Borrowed Book By: I’ve known about the Seven Sisters book series for quite awhile now, however, I haven’t had the proper chance to dig into the series – therefore, when I was approached by the publisher to considering being on the blog tour this February, I decided it was time to borrow the books via my local library! Although, as a member of the blog tour I was receiving the fourth release “The Pearl Sister” for my honest ruminations, I decided to back-read the entire series ahead of soaking into the newest installment – my personal preference is to read serial fiction in order of sequence; even if sometimes I find myself bungling the order, I love to see how the writer has set the stage for a series which becomes progressively engaging! To start at the beginning is the best way to see how they laid down the foundation for both the series, their writing style and how the characters first make their entrances into our lives.

I borrowed the third novel in the Seven Sisters series “The Shadow Sister” in hardback edition from my local library via inter-library loan through the consortium of libraries within my state. I was not obligated to post a review as I am doing so for my own edification as a reader who loves to share her readerly life. I was not compensated for my thoughts shared herein.

On how I felt after I read the second installment of the series:

As Star starts to reveal a bit of herself away from CeCe, we see an inverted woman who is introspectively private about herself – even around Ally, she holds back from sharing too much of what is currently on her mind. You feel for Star, truly, because for whichever reason she has chosen to keep mute about things which her sisters’ wish she would be more open about sharing with them. They would like to help her if she would only allow them into her world – I know her story is going to be one of the more interesting ones to read – to see what hides behind the silence but for now, I, chose to take Star at ‘hallo’ just like her sisters Maia and Ally. After all, sometimes you have to wait for people to disclose what they want to say in their own timing of disclosure. I do love seeing how the ‘next’ sister in line of the sequences to be read makes her own ‘entrance’ of sorts within the current time-line.

As Ally intuits more of the back-history of Anna’s life, she starts to realise a part of her own spirit was put on ‘hold’ over the years – the pursuit of her own musical interests, as she shares a passion for the flute just like Jens before her except she opted to take to the open sea instead. There was a reflection by Pa Salt which made quite a bit of sense when he was talking about how to encourage our children and how it is a fine line which route we give a loving nudge for them to take-on as their main thread of interest – especially if the child in question has multiple interests or passions. Ally, up until this point in her life hadn’t really taken a critical look at her personal life – of seeing if the choices she had made in her career of sailing was truly sustaining her happiness or if the absence of a relationship was giving her second thoughts. By the time she had met Theo, it felt like any missing piece of her life was finally found; which of course, made the course she was on to walk that much more despairing to read.

My heart surely was rejoicing watching all the pieces of Ally’s past knit back together in the present; she had a lovely tapestry of ancestral history co-merging into her living reality. The layers in which her past had influenced her present is quite interesting to see intersect, but personally, I loved how the secondary characters of Celia and Thom had such an impactful presence on her current life. Of course, having grown used to the process now well-established in the series, I knew I had to shift my own heart to focus on Star; as she was revealling a portion of what she needed to impart to us about herself in the ending chapter of The Storm Sister. As she did this, I mused to myself some of the clues I was picking up from past chapters were re-alighting to mind – of what Star hadn’t said or wasn’t willing to disclose might now have their day to shine a light on how the one sister no one felt they knew for sure was the one sister who intrigued me the most to become acquainted with next!

-quoted from my review of The Storm Sister

The Shadow Sister
by Lucinda Riley
Source: Borrowed from local library (ILL)

Synopsis on the Inside Flap:

Star D' Apliese is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father - the elusive billionaire affectionately called Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted across the four corners of the world. He has left each of them a clue to her true heritage, and Star's leads her to an antiquarian bookshop in London, and the start of a new journey.

A hundred years earlier, headstrong and independent Flora MacNichol vows she will never marry. She is happy and secure in her home in England's picturesque Lake District - just a stone's throw from the residence of her childhood idol, Beatrix Potter. But when circumstances carry her into the home of one of Edwardian London's most notorious society hostesses, Alice Keppel, she finds herself a pawn in a larger game, forced to choose between passionate love and duty to her family. That is, until a meeting with a mysterious gentleman unveils the answers that Flora has been searching for...

Star's voyage of discovery takes her deep into Flora's remarkable story, and into her own past. But the more she uncovers, the ore Star begins to question herself and her place in the world. What is her purpose? Where is her home? And will she finally step out of the shadows of her sisters and open herself up to the possibility of love?

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to Riffle

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1-4767-5994-4

Also by this author: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Pearl Sister

Also in this series: The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Pearl Sister

Genres: Adoption & Foster Care, Biographical Fiction, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Epistolary | Letters & Correspondences, Genre-bender, Historical Fiction, Time Slip and/or Time Shift, Women's Fiction

Published by Atria Books

on 18th April, 2017

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 512

 Published By: Atria (@AtriaBooks)
{imprint of} Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster) 

I *love!* finding videos by authors who love to engage with readers about the inspiration behind their stories – this truly is a wonderful way to find yourself immersed even further into the settings as by catching small glimpses of the characters your reading about – you start to re-align what you’ve read with what they are seeing with their own eyes whilst feeling thankful the author took a very immersive path into the heart of this book series!

The Seven Sisters Series: of whom are Maia, Ally (Alcyone), Star (Asterope), CeCe (Celeano), Tiggy (Taygete), Electra and Merope – the series is based on the mythology of the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades – interestingly enough, this is a constellation in close proximity to Orion*.

The Seven Sisters : Maia’s Story (Book One) | (see also Review)

The Storm Sister : Ally’s Story (Book Two) | (see also Review)

The Shadow Sister : Star’s Story (Book Three)

The Pearl Sister : CeCe’s Story (Book Four) | Synopsis *forthcoming review 1st of February, 2018!

Available Formats: Hardcover, Audiobook, Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #SevenSistersSeries

#whoispasalt ← I advise not visiting the second tag on Twitter as it tends to reveal a few things ahead of reading the stories themselves.

About Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley is the #1 internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including Hothouse Flower and The Seven Sisters. Her books have sold more than ten million copies in over 30 languages. Lucinda divides her time between West Cork, Ireland, and Norfolk, England with her husband and four children.

Photo Credit: Boris Breuer

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2018 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge