The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley

CeCe is adopted and has five sisters.  She's very different from them because Pa Salt brought her home from Australia.  She and her sisters are devastated after their father's death.  They still have Ma, but Pa was their champion.  CeCe drops out of the college art classes and thinks about what she wants to do next.  She decides to look for her family.  After all, she has a picture from the past.  Maybe that will help...

Atria Books and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published January 23rd.

What she finds is that her relatives in Australia were amazing.  She's of mixed blood and it shows but she's content with who she is.  She decides to visit Australia and trace the parts she can.  On the way, she meets a man who intrigues her and she stays with him.  She even thinks she might love him.  But she's going to Australia to look for her heritage so she leaves.  She invites him to come with her but he's hiding out and won't come now.  She asks one of his guards to develop her film and she'll live to regret that.

The story is part hers and part her great grandmother's.  It's fascinating to see how Australia was in the past.  I also found CeCe to be a complex interesting character.  She's not sure about her sexual orientation but she's open minded about it.  She has a love of painting and finds that Australia opens the door for her and her painting is even better than it was before.  All in all, this is great historical read with joy and sorrow both intertwined.  CeCe is going to do have a good life.