Maan (De zeven zussen #5) (2024)

OMG, this book! I love Lucinda Riley's Seven Sisters series, and I was eagerly waiting for this one.
This book exceeded all my expectations by far. With the 4th book, the pattern of lost love became a bit predictable, and I was wondering if Riley would break it. And, the answer is a definite yes. I found this book very exotic, and different than others.
Tiggy's story was so charming. The Scotland setting, and Spain setting was told perfectly. I felt myself as if shivering from cold in remote nature of highlands. And sometimes, among the vibrant environment of gypsies.
The historic look at the Gitano/Payo relationship was very original. I haven't read this in many historical novels. The take on the situation of Spain during Second World War was also a very good addition to the story.
The book is so rich with historical aspects, characters, or landscape that I don't know where to start. I cherished every page. Riley also has broken the pattern of forbidden/lost loves theme that was quite heavy in previous books. The romance in this book was a side story, it was not overpowering at all, which I loved.
I was a bit scared at first that the book was 750 pages, but I never got bored and I wish it never finished.
This is TRUE historical fiction, with all the richness of the times, full of culture. You can feel the vibe of times in your bones as it's told beautifully and vibrantly.
If you like books that takes you to another country, another time, another family, another life, this series is definitely for you. And this was an extraordinary sequel.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

So after a year of looking forward to this I managed to read this within 4 days.
There is a lot I enjoyed about this book, the Scottish setting for one and the appearance of Ally in it, but for me this was the weakest of the books so far. For a starter I have always preferred the historic parts of these books but in this one, while I found the Gypsy heritage parts interesting the main character of Lucia was so horrible that I didn’t really care what happened to her, and then the story of Tiggy’s actual parents was really rushed and only mentioned as an afterthought. Seriously though Lucia who constantly criticises her father for abandoning her mother to fuel his ambition and then after she has a baby she leaves it with the rest of her family to go to the USA to dance!!!

The other thing that is a big annoyance for me in books now, and it happens in this is when characters don’t tell people the whole story. It drove me mad that Tiggy didn’t just tell Charlie that Ulrika had told her to leave Scotland and to mind her own business in their marriage. Instead she skirts around it and makes excuses instead of telling the truth. It happens so often in books now and sometimes feels like it’s a way to make the book seem longer.

How does Tiggy not know who Zed is and not know he’s trouble straight away??? Just found that irritating, I would certainly know my sisters ex boyfriends and know which ones to stay away from without having to phone and ask her. Also she doesn’t like him from the start so just tell him straight away to do one... Felt again like this plot point was brought in and dragged on a bit long to bulk the book out.

My last frustration was the constant mentioning of Tiggy being vegan but then eating Shortbread, Christmas Cake and other items made with dairy products, as “that is her weakness”. No vegan slips from their lifestyle even to have the occasional Scottish treat! I know that is nit-picking but it would have been better if she’d just been a vegetarian and not needed to make excuses for eating certain things.

The last chapter is a short introduction to Electra and this is the book I am looking forward to the least. So far not a single thing mentioned about this sister in these books makes me interested to hear her story. I will read it but not sure if I’ll be rushing for the next instalment this as much as i have the rest.

Overall I enjoyed the basis of the story, there were parts that could have been taken out and others I’d have liked to have read more of. My least favourite of the series so far, nothing has beaten the second one for me yet, maybe I just feel I’m more like Ally than the others, which is why I enjoyed it.

The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley was an excellent historical novel, the first in a series of books about six young women who had all been adopted as babies and brought up as sisters.
The girls are devastated when their father dies and they all come home for the funeral. They are all given letters written by their father with clues to their natural parents.
This fifth book in the series is about Tiggy and the story of her search to find her family. The story takes us from Geneva to Scotland and to Granada in Spain.
I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am always excited when I see that a new The Seven Sisters novel is being released. This is a wonderful series that explores many different cultures around the world. Would highly recommend to any historical fiction reader. The storylines have a tendency to end ‘neatly’, but it certainly does not take away from the stories themselves. So ready to read Electra’s story in the next installment & get another clue about Pa Salt. 4.5 stars.

I hate to say it, but I’m glad that’s over. The Moon Sister is the fifth book in the bestselling Seven Sisters series, which combine early 20th Century historical fiction with a contemporary romance story, each featuring one of six young woman named for the stars of the Pleiades constellation, who wer adopted as babies by a mysterious Swiss billionaire. It’s not a bad book, but it’s the one I’ve enjoyed the least since the first one - which I had to be persuaded to finish by my Book Club - but in this case it was the past story/character I didn’t care for, and 750 pages is far too long given that not much actually happens.

Taygete, aka Tiggy, is the dreamer of the sisters, happiest when caring for animals in her adoptive Scotland. When she takes a job as a conservationist on a remote estate in the Highlands, she is drawn to the handsome but married Laird, so when things go wrong she takes off to the Spanish city of Granada to discover her origins - and learns about her grandmother Lucia, a famous gypsy flamenco dancer.

The author of this series died of cancer last year, tragically young, and she mentions in the afterword that she wrote a lot of it while in hospital having treatment. Unfortunately it shows, both in the story and the many minor but annoying mistakes - medical, French, plot holes etc These books have a formula which has obviously worked well, but is getting repetitive now, and while each sister has a very different origin story, they have become fairly predictable. I also found Lucia to be the most unlikeable “heroine” in a long time - bratty, selfish, arrogant and careless, and her story was surprisingly boring - grinding poverty, parental alcoholism, downtrodden mother, implausible rise to fame & fortune, while the Spanish Civil War was glossed over with little explanation.

