The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

The Seven Sisters (Seven Sisters, #1)

by Lucinda Riley

Their future is written in the stars . . .

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, the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt, has died. Maia and her sisters were all adopted by him as babies and, discovering he has already been buried at sea, 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. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of where her story began . . .

Eighty years earlier, in the Belle Epoque of Rio, 1927, Izabela Bonifacio's father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is working on a 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.

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.

Reviewed by Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews on

4 of 5 stars

Share
The Seven Sisters is the first book I have read by Lucinda Riley and this introduction entered with a bang. It immediately grabbed me and despite not knowing anything about astrology and certainly not the seven sisters, Riley drew me in with a lush story that included defined characters and a vivid backdrop of Rio de Janeiro. Therefore, it was not hard to be taken in.

The Seven Sisters is told in two parts, Maia, the eldest sister searches for her biological family retracing steps back several generations with the reader following a "Genealogy Roadshow". To be honest, Maia was a bit disappointing. As a character she had so much potential and just let it go to waste, and therefore, frustrated me.

I much preferred the second part of the novel featuring Maia's Great Grandmother Izabella during the 1920s. There was a liveliness and passion to Izabella's story that quite frankly reminded me of Titanic. Like Rose, Izabella was caught in conformity wishing to be free of the necktie around her, edging away from her Cal, Gustavo, who while not as attractive was just as smug and irksome, to Laurent, the Jack of the story of who she never fully lets go of. It was quite the threesome and with the culture of Rio de Janeiro and 1920s Pari,s not to mention the creation of the statue of Christ the Redeemer, it infinitely held my attention.

Overall, The Seven Sisters was a very good start to what could be an interesting series and look forward to reading of the other sister's journeys.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 June, 2015: Finished reading
  • 7 June, 2015: Reviewed