The Storm Sister

The main narrator's strong accent was not so pleasant to hear all the time. I enjoyed more the parts played in the past, with a different narrator. It's a pity because the story is actually very engaging and nice. I'll try the next one, hoping that the parts with a French accent will be less.

Oh dear. I enjoyed the first audiobook in this series - however, I couldn't get five minutes into this one. The narration, awful choice of accent and quality of the recording is appalling compared to the first in this series. I hope the publishers consider doing another recording of this book, because it's a shame to have this be the follow up to the quality of the first. Will probably read this installment and try the next on audiobook, hoping for a better experience.

Love the book, but the narration is HORRIBLE!! All the Norwegian names are miss-pronounced (I am a Swede, so I know Norwegian). I had previously listened to this book in Swedish, and I had to stop listening to the English version and go back to the Swedish translation. I ALWAYS listen to English books in English, this is the first time I actually prefer the translation. Please let there be another narrator for the third book! Sorry, just my opintion. The book gets 5 stars, the narration gets 0.

I loved the book itself ..... the recording was horrible with several minutes left out at intervals throughout and it said there was an hour left and it stopped playing saying that the book was finished

Ok book..not as good as book one..look forward to book three.

So many captivating story lines. So many heart breaking scenes. A master piece.

I did not know this was the second book of a series when I started reading it. I knew it was part of a series but I thought it was the first one. I’ve read several books by Ms. Riley at this point as I enjoy her mix of current and historical story lines. I will admit to enjoying the historical portions more than the modern day ones but I’m sure that doesn’t surprise any of you.This book focuses on Ally, one of the 6 girls adopted by the mysterious Pa Salt. Not much is really known about him other than he adopted at least 6 girls, he has a heck of a lot of money and he’s dead. Beyond that only snippets are given about the patriarch of the family. Ally is an experienced sailor – she has been invited to try out for the Swiss Olympic team. But for now she is participating in a race and it’s another sailor that has caught her eye.Ally is not looking for love yet she finds it with the enigmatic Theo. A racing captain that holds the respect of sailors and boat owners alike. They do a little dance around each other for a while but once they connect the relationship moves along very quickly. In fact, Ally is with Theo when she learns of her father’s passing. He helps her get back to the family home. There she reunites with her sisters and learns of her legacy from her father. He gives each of the girls a clue to their origins and they can decide to pursue it or not.Ally had never had an interest in learning about her roots but life throws her even more curve balls and she decides to follow the path her father laid before her. She finds more than she ever thought she would.I definitely enjoyed this book. It kept me interested in the story. As I mentioned above I was more interested in the historical story as opposed to Ally’s tale. The modern interactions were a little too perfect; the relationships were all breezy, happy and perfect. Theo is just hard to believe as a real person – I’m sorry but no one is that perfect. That was one major flaw for me. I also had some issues with the characters’ conversations. In many cases it was horribly stilted and this would be very distracting. But despite these issues I was quite invested in Ally’s search for her roots. I hope to follow the paths of her sisters.

Absolutely loved it! I enjoyed every chapter of the book with those voices

Another wonderful story in the series, the clever weaving of the sisters story is intriguing, as each individual sister finds their own story

Inhaltsangabe:Ally d’Apliese hat eigentlich Flöte studiert, doch seit jeher gehört ihr Herz dem Meer. Bei einer Segeltour lernt sie Theo Falys-King kennen und lieben. Just in dieser Zeit stirbt ihr geliebter Adoptivvater Pa Salt und sie kehrt nach Genf zu ihren fünf Schwestern zurück, um sich der schmerzvollen Tatsache zu stellen.Viel Zeit zum Trauern bleibt nicht, dennoch nimmt sie Pa Salt’s Hinweis zu ihrer Herkunft auf. Er verweist sie an eine Biografie über den norwegischen Komponisten Jens Halvorsen, die in seiner Bibliothek steht. Sie lässt es übersetzen und kehrt zu Theo zurück.Doch Theo verunglückt bei einer Regatta und Ally muss sich erneut der tiefen Trauer stellen. Da kommt ihr die Geschichte um Jens Halverson und der jungen Sängerin Anna Landvik zum Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts ganz gelegen. Und schon bald macht sie sich auf den Weg nach Norwegen, um nach ihren Wurzeln zu forschen. Trotz der Trauer um Theo und Pa Salt trägt sie die Zukunft in sich und macht noch ganz andere überraschende Entdeckungen.Mein Fazit:Der zweite Teil dieser Reihe beginnt mit einer wunderbaren Liebesgeschichte. Theo und Ally eint die Liebe zum Meer und trotz der kurzen Zeit steht für beide fest, dass sie ein Leben lang zusammenbleiben wollen. Doch erst kommt ihnen Pa Salt’s Tod dazwischen. Und dann verunglückt Theo selbst, ohne das Ally es irgendwie hätte verhindern können. Oh, Gänsehaut pur! Die Autorin hat es so gefühlvoll und eindringlich, aber ohne Kitsch beschrieben, dass mir die Tränen kamen. Wie sehr habe ich mit Ally mitgelitten, die mir von Anfang an sehr sympathisch war. Ihre Trauer war greifbar und emotional voll bei mir angkommen.Desweiteren geht es um die Geschichte von Anna Landvik, ein norwegisches Bauernmädchen im heiratsfähigen Alter, das nicht kochen, dafür aber unglaublich singen kann. Sie wird entdeckt und soll in Christiana im Theater für die Schauspielerin singen, ohne dass das Publikum davon erfährt. Sie lernt den Musiker Jens Halverson kennen und muss sich in einer dramatischen Situation entscheiden, wem sie ihr Herz gibt. Sie wußte es nicht besser, dennoch konnte ich ihre Entscheidung sehr gut nachvollziehen.Ally lernt Anna und Jens durch die Biografie kennen und begibt sich mit tiefer Trauer im Herzen und Seele nach Norwegen, um doch noch ihre Wurzeln zu finden. Und wie schon bei Mia im ersten Teil gibt es sehr viele Zufälle und Begebenheiten, die zuweilen überraschend auftauchen, aber glaubhaft in die Geschichte passen.Langer Rede, kurzer Sinn: Die Geschichte um Allys Wurzeln war mindestens genauso spannend wie beim ersten Teil. Liebe, falsche Entscheidungen, Schicksalsschläge … alles wunderbar verpackt. Die Figuren sind greifbar und authentisch. Es ist nicht immer alles heile Welt, das wird auch in diesem Buch spürbar. Und dann war da noch ein merkwürdiger Hinweis auf Pa Salt. Und wieder stelle ich die Frage: Ist er tatsächlich tot?Begeisterte fünf Sterne von mir und ich freue mich schon auf den dritten Teil.

