Audiobook Review – The Seven Sisters #1

Title: The Seven Sisters #1

Author: Lucinda Riley/ Narrated by Tuppence Middleton

Genre: Historical Fiction

Goodreads Rating: 4.16

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Source: Audiobook (Borrow Box)

Synopsis:

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, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings.

Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous 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.

In this sweeping, epic tale of love and loss—the first in a unique, spellbinding series of seven novels—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talent like never before. 

My Review:

I first read this book when it originally came out in 2014. I then went on to read the next two in the series before I stopped and waited for the rest of the series to come out. I don’t know about you but when I have to wait a year between books I can easily forget what happened. As the last book came out last year I decided now was the time to revisit the series. Obviously I had to start at the beginning so when this one popped up on Borrow Box I couldn’t resist.

The story starts with the surprising death of Pa Salt, Maia’s beloved adoptive father. As the eldest of her siblings it falls on her to break the news to them all. Once all six sisters had gathered at there home in Geneva their father’s lawyer hands each of them an envelope, one final message from their father. He has decided to leave each of the sister’s a clue about where they were born and their true parentage.

I found the whole concept of the adoptive family fascinating and could not wait to see where Maia’s clue lead her. When she arrived at Brazil I was eager to discover the secrets surrounding her adoption. At this point in the story our storyteller becomes Izabela, Maia’s great grandmother. Set in the 1920’s Izabela is about to enter society and marry Gustavo but she yearns to travel and live before being handed over to be married. Luckily her future husband is more than happy to let his wife to be leave Brazil and travel to Paris with her friends family. From here we see Izabela spread her wings and learn all about art, culture and most importantly, falling in love.

To say Izabel’s story is one of heartbreak would be an understatement. She went through an awful lot at such a young age and faced many difficult decisions. I actually found that I warmed to Gustavo a lot, whilst he may not of been the love of Izabela’s life he tried to be the best person he could in the end.

As Maia discovered more about her past and why she was put up for adoption I found myself having even more questions, especially with the final chapter. Pa Salt was certainly a man of secrets and I am interested to see what else I learn about him in the rest of the books. Whilst this was a long audiobook (18 hours to be exact) I found myself addicted. I flew through it at lightning speed completely engrossed in Lucinda Riley’s storytelling; it was captivating, magical and beautifully written. I can not wait to start the next in the series and see where each of the sisters originated from as well as finding out about the final sister!

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