Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This series just keeps getting better and better with each book. This was a compelling read from start to finish. Both the present and past story lines were interesting, even though the one in the past started out a little slowly. Lucinda Riley obviously spends a great deal of time doing research for each of her books and it always makes for an amazing read.
CeCe's search for her family leads her to the story of Kitty and how she came to Australia. What follows is the story of two women finding their true purpose and home.
A fascinating read and I'm ready for the next book in the series.

While I was obsessed with this series in the beginning, it feels like it's really run its course. I think I just don't find each sister's story as compelling as some of the others. It's a very up and down series to me, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to see it through to the end.

The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley is a unique dual timeline saga, rich with history and setting as well as emotion. This fourth book follows CeCe not only to discover her roots, as three of her sisters have done before her, but also to discover herself – and the journey is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Riley has a distinct gift for setting, and as such the locales along CeCe’s travels come alive under her masterful pen. From the beaches of Thailand to the Australian outback to a London flat, the landscapes are vividly drawn and lushly atmospheric. The dual timeline aspect is seamlessly integrated with the story and keeps readers riveted to the page, waiting to see how it all connects. The underlying mystery surrounding the sisters’ adoptive father (and the circumstances behind their adoptions) continues to swirl intriguingly through the series, The Pearl Sister adding more questions to the ever-growing pile.

(first appeared on RT Book Reviews February 2018)

The Pearl Sister is thought provoking book about a misunderstood woman, just trying to find her way in the world. Even though this book is a complete standalone, there are other books featuring the other sisters. After having read this beautiful story about Cece and her journey, I had no other choice but to buy the other books before this one.

From the very beginning, I didn’t know what to expect. Cece has a very strong co-dependency on her sister Star. It bordered on obsessive if I’m being honest. In light of Star growing up and finding her own way, Cece goes to Thailand, where she meets a mysterious man that has secrets. But who doesn’t, right?

When Pa-Salt left Cece a letter explaining that she will find where she came from in Australia, she’s more than a little reluctant to make it there. Then there is Kitty McBride, a woman from a hundred years earlier. And that’s where I think the author completely hooked me. I’ll admit the beginning was a little too slow for my tastes,

I love how the author was able to take me to a different place. I live and have always lived in the United States, and I’ve never traveled outside. But through this novel, I feel like I have. Through the other books, I know that I’ll be going to other exotic and beautiful places as well.

Overall, I had a fantastic reading experience with Cece. Now onto to the first three books in the series to read.

This is book four in the Seven Sisters series. .i do recommend the entire series however this can be read as a stand alone.
In this next in series the reader is taken on a sweeping journey around the globe to discover Thailand and Australia . This is the story of Ce Ce who is the center of this book. This is her story both romantic and dramatic to find the truth of the Seven Sisters. The descriptions of the travel as always are wonderful, the story fascinating and the characters are unique and well designed to the story. A wonderful next installment to the series.
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review.

This book, while the fourth in a series, works well as a standalone, which is good because I didn't realize it was the fourth in a series. This tells the story of a young girl, one of six sisters, who is adopted by a wealthy man. It was an entertaining read.

Another great book from Lucinda Riley! I love this series. I can't wait to see what happens next. I highly recommend this series.

Another entry in this wonderful series! This is CeCe's story, which takes her to Australia to search for her biological family. We learn about the pearling industry in the 1900s, along with Aboriginal art and a bit of culture. I thought the author did a great job in dealing with the indigenous cultures--she didn't lump all into one group, letting us learn about different groups.

In the beginning of the book, CeCe travels to Thailand, where she has a bit of an adventure that doesn't really seem tied to the rest of the book. Perhaps Ace will be making an entrance in another book?

Big thanks to my friends at Atria Books (I appreciate you, S!) for inviting me to participate in this blog tour and providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.