Beautiful story , beautifully narrated, only looses a star because the first audiobook was so amazing!

I adore listening to the two separate stories. Both equally well written, loving this series.

I am absolutely obsessed with this series…. Thank u Lucinda u fill my heart mind and soul

The love story from the past seemed so ordinary, but then twist, after twist.... It became so much more! Somewhere I was hoping for more, but this story just portrayed life so well, I can't complain.

Dear author: This rhetoric that you have regarding an adopted child finding their “real” parents has to stop. It’s incredibly insulting to the parents who have raised children. Helped with homework and nursed them back to health. Sometimes that person is the biological parent. Other times it is not. Don’t relegate these people to second-class parents due to lack of a shared gene pool. It’s cheap and hurtful.

A great read by an excellent author. This is Ally’s story and the search to find her biological family after her adopted father dies. This series of the Seven Sisters is well worth reading.

When six adopted sisters lose their father, he leaves with each of them a clue as to where they originally came from. Initially, Ally, the second oldest sister, decides she’s in a good place in her new relationship and doesn’t need to look into her family history - until tragedy strikes, and she decides to follow her father’s clues to Norway and her musical family’s history. I really liked this one. The history of her family started in the 19th century, and included one generation living in Norway during the Nazi occupation during WWII. Initially I liked the family history story better than Ally’s present-day story, but I thought Ally’s story picked up as the book went on. Have to admit I really disliked one thing that happened at the start, but if it hadn’t happened that way, the rest of the story may not have worked the way it did. Also disliked something that happened in the 19th century storyline, but that was explained later on.I like the way this series is being done, though I can see if being difficult to write. The books start off with the same event, but then go in different directions as each sister is followed in the separate books. The author has to keep the storylines and timing straight for all the sisters for when they intersect. There was an author’s note and a Q&A at the end, which looked at this a bit.

The format of this story is pretty predictable.Ally is the second of the Seven Sisters to take on the challenge of discovering their birth place and heritage, a challenge left by their deceased adoptive father Pa Salt. He left each of them a letter, and the coordinates of the geographical location where they could start. In Ally's case he left her also a book to read and a little green frog.At first Ally has no intention of following the clues through, but her circumstances change and she feels the need to know who she is.The fact that I knew that the plot was to be Ally's present-day story and an investigation of her past, with all the mystery that contained, did not deter me. I have given it the label of "not crime fiction", but there is certainly plenty of mystery and a touch of romance.I must confess that I first of all borrowed the book from my local library but then, daunted by the size, I bought it for my kindle.But I'm now hooked. I want to read the next one, THE SHADOW SISTER, and I've bought it for my kindle.

