This is a book that kept me up late multiple nights and now has me exhausted. I’ve enjoyed each of the books in the Seven Sisters series, but I have to say that this has been one of my favorites.

Electra is the youngest of the sisters and hasn’t embarked on the journey of finding her biological roots. Instead she has buried her feelings and everything comes to a breaking point when she has to face not only her current issues but what in her life led her to the place she is now - including what shaped her before she even knew it.

There was SO MUCH TO LOVE in this story. So many major issues tackled: addiction, recovery, therapy, race and cultural issues... and handled well and respectfully. The Sun Sister spans multiple continents, places in time, and all the emotions. I laughed, cried, cheered, and just all out fell in love with Electra and her growth in this book.

SO WELL DONE.

I've read every book in Riley's Seven Sisters series, and this one did not disappoint! I'm glad Electra got her time with her own book, her story is well told here. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction.

This series just keeps getting better and better! The Sun Sister is Electra's story. We haven't heard much about Electra in the previous books--we just know she is a busy rich supermodel.
I had some reservations early on because Electra was hard to take. Quite frankly, she's a bitch in the beginning.
but Riley has a deft hand with characters, and we soon come to understand more about her.
The secondary story, that of her background is very interesting. From Manhatten to the plains of Africa, we follow Cecily's story, and that of Electra's newly discovered grandmother.
I've recommended this series to many of my library patrons, and they all have become enthralled in this story. I can't wait to find out the story of the mysterious seventh sister, and how Riley will tie this all up!
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and/or Edelweiss.

Lucinda Riley never disappoints, especially in this 6th book in the Seven Sisters series. The level of substance abuse, self loathing, flip relationships and more substance abuse was really addressed well.. Still a hard topic to tackle, as it is unpleasant, but so real in life and more so, I suppose, in the lives of well-known celebrity types. Riley handled it with both the harshness that it is and grace in it's challenging life-struggling redemption. While this was not my favorite story in the series, it holds strong merit for being a necessary read.

I’m not familiar with previous books in this series. And what attracted me to this story was the historical background of Africa as I haven’t read many books set there. Unfortunately, the modern day story involving Electra is not something I can relate with.

Electra is a successful model, who struggles with drug and alcohol addictions. She is certainly a strong character, but not a character I could connect with. I’m not a reader of modern day fiction. So that was my problem connecting with her. And it’s all due to personal preferences.

Even when the story goes back in time and reveals the story of Cecily, there is still a lot of vanity going on before getting to any historical background.

This story is simply not the right fit for me.

The Sun Sister is the sixth book in the acclaimed Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. It is important to read the first book called The Seven Sisters in order to understand the basic premise of the series. I have not read books two through five but was able to follow the sixth book easily.

Series Plotline:
As told in the first book, six infant girls from very diverse backgrounds are adopted by a mysterious billionaire, Mr. d’Aplièse. The girls are cared for by his assistant, Maurine. The sisters refer to them as Pa Salt and Ma. The girls are raised in a mansion known as Atlantis on an island on Lake Geneva. The readers aren’t told anything about Pa Salt’s background, but apparently there are some hints in each of the sister’s stories. Lucinda Riley makes it known that there is an underlying ‘hidden’ plot that runs through the books… or the allegorical Greek references and anagrams that form the backdrop to the series”.

Each of the sisters is named for one of “The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades” constellation. In Greek mythology, the Pleiads were the seven daughters of Atlas, a Titan who held up the sky, and the Oceanid, Pleione, protectress of sailing. The sisters were Maia, Electra, Alcyone, Taygete, Asterope, Celaeno, and Merope. Apparently Merope was “lost” and her star often cannot be seen. Pa Salt refuses to tell the girls what he does for a living or why they were chosen to be adopted. He tells them he has been looking for Merope for many years.

After his unexpected death and secret burial at sea, each girl is given hints as to their true ancestry. The first book continues with the story of Maia, the eldest daughter and also looks back to the story of her grandmother, who lives in Rio de Janeiro. The next five books tell the story of one of the other daughters combined with the historical fiction story of a female ancestor. The author has published the books in the order of each of the girls’ adoption by Pa Salt. The historical characters follow a chronological timeline going from the construction of the Christ The Redeemer Statute in the 1920s through post World War II in the 1940s.

Review of The Sun Sister
The Electra storyline deals with the modern-day issues of substance abuse, bullying, friendship, and the definition of strength. The Cecily story shows us the history of the Happy Valley in Kenya where the British had very loose morals. There is also an incident with a princess of the Maasai people that has a lasting impact on all the characters. Cecily’s story tells of the sacrifices made by strong women to overcome racial inequality. Both stories deal with friendship, familial love, trust, overcoming hardships, prejudice, trust and above all, hope.

I recommend this series to readers who like historical fiction about strong women characters. I am excited to read the subsequent books and hope to find out about the missing Merope as well as to understand the mystery of Pa Salt.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for my digital Advanced Reader Copy of The Sun Sister. The book is currently available in hardcover. It will be published for Kindle on May 19, 2020.

I have now read five (out of six) of Lucinda Riley’s Seven Sisters series (having chosen to skip Tiggy’s story). While I absolutely enjoy the historical fiction (“biographical fiction” as Riley calls it) portion, I find the present-day portion focusing on the actual sisters to be a bit “Hallmark movie”-ish and corny. Electra’s story was no different. Cecily and the Happy Valley Set in Kenya was great and I found myself skipping through Electra’s plot to get to the next part of Cecily’s story. I find myself feeling this way with each of Riley’s tales previous five tales. However, I’ve made it this far so I’m committed to finishing the series with the missing sister’s tale.

Such a great read! I’m a fan of WWII Historical Fiction, so that was my first draw to the book. The whole storyline is great with great, well-developed characters whom I felt like I knew!!! I couldn’t put it down!

I did not find this book as interesting as the other books in this series. I enjoyed the parts in Kenya but not so much as the present setting. I didn't enjoy the Electra character that much. That said, I am looking forward to the seventh sister book and whether Pa is still alive!!!