My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Remember, even if we can’t see them, those we love are always with us”
----Lucinda Riley
Lucinda Riley, an Irish international best-selling author, have spun a terrific and absolutely stunning saga of six sisters in an all new series of The Seven Sisters. The Seven Sisters is the first book and the story of first/eldest sister, Maia. This is her journey to search for her roots after her adoptive father's death.
Synopsis:
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.
Although the story is a fictional account of a woman who's roots leads her to the high road of Rio de Janeiro where the story again takes us eighty years back in time when the French sculptor Paul Landowski and the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa were working on Christ the Redeemer's statue. Some characters in the book are drawn straight from the pages of our world history, but the stories going in and around their lives were all fictional!
Maia D'Apliése is the eldest of the six sisters and they all have been adopted by a wealthy billionaire, whom they used to call as 'Pa Salt'. They grew up in their adoptive father's palatial home by the shores of Lake Geneva. But Pa Salt is dead now and acting upon his dying wish to trade back to their own roots, Maia embarks on a Brazilian journey, where she not only discovers love, but also learns about one of the greatest legend of Brazil. Read this book to find out the rest of the story!
In one words, I'd describe this book as a truly enchanting masterpiece that to only takes us back in time but also takes us those exotic lands - the experience of which we can almost feel on our skin. Sadly, at the end of the book, I forgot this was a fictional story, and I'm still in belief with the story of Izabel and Christ the Redeemer's statue, since the author made her story so very convincing enough to fall for the trap.
The writing is completely fabulous that will spell-bind you with it's fairytale essence. Yes, this story is nothing short of a fairytale- a castle, a damsel in distress, flies away to find her roots, falls in love, finds a beautiful back-story that is connected with the history of Brazil. The author have unfolded the stories of Maia and Izabel strikingly and consecutively, with Izabel's story breaking at such vital points that will burn you out with anticipation. The prose is eloquent and evocative enough to keep you turning the pages of the book till it's very end. Moreover, the articulate conversation between the characters keeps you glued to it. The emotional pull in this book is quite strong, and since the story unfolds from Maia's POV, who happens to be an deeply emotional human being. And reading about which will simply make you feel as if the author have poured all her emotions into her words.
This story has many layers and each intricately layered is written with enough compassion and depth. Moreover, there is also enough space that the author have left with her story for us to judge us from our perspective. The characters are well-crafted and exceptionally brilliant. From the first chapter of the book, the author gives us a character sketch of all the six sisters along with their nurse and their father to understand about their behavior briefly. And in Izabel's story, we can feel each and every character, like from the moment Izabel described her would-be husband, Gustavo in her words, I could almost imagine how he would behave in front of Izabel.
While reading the book, I could feel the tropical heat of Brazil and that faint smell of the sea on my tongue. Not only Brazil, there's also Paris- and Paris happens to be the place where Izabel first fell in love and so you can imagine, the author turned the narrow lanes and elegant cafes of Paris into a romantic one and the Paris part completely transfixed my mind and soul with it's flawless beauty.
Verdict: So what are you waiting for? Take a trip down to the tropical paradise- Brazil and the romantic city- Paris with Lucinda Riley's new book that unfolds the journey of a woman searching for her roots.
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publicist, for giving me an opportunity to read and review her book.
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Author Info:
Wow, this sounds like a brilliant and detailed read! I don't think I have read many books by Irish authors so it would be unique in that aspect. I also like the idea of detailed and enchanting characters and captivating stories. I will definitely be looking into this one more!
ReplyDeleteYeah, moreover, the story is set across Paris, Brazil and Switzerland, so you can imagine that it's not only an enchanting book, but also an exotic book! :-) And thanks Olivia!
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