The Firebird

I have read quite a few books by this author and have enjoyed all of them. This one may be one of my favorites. The author always uses some sort of ESP (Extrasensory perception or sixth sense) to go back in time and in this story it is mainly through Psychometry, (to see something from having touching an object) and it also involves some other forms of ESP. The story althought encompasses other characters from previous books she has written : Anna, from Winter Sea and Rob, from Shadowy Horses. You do not have to have read those books to read and enjoy this story, although they are very worth reading and I think you will wish you had. This Story goes between present day England, Scotland, Belgium and then Russia and also those same places back in the 1700's. A lot of research of Scottish and Russian history went into the making of this story and many of the characters are true to history, throwing in fictitious ones to create a fabulous story. Nicola Marter, a young woman who works for a Russian art gallery in London, who while there one day, meets an older woman who brings in a small bird sculpture called a firebird, supposedly given to her ancestors by the Empress Catherine of Russia, but she had no paper work to prove it. When Nicola touches the bird, she sees a fleeting image of (a young girl, Anna and the Empress in a conversation). and since she is going to Russia for an art show, decides to see what she can discover about the bird and the two women she saw in her image. Knowing that her abilities are not as strong as she would like, she goes to see her old love interest , Rob McMorran (from Shadowy Horses) who lives in Scotland and who has a very well developed sense of ESP. This is a great story of their reunion and being able to use their abilities together to delve into the past and bring this story to life. Well written, with a lot of great descriptions of the scenes, people and places they see and go to. The author says this about her type of stories: "I write modern gothic novels that blend historical adventure and modern-day suspense with romance and a touch of something spooky, so they don't fit neatly into any category, really...but they're fun to write!" Normally the word Gothic novel would have kept me from reading her books, but the ESP part attracted me and I am so glad I discovered her work and look forward to her next one.

I picked this book up because of the recommendation by somebody whose tastes I trust and because I was hoping for some Russia in the book. For those of you who yet do not know firebird is a very well known character from Russian fairy tales. Well, there was not as much Imperial Russia as I hoped, but what was there was extremely well researched and well written. It does not happen as often as one can hope, so I was grateful for that - Russian names, some art, history, very well done. The book switches between past and present ( not telling you how it does that) and has two romances of the sort. I am saying of the sort because romance in the present felt too lackluster to me and romance in the past happens closer to the end of the story. I am not really complaining about the story in the past, do not get me wrong. It is a story of a strong and very interesting woman - Anna. I liked her story, I thought her love interest was nicely done, but even if she did not have a love interest eventually, I would still loved her story a lot, because I liked the character so much. The couple in the present felt more like observers of Anna's life, too passive overall and I really did not care much for narrator in the present Nicola, but I still liked the book a lot overall.

Are you looking for a book to sweep you away? This is a very engaging story with a contemporary romance, loads of history (including a mystery and another love story) and paranormal elements of clairvoyance that can cross time periods. The first book of this loosely tied series was set in Scotland at Slains Castle in contemporary time and at the time of the Jacobites. Our mystery begins when a Scottish woman brings a carving of what she says is a firebird for appraisal to Claire’s firm. Her family legend is that it was given to an ancestor named Anna by the Tsarina Catherine. The historic portion of this book follows closely in time as it tracks the life of Anna, the daughter of the historic couple in book one. It is still dangerous to be a Jacobite. This story does not stay in Scotland though. It follows Anna as a child in hiding and in exile across Europe to Russia with different protectors. The history of the period is so closely woven into the story that its presence enriches the story instead of bogging it down with unnecessary details. The writing is very skillful as the author moves gracefully between the two time periods and the different sets of characters. The romance is romantic, but chaste. There are emotional moments that are moving. This book is the second in a series and it makes sense to read them in order even though the story would in its main part stand alone. Reading the first book would give you the foundation of the history of the Jacobites, and the story of Anna’s parents and why they gave her up to a foster family. If you have read the first book, the finale of the second is more emotionally powerful. Bottom line: loved it.

