This was just not for me. I found the different sections (from the Irish portion to the present day and following different people using different voices) very confusing. Just couldn't follow it and I lost interest. I might try the Pa Salt book just to find out the big mystery finally.

I expected this to be the final book of the series but once I had finished the book I discovered that there will be another one to finish of this amazing saga!
I was extremely sad to hear the news that she had passed away. Such a lovely woman with an enormous talent for writing.
The whole Seven Sisters series has been just outstanding and then to find out she was sick writing this book as well as trying to write the final book in the series shows how dedicated to her craft.
A brilliant series, and a remarkable woman that will be sadly missed for her extraordinary talent for writing.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Without a doubt, this series is going down as one of my favorites! This latest book, The Missing Sister, is installment 7 in the series, and I find that with each subsequent book, I have fallen more in love with not only the D’Apliese family, but also with Lucinda’s writing. It is so magical and just pulls you into the story so that you just don’t want to put it down until you have reached the last page – and let me say with a book that comes in at 800 pages, that’s saying something when you don’t want to put it down! It’s amazing just how brilliant this series is and I can already tell it’s going to be one that I will be rereading in the future!

I loved that way this book was set up – first allowing us to catch up with the six sisters we have already met along the way, and getting a status update if you will on their relationships and then moving forward with the search for who this missing sister is. I loved that so many familiar, beloved characters were part of this story.

One of my favorite aspects of this series to date, and what remained such a strong part of this book as well, has been the cultural education I feel I get when reading these books. This time, I loved learning about the history of the Ireland back in the 1920s. I had recently read another book that dealt with the fighting in Ireland in the 1990s, so it was interesting to get an earlier account of the fighting that went on, back when Ireland first began advocating for their independence from the British. The use of the journal found in the present to bridge the gap to the past was such an excellent way to move the story back and forth in time. I’m always a fan of the dual narrative and I love the clever ways that this author has come up with to make her stories move back and forth with ease.

This book consumed me from the moment I opened it until I finished the last page. And that’s pretty much how it’s been with every book in this series. I cannot think of another series that I have found so all-consuming and engaging as this one. While we don’t get all the answers that we thought we would in this book – yes…this is not the final book (and I am not spoiling anything as Lucinda herself made this announcement back at the end of April), there is a slight possibility that it very well might be the last book as unfortunately our beloved Lucinda Riley passed away last week. To say I am devastated is an understatement. I have loved each and every book I have read by her and she will remain on of my favorite authors. Whether we get that final book, which I hope we do, or not, this series will always be a cherished favorite and I do hope if you haven’t read it, and you are a fan of family sagas and historical fiction, that you will pick it up. Or give one of her other books a go – she truly was a gifted author. Rest easy, Lucinda Riley.

It’s finally here…..the last book in one of my favorite book series, The Seven Sisters. I have adored my time with the D’Aplièse sisters and their respective romances and stories. Some of the books I liked better than others but overall this series is rock solid with rich characters and stories. I love the alternating time lines and how epic and sweeping the stories always feel.

These books have so much content for readers to sink their teeth into in both the main modern story and the historic one. Personally I always enjoy the historical side better but the D’Aplièse sisters and the mystery of Pa Salt kept me engaged and curious throughout the series. Through the other six books I often wondered if there was truly going to be a 7th book. It was noted so many times in the series there there was a missing sister and honestly I wondered if there would only be six books.

However the sixth book, The Sun Sister, left zero room to doubt that a 7th book would be forthcoming and I couldn’t have been more excited. I hoped that all the lingering questions from the other books would be cleared up in this one…..but it didn’t. If anything it left me with more questions then answers.

Summary
The six D’Aplièse sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister?

They only have one clue – an image of a star-shaped emerald ring. The search to find the missing sister will take them across the globe; from New Zealand to Canada, England, France and Ireland, uniting them all in their mission to at last complete their family.

In doing so, they will slowly unearth a story of love, strength and sacrifice that began almost one hundred years ago, as other brave young women risk everything to change the world around them.

The Missing Sister is the seventh instalment in Lucinda Riley’s multimillion copy epic series.

Discover yourself at the heart of history. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
Don’t get me wrong, this was a good book and I liked it, but I had hoped that there would be more resolution in this one than what we actually got. It sounds like there is an 8th book in the series that will be about Pa Salt and I am still trying to decide how I feel about that. On one hand I am excited for it but on the other I wish we had some more resolution in this one rather than dragging it out into another book.

This book spent a lot of time in the beginning catching up with that other sisters which I thought was nice, but would have liked to have seen it wrap up a little faster than it did. The first 20% of the book was catching up with each individual sister in some capacity and seeing what they were doing and how things were going with their respective relationships. We see a number of characters pop in from other books which is fun but for me, I could have done without so much of it. The other thing that kind of bugged (minor spoiler)—-the sisters basically follow Mary around the globe to try and connect with her. It felt presumptuous and beneath them. Each sister has their own adoption story and some of the sisters were hesitant to follow the letter from Pa Salt to find out ‘who they were’ and for me it didn’t seem like Mary wanted to know more but rather wanted nothing to do with them and it felt awkward that they were forcing her to connect with them rather than respecting her choice.

