Review: The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley

From New York Times bestselling author Lucinda Riley, The Moon Sister transports you to the grandeur of the remote Scottish Highlands and the gypsy caves of Granada, just as Spain descends into civil war, interweaving the stories of two women searching for their destinies, at the risk of potentially losing their chance at love.

Tiggy D’Aplièse spends her days experiencing the raw beauty of the Scottish Highlands doing a job she loves at a deer sanctuary. But when the sanctuary is forced to close, she is offered a job as a wildlife consultant on the vast and isolated estate of the elusive and troubled laird, Charlie Kinnaird. She has no idea that the move will not only irrevocably alter her future, but also bring her face-to-face with her past.

At the estate, she meets Chilly, a gypsy who fled from Spain seventy years before. He tells her that not only does she possess a sixth sense passed down from her ancestors, but it was foretold long ago that he would be the one to send her back home…

In 1912, in the poor gypsy community outside the city walls of Granada, Lucía Amaya-Albaycin is born. Destined to be the greatest flamenco dancer of her generation—and named La Candela, due to the inner flame that burns through her when she dances— Lucía is whisked away by her ambitious and talented guitarist father at the tender age of ten to dance in the flamenco bars of Barcelona. Her mother is devastated by the loss of her daughter and as civil war threatens in Spain, tragedy strikes the rest of her family. Now in Madrid, Lucía and her troupe of dancers are forced to flee for their lives, their journey taking them far across the water to South America and eventually, to North America and New York—Lucía’s long-held dream. But to pursue it, she must choose between her passion for her career and the man she adores. The Moon Sister follows these two women on their journey to discover their true futures—but at the risk of potentially losing the men they had hoped to build futures with.

Hardcover, 742 pages

Published November 2018 (first published 2018)

Terri's Thoughts

I have had a love affair with this series from the very beginning.  As Riley is in the process of writing the series and I discovered it at the very beginning, it has now been 5 years that I have been committed to it.  As the first book was titled The Seven Sisters, I am assuming I have two more years to go until all will be revealed.  That's right, I having been waiting a year between each book.  As I have difficulty committing to what I want to do tomorrow, this means I really love this series.

It took me a little longer to get in to this story compared to the others however once it hit it's groove I was lost in the pages.  As usual, I was captivated by the story from the past, Lucia's journey and how in the end it related to Tiggy and her heritage.  For the first time in the series, I was not a fan of the main character form the past.  I found Lucia selfish and self indulgent as well as her father.  This was written intentionally, I am pretty sure nobody was meant to love her.  I did however want to stick with her journey to see how it would play out, and at least to see what happened to her mother whom I was invested in.

For Tiggy, I was invested to see if she would choose her future while learning about her past.  Normally I am raving rainbows and unicorns when it comes to this series.  This is pretty much the only spot where I feel the need to offer some criticism.  While I love Tiggy, I felt that the romantic aspect to her story was a little week and I felt she deserved more.  In the attempt to try not to give anything away, I simply do not think it is possible that a relationship can develop in the short amount of time she spent with her crush.  If I were to add it up, it would likely be less than two hours total, maybe three.  The chemistry was not there for me and add to it the numerous complications in their way, I really wasn't cheering a happy ending on that front.  I would have preferred if it ended a little more unresolved than the direction the story took.  That being said, it wasn't really the focal point of the story.

This series has taken the reader all over the world thus far.  None have captivated me as much as the Sacromonte caves outside of Granada.  I literally paused mid book to research them.  Although today's reality is not the same as the 1912 version, I simply need to visit this place.  It is now up near the top of places I need to see on my bucket list.  I can't explain why, but I feel the need to visit.  A big thank you to Lucinda Riley for bringing my attention to a place I have never heard of.

Finally I dedicate this review to my Mom.  For anyone who read my last review of this series knows, This series was something I was sharing with her and I lost her this time last year so we will not be able to finish it together.  As I said last time, I promise to finish this series for her so that I can let her know what the mystery of Pa Salt is.  While it is not the same without her, she was as invested in the series as I so I simply need to let her know the outcome.

About the Author

AKA: Lucinda Edmonds
Lucinda Riley was born in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into over thirty five languages and sold fifteen million copies worldwide. She is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.

Lucinda is currently writing The Seven Sisters series, which tells the story of adopted sisters and is based allegorically on the mythology of the famous star constellation. The first five books, The Seven Sisters, The Storm Sister, The Shadow Sister, The Pearl Sister and The Moon Sister have all been No.1 bestsellers across the world, and the rights to a multi-season TV series have already been optioned by a Hollywood production company. 

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