, Star’s, CeCe’s and Tiggy’s. This latest novel, The Sun Sister, tells the story of Electra, and I will admit that I was not particularly looking forward to this one. Whenever Electra briefly appeared in one of the other sisters’ books, she came across as a very unattractive personality and I wasn’t really relishing the thought of following her throughout an entire novel. On the other hand, I had initially felt the same about CeCe and ended up liking her once I had read The Pearl Sister, so I hoped the same would happen here.

At the beginning of The Sun Sister, which opens in 2008, shortly after Pa Salt’s death, Electra is living in New York City, where she has built a successful career for herself as a model. Yet despite her beauty, fame and wealth, we quickly discover that Electra is not a very happy young woman. For a while now, she has been relying on drugs and alcohol to get through the day and the loss of her adoptive father, whom she feels was disappointed in her, has left her struggling to cope. To make things worse, she is aware that all five of her older sisters have by now traced their own origins and come to terms with who they really are. Then, just as she is reaching her absolute lowest ebb, she is visited by Stella Jackson, the grandmother she didn’t know she had – and the story Stella tells her will literally help to save her life.

Stella’s story involves another of Electra’s ancestors – Cecily Huntley-Morgan, a young American woman who, in the 1930s, goes to stay with her godmother in Kenya after having her heart broken not once but twice. Living amongst the notorious Happy Valley set, by the shores of Lake Naivasha, Cecily falls in love with the landscape and the way of life. She ends up staying in Kenya for much longer than she had planned, until she meets a troubled Maasai girl and agrees to help her – a decision that will change the course of Cecily’s life once again.

The two storylines alternate with each other throughout the book, but each section is long enough that we can become fully immersed in one character’s story before moving on to the next. Of the two, Cecily’s was my favourite; in fact, it might even be my favourite of all the historical storylines in this series so far. I loved the descriptions of Kenya and the way some of the real incidents and people from the Happy Valley society were woven into the story. Although I didn’t agree with all of Cecily’s decisions (and I was disappointed in her treatment of a certain person in her life towards the end of the book), I did like her and sympathised with some of the situations she found herself in.

But I also enjoyed reading about Electra and despite my dislike of her at the beginning, I soon began to warm to her and to understand why she behaved the way she did. It was clear that Electra had always felt slightly out of place in her family, so it was good to see her bonding with her eldest sister, Maia, in this book. Now I hope she can resolve her differences with CeCe in the final book!

After not really looking forward to this book, it turned out to be one of the best in the series. Now I’m very curious about the seventh one, which is going to have to provide answers to all of the questions and mysteries raised in the previous six. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for it.

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

We are edging ever closer to the conclusion of what has been an absolutely brilliant Seven Sisters series from Lucinda Riley with just one more book to follow after The Sun Sister. That will be a bitter-sweet moment when it arrives as I have loved the entire concept of the novels - the characters and the various storylines so much. But on the other hand the questions which just grow more numerous with each book at this stage really do need answers. I know we will get these and much more with the last book but for the time being the last of the sisters who Pa Salt gathered from all across the globe - Electra - finally gets to tell her story.

As to whether the missing sister will make an appearance in the future well that is yet to be determined but for now I read on keen to discover what thrills Lucinda Riley had in store for us. I could see even from the first few chapters that this story was very different from any of the other sisters as Electra is a very complicated character who is not easy to get to know. She is a young woman who appears as if she has it all but having everything only leads to many problems and issues which will come to a head sooner rather than later.

The Sun Sister was a very intense read which I hadn't expected at all and Lucinda touched on subject areas which must have needed a lot of in-depth research before any writing could be undertaken and then in turn careful thought as to how to portray them throughout Electra's story. She has said it was the biggest writing challenge of her career and I can see why especially as I am sure she did not want to get any aspect of it wrong whilst also wanting to do Electra's story justice which of course she did even if at times it was a difficult read due to Electra's downward spiral.

