We went out for drinks a couple of weeks ago and my friend was telling me about a really good book she read on holiday. As she explained it, a dim and distant memory came back to me that I thought I had heard of that book before. Next day I checked my Kindle contents and sure enough, I had downloaded that book to take on holiday last year and never got round to reading it! So that became my first book of the month.
This is the first in a series of books involving seven sisters - none related by blood, but adopted over the years by a billionaire who they knew as 'Pa Salt'. Maia is the eldest of the sisters and is the first to learn of Pa Salt's death. She returns to the luxurious castle she has called home on the banks of Lake Geneva to find that her father's instructions were for him to be buried at sea as soon as possible after his death and that he wants none of the girls to be there. Far from returning to arrange a funeral, Maia is tasked with the unhappy task of telling her sisters what has happened and to let them know that they will be unable to say a last farewell to their father.
When the solicitor arrives to discuss Pa's last wishes he hands each daughter a letter with clues to where in the world they were born before he adopted them. Further clues are found on a sculpture in the garden which gives them the coordinates of that location on a globe, along with a personal quote for them all.
So this book is dedicated to Maia whose clues lead her to visit Brazil and whose family is linked to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio di Janeiro. She is also given a soapstone tile, which she goes on the discover is identical to those which adorn the statue.
I really enjoyed this book and am pleased to find that each sister has her own book so if the others match up to this one, I know I won't have any trouble deciding on a book to read next. This one definitely ends on a cliffhanger!
So onto the next in the series!
This book concerns Ally who was on a boat off of the Greek coast at the time that Pa Salt died. By a strange coincidence, she saw her father's yacht moored at sea and in hindsight, assumes that she had inadvertently been close at the time that his body was 'buried at sea'.
The letter that Pa Salt had left for her suggests that she look at a book from his study suggesting that her history may be found in Norway. There is also a small model of a frog in the envelope which Ally finds confusing. She has never seen it before and cannot think of any significance to it being passed onto her.
She realises she has fallen in love with Theo, the yachtsman that she was with in Greece, and is thrilled when he asks her to join his crew for the Fastnet race. But tragedy is not far away and Ally finds herself having to completely rethink the future she thought she would have.
She decides to visit Norway, seeking the significance of the hints that Pa left behind as clues to her history. So we step back in time to learn about Anna, a farmer's daughter with a beautiful voice who is given the opportunity to sing in the famous Christiana theatre where she meets Jens, a talented musician with a reputation for being unreliable and unfaithful.
How will the love story between Jens and Anna lead to Ally's adoption?
I can see that I'm going to end up reading all of the books in this series! The author takes historical facts and weaves interesting stories into how this very unusual family was formed.
I tracked down another in the series in our local library
The Sun Sister tells the story of Electra, possibly the most troubled on the sisters. A famous model with the world at her feet on the outside but inside lies a number of addictions and a very unhappy woman.
Rocked by the death of Pa Salt and the break up of her relationship with a famous musician, Electra relies on drugs and drink to lift her up. Friends and family are concerned for her mental health, then one day she receives a message from someone who says they are her grandmother and who can tell her where she came from before she was adopted. This tips her over the edge and she is booked into a rehab centre.
On her discharge she decides to talk to her grandmother to find out more of her history and so we embark on a journey to Africa to discover exactly how Electra's family lived through the war and how her grandmother came to live in America.
Only by confronting her past can Electra turn her life around and try to ensure that the future is brighter for women who find themselves in her birth mother's predicament.
I enjoyed this book just as much as the others!
My last book for the month is one that doesn't have a front cover, and I can't share any details about it I'm afraid! My friend Dani is an author and she has kindly let me read a draft of her new novel. I will reveal more when I can.
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