While I might have had a hard time with the sisters parts of this one, the historical part was wonderful! I am not big on Irish history and the home rule but I found it exciting and interesting in this book. Riley does a great job explaining the ’cause’ reasons and the context that some of the different groups were feeling at that time and what the issues were. I thought it added a lot of richness and intrigue to the story. I think historical fiction fans will enjoy these parts and fans of this series will enjoy the book even if some parts were a little odd. I am excited to read the Pa Salt story and hopefully get more resolution on different plot points in the larger narrative. If you haven’t read this series, I do not recommend picking this one up randomly. This is a series that really needs to be read from beginning to end to fully appreciate the characters and sisters.

Book Info and Rating
Format 560 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2021 by Blue Box Press

ISBN9781952457227 (ISBN10: 195245722X)

Free review copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: historical fiction

j'ai adoré ce septième tome tout comme les précédents, les personnages sont géniaux et on ne peut que dévorer les pages pour en apprendre davantage. Les intrigues dans l'intrigue sont nombreuses, les pièces du puzzle vont se mettre petit à petit à leurs places et j'ai adoré voir plusieurs narrateurs, chacune des sœurs ayant un rôle à jouer dans cette aventure. On va voyager aussi bien dans le passé que dans le présent, découvrir un pan de l'histoire irlandaise que je ne connaissais pas (ou du moins de très loin) et j'ai adoré la manière dont l'autrice a intégré tout ça à son récit. Les pages se tournent très vite, je ne me suis pas ennuyée une seule seconde et j'ai adoré ce que l'on découvre au travers de toute cette aventure !! Maintenant il ne nous reste qu'à attendre le tome 8 consacré à Pa Salt et la boucle sera bouclée !! Vivement !!

The Missing Sister is a long awaited seventh book of The Seven Sister series. It is advised by the author that you do read these books in order or you might miss parts of their stories.  This is the story of Meirope, the seventh sister.  It is a long and beautiful story of the missing Sister in a line of seven sisters who were all adopted as babies and left coordinates to find their originality. 

I became a fan of Lucinda Riley a year ago and in that time I read every book by her and loved them all. This series of the Seven Sisters is very captivating and mesmerizing. I fell in love with Ms Riley's style of writing as I'm sure you will too. I devour her books each and every one of them. They are so captivating, joyfull, enthralling,  and just amazing pieces of work in my opinion.  I highly recommend this book and every one of her books before it. As a reader I do recommend that if you decide to visit The Seven Sisters worlds do so in order as I did. Trust me you won't be sorry you do.

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

With The Missing Sister, Lucinda Riley brings together the threads connecting all the clues she’d been planting over the previous seven books, as the D’Appliese sisters go on a search for Merope, “the missing sister.” In typical Riley fashion, it’s a beautifully executed slow-burn, with multiple storylines coming together to inform one’s family history, as well as provide answers (and more questions) surrounding the big mystery that lay in the background over the course of the series.

Stylistically, it is a bit odd, as it is part “search for Merope,” part “unearthing one’s history” for said Merope character, Mary. Mary looks back on her own past as she remembers it and learns some revelations she did not previously know about her family. I did find it odd that while she was both the central “present” and “past” character, the present was in first person, and the past was in third. And then, we have portions from the other girls in third. I know having Mary’s POV in first makes sense as it’s consistent with the other books, where each sister’s was in first, while the past was in third. However, she directly was involved with many of the events in her past, so if it’s her POV, shouldn’t it be first person, regardless of timeframe? However, in spite of these stylistic nitpicks, I felt it all flowed together well.

And narratively, it has all the twists and turns you come to expect from a Lucinda Riley book, especially one in this series. The saga of Mary’s family is rife with tragedy and loss, but also hope and regrowth, and another example that family bonds aren’t just biological, a theme also seen throughout with the D’Appliese sisters. And that final plot twist of how Mary was connected to Pa Salt, culminating in a mini-teaser for his book (which I didn’t know was in the works, but I’m glad it is!) left me in shock and desperate for more.

This book was everything I hoped for and more, and fans of the series will absolutely be satisfied with this new installment.

The Missing Sister by L. Riley is book seven and the latest installment in the Seven Sisters Series.
This book, published by Blue Box Press, is a slow burn and is best read inn order.
A search takes the sisters around the world. While Ireland and its history are the focal point of the story, the news about the other countries are intriguing too..
Mary-Kate, Maia, Cece, Electra, Star, Merry and Nuala travel around the world in a story that spans many years. A full lebgth story that gave me all the feels.
A great read, 4,5 beautiful stars.