The book has been on my TBR list for more than a year, and I picked it up to tick off a reading challenge.

The Seven Sisters is both an introduction to the strange family of Pa Salt and six adopted girls and the story of Maia, the eldest. The book starts with Pa Salt's death and moves on to give us a glimpse of the sisters before focusing on Maia's past. The book has a dual timeline, one with Izabel in the 1920s and another with Maia in 2007.

I knew there would be suspended belief, with Pa Salt having a larger-than-life persona. I was prepared for it. My issue was Maia herself. It's clear that I fall close to the minority gang here, but Maia didn't feel like the kind of heroine to pull off the book on her shoulders. No wonder Izabel had to do the job. I haven't got any problem with flawed characters. Izabel was one such lead. But she was strong enough to carry the book even when she felt desolate and dejected.

When Maia is compared to Izabel, the difference is just too clear. Having the male lead constantly remind her to be brave and not feel defeated when faced with dead ends wasn't something I enjoyed. I mean, it's her past. She's got to decide if she wants to know and stick to her decision. If she's going to give up at the slightest hurdle, might as well leave it alone.

Some of the character development in the past track felt forced. It seemed like there was a sudden realization to do something to justify Izabel's actions. Nothing wrong with that. However, it would've felt more in sync with the rest if there were hints from the first. It would've made Izabel dearer to the readers.

To sum up, The Seven Sisters was decent enough for me. The slow pace didn't help either. I'm intrigued enough to read about Star and Electra, so I'll jump directly to their stories and get back to the rest, depending on how these two go. Not anytime soon, though.