Again as is usual with the majority of Lucinda's books, we travel back to the past to see how Electra came to be one of Pa Salt's girls and as always this was fascinating especially as it took us to the hot and rugged plains of Africa during the times of the Happy Valley set. There was such a contrast between Electra's setting in New York and the various places she flies off to for work and that of Cecily's time in Africa. As you are delving deeper into the book as I have come to expect with Lucinda's writing you are constantly making assumptions and guesses as to how Cecily will eventually link with Electra and it's the manner in which Lucinda lets the layers unfold and the connections become apparent that is always stunning in its execution.

Electra is a very complicated person who deep down is very unhappy and struggling with life. She says she never knew who she was when living with Pa Salt and the sisters at Atlantis and she still doesn't know now. She has issues with both alcohol and drugs and the therapists she has seen just can't seem to make her sit back and take stock to get to the roots of her issues which she has buried so firmly. She keeps things hidden and is afraid to to confront the realities of her situation as she is so fearful of the consequences. She is ashamed of what she has become and is embarrassed to tell Pa Salt or any her sisters what is exactly going on with her. It's like she is alienating herself from all those that love and care for and if they knew the full truth they would do anything to help her get better in order to reach that happy place. After all, she is one of the most successful models in the world with her fame and fortune continuously growing so why should anyone who is successful not be happy?

Throughout the book Electra was on a downward spiral that was only inevitably going to lead to trauma, anger and heartache. She longs for anonymity but if this occurs her steady supply fuelling her addiction would surely disappear. She always feels under constant pressure to just be her, the Electra of the fashion campaigns, the one who graces many runaways and magazine covers when underneath it all she is desperately crying out for help and is lost, scared and riddled with anxiety. When Pa Salt passes away she is distraught and as usual she believes there is yet again another person abandoning her given that she was placed up for adoption and that is how Pa Salt came to find her. She is of the firm belief that looking to the past does no good that one should keep striving and looking forward to the future at all times.

Maybe now is the time that Electra should change that stance as what she seeks is quite possibly in the past. Electra throws herself into a life of continuous debauchery and destruction which made me think how very different she is to all the other sisters and deep down there had to be a definitive reason as to why she was like this. Again it all comes back to knowing ones roots and in this case Electra doesn't. But a letter left to each sister holds clues to the whereabouts of their origins but has Electra the strength and fortitude to look at it and begin the quest the journey for answers, the journey which five sisters before her have undertaken. I didn't think she had the resilience to do so because she was just so messed up and existed on a cocktail of her drug of choice and whatever happened to be lying in her fridge that contained alcohol.

Electra was so desperately lonely that she needed a pillar or a crutch in the form of human interaction to set her threading tentatively on the path to discover her heritage and why she is the person she is today. A new P.A Mariam was the complete opposite to Electra and I loved the bond which developed between the pair and it was interesting that Mariam almost stepped in in a sisterly capacity for Electra. As for the phone calls she keeps receiving from a woman named Stella that she keeps avoiding perhaps she should pick up the phone and answer as what she hears may set her thinking and on the path she has been destined to travel for so long whether she wants to or not.

In 1938, Cecily is living in New York and comes from a privileged background. She is dealing with a broken engagement and so jumps at the chance to visit with her godmother, Kiki Preston, who lives in the wilds of Africa. Kiki enjoys an indulgent lifestyle amongst the Happy Valley set, throwing parties that go on until all hours as her friends and acquaintances throw caution to the wind. At a stop over in England, an event changes the way Cecily feels about life and men and she decides she is better off on her own rather than seeking out a soul mate and that perhaps this time away from America will do her good.

Cecily when she arrives in Africa is like a fish out of water and takes some time to get used to a new climate, surroundings and a very much slower pace of life. The descriptions of life in Africa at the time were marvellous and really helped to being Cecily's story alive and jumping off the pages. The setting was stunning, exotic, warm and it became life changing as she certainly got an awful lot more than she bargained for. I could visualise everything so clearly in my mind and felt this was the place that Cecily was meant to be. Yet Cecily soon discovers life there is not all it is cracked up to be and for quite a lot of the time she is left to her own devices. Cecily's story was fascinating and she showed how resilient she was the further we delve into her story. How an opportunity presented to her by her godmother will change the direction of her life forever and shape the woman she is destined to become.

