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Sandra Lenahan's Reviews > The Seven Sisters

The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
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did not like it
bookshelves: chick-lit, reads-of-2015, books-i-just-couldn-t-finish

I guess I'm in the minority on this one because I hated it. I'd pick it up to read then put it down again over and over till finally I tossed it on the bedside table with a disgusted "fugeddaboudit" that would've made my mother-in-law proud (she's from New Yawk). The characters are about as believable as the tooth fairy. The mysterious father who adopted the 6 shallow and very annoying girls right down to the trusted live-in housekeeper with a heart of gold were right out of a bad soap opera. I guess since Brangelina made adopting from 3rd world countries chic that's what single white billionaires who live on an island in Switzerland do these days. Not that any of his adult daughters know anything about the man, which they say many times as they try to process his sudden and mysterious death & burial at sea - come on, this has Days of Our Lives written all over it.

Bottom line-there's just so many good books out there to read that you don't want to waste your time on this one, it's a stinker.
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Reading Progress

May 15, 2015 – Shelved as: to-read
May 15, 2015 – Shelved
June 23, 2015 – Shelved as: chick-lit
June 23, 2015 – Shelved as: reads-of-2015
June 24, 2015 – Started Reading
June 25, 2015 –
page 115
25.0%
July 14, 2015 – Finished Reading
December 18, 2015 – Shelved as: books-i-just-couldn-t-finish

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Comments Showing 1-50 of 80 (80 new)


message 1: by Bruna (new) - added it
Aug 14, 2017 06:23PM

Bruna Marchi Totally agree.


message 2: by BritInBasel (new)
Sep 20, 2017 07:55AM

BritInBasel That exactly formulated what I felt about the book. Unfortunately, it was the choice of the book group I belong to so I was forced to read it.


message 3: by Sandra (new) - rated it 1 star
Sep 21, 2017 03:44AM

Sandra Lenahan I feel your pain you poor soul! I think I'd rather have my wisdom teeth extracted with out any pain medication than have to participate in a group discussion about this stinker of a book!!!


message 4: by Fee (new) - rated it 1 star
Dec 19, 2017 02:35PM

Fee Oh it sounded so wonderful. But I couldn't get past the first 50 pages. Such simplistic language and no oomph at all tot eh characters or story. Too fluffy, which is a shame given it sounded like such a good story. I gave up


message 5: by Joanie (new) - rated it 2 stars
Apr 06, 2018 02:04AM

Joanie agree


message 6: by Lynne (new) - rated it 3 stars
Apr 22, 2018 08:06PM

Lynne The first 50 pages were painful. Not to mention they were only there to set up the author's future books in the series.


message 7: by Gigi (new) - rated it 2 stars
Jul 31, 2018 06:55AM

Gigi Count me in your minority. I’m also tired of reading about every meal consumed — from Claudia’s lunches to fancy dinners and bread and cheese in Paris. And I don’t know any sisters who consistently address one another as “darling,” although maybe that’s a British thing.


message 8: by Loes (new) - rated it 2 stars
Sep 28, 2018 03:44AM

Loes Michielsen Count me in! This book's story line and characters are so unreal, flat and over done. I really had to force myself to finish this book. But it's so crap. Cant be bothered about the rest of the series.


message 9: by Sarah (new)
Dec 10, 2018 10:59PM

Sarah Symons I’m just over halfway and I’m DONE with this book. It’s too idyllic and “oh, we have a problem. Oh wait here’s a timely solution that just magically appeared to save the whole plot!” 🙄 the writing is almost the same standard as a high school short story (in my opinion), which is very disappointing given the idea behind the story is interesting


message 10: by Kristel (new) - added it
Feb 13, 2019 10:05AM

Kristel I agree. I started reading, because absolutely everybody is so in love with the books, but...I got really annoyed with the shallow characters. And so unbelievable...I mean, beautiful like the sunset, each and every 7 of them, brilliant, I mean come on! Maia wad almost Brazilian royalty and got adopted...?! The stories reminded me of Konsalik novels. I loved them while in my teens, but outgrew them.