Tiggy on the other hand is vapid and uninteresting - yes she’s kind to animals and she means well, but all the spiritual stuff just got too much for me - especially as the previous books have not included supernatural elements. The way she casually adopts then abandons Alice annoyed me - she may only be a hedgehog but if you take on a pet, you don’t leave it behind just like that! The Insta-love romance was ridiculous - they barely know each other, but at least her contemporary adventure was more enjoyable. I liked the cameos by characters from the previous books even if the Zed storyline made no sense and was basically dropped midway through - presumably to be picked up again in Electra’s book. 3.5 rounded up for an ending that did manage to moisten my eyes (no I’m not referring to the love story, but I am a sucker for animal stories with happy endings.)

Wieder ein solide gutes Buch aus der Sieben Schwestern Reihe von Lucinda Riley. Diesmal geht es um Tiggy und in den Teilen aus der Vergangenheit reisen wir nach Spanien zu Lucia.

Ich glaube das war das erste Mal, dass ich die Geschichte in der Gegenwart besser fand, als die in der Vergangenheit. Das lag vor allem daran, dass mir Lucia doch echt unsympathisch war... Wohingegen Tiggy so sympathisch ist, dass es zu Beginn ehrlich gesagt sogar etwas langweilig war.
Aber nachdem ich die ersten 100 Seiten hinter mich gebracht hatte, konnte ich wie immer bei Lucinda Riley gar nicht aufhören zu lesen. Besonders schön fand ich, dass auch Ally (aus Band 2 "Die Sturmschwester") einen Platz in dieser Geschichte bekommen hat.

Das Setting von Schottland und Spanien hat in mir wieder unendliches Fernweh geweckt, es aber gleichzeitig irgendwie gestillt/befriedigt. Lucinda Riley versteht es einfach wie keine andere Orte bildhaft und atmosphärisch zu beschreiben! Genauso gut fängt sie die jeweiligen Kulturen ein und meistens lernt man sogar noch etwas geschichtliches.

Von Band zu Band wird die Geschichte der sieben Schwestern in der Gegenwart spannender, da immer mehr Zusammenhänge hergestellt werden und es trotzdem noch so viele Geheimnisse zu lüften und Probleme zu lösen gibt. Das letzte Kapitel ist wie immer aus Sicht der nächsten Schwester erzählt, also in diesem Fall Elektra. Auf ihr Buch bin ich jetzt auch sehr gespannt, genauso wie auf einen Nebencharakter, der in diesem Buch auch oft vorkam.

*This is a re-read and I have to say how much I have thoroughly enjoyed it. My review still stands and I feel as I get nearer to re-reading the penultimate book ‘The Missing Sister’ I will miss this series as others have said they are huge books*

*Tiggy in her Element*

Tiggy to me is a wonderful mystical person who has a lot of insight and her journey to find out where she originated from is fascinating.

Tiggy is the 5th sister who has been adopted by Pa Salt as they call him. He leaves their lives and each of them receives a clue to where they were originally born.

All the sisters are named after the seven sisters and in Tiggy’s case her real name is Taygete.

Tiggy is a Vegan and loves animals and is searching for her rightful fit in the world. We start with her working in Scotland looking after animals and the owner Charlie Kinnaird who interviewed her for the job is a cardiac surgeon but he also has the large estate to deal with.

Tiggy meets Chilly who is a gypsy living on the estate. When they meet he knows exactly who she is and some of what she hears chills her to the bone, but at the same time she starts to realise that she needs to dig deeper.

Eventually after a tragic event armed with the stories Chilly has told her she heads to Granada in Spain and manages to fill in lots of blanks and she must now decide whether to stay with the family she belongs to or does her heart belong in Scotland?…

Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why is it not enough to read one mediocre book, sigh deeply and immediately forget its existence? Why read the entire goddamn series? Long story short: The concept is so intriguing that I keep forgetting how lackluster the execution is. Adoption, cultural exploration, historical setting, boring style, unlikeable characters... wait, wait wait, where did this go wrong? I feel like that friend running back to their sh*tty ex over and over again. CeCe and Maia are the only two sisters I respect. There, I said it. Sue me. Which made reading this especially hard because I loved the Pearl Sister and had high expectations for the rest of the series.

Now that I've made my general opinion on the series clear, let's talk about "The Moon Sister".

First of all, the present arc. The preview from the last book made me think Tiggy was going to be fighting off poachers, gaining a hurt animal's trust - essentially a middle school horse movie upgraded for adult audiences. Instead I got to witness Tiggy's following accomplishments:
- making out with a married guy but don't worry, it's okay because his wife is a stuck-up bitch and uh,,,, a cheater, and ,,,, uh,,,, she never loved him anyways so ITS OKAY ITS NOT CHEATING
- lamenting about not wanting to be a homewrecker after she had already kissed him... what do you want me to say? Kissing someone else is cheating. You're a cheater. Sorry 'bout it.
- surviving a really weird sexual harrassment arc that added nothin' to anythin'. Seriously, what was the point? We knew Zed was an asshole. Why did we need to watch him follow Tiggy around for hundreds of pages, stalking her, making her uncomfortable...? Why? He isn't confronted about it. It doesn't lead to her bonding with her other sisters. It could have been cut out and the rest of the book would have been the same.
- running away from the hospital and leaving the country after being diagnosed with a heart condition, not telling anybody where she went and then being surprised and outraged when friends and family fly in and try to get her into medical care
- being referred to as "the sister with the intuition" about a thousand times, as though seeing into the future and past and communicating with dead people equals the normal human behaviour of subconsciously interpreting patterns?
- also, she needs to actively "concentrate" on Charlie to figure out she has sexual feelings for him? Some intuition that is.