I did not know this was the second book of a series when I started reading it. I knew it was part of a series but I thought it was the first one. I’ve read several books by Ms. Riley at this point as I enjoy her mix of current and historical story lines. I will admit to enjoying the historical portions more than the modern day ones but I’m sure that doesn’t surprise any of you.This book focuses on Ally, one of the 6 girls adopted by the mysterious Pa Salt. Not much is really known about him other than he adopted at least 6 girls, he has a heck of a lot of money and he’s dead. Beyond that only snippets are given about the patriarch of the family. Ally is an experienced sailor – she has been invited to try out for the Swiss Olympic team. But for now she is participating in a race and it’s another sailor that has caught her eye.Ally is not looking for love yet she finds it with the enigmatic Theo. A racing captain that holds the respect of sailors and boat owners alike. They do a little dance around each other for a while but once they connect the relationship moves along very quickly. In fact, Ally is with Theo when she learns of her father’s passing. He helps her get back to the family home. There she reunites with her sisters and learns of her legacy from her father. He gives each of the girls a clue to their origins and they can decide to pursue it or not.Ally had never had an interest in learning about her roots but life throws her even more curve balls and she decides to follow the path her father laid before her. She finds more than she ever thought she would.I definitely enjoyed this book. It kept me interested in the story. As I mentioned above I was more interested in the historical story as opposed to Ally’s tale. The modern interactions were a little too perfect; the relationships were all breezy, happy and perfect. Theo is just hard to believe as a real person – I’m sorry but no one is that perfect. That was one major flaw for me. I also had some issues with the characters’ conversations. In many cases it was horribly stilted and this would be very distracting. But despite these issues I was quite invested in Ally’s search for her roots. I hope to follow the paths of her sisters.

It was okay- Not as great as the 1st in the series "Seven Sisters". I had too great expectations for this series. When and if the next one comes out I probably will read it but with less excitement. I don't know what it was of the story, but it just didn't grab me in and in all honesty I really disliked the narrator, would prefer the one from the 1st book.  

I am so excited about this series, I get to be in each of the sister's lives for a short time. The first book in the series The Seven Sister's, we learn the death of Pa Salt, the adoptive father of the six sisters. There is Maia D'Apliese, the eldest of the sisters. There there is Ally D'Apliese, the nest sister to be cover in The Storm Sister.After the death of Pa Salt, at the reading of the will, each woman is given a letter with clues as to their heritage They know nothing of who or where their families are. Maia identity took her to Rio de Janeiro where she found closure and love.Ally also gets her letter but really has no desire to find out who she is. She is grieving the death of her father and wants to train for the Olympics. She is a highly skilled sailor and that is her life. We meet the man of her dreams and is happy until tragedy strikes her again. To find a focus she finally decides to get on with her life and find out who she is and where she comes from. Her quest takes her to Norway. One of the clues her adoptive father gave her was a book, telling her that is where she will find the answers she is looking for. The book is very old and is about a young woman named Anna Landvik. Anna lives in the country, wanting nothing more than to spend time with her favorite cow Rose and someday to marry and have a family of her own. A man comes into her life, he has heard that Anna has the voice of an angel and wants her to go to Leipzig Germany. There she becomes familiar with the music of Edvard Grieg and performs in a stage production of Peer Gynt, based on the work of Henrik Ibsen. She becomes very well known for her singing across Europe. She had met a fellow musician, fell in love, got married and then he decided to further his career as a composer, he left for Paris. Anna is devastated by his loss but she does continue on.Back to Ally meets a few people on the way in her quest for her heritage, people who ultimately help her along the way. What is her connection to Anna Landvik and Jens Halverson, Anna's husband? To Edvard Grieg? That you will have to read for yourself. As an aside the name D'Apliese is an acromyn on the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades, the star cluster that is the stuff of legends.I love this series so far, so much history and research, it even touches on events of WWII and how it impacted the Halverson family. I look forward to reading the next installment about the next sister Star D'Apliese and what her future holds.

Ally D’Aplièse is the second oldest sister of six. All six sisters, named after stars in the Pleiades constellation were adopted from around the world by their beloved Pa Salt and were raised on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Each of the sisters were encouraged to follow their dreams. Ally’s were music and boating, just like Pa Salt. Ally is out on her boat with her boyfriend Theo when she learns of Pa Salt’s death, she is devastated that she is the last to know and was not there to comfort her sisters. However, Pa Salt made it as easy on the sisters as possible including leaving clues to their true heritage, if they would like to know. After yet another loss on the ocean, Ally decides to follow Pa Salt’s clues to Norway where she discovers the story of Anna and Jens Halvorson, musicians who performed Grieg’s music in Ibsen’s ‘’Peer Gynt.” I absolutely loved the first book of The Seven Sisters and could not wait to read Ally’s story in The Storm Sister. I would definitely recommend reading The Seven Sisters first, even though each book could be a stand-alone. When Ally arrives home after Pa Salt’s death, a few more small clues to Pa Salt were leaked. I was also very, very impressed with the continuity from the first book. Conversations and events that had to be re-hashed from the first book were done perfectly, but now from Ally’s perspective. As a huge fan of dual time stories, I enjoyed both the parts of the story with Ally in the present and Anna and Jens in 1875 Norway. However, I did feel a bigger pull towards Ally in this story even though Anna and Jens romance was captivating and dramatic, I really wanted to know what Ally was going to do with the information and if she would put all of the pieces together. Her story is one of overcoming great heartbreak, internal struggle and eventually acceptance for what life gives you. There were some parts at the end that were a little predictable; however it didn’t ruin anything for me. I will be impatiently waiting for book three which will be about the mysterious sister, Star.This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

[Thursday, September 24, 2015] I really want to read this book... I'm still hooked, The Seven Sisters was one of the best books I've ever read.