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 second novel in the Seven Sisters series “The Storm Sister” in hardback edition from my local library. 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 first installment of the series:
I mirrored the sentiments of Maia – of feeling especially blessed for not having the gift of foresight to know the events of our lives ahead of their arrival. In this particular case, she’s referring to the news of her father’s passing – reflectively, as I’ve loved, lost and buried most of my living family – I can understand her sentiments. Each time I had to ‘let go’ of someone quite dear to me, if I had knowing about when their lives were to end this chapter of their lives, I am unsure if it would have helped the healing process or made each day leading up until ‘the day’ that much worse – knowing ahead of time how absent the hours would feel after they had moved into the next life. We’re dearly attached to those in our immediate orbit – we feel deeply and like to encourage memories out of the hours we share together – despite the epic loss, the memories remain, but the absence of their presence is never fully resolved as we still find reasons why we miss them even decades lateron.
So very acutely accurate – when crises arise in our lives, there is a vacuum effect on our persons; we feel as if we’ve become sequestered outside our ‘ordinary life’ but rather than having a marked change in our appearance or any outward suggestion of a radically altered moment threading into our hours – everything appears as normal as it had before we realised how altered we felt. Grief and trauma run concurrently similar in how you approach them – if your someone who likes to tackle life’s unpredictably curious curve balls head-on, you muddle through at first, a bit loss for how to process it all and then, eventually, you make sense of it – before you accept whatever it is which has happened and continue to find the strength to move forward.
My heart felt full upon finishing this story,.. so much so, I worried I wouldn’t be able to properly articulate exactly why I loved reading it! Smiles. It isn’t just the breadth of what Ms Riley wrote into the background of the seven sisters nor the lush landscapes of Rio, Paris and Geneva – it is the soulfulness of her intuitive murmurings of the human heart and the spirit of the soul – to first find resonance out of grief, freedom from fear and the mirth of joy after years of self-doubting uncertainty. This is a story which seeks to find the truth about the choices we all make and the ways in which our minds have trouble realising the greatest gift we have to give ourselves is forgiveness.
-quoted from my review of The Seven Sisters
Notation on Cover Art: I have been wicked fascinated by the Northern Lights for most of my life; there is something about the colours within the phenom of the lights themselves and the ways in which they dance across the night’s sky which I think gives us the most joy to watch their displays of glory. There are some places on this world which feel wholly unique of their own making – where you can literally feel and sense the division of Heaven and Earth; of seeing the curvature of the Earth itself and observe a quiet awareness of how ancient the stars truly are by standing beneath a sky which reveals more of itself with each passing Season. I truly was captured by this artwork of how Ally seemed to be at peace with herself; perhaps for the first time?
The Storm Sister
by Lucinda Riley
Source: Borrowed from local library
Synopsis on the Inside Flap:
Talented sailor Ally D' Apliese is in the midst of preparations for one of the world's most challenging yacht races when she receives news of her beloved father's death. Saying goodbye to the love of her life, a man her family knows nothing about, she rushes back to her childhood home, an enchanting chateau on the shores of Lake Geneva where she and her five sisters - each adopted as infants - were raised.
When new tragedy strikes on the high seas, pummeling Ally yet again with a terrible and unexpected loss, she turns her back on the water and instead follows her own North Star - an intriguing clue left by her father that leads her to Norway, with the promise of unmasking her origins. Surrounded by the majestic beauty of an unfamiliar homeland, Ally discovers the century-old story of a remarkable young woman named Anna Landvik, a talented singer with an astonishing link to compose Edvard Grieg and his celebrated musical accompaniment to Henrik Ibsen's iconic play Peer Gynt. But as All learns more about Anna, she also begins to question who her father, Pa Salt, really was - and why her seventh sister remains missing.
Lucinda Riley's captivating story brings together two resilient women, decades apart, weaving their stories into an unforgettable examination of family, love, and identity.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9781476759920
Also by this author: The Seven Sisters, The Shadow Sister, The Pearl Sister, The Moon Sister
Also in this series: The Seven Sisters, The Shadow Sister, The Pearl Sister, The Moon Sister
Published by Atria Books
on 22nd March, 2015
Format: Hardcover Edition
Pages: 501
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)
The Shadow Sister : Star’s Story (Book Three) | Synopsis
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
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
The Seven Sisters
The Darkest Summer
Becoming Mrs Smith
Last Christmas in Paris
