The Sisterhood

By: Helen Bryan

Narrated by: Laura Roppe

Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Reeling from a broken engagement, adopted 19-year-old Menina Walker flees to Spain to bury her misery by writing her overdue college thesis - and soon finds herself on an unexpected journey into the past. The subject of her study is Tristan Mendoza, an obscure 16th-century artist whose signature includes a tiny swallow - the same swallow depicted on a medal that is Menina’s only link to her birth family.

Hoping her research will reveal the swallow’s significance and clue her in to her origins, Menina discovers the ancient chronicle of a Spanish convent, containing the stories of five orphaned girls hidden from the Spanish Inquisition before they escaped to the New World. Learning about the girls’ adventures, the nuns who sheltered them, and Mendoza, Menina wonders if accident or destiny led her to Spain - and the discovery of a lifetime.

From best-selling author Helen Bryan comes The Sisterhood, an epic adventure filled with history, passion, and intrigue.

©2013 Helen Bryan (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Historical page turner!

Helen Bryan has melded fact and fictionalized history in a story told live in the past and live in the present, without the reader ever feeling it was retrospective. Laura Roppe's performance brought each of the many heroines to life in a way that was surprisingly easy to recognize each as their stories grew. Together they created a moving story of the triumph of women across the ages.

great story

Story helped you understand the problems women have faced in the past. and still struggling with today. The need to seek unity and equality for the all people.

Good mystery with twists and turns!

The narrator was very good...transports the listener between scenes with changes to her accent and tone perfectly

Must read book

The book had me with such emotions, from crying and laughing at particular moments in the book.

A great historical fiction to modern day story!

I loved this book. There were some hard to believe parts, but it is fiction. It is a book in which many different stories all come together.

Loved it

It was so greatly written I will read over and over. It was the book of the century. Truly loved it.

Intriguing

I loved the book completely, even though it was a bit contrived. The history presented was very interesting & made me want to do some extended research.

Interesting story annoying narrator

History, religion, romance, intrigue - good story however has slow moments. Narrator's high pitched, whiny, inexpressive voice affected how I viewed my experience

I Think Mother Teresa Would Approve

Well, here goes . . . I am not Catholic . . . I'm protestant . . . but more importantly, I'm a Christian. I very much disagree with all the negative reviews on The Sisterhood. But then again, I tend to look at the heart of things, the deeper story. I like the narration, particularly the southern accent, as I'm a southerner, didn't find it to be fake at all. And the Spanish accents seemed true to the ones I have heard all my life. I've always been interested in the Spanish Inquisition, and learned a lot from this book. It is heartbreaking that in the name of religion, Christians have done exactly what many religions today are doing. Yet in God's mercy and wisdom, He has set in motion pockets of protection, such as the convent in Spain, that welcomed and protected His children regardless of their backgrounds. That is what LOVE does. That is what Christ did. I loved the personality and spunky ways of the nuns, and it put me in mind right away of Mother Teresa who sacrificed selflessly her entire life for others. Being a servant crosses all denominations . . . Catholic, Baptist, Methodist . . . we are all His. The doctrine which has divided us is not of consequence. Let us ask the Lord when we get to Heaven. For now, let us serve Him. I listened to this audio book for two days, being blessed by it. I have to laugh at the people who find it contrived and far fetched. So are the real stories of Columbus' voyage to America, the creation of the United States as one nation under God, and a baby being formed in it's mother's womb.

Starts off as page turner, but tedious to finish.

The beginning was so good- such a page turner- but about three quarters of the way through I found myself bored and not that concerned about what happened to the myriad of characters anymore. The story becomes melodramatic and unbelievable. I also found the brief description of Christ towards the end to be really offensive as I imagine most Christians would (she portrays him as basically an evil sorcerer as a kid- other characters actually call him such- What a strange and unsubstantiated idea).