All in all, her prime accomplishment is having almost as nonexistent of a character arc as Star, which is definitely impressive. Sure, the Scottish landscape is described beautifully, but does the lonesome setting really justify doing NOTHING except feeding cats, feeding neighbors, being stalked and flirting with a married dude?

Once more, this was a story in which the past was more interesting than the present, although I felt like this time Lucinda Riley didn't try as hard as she did with the third book to make it original. Lucia's character is basically just Carmen Amaya with some family issues glued around the corners.

On a positive note, I liked that Lucia was such an unapologetically unlikeable and uneducated character, not just another boring wannabe-sweetheart (yes, still bitter about Izabela). Completely self-absorbed, disinterested in political issues, emotional and direct. It's always refreshing to read a character that doesn't cry "Like me! Please like me" the entire book.

I wish the book had gone a little more into detail about Roma traditions and beliefs, but overall the past aspect of the story was solid. (And even that I'm saying with a laughing and a crying eye because as stated above, the character of Lucia as the centerpiece of it all, already existed before Lucinda Riley wrote about her, so I don't feel like she should get full credit for that.)

I didn't hate it as much as the Storm Sister, but this is still a two star read.
I should have stopped after Book Four.

My ratings of the Seven Sisters series:
Book 4 (✩✩✩✩ Loved the present, liked the past)
Book 1 (✩✩✩ Past boring, Present well-written)
Book 3 (✩✩✩ Present boring, Past well-written)
Book 5 (✩✩ Past interesting, present boring)
Book 2 (✩✩ both really boring with bright spots in between)

I've been looking forward to reading Tiggy's story -- she's the spiritual, almost otherworldly sister, who was described as working with animals, and since the first book, this has been the sister I most wanted to get to know.

Aside from my interest in learning more about about Tiggy, I knew I was reading the perfect book when I opened it, and one of the first pages had an illustration of a hedgehog on it; or a 'Hotchiwitchi' as they are known in the British Romani language. It may sound silly, but I adore hedgehogs, and that picture, combined with Tiggy being nicknamed after one, made me particularly happy to be reading this book.

It's getting trickier to review these without giving things away, but I loved everything about this. Especially the scenes in Scotland.
Tiggy is quite a magical character, in more ways than one, and I felt very attached to her. Throughout the course of this book, she learns about her connection to the gypsy community of Sacromonte. The journey her ancestors take is harrowing, colourful and riveting.
Also, an extended appearance by one of her sisters, the reappearance of a past figure that I deeply mistrust, and another sliver of information about Pa Salt, that once again raises more questions but provides no answers.

🌞I have now caught up with the series, and Electra's book, 'The Sun Sister' isn't out until a little later in the year. I've not been that keen on her as a character, but given how much I loved CeCe once I'd finished 'The Pearl Sister', I'm looking forward to its release!🌞

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every time I finish a Seven Sisters book, I find myself on pins and needles impatiently waiting for the next one to be released. Yes, they are THAT good!

Adopted by one man - Pa Salt - and raised together as sisters, each book focuses on one of the girls as they discover their ancestry and what part of the world they came from. The Moon Sister is Tiggy’s story. You’ll go from Geneva to Scotland to Spain with Tiggy as she discovers her heritage. Lucinda Riley has the most incredible writing style - so descriptive and captivating that you feel as if you are pulled into the story itself. I am super excited to read Electra’s story in the next one. I only wish I didn’t have to wait so long!

Although it’s not my favorite genre, I’m so glad I started this series. I highly recommend for anyone who loves historical fiction or anyone who is skeptical about reading historical fiction. I promise you will read a terrific story each and every time!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Lucinda Riley for an advanced copy to read in exchange for my honest review.

Kills me to do it, but this was so smarmy and contrived. Maybe being the 5th book in a beloved series and the author cranking it out in 9 months (!) while in and out of the hospital doesn't make for good storytelling. Chilly sitting waiting for tiggy in the Scottish highlands to "lead" her back to Spain was ridiculous . And Charlie and her spending a whopping 30 minutes together is all the time needed to drop your dream for a man. Ich. Props to Riley for historical and cultural research, as usual, and transporting me to live with Gitanos in Spain, but Lucia just sucked.

Tiggy's story coming autumn 2018!! Tiggy the spiritual sister in Scotland. I'm a very spiritual person so I can relate to her a lot.

I admit it, I just love these! Yes, one could complain about quite a few things. For one, they are more than a bit formulaic in nature, and they require and unbelievably huge suspension of disbelief. The suspension of disbelief and the formulaic weave together in a way that's impossible to ignore, except you can - if you fall in love with the premise. And each of the beautiful stories. This one as usual, had all the elements for me. And especially because Tiggy is the Spiritual sister, the one I have been waiting for this entire time!

Lord knows I don't like too give out plot details, but since this is fifth in a series, (Cannot wait for number six and seven!) I'd better let you know what you are getting into - because I was hooked by number one, and you really have to start there.

The Seven Sisters is book one, and it was introduced to me by Jolene. Who only got to read number one and two before she passed. This is one of my central reads in her honor. We read it at the same time at her suggestion (as moderator at the time for the Historical Fictionists). As the Olympics were in Brazil, the challenge was to read something from Brazil or South America. This was her pick, and I happily jumped on.