message 11: by Matterhörnli (new) - rated it 1 star
May 21, 2019 10:04AM

Matterhörnli Absolutely agree, the book was a total waste of time like a telenovella. Glad I am not the only one with this opinion.


message 12: by Jane (new)
Aug 01, 2019 03:05AM

Jane I absolutely agree - I found the language 'one-dimensional' even though I thought the idea of the book was great - I found the book like the many other comments. I am glad to see it was not just me. The lovely thing is that there is a cracker of a book just around the corner :-)


message 13: by Evelyn (new) - rated it 2 stars
Sep 17, 2019 12:02PM

Evelyn Exactly. Plus, I can't really be the only one thinking: oh right, a billionaire adopting seven girl babies who all turn out to be strikingly beautiful and not one social worker going: "ho mister, this ain't right"


message 14: by Linnéa (new) - rated it 3 stars
Mar 08, 2020 03:42AM

Linnéa I agree. I gave it a higher rating though since I found the language ok and I can see some qualities that appeal to non-avid readers. But I will not waste my time reading the rest of the series!


message 15: by Stephanie (new) - rated it 2 stars
Mar 21, 2020 03:35AM

Stephanie Muller Agreed. To describe how people say goodnight to each other, is really not good writing. And as one reader said above, all this love between (some of) the sisters - I don't know any families where the sisters address each other as 'darling'. All too goody goody. Sorry, I'm out.


message 16: by Nida (new) - rated it 1 star
Apr 20, 2020 05:40AM

Nida Kazim Absolutely with you on this. It was a waste of my time. Like you said, there’s so many actual good books out there, this was not one of them!


message 17: by Cecilia (new) - rated it 1 star
May 16, 2020 10:20AM

Cecilia Cederroth I fully agree, couldn’t finish reading. There are so many other books to read.


message 18: by Stephanie (new) - rated it 1 star
May 30, 2020 07:14AM

Stephanie Meyer I couldn't agree more. I begrudgingly made it all the way to reading about her grandma's forced marriage but when the author foreshadowed her jumping off the mount Cristo three times in 4 pages I chucked the book across the room with a booking, "I give up!" Life is too short to read just to finish.


message 19: by Jessica (new) - rated it 2 stars
Jun 03, 2020 11:48AM

Jessica Prytz I agree. And for me it was even worse when I came to the part when she described people with Asperger's, then I got angry instead of just bored


message 20: by Silvia (new) - added it
Jun 13, 2020 09:31PM

Silvia Garza Martínez Totally agree. Worst book I’ve ever read. Absolutely waste of time and money. I really hope my book club doesn't want to read the rest of the series 😫


message 21: by louise m. (new) - rated it 1 star
Jun 20, 2020 03:13PM

louise m. Hands down agreed. Forgot to write in my own review about how I mentally puked over the fact that Maia was “the beauty” among her sisters (but oh wait ! everyone else is pretty too, never mind THAT) like what!? Maybe Maia just saw herself like she had nothing else to offer besides her beauty, poor self value or something but come on... so cringeworthy also that the author had to give us one stereotypical epithet for all the sisters like her readers were five year olds. Just fucking lazy.


message 22: by Simonetta (new) - rated it 1 star
Jun 21, 2020 02:11PM

Simonetta Hendrix I did not even finish it. I could not stand the idea of a wealthy man adopting kids left and right and bringing them to Atlantis.
I was extremely bored when she went to Brazil (?) and that is when I decided to stop reading it.
The way they talked in this book was just horribly artificial so I have no regrets that I stopped reading.


message 23: by Flavia (new) - rated it 1 star
Jun 22, 2020 04:25AM

Flavia Kaiser Happy to have found you. All my friends loved this book. I should've known better.... I also totally hated reading about one "attractive" character after the other... super shallow, predictable and irritating. Good grief!


message 24: by Holly (new) - rated it 1 star
Jul 09, 2020 01:29PM

Holly Heinzelmann I have not been able to articulate the frustration I felt at the rave reviews this got. It’s insipid. Thank you for expressing what I’ve been failing to.