I've purchased this book because I have enjoyed Susanna Kearsley previous books. Still being my favorites Mariana and The Winter Sea , to my surprise this is a new book that also follow up with the beloved characters of The Winter Sea!! One of the main characters is also a dear one (all grown up now) from The Shadowy Horses . Nicola works for a respectable art dealer in London who specializes in Russian art. She also posses the gift (a curse in her opinion) of psychometry. Thanks to her abilities she decides to help a woman who is in great need to sell an old wooden crave figure of a Firebird. She told Nicola that the Firebird has been in her family for generations and was given to her ancestor by Catherine I of Russia. Since its impossible to prove the real value of the crave figure, Nicola starts a quest to find the true story of the Firebird with the hope to prove the value of the piece. She doubts her abilities and is afraid to use them, therefore she decided to ask for the help of Rob (an ex boyfriend), who is highly gifted in the paranormal. During their quest we met Anna, a lovely girl from the past that grown up as a very likeable and strong woman. She is one of the leading characters of the book and is the daughter of Sophia and John Moray. By a leap of faith she became the ward of Vice Admiral Gordon who was commissioned in Russia by Peter the Great. It continues the story of the Jacobites who fled to Russia and lived and served their King from the Russian Courts. New characters, new romance, new intrigues and more history, of course. Nicola exhausted my patience for moments during length of the story; until she is finally able to embrace who she is. Rob is adorable, but we already knew his character from The Shadowy Horses. A book that will be greatly enjoyed for those already familiar with the author and her work and new ones alike. Beware that you wont be able to put the book down until the very end... **SPOILER ALERT*** You'll find out what happened to Sophia and John Moray!! But is not my tale to tell, you must read the book!

The Winter Sea was the first book I read by Susanna Kearsley, and my first romance. It's still one of my favorite books of all time. I've since read every other book she's written that's available in e-book form, the last being The Firebird, another great read. I loved the character Anna, who at the beginning of the story finds out the family she lives with is not actually her own, and soon finds she's in terrible danger. Her story, which takes place during the Jacobite Rebellion in the early 1700s, is told through the visions of two modern day people who, by holding an object (in this case beginning with the Firebird, a centuries-old wooden sculpture) can see the events in the past that were connected to that object. The modern characters have a romantic history together, and as they try to solve the mystery of the origin of the Firebird, their attraction to each other grows. All Susanna Kearsley books have well-developed, strong characters, beautifully described scenery (in this book it's in Scotland and Russia mainly), and well-researched historical detail. In The Firebird, many of the supporting characters were real people who lived during the Jacobite Rebellion. The dialogue is witty, and the romance is touching and beautiful and not the least bit trashy. In order to not spoil the suspense of The Winter Sea, I would suggest reading The Winter Sea first since The Firebird continues the story of some characters from that novel; although, The Firebird can stand on its own. I bought the Audible version at a discount after buying the Kindle version, and I would highly recommend it. The narrator does a wonderful job of switching between English, Scottish, and Russian accents as well as male, female, young and old. I highly recommend The Firebird and all other Susanna Kearsley novels.

I'm ashamed to admit that I'd had this book sitting around in my TBR pile for more than a year. I began to read it that year-plus time ago but kept putting the book aside in order to read something else. This was unusual for me since I'm a longtime Kearsley reader and fan. I've now managed to read the complete book and have to say my first impression of the present-day protagonists, which was what turned me off this book, held to the very end. I still didn't like them very much, especially Nicola, who has that woo-woo ability to see into the past that all Kearsley's modern-day heroines have but is reluctant to use her abilities, and this reluctance was alienating her love interest Rob, who was the little boy with supernatural abilities in The Shadowy Horses . In general, I'm not big on supernatural elements in my novels but I have never been bothered by it in Kearsley's work...until this one. However, I've decided to round up my 3.5 stars to 4 anyway because the historical portion of this book, the story of 1700s Anna, daughter of Sophia and John Moray of The Winter Sea was very compelling. I very much appreciated the way Kearsley integrated real characters and events from the period into her fictional story. Do read the section "About the Characters" at the end of the book to learn more about them and the times. This is an interesting and well written tale about 1700s Jacobites, spies and double dealers, and St. Petersburg during the time of Tzar Peter and Tzarina Catherine. Many characters from THE WINTER SEA make their appearance here to great advantage. I only wish that Kearsley had decided this time around to do without the supernatural element and had just written a straight historical fiction work, without the present-day supernatural tie-in.