So here is the premise. An enigmatic rich old coot named Pa Salt, adopts six daughters, each who has an incredible lineage with highly accomplished grandparents who leave traits of their mystical talents within each of the six girls. He finds these babies in crevices and impossible places, and seemingly has knowledge of each of their pasts - lord knows how he possibly could find and know about each of these baby girls, but he does. And he aptly names them, each, after a star in the Seven Sisters Constellation, and each of them have characteristics that relate to the star itself. Each adopted less than a year apart. Still with me? Heavy suspension of disbelief. Pa Salt writes six letters to his daughters, and creates a statue, each with coordinates related to their brith, and in some cases an actual physical object from where they are from, and then he mysteriously dies in an suspicious accident, leaving each of them bereft. They are scattered all over the world to begin with, but they come home together in this first installment, at least some of them do, to each begin a journey to discover themselves, their origins, their hidden talents, and the legacy of their amazing grandparents, and the books are written on dual timelines, from the point of view of the grandparents generation. Of course, by Book Two, there are actual sightings and experiences of Pa Salt, who appears not to be quite dead - and he seems to figure into each of their journeys to find their way home.

Now for the formulaic part. Forgetting the amazing talented famous grandparents, and now I am through Book Five - there is a talent waiting for each of the girls, as well as a life destiny, and certainly a preordained love to go with it. The actual birth parents are less then five pages, and appear insignificant to the story except to birth our seven sisters, for whom nobody even knows or aware a child is born to them, except this mysterious Pa Salt, who swoops in to adopt them. Yes, you have to have a suspicion of disbelief and simply ride with it - to enjoy this series.

But.... They are wonderful! And beautiful, and each entrances you in a totally different world. These sisters find themselves and their entwined destinies and life loves in locales all over the globe, and its incredible. I almost want to say the story of Ce Ce, the sister I was least drawn to, the Pearl Sister, was still probably my favorite. But, I also loved the third, the story of Star, you know what, I loved them all!

But here's the kicker and the hook that takes you through the seven books. I knew after Book One, in its first pages that I would be reading the entire series - why? Because another mystery is left unanswered and I have to know! What happened to Merope, the seventh sister? Only six were adopted, and as far as we can tell, the mysterious Pa Salt was always searching for or was connected to Merope. The Seventh Sister. I have to know about the mystery of Pa Salt and these baby girls of famous lineage and I must know what happened to Merope! That alone hooked me in!

But first before Merope, is Electra! The Sun Sister, the super model party girl, who seems disconnected to her close sisters, selfish, narcissistic, and there is a rogue fellow, impudent cad, who is a definite bad guy of the book. He appears for sister one, two, five, and we have heard he has also dated sister six. Bad guy. He will appear again. Zed even appears in the few pages that are meant to link us to the next story. He is likely not the love interest, the sisters wouldn't have it. But... Is he connected to the missing elusive Merope? I just gotta know.

The Story of Tiggy (Taygate) takes us from the Wild Scottish Highlands where she works as an animal conservationist, to the hills of Granada, Spain, where she learns of her connection to a famous flamenco dancer, and to a line of seers/natural healers called "brujo." I have spoiled nothing. All this is on the side of the book, as is named her true love, who appears from the first pages to the last, its just great to watch her destiny unfold. There are wonderful elements that I won't mention, that will delight, and as part of the formula, there is usually a young kid involved, who needs a parent. The young teen in this book is as much a star of the show as is Tiggy.

This one made me remember you Jolene, and hold you close. By this point we would be like, yeah, love that Tiggy, but where the heck is Merope? I'd by the way love a new partner in crime. I'd like to know if anyone, (other than Kate) has actually read any in this series? Sun Sister, here we come!

4.5 - "At least we have beauty…" Stars!

The fifth book in the Seven Sisters series; The Moon Sister gives us Tiggy D’Aplièse’s story. Again, and like its predecessors this is a story that you will get lost in, because it is such a richly woven, and colorfully embellished tapestry of a tale.

"The wind did blow you here to me… After all these years, you came as was told."

Present day the story starts in the wilds of Scotland, Tiggy still reeling from Pa Salt’s unexpected death is trying to deal with the revelations from the letter he wrote giving clues to her birth, she takes solace in the Kinnaird Estate the wildlife, and a reluctant attraction to the Laird; Dr. Charlie Kinnaird.

"The secret of happiness is to try and live in the moment…"

Although these are books that can be read as standalones, because each sister has had her own adventure in general, I encourage you to make the commitment to read The Moon Sisters predecessors just so you have the full background of everything, but also so you can get the full picture of just how well this author crafts a story.

"Family is everything…"

We go from Scotland present day back to Granada, Spain 1912, and as the story unfolds journey to Madrid, Barcelona, Portugal, Argentina and the US, three generations of the Albaycin women feature heavily, especially in relation to Tiggy and her origins, and once again everything is pulled together with historical facts playing a part, from the Spanish Civil war and World War Two. As well as a, in-depth look in to the Spanish Gypsy community, their persecution and the magic of Flamenco.

Trust your instincts… they will never let you down.

I have to say that in a couple of aspects this was my least favourite of the series, the story while as exceptional as its predecessors for me was let down by a couple of characters who I struggled to find anything nice about or any empathy for, as their stories progressed, and the romance in this one is absolutely non-existent. I felt no connection between Tiggy and Charlie, they spend hardly any relevant time together so trying to then see them as a couple with feelings for each other as the story drew to a close didn’t really work for me.

That said, these are not short books, and I still found no struggle in its reading, I just didn’t find myself as emotionally connected to Tiggy and her story as I have with her sisters so far.