message 25: by Sarah Beck-Derna (new) - added it
Aug 17, 2020 01:59AM

Sarah Beck-Derna Flat writing and unbelievable characters. Inconsistencies such as the protagonist deciding to text her sisters to call her and her sister calling back to say she could tell something had happened by the tone of her voice. This irritated me. None of the girls have any idea what their father did for a living despite Wikipedia being mentioned later on in the novel. The protagonist narrates in the first person, she is meant to be a writer herself (A bad one it would seem). But as the novel progressed to historical times, I started to forgive the quality of writing. It is a good concept. I enjoyed it as I would a meal of junk food. But I don’t think I could repeat in the near future.


message 26: by Catherine (new) - rated it 2 stars
Jan 01, 2021 03:07PM

Catherine Giles I agree too! It’s just a plain silly book. Ridiculous, implausible and a waste of time. But I suppose people read for different reasons and have to read different types of books. I loved the phrase in one comment - “mentally puked”. That’s exactly how I felt.


message 27: by Helen (new)
Jan 06, 2021 07:29AM

Helen Bowes I'm so relieved that there are others who found this book disappointing, especially seeing a Goodreads rating of 4.18. I am only on p61 but will move on to my next book. The conversations between the girls are stilted. And why would not a single one of them question their heritage before their Pa died? Someone else has commented about a single man adopting 6 girls and then cavorting all over the world and leaving them with a housekeeper. And that these girls seemed to have no idea what their father's profession involved. Just too weird to carry on reading. I don't have the patience. Too many other books on my TBR list.


message 28: by Matterhörnli (new) - rated it 1 star
Jan 15, 2021 11:08PM

Matterhörnli I try to convince my friends to spend time reading something with more substance, this is a wast of precious time, you are so right! Hardly a more shallow book that I read since my teenage years.


message 29: by Hayley (new) - rated it 2 stars
Jan 20, 2021 08:24AM

Hayley Swithers I agree. People have raved about this. I lost the will to carry on quite early on! Shallow is definitely the word.


message 30: by Eva Höglin (new) - added it
Feb 05, 2021 11:07PM

Eva Höglin Spot on!


message 31: by Darja (new) - rated it 5 stars
Feb 22, 2021 01:58AM

Darja I agree with all of your comments but I loved this book because to me it was like a fairytale- an unrealistic scenario but still such a beautiful description of life somehow! I do understand how those factors could really make this book unpleasant to some but I believe it was never meant to imitate real life but act more as a fairytale of sorts☺️


message 32: by Eileen (last edited Mar 02, 2021 03:05PM) (new)
Mar 02, 2021 03:01PM

Eileen Harris Thank y’all for expressing my thoughts exactly! The only good thing about the book is I borrowed it from the library no money spent on this trash. My friend recommended it and told me her book club loved it and will be reading the series. I’m rethinking her choices in books


message 33: by Anneke (new) - rated it 2 stars
Mar 09, 2021 11:52AM

Anneke de Bundel I felt insulted. As a woman and a as a reader. Indeed a lot a fuss about nothing and my mother in law wasn’t even from New York but the Netherlands. Actually, I am afraid she would have loved the book:)


message 34: by Nikki (new) - rated it 2 stars
Mar 30, 2021 05:14PM

Nikki I totally agree with you. This wasn’t even a fantastical romance it was gag worthy and at times made no sense. The speech was so formal for no reason! If it hadn’t been for book club I would have stopped by page 30


message 35: by Alekim (new) - rated it 1 star
Apr 18, 2021 09:54AM

Alekim I thought i was the only one. I started it because of the good reviews and because a friend of mine warmly recommended it, but i cannot get myself to like it. I'm at like page 130 and it's so bad, i'm not sure i will be able to finish it.


message 36: by Rachel (new) - rated it 5 stars
Apr 19, 2021 11:19AM

Rachel Sanders I’ve just started this after rave reviews... seems a bit lame. Not sure whether to invest any more time!