The Pearl Sister follows Celaeno (CeCe), one of 6 sisters adopted and raised by a enigmatic billionaire. Named for one of the stars in the Seven Sisters constellation, CeCe begins a journey of self-discovery after her adoptive father passes away and leaves her clues to help her discover her biological family. The point of view passes between CeCe, as she traces her history, and Kitty, a young woman 100 years before on a similar coming of age journey.

Although I was certainly intrigued by CeCe, I enjoyed Kitty’s storyline the most. I loved her vivacity and her heart. And since historical fiction is MY JAM, I think I just naturally gravitated toward the historical fiction pieces.

The story was interesting, but I found the style a little distracting at times – the writing could have been a bit tighter – the plot ambled off at times, and the dialogue felt slightly stilted, keeping me from being immersed totally in the story. However, the atmosphere was amazing! I loved learning more about the Aboriginal people and culture – the last quarter of the book where those topics were explored was my favorite! I’d love to delve into that piece of the plot more. The Pear Sister was ultimately a solidly charming, atmospheric read – best enjoyed by fans of multigenerational family sagas, love stories, and light historical fiction. Thanks again, Atria Books, for sending this along to me in exchange for my honest review!

I was invited to read and review this title, and I thank Net Galley and Atria for thinking of me. Sadly, though I tried more than once, I just couldn't engage with the story. I couldn't put my finger on it; whereas the character development could do with a little boost, generally a title from an historical series can inspire at minimum a 3 or 4 star review from me. What is it that stands in the way now?

Had I not been distracted by a major household disaster, I would have realized it sooner. The premise itself is a disturbing one to me. The sisters are all adopted children that were sought out by a now-deceased, very wealthy man, who wanted a child for each continent. No, wait. A daughter from each continent.

How do children become tchotchkes? What gives any adult a right to treat orphans like collector's items?

Props to Riley for her resonant settings and for developing a dedicated readership. The fact that the series has developed such high reviews tells me that there are a great many people that genuinely admire this series and look forward to the next before it's available. But try though I might, I don't see it that way, and I cannot provide a review based on what other readers think.

For those that are already among Riley's readers, here it is, another one. But for me? Not so much.

Love Lucinda Riley's stories....and sisters. This one does not disappoint. Five Stars.

I really wanted to love this book, like I do every time I pick up one. But there are times when a book just doesn't connect with the reader and this was one of those times.

This is my first Riley book and even though this is the fourth in a series, it works well as a standalone.

The book has two timelines: the present day with Cece and the past with Kitty. I really liked Cece and loved seeing how she grew and found herself while learning about her past. I wasn’t huge fan of the Thailand chapters, but it was great to learn more about aboriginals in Australia.
Kitty leaves Scotland in 1906 and moves to Australia which is a whole new world. Her life there is full of twist, and sorrow but fascinating none the less.

This was my first Riley book, but it certainly won’t be the last. I need to go back and read the previous books soon.

The Pearl Sister is book 4 in the Seven Sisters Series. While each story is unique and centers around one of the six sisters and can definitely be read as a standalone I feel that by the time the final book is out each of the sisters story should be read. What I love about this series is that there are not huge multi year gaps between each book but rather just a year or less which keeps the story fresh in my mind and the added excitement of the next installment.

This isn’t a small book coming in at just over 500 pages, it might sound daunting but it was a pleasure to read. CeCe is one of the sisters I have been very intrigued with, her dominating spirit over sister Star has me wondering how and why she became that way. Though those questions weren’t thoroughly answered in this book her realization came to light.

The Pearl Sister takes place in Australia mostly, the great outback. There we travel back in time to a young woman named Kitty, originally from England. In this book I found both the past and current stories interesting (usually I always have one preference over the other). I loved Kitty, I loved her determination, her compassion and watching her change after life throws obstacles in her way, she didn’t give up. The aboriginal people played a big part here, their treatment and lifestyle opened my eyes to what they went through. That’s one of things I love about this series is that the author takes us to different places around the globe where I can learn and visualize so much.

As CeCe searches and uncovers her family history she discovers more about herself than she anticipated.