Zed Eszu, makes himself known in this one too, and I am interested to see how his involvement with Electra in the next book plays out. The bigger picture in the series in regards to Pa Salt is definitely started to show a little more clarity with a few hints in this book leaving you wondering. I just hope I can warm to Electra because the closing chapter of The Moon Sister was told from her POV and I can’t say it was love at first sight, but I need to see how the author closes this series out though with (hopefully) the final two books, so I will definitely be checking her book out.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

In het begin had ik niet zo veel met Tiggy. Maar het verhaal in het verleden had wel veel pit en vaart, en toen begon ook Tiggy's verhaal te lopen.

Met de leesclub hadden we lekker veel theorieën over hoe het een en ander zou kunnen lopen, dat was ook leuk.

Ja, het is weer meer van hetzelfde en het is een formule, maar eentje die voor mij goed werkt met deze leesclub!

De boeken zitten ook gewoon goed in elkaar vind ik en het leest lekker weg. Ik ben ook als boekverkoper erg blij met deze reeks want ik vind het heerlijk en prachtig om te zien hoe goed deze hele reeks verkoopt. Het krijgt en houdt veel mensen aan het lezen, het zorgt ervoor dat plezier in lezen weer opleeft bij mensen. En dat vind ik hartverwarmend!

I really loved "The Moon Sister" by Lucinda Riley. It's my top pick among the sisters' stories so far, and I'm excited to read the next three books. What hooked me was the cool mix of spiritual stuff and herbalist life, especially how it connects with the dead. Lucinda Riley tells the story in a way that makes you feel part of the journey. The way she describes things is so vivid, like you're right there in different times and places. "The Moon Sister" isn't just a book; it's like a whole experience that sticks with you. If you're into stories with a bit of magic, history, and a great adventure, this one's for you. Totally recommend it!

This is the 5th book in this series and the 4th that is about an individual one of the sisters. This is Tiggy's story and is captivating throughout. First of all, Tiggy has a gift with animals - she loves them and they respond very positively to her. She is very intuitive as well and senses many things around her. Tiggy has found a job in Scotland on the vast Kinnaird estate taking care of a few wildcats with the promise of the job expanding.

Tiggy's life changes after she meets Chilly, a gypsy who has lived on the Kinnaird estate for years. Chilly points Tiggy to her ancestors in Spain - this is where the backstory and Tiggy's heritage comes into play.

I found both the present story of Tiggy's life and the back story fascinating. She has a wonderful, interesting heritage and she is herself a lovable character. Each of the sisters' stories so far have revealed rich, very different backgrounds. I hope there is something at the end of all the sisters' stories to show us what brought Pa Salt to adopt these particular girls and why one sister is missing.

I look forward to the next book which is about the wild child sister, Elektra. There is an short excerpt of Elektra's story at the end of the book that tells me she is in trouble.

4,5 ⭐️

TAKE TWO REVIEW

I read this book only a few months ago, March to be exact. So why would I want to read it again so soon you ask? Well, I wanted to experience the Seven Sisters series again but in a whole new way.

I started re-reading the series back in April but this time, I started listening to all the books instead which proved to be quite a different experience all together. And now that all the sister stories are fresh in my mind, I was curious to see how this book held up on a second read through.

When I first got this book for review, I was excited to read another sisters book and in all honesty I felt like I rushed through it the first time trying to take it all in as I was excited to return to such an interesting and satisfying series.

So the big question is did I like this book just as much as I did the first time around? The first time around it was a 5 star review for me easily!

In all honesty, I don’t think I enjoyed this one as much this time around. As I mentioned in my previous review, Tiggy was the sister I felt no connection with. She is the ‘spiritual’ sister and definitely a little on the ‘earthy and crunchy’ side and she just wasn’t for me. But in this book I adored her tenderness and genuine heart for animals and healing. I ended up really enjoying TIggy almost more than the other sisters so far and that remained true this time around. I thought she was the most ‘modern’ of all the women and I think the one that many modern readers will identify with. She struggles to balance her career with her health and trying to keep her personal life separate from her romantic life.

I know that for me as a woman, I’ve worked so hard to get where I am at and then when I decided to stay home with my baby, it was a tough call. I felt like I would be giving up all that I worked for, but in the end I felt like this calling was more important than the cooperate ladder and I think this is something that Tiggy struggles with as well as Lucia in the historical part of the story which I think a lot of women readers will identify with on some level.

But that said, I felt like this book had some issues. I wasn’t sure that I entirely invested in Charlie and Tiggy’s romance. I think they only had a couple of conversations throughout the novel and I didn’t think that was enough to validate Charlier’s declarations of love later in the story. The modern story felt a little choppy in a way that the others didn’t, and I think the romance could have been great had there been more tension and build up between Tiggy and Charlie.

While this was a big of a disappointment for me, I think what ultimately bothered me was Lucia’s story. I did not like Lucia at all. I felt like she was unbelievably selfish, stubborn, and the ultimate diva! Was she strong and fierce when it came to defending her career and family? Yes. Absolutely. But was she likeable? For me, no. I had a hard time with her and felt so sorry for the people she took advantage of along the way, especially Menique and Maria. By the end I was relieved to be done with her story. I did feel sorry for her in the end and admired her because she was who she was and was unapologetic for it. She wasn’t maternal and she wasn’t the kind of person who would change and give up her dreams or career and I admired the author for not making her character change to suit traditional characters etc. But that doesn’t mean I liked her very much.

The upside though is I still loved the setting and though the Flamenco and gypsy culture was elegantly displayed and I was completely transported to Granada in every chapter of the book. My sister is currently vacationing in Granada so I recommended this book to her because the elegance of the city was really captured by the author in this book. I loved it for that.