message 37: by Bookyliciousbooks (new) - rated it 1 star
May 04, 2021 01:09PM

Bookyliciousbooks I’m so with you! Had read reviews praising it, gave it a go and just couldn’t get into it! I don’t like or care about the characters, the plot feels so contrived and I keep thinking of other books I would rather be reading 😂


message 38: by Laura (new)
Jul 17, 2021 10:32AM

Laura I'm feeling the same. I started reading it and then listening to it but not believable or enjoyable at all.


message 39: by Sandra (new) - rated it 1 star
Jul 18, 2021 06:51AM

Sandra Lenahan Laura wrote: "I'm feeling the same. I started reading it and then listening to it but not believable or enjoyable at all."

It is amazing that this is book 1 of a series that is still being published!!!


message 40: by Kerttuli (new) - rated it 1 star
Jul 30, 2021 04:24PM

Kerttuli Reading these comments make me happy, so I’m not the only one thinking this praised book was trash. If you have just started reading and second guess it, just stop - take my word for it. I finished the book and was not worth the effort. The story is lame, predictable and full of clishes (like, why do everyone always need to be filthy rich in these kind of novels??) and the writing is in many parts insulting readers’ intellect. This book left me underwhelmed and disappointed.


message 41: by Kathi (new)
Aug 15, 2021 09:54AM

Kathi Dwyer Friends couldn’t wait for the last book to be published. So I thought I’d start to read the series. I definitely agree with this assessment so far. I can’t even get through it. Bela is on her way back to Paris and I already know what’s going to happen with only 35% read. I usually try and power through but this is a beach read snoozer. Fortunately it’s a kindle book borrowed from the library. Back it goes


message 42: by Briony (new) - rated it 1 star
Sep 05, 2021 04:37AM

Briony Blewden Omg you’ve summed it up so well! A bad soap opera !! Love your review !


message 43: by Heidi (new) - rated it 2 stars
Sep 19, 2021 07:05AM

Heidi I can relate to many of these comments! I had just read about a third of the book and I was just too annoyed to continue. But since I have a horrible habit of not being able to leave a book unread, I glanced the middle part and read the last 80 pages. I am going to glance the others too though. I’m too curious :D And I can see why some people would love this book. It is a ridiculous jump to an alternate universe or dream world. Sometimes you just want things to workout like magic even if it could never happen in real life.


message 44: by Sophia (new) - rated it 2 stars
Sep 30, 2021 04:50AM

Sophia Somajo Word!


message 45: by Lene (new) - rated it 4 stars
Oct 24, 2021 08:52AM

Lene I liked the book, and I like what you are saying about it 🤣 the sisters talk in a very animated and unreal way, but I just came from the HP-series, so I can continue in a made believe world like this 🤣


message 46: by Mia (new) - rated it 1 star
Nov 18, 2021 08:44AM

Mia Thanks for putting words to my feelings about this book… I’ve been listening to over half of it, but now I think I will give it a miss. Wanted to like it since my mother and her book club really liked it…Super shallow character portraits and very easy to tell what’s going to happen.


message 47: by Sara (new) - rated it 3 stars
Nov 22, 2021 07:10AM

Sara Warhold I’m just a few chapters in… this book is so ridiculous… why does the author spend like 17 sentences describing each sister’s looks … like who cares what they look like … better writing would allow you to discover these things as part of the action of the story. Just one thing that’s been annoying me … also - Floriano is creepy.


message 48: by Jo (new) - rated it 3 stars
Dec 21, 2021 11:37PM

Jo I’m reading for a book group and not impressed but know I’ll be in the minority as it seems to be so popular. Skim skim skim


message 49: by Emma (new) - added it
Dec 25, 2021 08:02AM

Emma Kate It goes on and on and on!


message 50: by Marilyn (new) - rated it 1 star
Jul 04, 2022 02:01PM

Marilyn This book was so awful that I couldn’t finish it for discussion at my next book club meeting. I managed to get through about 25% of it, feeling more irritated with every page, and I finally thought, “Why am I torturing myself? Just close the book, go to the meeting and say you weren’t enjoying it enough to read to the end.”


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