The Pearl Sister is a well written family drama filled with love and loss, determination, culture and loyalty. It is a look at the pearl industry as well as highlighting real historical events. Lucinda Riley has taken on a big task with this big seven book series and I anxiously await the next installment (The Moon Sister releasing sometime in 2018).

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an advanced copies of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After having a falling out with her sister, Star, CeCe decides to go to Australia to learn about her heritage. Because she is afraid of the poisonous spiders and snakes that Australia is known to have, CeCe postpones her plans in Australia and makes a trip to Thailand instead. There she meets a mysterious man named Ace. CeCe finally gains the courage to travel to Australia and learns the story of a 20th century business woman named Kitty McBride. She also learns about the aboriginal culture and awakens in her passion for art.

It took me a long time to like Kitty. I found her to be an annoying and hypocritical character. She disapproves of her father’s womanizing ways, yet she follows in her father’s footsteps by committing adultery with her husband’s twin brother. Therefore, I thought that she was a very flighty and superficial individual. However, I started to admire her when she becomes an entrepreneur. She had the courage, guts, and wits to manage her own business and earn the respect of her male employees. Kitty McBride reminded me of Scarlet O’Hara. I loved her strength and determination. She was a woman who was married to her career, and I wanted to know her ending.

In The Shadow Sister, CeCe was very overbearing and demanding. I did not like her in the novel, and I was a bit concerned if I would love her as much as I loved the other sisters. To my surprise and delight, CeCe became very dear to me as I understood her character more. She is a vulnerable character. She does not have much self-confidence and relies mostly on Star. CeCe is on a journey to find out who she is. Thus, while CeCe was very immature in The Shadow Sister, I loved watching her mature and become her own person in The Pearl Sister.

Overall, this book is about family, friendship, and resilience. It is also about a woman’s quest for self-identity. The characters are very complex and realistic. The Pearl Sister was a perfect getaway book to read in the winter! It had the exotic settings of the beaches of Thailand and Australia that made me wish I was actually there! The Pearl Sister is lyrical, evocative, and magical! I also thought that it was unique that the book centered around the aboriginal culture and their art. It is rare to read a book about the aborigines, and I loved learning about their art techniques and mythologies. It is a great book to start out the new year! The only thing that I did not like about it was that I thought some of the side plots were a bit unnecessary. Still, The Pearl Sister is a gem of a novel that will absolutely take your breath away! I can’t wait to read the next book about the fifth sister, Tiggy, in The Moon Sister! The Seven Sisters is a stunning series that you do not want to miss!

The fourth in a series and as I have said a few times before, I would start at book one so you get the development of the sisters and this family.

This story centers on CeCe the fourth daughter of Pa Salt and before he recently passed away he left clues for each of his daughters to find where they came from and learn about their heritage. CeCe's takes her back to Australia and it was fun for me to read this book as I have visited Australia and I loved the country.

Again the author nails the transition from CeCe's story to the story of the past. I loved how she worked in her dyslexia and it just felt seamless! The way she flowed from CeCe's story to Kitty's was just spot on and it made me love dual narratives even more.

I loved reading CeCe right after Star to see how different they were even though they were raised in the exact same home. You could tell that there was such a difference in their personality and their drive to know where they came from.

I almost wish there were more than seven sisters because I would love to read a book or two from this series every year!

The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley is the fourth book in Riley's Seven Sisters series. I haven't read the first three novels, but I am aware of the premise of the series. These books are about seven adopted sisters whose novels reveal the truth of their genetic origins.


I recently reviewed Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate . It dealt with adoptions that were a crime against children which is not at all the same focus as Riley's. It's important for me to say at this point that I believe that genuine parents are those who care about the children involved. Based on the portrayal of parenting in this book, it seemed to me that Lucinda Riley agrees with me. I am happy to say that the Seven Sisters series isn't about proving whether birth parents or adoptive parents are more legitimate. It's apparently about the journey of the individual sisters, and how each of them are impacted by it.


I was selected by the publisher for the blog tour of The Pearl Sister. An ARC was provided to me via Net Galley in return for this honest review.