Again as when I was reading Electra's part of the story I kept wondering how can a woman going to Africa be anyway connected to this model in the present whose life is derailing at an epic pace? But I needn't have worried that I would be let down with the reveal as Lucinda weaves interesting and tangible connections and slowly everything begins to make sense. For me, I loved the chapters set in Africa as Cecily starts to understand who she is and why she is there, but as with Electra her journey is not without its difficulties, complications and emotional experiences. For me, it was brilliant to read of two such contrasting women who across the years will have lessons, feelings and lots more to share.

Lucinda Riley has never ever let me down with her books and she is certainly my favourite author and again I loved this book because it was so different to the others. I can't say that Electra has been my favourite sister to read about because I just found her so aloof and destructive that by the time a glimmer of change begins to emerge I had already made up my mind about her. Her personal journey both in the present and as she seeks answers in the past was fascinating and as always Lucinda does an incredible job of connecting the past and present. Dual time-line stories are certainly her forte and she always packs in plenty of twists and surprises that leave the reader guessing right until the very end. She takes you on such an incredible journey and given the length of The Sun Sister some people may have been daunted as they began said journey but I was secretly delighted because I knew for me it meant more time spent reading the wonderful, honest and compelling writing of an author who is on top form and thoroughly enjoying what at first must have been a very daunting series given it spanned seven books and had such a broad plot.

The Sun Sister is certainly a big fat, generous page turner with some important messages at its centre but it also really develops The Seven Sisters as a whole. That very last page leaves you sitting up in shock just when you think resolution and conclusion has been in Electra's story. You are kicking yourself and, yes I'll say annoyed with Lucinda, because you know you have to wait another year to find out what will happen next. Tantalising clues have been dropped on social media as to where Lucinda's research has taken her for the final book in the search for the missing sister. Despite seeing these photos, I have no clue as to where this final place may be but I will certainly be first in the queue to read and discover where that is when the final book will be published later in 2020. If you have never read anything by this author whose books I love more than anything than rectify that as soon as possible because you really don't know what you are missing out on.

I look forward to the latest instalment of this series every year! I can’t wait to complete this epic series and find out the full story with the hints about Pa and the Seventh Sister still to be revealed.
An unusual epic adventure across continents revealing Electra’s past, linking in a strong message about race, drugs and rehabilitation. I particularly enjoyed the section in Africa.
The author is getting more ambitious with each in this series.
Loved this book and wait til the next one!

I was really excited about this book, as every sister’s story adds another level of depth to the overall plot of this series. And the formation of this family remains as elusive as ever, as does the true story of their adopted father. I CAN’T WAIT for the final instalment.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for giving me for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration. As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.

For some reason Electra was never my favourite sister, so even though I was excited to get my hands on the book, I wasn’t expecting her individual story to be as gripping as it was. But the settings in this book – New York and Kenya – stole my heart. As did Electra. OK she was a spoilt brat at times but her growth over the course of the book made me want to stand and cheer.

In the same format as the rest of the series, we get a dual storyline with Electra’s ancestors. Celia’s adventures in Nairobi, Kenya were a huge highlight of the book for me, as the words vividly brought the country and setting to life for me.

Fab book, in a fab series, by a fab author. What more can I say.

A complicated story full of misconceptions. Electra lives a busy life fuelled by alcohol and drugs,a mistake changes her and we follow her story from there. An enjoyable read.

Absolutely loved this romantic novel! The writer has a beautiful and seamlessly flowing narrating style and I literally could jot put the book down.

