Lucinda Riley (1965–2021)

Maybe even 4.5 stars! THE SEVEN SISTERS is the first in an ambitious series of novels Lucinda Riley plans (2 more are already written)-- each telling the story of six girls, all adopted by the same mysterious man who lives in a castle on Lake Geneva. If this one turns out to be representative of the entire series, I am totally hooked.

This novel presents the story of Maia, the oldest. It begins with the death of her adopted father, Pa Salt, and the legacy he leaves each daughter, allowing show more them to learn more about their origins. Eager to avoid a reunion with a former lover, Maia decides she will pursue her past immediately, leaving Geneva for Rio de Janeiro, where her own clue points.

In Rio, Maia discovers the dramatic story of her beautiful ancestor, Izabel, born to a nouveau-riche coffee entrepreneur who is eager to achieve the status of a well-married daughter. As Izabel's story slowly unfolds -- from Rio to Paris and back in the 1920s-- she finds herself among the artists creating Rio's famous Christ the Redeemer statue that now hovers over the city. And by discovering Izabel's story Maia is able to come to terms with her own dark secret.

It's a wildly inventive and suspenseful story, where you won't know what's going to happen next, including a zinger of a denouement on the very last page. Completely absorbing and unique! I'm off to book #2. show less

Maybe even 4.5 stars! THE SEVEN SISTERS is the first in an ambitious series of novels Lucinda Riley plans (2 more are already written)-- each telling the story of six girls, all adopted by the same mysterious man who lives in a castle on Lake Geneva. If this one turns out to be representative of the entire series, I am totally hooked.

This novel presents the story of Maia, the oldest. It begins with the death of her adopted father, Pa Salt, and the legacy he leaves each daughter, allowing show more them to learn more about their origins. Eager to avoid a reunion with a former lover, Maia decides she will pursue her past immediately, leaving Geneva for Rio de Janeiro, where her own clue points.

In Rio, Maia discovers the dramatic story of her beautiful ancestor, Izabel, born to a nouveau-riche coffee entrepreneur who is eager to achieve the status of a well-married daughter. As Izabel's story slowly unfolds -- from Rio to Paris and back in the 1920s-- she finds herself among the artists creating Rio's famous Christ the Redeemer statue that now hovers over the city. And by discovering Izabel's story Maia is able to come to terms with her own dark secret.

It's a wildly inventive and suspenseful story, where you won't know what's going to happen next, including a zinger of a denouement on the very last page. Completely absorbing and unique! I'm off to book #2. show less

Scritto molto bene, avvincente. Mai noioso. Non mi ha pienamente convinto il finale moraleggiante (non lietissimo, e questo potrebbe essere un bene, ma il troppo stroppia) e la sfiga di tutti i protagonisti. Morti, famiglie spezzate, amori impossibili, condanne di innocenti, malattie incurabili... Il colpo di scena della gravidanza della rivale è assolutamente risibile. Però tutto sommato è un buon libro, ne ho letti molto peggiori. Consigliato a chi ama il feuilleton romantico.

Imaginative, Multigenerational Storyline with Thwarted Romance is Masterfully Suspenseful.

Creatively conceived, skillfully executed, and full of imaginative surprises — Lucinda Riley’s THE MIDNIGHT ROSE is a novel that will not disappoint. Having first discovered Riley in her SEVEN SISTERS series, it was wonderful to find this stand-alone novel just as compelling. If not more so.

Here are complex storylines, lots of distinctive and well-differentiated characters, and plenty of dark show more motivations — all moving back and forth between the evolving cultures of aristocratic Britain and exotic India, throughout the 20th century.

Riley has created two memorable heroines:
1. Annahita — an unusually well-educated but impoverished young girl, born into British-controlled India in the early 1900s.
2. Rebecca - a glamorous Hollywood star temporarily living at a great country home in England (Downton Abbey-ish) to shoot a 1920s period movie that she hopes will cement her reputation as a credible actress, instead of simply a beautiful woman.
Both are strong women, and, of course, there is a connection between them. But no spoilers because that connection is the slow reveal which propels the entire novel.

Along the way, Riley weaves in a number of relevant social issues that are shifting through the century — like ideas about inter-racial romance, the unquestioned power wielded by British aristocrats, and the eternal tension between rich and poor.

So often, when I’m deep into a novel, I get a sense of how the storylines are likely to play out. But not this time. I was still getting surprised even in the last chapter. This one was a joy to read, from page 1. show less