So where does that leave me with the second time around rating. I ended up going to 4 stars. I wanted to go with 3 because of Lucia, but the more I thought about it I felt that 4 was more appropriate because I truly felt connected to Tiggy and her story and felt that while it was different than the other sister stories, it had Riley’s signature style of elegance, charm, and realism that I couldn’t deny.

See my take two review here

See my first review

Leider der bisher schwächste Band der Reihe. Es fällt immer mehr ab, aber ich werde trotzdem Weiterhören, da ich unbedingt wissen will was mit der verschwundenen Schwester und Pa Salt Phase ist ^^

Nun aber zu „Der Mondschwester Tiggy“: In diese Band hat mir weder die Gegenwart noch die Vergangenheit sonderlich gefallen. Interessanter war die Vergangenheit, aber hier war mir kein Protagonist sympathisch. Flamenco ist auch nicht so mein Thema und die vielen paranormalen Themen haben mich enorm gestört. Das war mir sowohl in der Vergangenheit, als auch in der Gegenwart viel zu viel Esoterik.
Die Geschichte der Gitanos in Spanien war aber ganz interessant. Das alleine reicht aber nicht ein 20h langes Hörbuch zu tragen, deshalb - und auch im Vergleich zu den anderen Bänden - meine Bewertung.

Zu viele Storylines waren mir an den Haaren herbeigezogen; ganz besonders wenn es um Tiggy ging. Ich hoffe Electras Story und Afrika als Setting wird mich im kommenden Band wieder begeistern können.

I bought this boom for £4 from Tesco as a nice chunky read to sit with for 10 hours at the lake. It was nice to read the descriptions of the Scottish Highlands, I've never gone further than Dundee! As much as I hate being cold, the crunchy pure virgin snow sounded inviting, the trees, wildcats, peace and isolation (issoollaattiioon-mighty boosh reference, educate!) made me want to be out there.
As with every book, there will always be something that I don't enjoy, for me this book rushed a non-existent relationship with Tiggy and Charlie. They met a grand total of once before she slowly destroyed a (yes..loveless, but not the point) marriage and mooned over him.
I also grew bored of the Lucia chapters, she was great to read about, but it dragged on, and took so many pages away from Tiggy I felt Tig's story just didn't develop any depth. Just sticking to the once main character and having SMALL side chapters would have been fine, but we ended up with Lucia having a great back story and plot, and Tiggy lacking substance and depth because of her limited page -time.

But it did what I bought it for, I has something to read by the lake...but I wouldn't recommend buying it, unless you see it for cheap in a charity shop!

When I picked up the first Seven Sisters novel over 5 years ago, little did I know that Lucinda Riley would transport me to vast reaches of other cultures and historical timeframes. The Moon Sister is the fifth in Riley's magical series.

You know the series premise if you are reading this review-A wealthy man adopts 6 sisters and names them after the Seven Sister of the Pleiades. Upon his death the sisters are each provided with a clue to their heritage.

Lucinda Riley did a superb job of creating the atmosphere in this novel. The transitions from current day to historical fiction were seamless. This is no small feat as many authors stumble moving from one time period to another. The writing flows so effortlessly that the reader remains engaged.

Bravo!

Esta vez me ha interesado muchísimo más el hilo del presente pero lo remata de forma precipitada y muy previsible. El hilo del pasado no me ha interesado apenas y tampoco me ha emocionado.

2.5
Niestety do tej pory ta część podobała mi się najmniej. Nie moje klimaty. Główna bohaterka jakaś taka bez wyrazu. Nie mogłam się jakoś wkręcić do tej historii.

The 5th book in the Seven Sisters series is not my favourite but a super read, never the less. It is about Tiggy, who is based in Scotland, moves to Granada Spain, via Geneva, and then back to Scotland again. As with all the seven sister books, there is a dual timeline, with one of the sisters finding out about their heritage, this time Tiggy coming from a Gypsy heritage in Granada Spain. There is much about Maria, her husband Jose, and their children. Lucia is not particularly likeable, but from childhood lives for dance. It's Lucias daughters daughter, who is Tiggys mum. Her parents' story seemed rushed, and I wanted far more of their story. That said wonderful, accessible, beautiful writing. I'll be said when the series ends, so I am spacing them out as much as I can.

Predivna priča, zapravo priče iz kojih se fino prepletenih sastoji svaki Lusindin roman. Svakim svojim dijelom ovaj serijal postaje sve bolji i bolji i izaziva zavisnost od čitanja sljedećeg nastavka...Pa tako, kao i svaki put do sada nestrpljivo čekam objavu datuma izlaska novog nastavka...

‘And at last, with the thought of my roots extending back over five hundred years, something stirred in my heart, as I began to feel the unbroken invisible thread that connected us all.’

The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley is the fifth book in the Seven Sisters series. It’s the story of Tiggy, who up until now, has been a bit of an enigma, not featuring all that much at all in the previous four novels. Consequently, I went into this novel with no real preconceived notions about who she was and what to expect – a refreshing change, particularly as the two previous novels about Star and CeCe were both reasonably well developed, character wise, from the very beginning of the series. Unfortunately, the next sister, Electra, who will feature in book six, has been fully fleshed out and she’s not a character I’m looking forward to, the sneak peak at the back of this book confirming that she is typical of my least preferred character type: ‘the wasted celebrity who just wants to be loved’. I’m hedging my bets that out of the whole series, my two favourite sisters will remain Maia and Ally, from books one and two respectively. You might wonder why I’m even referring to the previous books, much less the next that hasn’t even been released, but this series is a fairly comprehensive and lengthy one, making it all the more difficult to assess each instalment in isolation.

