I was looking forward to reading about Ceci D’Aplièse since the first book, after all she is one of my favorite sisters and I wanted to know more about her past. After falling in love with the stories of Maia, Ally and Estrela, following each discovery about the families and how they found each other again in the process, now it’s Ceci’s turn to reveal her secrets and how she got to her adoptive father, Pa Salt .
Ceci and Estrela had always had a very strong bond, one could do nothing without the other, they were inseparable as if they were twins, until Estrela had to go in search of her past (read A Irmã da Sombra) leaving Ceci alone and insecure, in the in the midst of a whirlwind of feelings, which ended up reflecting on the abandonment of her art course. In desperation, she decides to leave London to seek more of her past, but the only clues are a black and white photograph and the name of Kitty Mercer, a pioneering woman who lived in Australia over a hundred years ago.
As in the other volumes, in parallel, we will travel back in time to learn about Ceci’s ancestors. Kitty McBride is a young Scottish woman and daughter of a pastor, who in the early 20th century, has the chance to leave her oppressive environment and go to Australia as a lady-in-waiting to Mrs. McCrombie. In Adelaide, her destiny intertwines with that of the old aristocrat’s family, including her two young nephews: the impetuous Drummond and the ambitious Andrew, identical twins, but in everything different, in addition to heirs to a prosperous pearl trade.
“The Pearl’s Sister” is the fourth book in the “The Seven Sisters” series, written by bestselling author Lucinda Riley. The story centers on Ceci, a famous jeweler of French origin who lives in Paris.
The plot begins when Ceci receives news that her adoptive grandmother, Pa Salt, has passed away and leaves her a clue about her origins. Ceci, who has always felt a little out of place in her family, sees the track as an opportunity to finally discover the truth about her story.
So she sets out on a journey to Rio de Janeiro, where she believes she will find her answers. There, she discovers that her biological mother was a woman named Izabela Bonifácio, who was part of Rio’s elite during the 1920s.
Throughout the narrative, the author intersperses Ceci’s story with Izabela’s, who faced many challenges and dramas in her life. Izabela’s story is marked by the sexist oppression of the time, racism and the struggle for equal rights.
Meanwhile, Ceci also faces her own challenges, such as the discovery of a family secret that shakes her structures and the difficulty in dealing with her feelings towards an old love.
The narrative is rich in details and setting, transporting the reader to past and present Paris and Rio de Janeiro. The author also does great historical research, inserting facts and real characters into the plot.
In addition, the work addresses important topics such as the female struggle for equal rights, the importance of family and cultural identity. The way the author portrays these themes is delicate and reflective, making the reader identify with and move with the story.
Overall, “The Pearl’s Sister” is an engaging and gripping read that keeps the reader hooked from start to finish. Ceci and Izabela’s story is a tribute to female strength and the power of love and family. I recommend it to anyone who likes historical romances and family dramas.
In this fourth volume I felt more intensely what the characters experienced, each in their own time, and among the various subjects addressed, what moved me the most was the racial and cultural prejudice present in the story, which prevented people from being happy and being themselves. Something we can still see today, right?!
With each book I’m more intrigued by everything their adoptive father managed to hide and how he welcomed all these young women as a family. I think the big secret will only be revealed in the last book and I can’t wait to finish reading this wonderful series.
