The Pearl Sister is the fourth book in the number one international bestselling Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley.
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 realizes 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.
Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into over thirty five languages and sold twenty-five million copies worldwide. She is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.
Lucinda is currently writing The Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster. It has become a global phenomenon, with each book in the series being a No.1 bestseller across the world. The series is currently in development with a major Hollywood production company.
My Review:
Just in case you don’t follow my blog or reviews I am listening to the entire Seven Sisters series on Audible and this is the fourth book in the series. Whilst these books can be read in any order, personally I have chosen to listen to them in sequence.
Book four is about CeCe D’Aplièse and was the book I was most dreading, because in the previous 3 books CeCe isn’t the most likeable or warm sister. I found her bossy and overbearing towards Star and rather selfish too, so I started listening to this book with slight disinterest eager to finish it and start book 5.
WHAT A COMPLETE PLONKER I AM! Seriously CeCe is WONDERFUL, and I sincerely apologise to her for thinking otherwise (yes I know she’s fictional and doesn’t have feelings but I need to get this off my chest!)
Following on from Star’s story, CeCe decides to leave London and travel to Australia to find her biological family following the clues Pa Salt has left her. With a quick stop off in Thailand CeCe begins to come out of her shell and discover who she really is.
Once again, with a fascinating dual storyline, we follow CeCe on her quest and meet Kitty McBride, a young Scottish girl sent to Adelaide one hundred years ago. Both stories were wonderful and full of Australian historical facts and without sounding flaky this is now my favourite book of the series so far, but I will probably say that about Tiggy’s story soon.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series. Read it or listen to it.