I really appreciated the historical thread of this novel. Set primarily in Granada, the story was like a moving element, making its way through the years and the exotic locations in equal measure: Barcelona, Madrid, Portugal, all through South America, up into North America, and then back to Granada, in Sacromonte, where the story originally began. The atmosphere was richly detailed, the eras recreated with historical significance. My favourite parts were those set in Sacromonte, as I found the history of this place particularly fascinating. I have previously read a novel set in 15th century Granada, Court of Lions, so my interest in this part of the world was already piqued. But whereas Court of Lions was about the last Sultan of Granada, The Moon Sister is about the Granadian Gypsies who settled in Granada after the Christian conquest of the city in 1492. The story here begins in 1912, where the descendants of those original Granadian Gypsies are living in caves built into the slopes of Cerro de San Miguel on the edge of the Camino del Sacromonte. This ‘neighbourhood’ exists outside the walls of the city, and has done so since the 16th century. It is filled with poverty, its inhabitants marginalised, living on the fringes in a manner that differs little from centuries gone by. The Sacromonte offers views of indescribable beauty: the towers of the Alhambra, the white slopes of the Albaycin, the Valparaiso valley and the River Darro. For the gypsies inhabiting this area, their isolation was a curious mix of self imposed – to protect their racial purity – and centuries of being shunned. The poverty was profound. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like, dwelling in these caves. Google doesn’t offer much insight as they’ve all been restored into fashionable boutique dwellings now for tourism, and despite tags of ‘authenticity’ being applied, I highly doubt they really looked like what is being represented today. The heat must have been extreme, this is Spain after all, and the climb for water, up and down mountain paths. It almost beggars belief. But there was such a strong sense of community and culture, despite the apparent hardships. Anyway, I found this entire history well rendered, it truly captivated me. I love how historical fiction can bring such far flung worlds to life.

‘I paused and looked up at the Alhambra. It had stood there for almost a thousand years, solid as the earth it had been built upon. It had watched the trials and tribulations of us humans – from the Moors of a millennium ago, to Isabella of Spain, to me – and I suddenly thought that Ally was right, and that our lives were so fleeting compared to anything taken from the earth. In the valley below me, trees had stood there for hundreds of years, and even after they were pulled from the earth, had provided furniture from their sturdy bodies that still remained long after the people that had sat down on them had passed on.’

I had expected – hoped for – a bit more detail on the Spanish Civil War, but our characters fled on the first night, so it touched them in a ‘second-hand’ kind of way. Later, after the war, more of the devastation was alluded to when Maria returned to Granada, a mention of the ‘clearing out’ of the gypsies from the Sacromonte caves and the fate of her own family, but the story swiftly moved on. The focus was primarily on Lucia, the flamenco dancer, who was Tiggy’s grandmother, and I have to say, a truly ridiculous human being. Her ignorance shone as brightly as her dancing talents. I had to keep reminding myself she was an adult, her behaviour was childish in the extreme. Take this instance as an example, where a five star hotel in New York refuses her hospitality:

‘“Lucia, they might not be so happy about what you did to their expensive wooden cabinets when we were last here.”
“Well, how else was I supposed to grill my sardines? I needed wood for fire!” she insisted.’

Trashing hotel rooms, 1940s style! But really, she couldn’t have just called room service and asked for grilled sardines? Lucia was a character that erred on the side of too much. She was filthy, always dirty and stinking, her living space as well as her own person. She was pigheaded and ignorant, selfish and overly dramatic. I kind of hated her, but fortunately her supporting cast, for the most part, were much more appealing, particularly her mother Maria, her brother Pepe, and her lover Menique. I was able to tolerate these sections with Lucia at the helm in part because these other characters seemed to be fully aware of exactly what Lucia was really like, yet the gypsy mantra of sticking together meant that they put up with her behaviour and just soldiered on. Lucia had never received an education, could not even write her own name, and at the age of ten, she was taken from her mother by her father and pressed into child labour as a flamenco dancer while he played guitar. Much was made of her extraordinary talent, but by the time she reached adulthood, her talent was all she had to offer. She was a pretty toxic person, truly ignorant, not even comprehending the world outside of dancing enough to realise that a war had broken out right on her doorstep. Bombs were raining down and she just kept on dancing, risking the lives of everyone around her because she was too stupid to listen to Menique’s warnings.

‘He also wondered at Lucia’s level of emotional maturity.’

Don’t worry Menique, I was wondering the same thing myself!

There was a fair bit of hocus pocus gypsy woo-woo in this novel, probably a bit too much for my liking, but each to their own. Tiggy was a solid character, strong in her principles and steady in her focus. The ending to the contemporary storyline was a tad cliché, and certainly a little too convenient, and I felt Tiggy acted a bit too much out of character for it to really fly. I don’t want to spoil anything but if I say ‘Frasergate’ here, you’ll know what I mean when you get to that part. Anything at all to do with animals and Tiggy’s interaction with them was beautifully done. I really liked that whole ‘Mother Nature’ aspect of Tiggy’s characterisation. It was also very nice to see Maia and Ally pop up in this novel for a bit of sisterly interaction with Tiggy. This character cross over solidified the sisters as a family unit, as opposed to six individual women going their separate ways to search for their ‘true family’. One thing though that is wearing thin is the whole mystery surrounding Pa Salt, not just his death, but even his life. I find it really hardly to believe that none of the daughters know what their father did for a living. That just seems a little far fetched. And I’m highly dubious about the adoptions of these girls in the first place. Rich single man, just happens to be in the right place at the right time, anywhere in the world, to take home a baby. He makes international adoption seem rather easy. But my real bug bear here is the allusion that he may still be alive. This has been drip fed to us since the first book, and I felt we were on the verge of actually finding something out in Tiggy’s story, only to have the plot turn 180 degrees away from further elaboration. Managing a mystery over a series this long is a delicate balance but my patience is beginning to wear thin. Don’t even get me started on the missing seventh sister.

