The Storm Sister
Lucinda Riley
Ally and her five sisters have just lost their adoptive father, Pa Salt. Each of them were adopted at birth, and now it is up to them to decide whether they want to know their pasts or not. Ally has always loved Sailing, but perhaps her history says that she should be more musically inclined.
I put off reading this novel for a very long time, because I knew it was the second in the series. Finally, in a bid to cull down the number of older novels I had sitting on my shelf, I decided to pick it up. A quick google of the first novel in the series seemed to suggest that I didn’t need to read the first one – this was definitely the case.
The blurb promises that Ally is beginning to question where the 7th sister is, but I didn’t get that vibe from her at all in the novel. She was too busy wrapped up in her own things to think about her sister(s) at all for what I could tell. Ally seemed very selfish to me, considering that she was considered the most practical of the sisters.
When I sat down to this, I found that some parts were far more compelling than others. Take the ‘real world’ for instance, where Ally is grieving for lost loves and yet hunting her background at the same time. In the past, read as a journal / biography / translation by the reader, things are far more exciting and real.
Jesus. Ally. Could you be any more dense? You’ve JUST read the story of Anna, and you’re too dumb to work out your own life? Oh woe is me. For someone who was just passionately in love, you’re certainly turning your eyes to someone else pretty quickly! Ugh. I couldn’t love you, and I couldn’t wait to move on from reading about you to someone else.
It was fine for reading. But just fine. Not fantastic, or anything new for the majority of the novel. 3 stars.
This was such a slow novel. I was halfway through and saying to my partner that I wasn’t sure I could face keeping on reading it. I started out being a bit wary of it, because of the changing perspectives.
I wasn’t won over by the way there were ‘bytes’ of information from the way that Scarlett and Lucas thought. I didn’t like the consciousnesses changing, and I thought Avery was an idiot. A rich, spoilt idiot.
Oh yeah, who’s going to cheer for that entirely surprising ending? Uh, that would be me. I didn’t see that coming at all. Should I have? Were the signs there? I can’t remember.
I didn’t even realise Earl was black. Call me stupid, but I didn’t even look at the front cover before I started this novel. And then it doesn’t bother me that people would be a different race to me, so I guess I didn’t pick it up for ages.
This novel is filled with ‘F-bombs’, sex and a rather disgusting sense of humour. But that being said, I laughed out loud at some of the dialogue, and although I’d never purchase it on my own, I think it’s a good read to borrow from a friend.
I really enjoyed the 
This novel covers only part of Neil’s journey! It is astounding how much he has travelled on his trusty bike. I can’t believe it, but then I think of other people who have cycled around the exterior of Australia and straight across the middle. Still though, its amazing what one man on a tiny bike can do if he is determined.
I read this novel a while ago now. I thought I had read it a long time ago (pre-blog) and so when it took my eye again while I was rearranging my shelves, I thought I’d better give it a review. Turns out I’d never read it, or I hadn’t read it closely enough.
Cliche, cliche, cliche. Fall for for the ‘bad boy’, get dumped, go back to the ‘safe choice’. Seriously girl, I’d be pretty worried you know what love is before you head off into the woods with someone.