I can't rate any Lucinda Riley book any differently. I just love her story telling, historical details and geography settings. She puts so much research and information to her books that I find them very rich and entertaining.
Electra's story was one I was eagerly anticipating because we didn't have much of a glimpse in her life through her sisters. Being a top model, surely she must have an interesting story. It definitely didn't disappoint. It was rich, thought provoking and amazing.
This book was very long, but I honestly didn't feel it.

I can't wait for the next!
Thanks so much to the publisher and netGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series so was looking forward to reading Electra's story. Of all the sisters, she was the one I was unsure whether I liked but by the end I loved her as much as the others but I felt there was not as much development and depth to her character and story as the other novels. It felt rushed. Lucinda Riley is a strong author so it is still a good book.
There are recaps of the other sisters stories blended into this one as it heads towards the final book but it feels as if these were spoilers for those who are coming into the series late. If you are new to the series - start with book one.

Informative, expressive, and engaging!

The Sun Sister, the sixth instalment in The Seven Sisters series, is set during the 1930s through to 2008 and sweeps you back and forth between the bustling streets of NYC to the beautiful plains of Kenya as Electra, the youngest, most discontent D'Apliese sets out on a journey with the help of some new friends to overcome her addictions and unravel her parentage.

The prose is sincere and descriptive. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and lonely. And the absorbing, heartfelt plot is an incredibly moving tale of fame, fortune, substance abuse, familial drama, self-discovery, love, loss, grief, friendship, racial segregation, courage, hope, as well as a little insight into life in Kenya during its colonialism by Great Britain.

Overall, The Sun Sister is another epic saga by Riley at just over 800 pages, but with a timely, astute, present tale and a fascinating, immersive, past tale the pages seem to turn themselves. It is truly hard to believe that this series is close to its end, and I think for every reader whether they've been a die-hard fan and read them all or merely a part-time connoisseur whose been swept away by only one or two the fact that there is only one more left to come is truly bittersweet.

5 - "The worlds a big place you know…" Stars!

I’ve known that The Sun Sister was going to be a challenge to read ever since we were first introduced to Electra D’Aplièse, back at the beginning of The Seven Sisters series, in that she did not come across as a very likeable person. The closing paragraph of the last book was in her POV, and as much as, as a reader you didn’t know much about her before that, I just had a feeling that her character, and the issues that are given voice at that point would make her someone I would struggle to like.

And that was 100% true, and in all honesty I can’t say I had really warmed to her by the end of the book. But I don’t think the author wrote her as a character that would want your sympathy anyway, but what she did do in the secondary story that began in New York, just before WW2 broke out, to the beauty of Kenya during and after the war, through the racial battes in the US, and the forming of the NAACP, and up to the rise of Barak Obama in the late two thousands was given a full explanation as to why this complicated and hard-to-love woman turned out the way she did.

It was Cecily, and then Stella’s story that kept this book in the five star category for me, and if you haven’t read any of this series, it’s absolutely a book that you could read on its own merits. That said, the end of this one finally confirmed the fact that there is a seventh sister, and I cannot wait too see how Lucinda puts all the moving parts of the previous six books together to give her a story but to also tie up the mystery that is still Pa Salt.

This is the sixth novel in a series of seven. They may be read in any order, but because of spoilers it is better to read them in sequence.
Electra is the sixth adopted daughter of Pa Salt and I found her the hardest to connect to although as her story progresses her vulnerability is exposed.
In hr quest to discover her roots, Electra finds a close relative and learns about her other family in Kenya. With her private life in turmoil, Electra must learn to trust others and discover her own self worth.
The duel storyline tells of Electra,s struggles in the present and the story of how and why she was adopted in the past.
In many ways I dread the publication of book 7; as then there will be no further stories. On the other hand I am looking forward to finding out about the missing sister and the story behind Pa Salt
Thank you Lucinda for another great read.

