This is the most recent book in the series as of this review. The seventh book of the Seven Sisters series answers the overarching question that has remained unanswered since the beginning: Who was the seventh sister that Pa Salt never found?

This book answers that question all the while reuniting the six sisters from the previous book. Also know: Minor Spoilers Ahead.

General Disclaimer

My general disclaimer for this book, and the last time you’ll probably see it since I don’t think Atlas, the eighth and final book, will address Pa Salt’s heritage so much as why Pa Salt adopted all of the sisters and his found family through them.

While this series does involve each character finding their birth family, I do not believe that it was the author’s intent to diminish adopted families. Having read the series, I interpreted it as each daughter being given the choice to find their birth families if they so choose. With each daughter choosing to investigate their history.

Synopsis

When Maia, Ally, Star, CeCe, Tiggy, and Electra receive news about the seventh sister that Pa Salt never found, they decide to look into it. They hope to spark a connection, find out what happened, and why this seventh sister wasn’t found. Their investigation brings them to New Zealand, Canada, England, France and Ireland. Along they way they meet Merry and her daughter Mary-Kate, who may hold the secret to the missing sister.

Jumping back into the 1920’s we get to hear the story of Nuala. Nuala is an Irish woman living through Ireland’s war for independence. Her journey details with where she and her family stand, what actions she takes, and what it was like during this turbulent time.

Positives

I’m a sap for Ireland centered stories, being of Irish decent myself and having a curiosity to learn more about Irish history. So one thing I enjoyed was how this book explored Ireland and it’s history. And with this taking place during a time of conflict, getting a sort of look into it from one perspective was neat.

I also liked how we finally got the sisters all back together for this. With this “missing sister” being something that was referenced multiple times throughout the series, it was nice to see that they didn’t leave this plot point on the cutting room floor.

Another thing I thought was a neat reflection of the story was with Merry and her daughter Mary-Kate. Mary Kate finds herself learning more about herself and her family and finds out the truth about her relationship with Merry.

Critiques

The critiques I have are with Merry and how they approached the search for her. Merry was a character that I had mixed feeling on. On the one hand, I understand why she wouldn’t want to meet with the D’Aplièse sisters to a degree. However, her constantly running was something that I found a bit repetitive and annoying at times. Merry does eventually agree to meet up with them, and readers are able to get a conclusion, but O was a little tired of the constant “the D’Aplièse sisters get to the location Merry’s at, but oh no, she fleed the country” cycle.

On the other hand, I can also see how the approach could have been done better. Realistically, it would feel odd if a group of people kept following you wishing to met, even if it wasn’t just the D’Aplièse sisters Merry was trying to evade. So that part makes sense.

On the other, It felt like it just prolonged the inevitable. I’m not opposed to her trying to avoid the D’Aplièse, just that it shouldn’t have lasted as long as it did. I think it would have been nice or at the very least manageable, if after a while of avoiding them, it’s Mary-Kate who decides to act as a mediator and/or talks her mother into speaking to them much sooner. And from there, resolve any issues and explore Merry and Nuala’s stories. But, that’s just my thoughts on it.

Conclusion

I would give this book a seventy eight percent. This rating I believe will log it as my third favorite in the series. I found the premise of finding the “missing sister” to be a good one, and a great way to tie up that loss end. I also thought it was interesting as far as Nuala’s story taking place during Ireland’s war for independence. The only think I wish they had done better was how they approached the D’Aplièse sisters went looking for their missing sister and aspects of Merry’s story.