Tag Archive | Lucinda Riley

The Olive Tree by Lucinda Riley

Jul25

Secrets

The Olive Tree by Lucinda Riley is a powerful novel about family, friendship and love. Once again Lucinda Riley has created an eclectic mix of characters that weave their way into the reader’s heart.

The action is mainly set in 2006 but also fast forwards ten years at the beginning and the end. The reader becomes intimately acquainted with thirteen year old Alex as some of the tale is in the form of his diary. We get glimpses into the mind of a quiet studious child on the cusp of adulthood. He seems to have autistic tendencies which I recognized from having worked with teens with autism. He is a likable but complex character. The rest of the novel is written in the third person from varying viewpoints.

Continue reading →

The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley

Jul21

Kantrimen (Family)

The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley is a marvellous epic historical and contemporary tale. In this book the reader follows Ce-Ce’s search for her roots. This takes the reader to the hot, dry climate of the Australian outback both in the modern era and a hundred years earlier. We ‘experience’ the unrelenting sun and the vast open spaces.

The reader learns about the Aborigines and some of their traditions. They are fiercely loyal and dedicated to their friends. The native Australians suffer racial prejudice. Children of mixed race are rejected by white Australians.

The novel examines the plight of orphans. There are some huge, kind hearts who open their homes to those in need.

Continue reading →

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

Jul3

Full Circle

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley is a fascinating historical and contemporary tale about roots and identity. It is the second book in the Seven Sisters series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The book has three distinct time periods – 1875, late 1930’s and 2007. The stories all weave together to form a fabulous whole. There are real historical figures in the tale as fact blends with fiction to entertain and inform.

Set in Norway, Leipzig and England to name but a few, the reader is in for a real cosmopolitan treat.

Family is important. It is not always blood related but it is a group of people who came together and love and support each other. The novel has a search for identity. We all want to know where we come from. What makes us? Is it nature? Or nurture? Or a mixture of both?

Continue reading →

The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley

Jul26

Awakening And Blossoming

The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley is a marvellous blend of historical and contemporary. It was an epic tale that I really enjoyed.

The novel weaves events of today with about a hundred years ago as there are searches to belong. We all want to know our roots. It seems that only when we know who we are, can we then move into the future. No matter who brings us up, we want to know our heritage. We approach the knowledge of who birthed us with both fear and excitement. There is also sadness as we think we must have been unwanted to be disregarded in such a way. Sometimes it is our own parents who whilst close in body are far away in mind. The past cannot be altered but we can learn life lessons.

There is also the theme, as the title suggests, of stepping out of the shadows. Shyness and a delight in nature are polar opposites to those who long to be introduced into society in 1910.

Continue reading →