Even if I didn't read the previous instalment in this series I loved this one and i think it can be read as a standalone.
it's a fascinating, engrossing, poignant, and well written book that kept me hooked till the end turning pages as fast as I could.
The cast of characters is fleshed and well thought, the plot is well crafted and I loved the descriptions of the settings.
The writer is a very talented storyteller and she can write about serious topics giving you a lot of food for thought.
I look forward to reading the next book by Ms Riley.
It was an excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The sixth book in the series and it was certainly worth the wait!
Now comes another years wait for the final instalment of this epic series, I can't wait to see where the final book takes us.
As brilliant as all the others, only better!

I've been waiting for this book for a year now, since I finished 'The Moon Sister' last October.  I try to hold out on reading them as I know I'll have to wait another year for the next installment, but the minute I get it I can't help but start it!  This series is amazing, one of my favourite ever, each story is so different and yet linked by the enigmatic Pa Salt who adopted the six (seven?) very different sisters.  The amount of research that must go into each book is amazing!!

This one is about Electra, the beautiful super-model, and the youngest daughter adopted by Pa Salt.  She was struggling with alcohol and drug addiction but in denial until she had a really bad night and needed help, which gave her a real wake-up call.  She ended up checking into a rehab clinic, where she met a variety of other people who really helped her set off on a new path.

Around this time she was contacted by her grandmother, who she had known nothing about, and had never met.  When they finally meet her grandmother, Stella, started to tell her where she had originally come from, and Stella is the one who leads us through the side of the story centred in Kenya and the 'Happy Valley' set who were enjoying life to extreme excess before the outbreak of World War II, starting off with the wonderful Cecily who leaves the US to visit her outgoing and very social godmother, Kiki, in Kenya for a holiday, hoping to miss the wedding of her ex-fiancee in the meantime, and ends up marrying and staying there for a long time.

From there we go back and forth between England, Kenya and New York, with various people, births and deaths over the years from the 1940s to the present day, with Cecily and Electra being the main characters.

Absolutely riveting story, I really didn't want this one to end.  Even when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it and wondering where it would lead next.  Sometimes I enjoy the past more than the present in a story, and sometimes vice-versa, but this time I was fascinated by both timelines and even managed to keep the relationships through time, and Electra's relatives, right in my mind, which usually takes a bit of concentration, but this one seemed easier somehow.

As usual I can't wait for the next book and the 'missing' seventh sister mentioned right at the very end. Hopefully we'll also hear more about the enigmatic Pa Salt and quite why he was searching for the seventh sister, so there must be a reason each 'sister' was adopted... so many questions I need answering!! But..... then the series will have ended (I presume), so equally I don't want to read it either!

Highly recommended part six of the Seven Sisters saga - this sister is the challenging baby of the family, Electra. She is stunningly beautiful, a celebrity model with an addictive life-style who is forced to change for the better. Interspersed with this is the story of Cecily, a wealthy white American who finds herself in Kenya before and during WW2 - what is the connection?
This is a book to lose oneself in - there are references, scenes with her sisters, and other members of her adopted family. It is a worthy sequel to the rest of the series. And I look forward to the seventh!!

I am so lucky to get an ARC of this book. Book 6 of the 7 sisters series. As soon as I received the copy, I jumped straight into it. I was so excited to read the next instalment.

It's been a great series so far and this one doesn't disappoint. This book is based in stunning Kenya and hectic New York. Two totally different cultures, each beautifully described making you feel you are there too. Once again I got attached to the main characters and didn't want the plot to end.

I enjoy the little mentions of the other sisters and what's happened to them beforehand that links them all together. They all have such strong bonds together and it comes across beautifully.

Another topical theme in this plot, addiction and racism. The pressures and struggles in life make people turn to whatever helps them cope and although some characters are negative results, there is a positive result which goes on to help others cope and get support that they need.

Once again, Lucinda makes sure that she researches every angle, description, emotion and situation, even history is checked to mention some real life events.

But now the wait is on for the 7th and final book about the missing sister. Even as this book is about to be released into the wild, Lucinda is out there doing her research to find that missing sister. Merope.

Until next time....