There were two elements in the description that interested me. The first is that CeCe, the protagonist, is an artist. I love reading about artists. Last year I reviewed a novel that contained a female character who lived in impressionist Claude Monet's village, and aspired to be a great artist like Monet. It was called Black Water Lilies and I reviewed it here. The other theme in The Pearl Sister which I find fascinating is Australian aborigine history and culture.


I have to say that the opening section of this novel which took place in Thailand didn't impress me. CeCe seemed to be drifting, and I didn't consider her an example of a strong woman protagonist at that point. The past to which she wanted to connect was in Australia, not Thailand. I just wanted her to get on with it. Other readers may be interested in CeCe's relationship with a male character known to her as Ace. I could have done without it. I thought it was an irrelevancy.


We are introduced to the Australian background by means of Kitty, an early 20th century British immigrant to Australia. I considered her an ambivalent character. She was appealing to me when she made unconventional choices, but became increasingly unsympathetic over time. Some readers may see her role in business as feminist, but I didn't consider this a positive development in her life because she wasn't fulfilling her own ambitions. I didn't admire the fact that she was making herself unhappy.


It was at this point that the sections devoted to CeCe's life showed her in a more active phase in which she reclaimed her sense of self, and renewed her own aspirations with the help of Australian aborigine sources of support. CeCe came into her own as a protagonist at the same time that Kitty receded for me. It became very much CeCe's story, and I was pleased with the arc of her development as a character.


The final section transitions to the next book in the series which will apparently be focused on Tig who feels strongly connected to animals and is a passionate advocate for their rights. Since this is a focus that is of great importance to me, I look forward to the fifth Seven Sisters novel.

Poignant, enthralling, and exceptionally moving!

The Pearl Sister, the fourth instalment in the The Seven Sisters series, is predominantly set in the dusty Australian heat during both the early 1900s and twenty-first century as it delves into the life, ancestors, and heritage of CeCe, the struggling, awkward artist who seems adrift and in desperate need of some inspiration, companionship, and contentment.

The prose is expressive, eloquent, and heartfelt. The characters are complex, genuine, and endearing. And the plot is a compelling, heartwarming saga filled with familial drama, introspection, love, loss, grief, determination, passion, and loyalty, as well as an in-depth look at the culture, history, and politics of Australia, including the effects and influence of both the aboriginal people and the pearling industry.

The Pearl Sister is hands down another mesmerizing, superbly written time-slip novel by Riley that continues to highlight her incredible talent and imagination as a masterful researcher and storyteller.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: Without a doubt, this series is going down as one of my favorites! This is the latest installment, book 4, in Lucinda Riley's The Seven Sisters series and with each subsequent book, I fall more in love not only with the D'Apliese family, but also with Lucinda's writing. It is magical and just pulls you into the story so that you don't want to put the book, or audio, down until you have reached the last page. I keep saying with each new book that it's my favorite, but really - they all have been so good that I don't know if I can just single out one over the overs.

I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about reading a whole book devoted to Cece - she hasn't been the most likeable of the sisters in the previous books - and so I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy this one. Well, I needn't have worried. Lucinda Riley does such a great job of writing Cece's character here -we see her come into herself as an individual person, instead of always relying on Star. Yes, she is a bit out of sorts in the beginning, but we do see some incredible strength of character and personal growth in her throughout this book. Her story is one of hope, yet also filled with a bit of sadness, but it all works to create an engaging and addicting read.

I love the dual narration in these books. So far, I have found myself equally drawn to both time lines. That doesn't always happen, as usually one is stronger or more engaging than the other. Not in the case of Lucinda's writing - she makes both equally captivating. I love that as the girls are learning about their past, we get such a rich story out of it, and in this case in particular, quite a history lesson.

We are now just past the halfway point in this series and there are still so many unanswered questions. I like that there is this big mystery surrounding Pa Salt. Who was he and why did he adopt all these girls? And, who is the seventh sister? I keep hoping we will get answers in each book, yet I find that not only do we not, but the mystery itself seems to get bigger and bigger. I love this - it makes me want to read the series even more and possibly at some point in the future, reread it to see if there were clues along the way! But for now, I am just savoring each book - and loving the attention to detail and being able to explore and learn about different parts of the world.

