Reviewed by Lotte:
I’ve read all seven of The Seven Sisters books throughout this year and I have to admit I’ve enjoyed each one. The sisters are each named after a star constellation called the Seven Sisters of The Pleiades. We have:
Book one – Maia – The Seven Sisters #1
Book two: Ally – relating to Alycone – The Storm Sister #2
Book three: Star – relating to Asterope – The Shadow Sister #3
Book four: CeCe – relating to Celaeno – The Pearl Sister #4
Book five Tiggy – relating to Teygete – The Moon Sister #5
Book six: Electra – The Sun Sister #6
Book seven: Mary – relating to Merope – The Missing Sister #7
I really enjoyed how in each book every sister went on their own journey to find out about their past and that Riley was able to make their stories original. Without giving away any spoilers each sister was taken down paths with different histories, locations and backgrounds, discovering connections to family in different ways.
The narrative was told in both present and past day settings, so as the sister discovered parts of their past in the present day, Riley took us back to see that past playing out too. It made for interesting reading as the dynamic changed and gave us multiple perspectives. In present day I found myself eager to go back to the past to read the truth and when reading the past I was excited to find out how the sister was finding the information. I think this is what kept me hooked through these long books and throughout the whole series, because in the same way that I wanted to switch between past and present, I was also intrigued to find out the next sister’s story.
I don’t really think I can choose a favourite story but I did find there was more repetition within the plot as we progressed through the books. This was a useful reminder and I can imagine if you read them a year apart from each other it would be helpful but as I read them in a short space of time I found them unnecessary and tried to read through those parts quickly. With this in mind you could read each book on its own, as it contains enough backstory for it to be a stand-alone book. A friend actually read book 6 without having read the previous 5 books and loved it!
I know we all thought book 7 would be the last but it turns out we have one more to go – the story of the mysterious Pa Salt, the sisters adopted Father, and if I’m honest I’m looking forward to reading it! His actual name is Atlas, which fits with the theme because according to legend, Atlas was the Father of the Seven Sisters. So I’m captivated and hoping this last book will finally give us the rest of the answers we’ve been holding on to!
Author: Lucinda Riley
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Release Date: Nov 2014 – April 2021
Lotte's Library 