The Sea Stone Sisters

by Eleanor Buchanan

It all begins with The Sea Stone Sisters. In this spellbinding series Eleanor Buchanan intricately weaves together the stories of four sisters and their descendants scattered across the globe from the Scottish home that they all yearn to return to.

Four great stones once stood on a remote Scottish headland - the Sisters of Skara.
Legend has it they were raised by a grieving father, to guide his abducted daughters home.
A curse was placed on anyone who laid the stones
their family, too, would be scattered to the winds, never to find their way home.

Let yourself be whisked away from Scotland to Ceylon and from Australia to London in this epic tale about family mysteries, unexpected love and enduring courage.

1931. When businessman Charles Blackmore takes down the stones on the Scottish headland, he soon finds his fortune lost, his wife dead and his four daughters torn apart. They each cling to a ring they inherited from their mother, alongside the hope of one day reuniting.

Iris, the eldest daughter, is the first to leave, making for Ceylon in search of a long-lost uncle who might help keep the family together. Promising to return as soon as she can, her journey takes her from the exotic beauty of Ceylon to the vast Australian outback, but will it ever take her home?

Present day. Roz moves to London from Australia with one singular personal item - an old ring that used to belong to her mother. Feeling adrift, everything changes when she discovers a painting of old standing stones which ignites an uncanny connection to the ring on her finger. Hunting down the history of this painting, Roz starts to piece together the story of Iris's journey, unravelling her own family history in the process. She soon learns that the past has a power that cannot be easily escaped.

The Sea Stone Sisters is the first of a sweeping and moving series, perfect for fans of Soraya Lane, Lucinda Riley and Clare Flynn.

Genres: Historical, Scotland, Historical Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 12, 2026

Reviews

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take your time to note characters and read slowly. This is an alluring setting and an intriguing plot. There's lots for historical fiction lovers to appreciate. It’s the first of a new series for this author.

[Soraya Lane]

A captivating dual-timeline saga that tugs on the heartstrings and finishes with a promise of more books to come!

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a page-turner of a read. Perfect for Lucinda Riley fans.

It opens with a legend and follows with a curse against anyone who overturns four standing stones, that the curse will stay with the person’s family forever.

So then, in the 1920’s when millionaire Charles Blackmore buys some land on a Scottish headland at Scara to build his new art deco house, and flattens the standing stones to improve his view, are the disastrous events that follow his family just bad luck – or is there something other afoot!

Charles’s four daughters are each given a ring fashioned from their mother Amelia’s fabulously beautiful necklace, all featuring a different blue stone. But when the bad luck has taken its toll and happy times have come to an end and the girls find themselves tragically both motherless and penniless, the eldest sister, Iris, feels she has no choice but to set out abroad to find their Uncle Ralph to retrieve money owed to their mother.

Coming to the present day, the Blackmore estate is now languishing on the way to dereliction and the solicitors determine to make a fresh effort to discover the whereabouts of any descendants of the dispersed four sisters in order the clear up the estate.

The story moves smoothly and effortlessly between two timelines taking you from the wild rugged Scottish Highlands to suffocatingly hot colonial Ceylon and an equally hot Australian cattle station. It has mystery, suspense, romance, family saga and an element of supernatural – a enjoyable and highly entertaining.

Many thanks to Eleanor Buchanan, Headline and Netgalley for the much appreciated opportunity to read and review an early copy.

[Heather Howarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this start to a series about four sisters who are separated after their father, Charles Blackmore in 1931, took down the stones raised in memory of four daughters who were abducted from Skara. A curse was placed on the family of anyone who interfered with the stones.

The Blackmore family lose their fortune, the mother dies, the father retreats into alcoholism and the girls are left to fend for themselves. Each girl inherits a ring from their mother. Iris, the eldest, is the first to leave - she goes in search of her uncle in Ceylon. Her search leads her on to the Australian outback and a new life.

In the present day, Rob moves from Australia to escape her stepfather and his crimes, with a singular heirloom. In London she sees a painting of the four stones which she is drawn to. Needing to hide away she decides to find out more about the painting and the family of the artist - Amelia Blackmore.

I am looking forward to finding out more about the other sisters in due course.

A captivating story.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was asked by NetGalley to review this remarkable book and I loved it.
Four sisters separated in 1931- their father takes down some stones in commemoration of four daughters who were abducted from a place called Skara.

The fathers family end up loosing their fortune, his wife dies, the father becomes a pitiful man ending up a drunk and the four sisters have to fend for themselves. each daughter inherits a ring and they leave going in search of different things.

Then in the present a painting is seen in London of the four stones and then a quest to finf out who the artist is and the family of this artist.

There will be more as time goes on

So so recomended loved this due for publication before Easter in March 12 2026.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - what an incredible story and it’s the first in a series, which I didn’t realise initially. I was drawn in from page 1 and I couldn’t wait to find out how the story would play out. It has a dual timeline where you learn about Roz in the current timeline and Iris in the past timeline. I enjoyed both timelines and was drawn into the story of both Roz and Iris. The story has a bit of everything, mystery, grief, humour, magic and romance. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. Fans of Lucinda Riley and Soraya Lane will enjoy this book. Thank you to Headline for granting my wish to read this book. Thanks also to NetGalley and Eleanor Buchanan for the eARC of this book.

[Sharyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great start to a new series about four sisters. If you loved Lucinda Riley's Seven Sisters you will enjoy this book. A remote Scottish headland, a curse dating back to 2800 years triggered by a family living ther in the 1930s. And global travel. It's well paced, the dual timeline is very well done as we go from today and back to the 1930s. I am eagerly awaiting the second book in the series.
With thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an e-ARC to read in exchange for a review.

[Linda Rhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect! Breathtaking! Suspenseful. Three of the many words I could use to describe this wonderful book . Such a gorgeous story that takes the reader on a very special journey from the windswept coast of Scotland to 1930s Ceylon , on to Australia and its wild and dangerous outback , back to Scotland with a stop off in London. Set between the 1930s & the present day it moves seamlessly from one century to another with a sense of mystique and mystery, the characters searching for answers and connections to their past. Absolutely wonderful and extremely highly recommended.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dual timeline novel moving from the wilds of Scotland to Ceylon and Australia.

I was swept up with Roz and her friends trying to unravel the secrets of the past. Well written and researched.
Promise of more books to follow which I look forward to reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy to review.