Maia D'Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, "Atlantis"—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each sister is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue that takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story.
Eighty years earlier in the Rio of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio's father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela—passionate and longing to see the world—convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski's studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again.
In this sweeping, epic tale of love and loss—the first in a unique, spellbinding series—Lucinda Riley showcases her storytelling talents like never before.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 5, 2015 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781476759913
- File size: 1815 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781476759913
- File size: 6811 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Library Journal
April 1, 2015
In this first book in a new series about adopted sisters who explore their pasts, Maia, the first sister, travels from the family's estate in Switzerland to her native country, Brazil, and the dual story line of Izabela, her great-grandmother, begins in 1927. A Brazilian beauty who was expected to make an aristocratic marriage, Izabela instead falls in love with a French sculptor while visiting Paris. When the sculptor, Laurent, comes to Rio de Janeiro to oversee the statue of the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) project, they begin a secret affair. Riley (The Orchid House; The Midnight Rose) has written another intricately plotted, compelling family saga, which presents historical and cultural attitudes of the time and place in which her characters live. Like the famous statue that brought the lovers together and hovers over Rio today, the story is elegantly sculpted and rich with history. VERDICT The poignant love story is the meat of this charming tale, so the book will please fans of romance as well as historical fiction lovers.--Sonia Reppe, Stickney-Forest View P.L., IL
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Formats
- Kindle Book
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB ebook
subjects
Languages
- English
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