September 15, 2015
After learning her larger-than-life adoptive father has died, Maia D'Apliese, the oldest of six adopted sisters, departs for Rio de Janeiro, following subtle clues her father has left for her about how she came to be adopted and why her mother gave her up. In Brazil, Maia finds her formal and dismissive biological grandmother and, through letters, discovers how her great-grandmother and the woman's French lover became involved through the construction of Cristo Redentor, the statue of Christ atop Rio's Corcovado mountain. Narrator Emily Lucienne has a pleasant British accent, and when she's voicing the sisters, slight distinctions keep each voice separate. However, she misses some Portuguese pronunciations and mistakenly throws in a Spanish translation for a few terms. Some listeners might notice this and be thrown out of the story. Still, if the author is able to carry on this level of historical expertise throughout, for each sister's book, this will be an enjoyable series indeed. VERDICT Recommended for historical fiction listeners, especially those with a soft spot for South American settings. ["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": LJ 4/1/15 review of the Atria hc.]--Laura Brosie, Wentzville, MO
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