Book review: The Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley (#1 Maia's story)

 

Their future is written in the stars . . .

Maia D'Apliése 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 cafés of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.

In this 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.

My opinion.

Where to even begin. WOW. What a jewel.

Not rereading the blurb before I started reading, this story took me completely by surprise. I let Lucinda Riley and her wonderful characters take me on this breathtaking journey. After only a few pages I found myself completely immersed in these story lines and characters and I felt almost heartbroken when there were finally no more pages left for me to read. 

I don't want to give away too much about the story - 'cause really, I can only recommend just diving in before (re)reading the blurb - but I can honestly say that the character's (family) history is incredibly interesting, surprising and oh so romantic. Even though the main characters are so far apart from what I know or who I am, I felt an instant connection. It's clear that Lucinda cares a lot about her characters and that care and love really translates into her stories. I couldn't be happier to know that the sisters' stories will continue in a 7(!) book series! Not only am I dying to know what each sister's story is, I'm so excited to - hopefully - find out more about their almost magical upbringing. I can't wait to travel the world (through time) in the next 6 installments.

The Seven Sisters really has anything. Family, sacrifice, love,... I feel overwhelmed, to be honest. And I know for sure that these characters and their amazing stories will stay with me for a long time.

The Seven Sisters is a magical book, and Lucinda Riley a truly gifted writer and storyteller. I cannot recommend this enough, but I must add that the risk of getting a book hangover is very real. ;-)

 

[And I couldn't be happier I have this brilliant book in an absolutely gorgeous hardback edition,

with BLACK edges!!]