I have been a huge fan of Lucina Riley’s novels for quite some time, although I think I missed one back in 2016, THE SHADOW SISTER, which makes me sad because I love her books. I simply must go back and read that one before the year is out and the next book comes out!

That said, I don’t feel like I missed a whole lot by skipping around within the series. Every story is unique and independent of the series as a whole, but that said they are all connected by central characters and other plot points, but again it’s not necessary to read them in order but it does help!

When this one came up I was so excited, though disappointed that I missed one in the series, I was still super excited to jump back into the story of the seven sisters and find out what romance lay ahead.



CeCe D’Aplièse has never felt she fitted in anywhere. Following the death of her father, the elusive billionaire Pa Salt – so-called by the six daughters he adopted from around the globe and named after the Seven Sisters star cluster – she finds herself at breaking point. Dropping out of art college, CeCe watches as Star, her beloved sister, distances herself to follow her new love, leaving her completely alone.

In desperation, she decides to flee England and discover her past; the only clues she has are a black-and-white photograph and the name of a woman pioneer who lived in Australia over one hundred years ago. En-route to Sydney, CeCe heads to the one place she has ever felt close to being herself: the stunning beaches of Krabi, Thailand. There amongst the backpackers, she meets the mysterious Ace, a man as lonely as she is and whom she subsequently realises has a secret to hide . . .

A hundred years earlier, Kitty McBride, daughter of an Edinburgh clergyman, is given the opportunity to travel to Australia as the companion of the wealthy Mrs McCrombie. In Adelaide, her fate becomes entwined with Mrs McCrombie’s family, including the identical, yet very different, twin brothers: impetuous Drummond, and ambitious Andrew, the heir to a pearling fortune.

When CeCe finally reaches the searing heat and dusty plains of the Red Centre of Australia, she begins the search for her past. As something deep within her responds to the energy of the area and the ancient culture of the Aboriginal people, her creativity reawakens once more. With help from those she meets on her journey, CeCe begins to believe that this wild, vast continent could offer her something she never thought possible: a sense of belonging, and a home (summary from Goodreads).

In previous books, I have only really thought of CeCe as being a bit of a brat so I was excited to read her story and let Riley sway me in favor or yet another sister and I was not disappointed. I loved reading about CeCe. She kind of has this brooding silent thing going on which I love about her character. I totally connected with her in an entirely different way than the other sisters.

I absolutely loved getting to know her and seeing her grow and come alive within the story. I also loved navigating Kitty’s story. Riley’s books have kind of a duo story line with a foot in the past and a foot in the present which I love. Sometimes one plot tends to outshine the other but not with Riley’s novels. Both plots are well thought out and interesting.

What I think sets Riley’s novels aside from other historical fiction books is they aren’t just about historical fiction. Nor are they ‘just romance novels’. They have a little bit of everything…..some chick lit, some romance, some historical fiction, and some contemporary literature. It’s a mixed bag but all done with surprising ease.

But can I just say one thing that drives me crazy in the books…..one tiny little thing that while small is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I absolutely hate the name ‘Pa Salt’. I can’t even begin to tell you how much that name bothers me. Anything with ‘Pa’ in it just grates on my nerves. But aside from that little personal, stylistic problem….I love her novels so much, I can’t say enough great things.

If you haven’t discovered Riley’s books stop and pick one up. You don’t have to read The Seven Sisters in order, they all work great as stand alone books!

Challenge/Book Summary:

Book: The Pearl Sister (The Seven Sisters #4) by Lucinda Riley

Kindle Edition, 702 pages
Published November 2nd 2017 by Macmillan
ASIN B06X427BQM
Review copy provided by: Author/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 4.5 out of 5

Genre: Historic fiction, romance

Memorable lines/quotes: NA