LUCINDA Riley hit the jackpot when she decided to write a series of books inspired by the mythology of the famous star cluster Pleiades and sisters who are named after each star in the cluster.
Her writing is so engaging that anyone who is to read the first book will be absolutely sucked into the other seven books.
So far, I am almost finished Book Four and I look forward with anticipation to collecting the whole series.
The books are grounded in the story of each of the D’Apliese sisters and Greek mythology pointing to their individual stories of how they were adopted from around the world by an extremely affluent man living in Geneva. When he dies he leaves clues for each daughter to trace their ancestry.
Present day and the lives of ancestors weave together until each sister comes to a place of understanding and acceptance of their place in the world as the person they have become.
For those who love a touch of historical fiction, these books take the reader to places and people who actually lived and intertwine these lives with each of the seven sisters.
Different countries are visited to trace the linage of families.
One of the book touches on Australia so it was of particular interest to read about one of the sisters finding her family on our shores.
Each country of origin has particular cultures and idiosyncratic systems that Riley brings out well in her writing, so along with being entertained by stories, the reader is also able to learn about history and people from different countries.
Each book is tinged by not only historical fiction but also romance.
Riley has a way of developing strong female characters who are likable and unique.
Parodying life, the characters are not aware of their strengths but discover these and are able to follow their passions as they learn of their heritage.
Sadly, Lucinda Riley died midway through the last novel in the series, so it seemed fitting that her son completed that novel and it was published posthumously.
The books in the series I have read so far are rated at a 4.8 out of 5 so it is without hesitation that I will be hitting the bookstore to read the rest.
