The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley

This is Book #5 in The Seven Sisters series. It was my least favorite of what I have read so far. It's not that I didn't like it, but Tiggy's ancestors were hard to take! The fifth sister is Taygete but everyone calls her Tiggy. Both her story and that of her Great Grandmother, Lucia, were full of the more negative aspects of life: poverty, philandering, theft, poaching, selfishness, bigotry, death. Since Tiggy comes from a family of gitanos (gypsies), she possesses a "6th sense" like many of her ancestors. Her 6th sense allows her to aid in the recovery of animals, which is probably why she has dedicated her life (26 years) to caring for and saving animals and working at an animal sanctuary. Tiggy accepts a position at the Kinnaird Estate in the Highlands of Scotland when the animal sanctuary closes down. Tiggy falls in love with the owner of the Kinnaird Estate, who is married and has a teenage daughter. (And that's just the beginning of that tangled family dynamic!)

The foundation story is that of Lucia, an infamous flamenco dancer in the early 1900s. She leaves home (the caves outside the city walls of Granada, Spain) with her father at the age of 10 to become famous. Her ultimate goal, other than being the most famous and most talented flamenco dance of all time, is to get to the USA. Lucia and her father, Jose, are two of the most selfish people I have ever had to read about! They care about themselves and only themselves. They will do whatever it takes to get what they want. It's astounding to me that their family was able to "accept them for who they were", because I would have written them off for sure! Maria, Jose's wife and Lucia's mother, tries really hard to forgive them again and again, but eventually finds her own life (and true love), which is a relief. Maria and Jose had four other children (all sons), but three of the four die (one from illness; two in the civil war in Spain). Jose barely acknowledges their deaths. He was truly an unlikable person. Eventually Lucia gets pregnant, much to her indignation. She loves the baby's father, but he finally leaves her after many years of dedicating his life to her, and before he finds out she is pregnant. She is too proud and angry and selfish to inform him of her pregnancy, so she just leaves the USA to return to Granada with her mother to give birth. She takes terrible care of her own body when she is pregnant and it's amazing that her baby, Isabel, is even born healthy. Seriously. Anyway, Lucia leaves Spain again when Isabel is only 4 months old. She's leaves Isabel with Maria to raise. Isabel, is Tiggy's mother.

Lucinda Riley bases the character of Lucia Amaya Albaycin on a real flamenco dancer (Carmen Amaya), so she again weaves fiction into history in a skillful way. The Gitanos were ostracized and seemed to be banned worldwide (even in the USA) from "nice" establishments. They were treated like second-class citizens. I thought it was interesting though that Lucia and Maria were able to pass themselves off as non-Gitanos just by cutting their hair and changing their attire. 

So, again, although these books are always incredibly fascinating and explore different parts of worldwide history, I didn't care for it as much simply because of my feelings about Lucia, who is obviously a main character. Although I understand that it takes a lot of persistence and hard work to be infamously successful, I don't think that precludes showing a little bit of kindness.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This book made me sad. How tragic that a woman would feel like she had to separate forever from her family who loved her, to "become" someone else that is more "accepted" in society and to live her life "freely". How sad that she lived a lie; that she felt like she could not share her truth with her husband or daughter. Since I have never experienced racism personally, and being born in the 60's, it was shocking to read about neighbors trying to prevent black families from moving into their neighborhood. Although I do remember something similar happening in my own neighborhood in the 70's when some of our neighbors tried to prevent a family from India moving into our neighborhood. I hadn't remembered that until I read this book. I know many believe that racism still runs rampant in our country, but I think we have come a long way from even the 1950s. Only in baby steps I guess. Our country may be "the melting pot" of the world (at least that's what I learned in grade school), but our progress towards total equality (between races; between sexes) has been slow.

The moment that Stella left Desiree and "became white", she must have realized that she could never be truly happy in her life. She seemed to really love her husband, Blake, and he seemed to really love her, but there was this huge "lie" between them. Obviously, this deception affected the way she raised Kennedy. Kennedy never seemed to feel loved or accepted by her mother. Stella kept her at arms-length away. Again, very sad. Stella's abandonment definitely affected Desiree's life deeply as well too. Desiree spent so much time longing for her sister that she wasn't living her own life to the fullest. In the end, she had a better relationship with her daughter, Jude, but some of that was Jude's doing. Once Jude understood her mother's life in more detail (and felt the same rejection that Desiree had experienced by Stella), then I think it tightened their bond. It's just a shame that everyone had to keep so many secrets, thinking they needed to "protect" each other from the truth. What a difficult way to live.

I wonder if Desiree would have married Sam if Stella had not abandoned her. Maybe she would have anyway since Sam appeared charming in the beginning. I know that Desiree felt like a failure to run home to Mallard and her mother, escaping her abusive husband, but I think that took courage and strength. Many abused women just stay with their abuser, which harms their children as well as themselves. I liked how Desiree developed a meaningful relationship with Early. How wonderful he ended up being, caring for Adele like she was his own mother. Another touching relationship was Jude & Reese's. They were so accepting of each other. In the end, Desiree and Jude (mother & daughter) seemed happiest to me, chasing their dreams and allowing them to unfold through hard work (Jude in med school) and taking a leap of faith (Desiree moving to Houston with Early).

This was not a "feel good" book, but it has a significant message, which makes it thought-provoking and meaningful. The ending left me feeling happy for Desiree and Jude; hopeful for Kennedy; and sad for Stella. You just can't live someone else's life and be truly happy on the inside.

Wendy' Rating: *****

The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley

Book 4 of the The Seven Sisters series. Again, loved it! The fourth sister is CeCe (Celaeno). Celaeno is the star that does not shine very brightly in the sky. CeCe is aptly named. She is insecure and lonely since separating from her sister, Star. She needs to find herself. She is an artist, and got accepted to a prestigious art school in London, but she drops out. She can't even figure out what to paint anymore. She is highly critical of her talent and her looks. She doesn't realize that other people see her as beautiful, inside and out.

Her journey to find her birth family starts in Thailand, where she meets a fugitive from the law, unbeknownst to her. She has a relationship with Ace and seems to really be enamored of him. This is important because all of her past relationships have not been fulfilling to her, in any sense of the word. Her life to this point had been consumed with the most important relationship in her life: her sister, Star. Ace encourages her to continue on her search for her birth family in Australia, even telling her that he may join her there.

The historical story of CeCe's birth family is fascinating. Her ancestor is named Kitty McBride. Kitty leaves her home (at the age of 18) in Scotland to travel as a ladies companion to Adelaide, Australia, where she meets the love of her life and her future husband. Her husband's family is prominent in the pearl industry in Broome, Australia. Living in Broome is not for the feint of heart! Kitty moves to Broome with her new husband, Andrew, and settles into a town that struggles with the "haves" and "have nots"; the whites and the aborigines; and rampant racism. The Australian outback is dangerous and difficult. It is extremely hot and red dirt permeates everything, especially in the "wet season" when red mud wipes out everything in its path. (This is ironic because the Pearl Masters always wear pure white from head to toe.)

As always, Lucinda Riley weaves fiction into historical events. I knew next to nothing about the pearl industry. I learned a lot about the pearl industry and how it evolved, this period of time in Australia and Aboriginal art. The reader "discovers" these things along with Kitty at the same time as CeCe does. It's always interesting to see how the sisters connect to the past (through the generations). Sometimes people die when I don't want them to. Sometimes the people I want together don't get together when I want them to. But in the end, there is always a positive influence on the sister's life who discovers her heritage. A lot of "growth" and fortunately, a happier, more fulfilling life.

I really love this series!

Wendy's Rating: *****