I did enjoy this novel, but it’s not my favourite out of the series. Essential reading though if you are travelling along this Seven Sisters journey like I am. This book felt longer than the others, but a check on the page count confirms this is more about my reaction to it than the actual amount of pages. I am looking forward to this series wrapping up, but as yet, I’m not sure if it has one book left or two – another mystery! Three and a half cups but I’m not able to picture it that way as I have no half cup emoji.

Me va a costar mucho decir lo que opino de este libro, porque me esperaba muchísimo más, y tengo que decir que ha sido mi decepción del año.
Después de haber leído 4 libros de la saga, llegar al quinto que sucede en España, para mi era el broche de oro para terminar el año. Pero la verdad, es que este libro no me ha gustado y me ha costado terminarlo.
Esta saga tienen la peculiaridad que están narrados siempre en dos líneas temporales, la del pasado y la del presente. Como norma general, siempre hay una que suele gustarme más, y suele ser la del pasado... Pero en este libro, ni la historia de Tiggy (la hermana en la que se centra el quinto libro) ni la historia de sus antecesores, han conseguido captar mi atención.
Además, nos encontraremos 2 ubicaciones principales, Granada y Escocia, y en ninguna de ellas, la autora consigue envolver al lector y hacer que te sitúes allí como en otros libros que suceden en Brasil, Australia, etc.
Sin ninguna duda, para mi éste ha sido el libro más flojo de la saga, y sinceramente, era del que más esperaba por estar ambientado aquí en España. Me apetecía ver como la autora había descrito nuestras costumbres y los rincones de Granada y en qué se había inspirado, pero, como dije al principio, me he llevado una decepción...

This is the fifth book in The Seven Sisters series by Northern Irish author Lucinda Riley, featuring the adopted daughters of Pa Salt, each named after one of the stars in the Pleiades. This is Tiggy’s story (Taygete) and shifts between her life on the Kinnaird estate in the Scottish highlands and the story of her Gitano (gypsy) ancestors in Spain.

Tiggy is an animal conservationist and delighted to be working in Scotland rehoming wild cats. Everything changes when she meets Chilly, an ancient gypsy living on the estate who believes he is to send her home to Sacromonte, Granada, to meet her family. Given the awkward situation she finds herself in, feeling a strong attraction for her boss, the Laird of Kinnaird, Charlie, and pursued by persistent millionaire Zed, she decides to do just this.

In Granada, she discovers the story of the Gitanos living in caves built into the slopes of Cerro de San Miguel on the edge of the Camino del Sacromonte. In particular she learns about Lucia Amaya-Albaycin, her grandmother, a famous flamenco dancer. The book shifts back to 1912 to Lucia’s story, which moves from Sacromonte to Barcelona, and through the Spanish Civil War she flees to Portugal, then Argentina and the USA where she pursues her dream of becoming a famous dancer.

I found both stories interesting and the settings atmospheric, but both also had their irritations. Lucia is a selfish, stubborn and childish character who I wanted to shake at times. Tiggy is constantly referred to as the intuitive one, but with very little evidence to support this in my mind. In Spain she spends a whole 10 days learning to be a Bruja, which apparently transforms her life and gives her both the second sight and healing hands, enough to get her employed by a vet with no qualifications . She is an animal lover above all else yet casually abandons her pet hedgehog Alice without a second thought. There are glaring medical errors. Zed is a major part of the story and then this storyline simply evaporates, possibly to recur in the subsequent book. The Spanish Civil War is almost mentioned in passing with very little context. Despite the flaws, the settings and secondary characters such as Annalina, Chilly and Menique were engaging enough to make it a pleasant read. I’m not entirely sure whether I am committed enough to read any more of the series but I can see that the premise is attractive enough to get readers hooked in for the ride. 3.5 stars

3,5 Sterne

Das ist das erste Mal bei dieser Reihe, dass ich die Geschichte in der Gegenwart besser fand, als die in der Vergangenheit.
Lucia war mir von Anfang an unsympathisch und es wurde mit Zunahme der Seiten nur schlimmer. So blöd es klingt, aber sie ist in ihrer Welt eine unglaublich verwöhnte Göre. So eine egoistische Protagonistin habe ich selten erlebt. Sie hat so viel Leid und irgendwie auch Verwüstung bei ihrer Familie und Freunden hinterlassen, dass es mich unglaublich wütend gemacht hat. Natürlich hat ihr Vater da entscheidend mitgewirkt, aber sorry, als Erwachsene war sie für sich selbst verantwortlich und hatte wirklich kein Recht, andere da für ihr "Elend" zu beschuldigen.
Dafür ist mit Tiggy in der Gegenwart umso sympathischer. Vor allem nach Star und CeCe, die mich beide nicht überzeugen konnten, ist sie im Moment nach Ally meine Lieblingswschwester. Warum, wieso, weshalb diese Krankheit von ihr sein musste, kann ich auch jetzt immer noch nicht nachvollziehen, denn meiner Meinung nach hätte die Story auch ohne gut funktioniert, aber so what. Künstlerische Freiheit muss sein.
Insgesamt war dieses Mal das Ende irgendwie hölzern, ich kann es nicht richtig greifen, aber es war platt, überhaupt nicht rund und zufriedenstellend. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass das gewisse Etwas dieses Mal leider gefehlt hat.