Before I begin with my review of this book, I am going to go off on a little rant. If you're not up for it, by all means skip to the section below that starts with "THAT BEING SAID" in all caps.
I know that a lot of authors read this blog. How do I know? Simple--I have a lot of friends that are authors, and they are often kind enough to check out my blog posts. So I hope that they will pay particular attention to what I am about to say. Likewise, a lot of readers read this blog--and some of them are leaving decent reviews (4 or 5 stars) for books like this one--the one causing this rant. And I'm gonna ask them to stop.
Here's the deal. I'm a Reading Specialist. That's what I do for a living. I teach kids how to read and write. And one of the basic concepts I teach is that a story is made up of three parts; a beginning, a middle, and an end. I also teach story arcs--where every story has a problem and a solution (or resolution.) So, in order for a novel to be a complete story, it has to have all of those components. If you write a "book" and you separate the full story arc into two or more parts, you aren't selling us a book. You're selling us part of a book. When one is writing a series (and as you can see in the title, that's what this allegedly is) each book in the series must still contain the same components of a complete story (beginning, middle end/problem--solution). Close out one problem, open another. That's fine! But if you only start a problem and don't finish it at all, that's not a book. Anything less than a full story arc and we don't have a book--we have a "sample" of a book. And, for that I have to shout, "Bullocks!" (Perhaps my first clue that this was a sham could have been found in the author's last name.)
Why the rant now? Because the last two "books" I have read have had this same sort of ending, that's why.
And it's aggravating.
Because, otherwise, this was a good story (or start to a story) and it stinks that I don't know what happens. And in looking at reviews, there's no resolution in book two either.
THAT BEING SAID, Seven Sisters is a very engaging, interesting read. Bullock is a very talented writer who creates a complicated world, two of them actually, and guides the reader between antebellum Mobile and present day. All of her characters on both sides of the plot line are engrossing. Once can't help but feel for Calpernia from the very beginning. And the true protagonist of the story, Carrie Joe, is also enjoyable from the first time we meet her as she is moving to Mobile to take on the restoration project at a plantation named Seven Sisters. Being a history major in college with a focus on Civil War history, this book was right up my alley. I also love the paranormal twist Bullocks brings in.
As far as the writing is concerned, the vast majority of it is well-crafted with lots of imagery and foreshadowing weaved into the story as it moves along at a nice pace. Some of the dialogue seems contrived, but it isn't enough to take away from the impact of the story. There was one instance where I really wished the plot would have built a little more, rather than just suddenly seeming to interject an important piece of information out of nowhere (deus ex machina in an innocent fashion, no doubt) but it is forgivable. There's no offensive language, no raunchy love scenes, yet the story is enticing, and keeps you thinking even when the book is not in your hands.
But I don't recommend you read it unless you're willing to shell out however much money it takes to buy the entire series. And I'm not sure if the series is complete yet, either, since I won't be reading the rest.
My review on Amazon is located here. I gave it three stars. If it had finished with an ending, a conclusion, a resolution, I would have given it five stars. But I can't give five stars to the first quarter of a book. If Gone with the Wind had ended right after Scarlet met Rhett, would it have been the best selling fiction book of all time ? I don't think so.... If you'd like to check out Seven Sisters for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here. The current price is FREE.
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