Nicola has always been hesitant to use her "extra" abilities, but when a stranger brings a carved bird to be authenticated, Nicola touches it and realizes it really was a gift from the empress Catherine, there's just not a normal way to prove it. Her sympathy stirred, she decides to seek help from Rob, who she met previously during a scientific study on ESP that they both participated in. With the help of his much stronger skills, they chase Anna's story through the past, following the memories of Anna in the 1700s until they figure out when and why the carving was given to her. Mechanics & Writing: 5 - Great writing with very few errors, and exceptionally well grounded in historical data. Plot & Setting: 5 - An interesting sequel to The Winter Sea, where again we have a modern narrator delving into history (this time the story of Sophia and John's daughter, Anna) through atypical means. Anna's story is a delightful coming-of-age story with plenty of historical interest in its own right, while the modern framework for Anna's story (Nicola's wrestling with her own abilities and her feelings for Rob (the boy from The Shadowy Horses)) is fascinating in a different way. Characters: 5 - Characters are full of depth and realism. Historical persons are brought to life with care and attention to detail, and so are Rob and Nicola and their friends and family. Redeeming Value: 4 - Some violence and danger, plus plenty of spying, scheming, and betrayal. No explicit sex scenes, though it's clear characters are sleeping together at points. Themes of learning to accept yourself and others as you/they truly are, and then loving yourself/others genuinely. Personal Enjoyment: 5

A tremendous amount of historical research went into this book, partly set in the early 18th century and partly in the present. Unfortunately, the whole adds up to less than the sum of its parts. Nicola works in an art gallery and is blessed with an unusual gift. She only has to touch an object to be transported back in time to another time and place where she can see its creator or some other scene associated with it. Rob, a policeman in Scotland whom Nicola met during a series of experiments into ESP at Edinburgh University, has an even more developed gift. He can see and talk to Roman legionnaires who roam the site of a former battlefield and he can teleport himself virtually at will anywhere in the past where he can watch history unfold as an observer. Rob is comfortable with his gift but Nicola is uneasy and troubled by hers. When they first met, they were attracted to one another but Nicola fled in fear to London. Now, they embark on a quest together. Nicola becomes interested in an object a woman brings to her gallery, a model of a bird. Did it really belong to the Tsarina Catherine, the wife of Peter the Great? And as luck would have it, she has an assignment to St Petersburg - and she decides to bring Rob along. They are soon swooping back to the 1720s together and become immersed in the story of Anna Jameison, the abandoned daughter of a Scottish supporter of the Pretender James VIII of Scotland who has been driven into exile by the Hanover kings of England but is constantly plotting his return. She apparently once owned the mysterious object. Anna, through a series of unlikely plot developments, ends up also in St Petersburg, adopted by a Jacobite soldier in the service of Peter the Great. There she eventually meets the handsome Irishman Edmund O'Donnell. But who is he working for? So we have parallel love stories -- Nicola and Rob in our century and Anna and Edmund three centuries earlier. The problem with this is that this author has no talent in describing love and passion. Her characters simply can't express it convincingly - and unfortunately toward the end of the book she falls back on the standard cliches of the romance novel to describe what happens. The bigger absurdity, which the reader must accept in order to fully enjoy this book, is Nicola and Rob's extraordinary ability to follow Anna's life as if they were watching a movie. If a person really had this gift, just imagine what could they do with it? What fascinating historical mysteries could be solved? Which amazing insights into the past could be garnered? Instead, this pair spent their time following the lives of two anonymous and not particularly interesting characters in order to solve a trivial mystery relating to the model of a bird. Reading the afterward, one is impressed with the depth of research the author has conducted. Many of the characters are based on real people. I didn't know that so many Scots wound up in Russia where they formed an expatriate community in the service of the Tsar. But the politics being described are very complicated and hard to follow. Also, I just can't work up too much enthusiasm for the cult of the Pretenders.That's just me, perhaps, because obviously for some folk, it's still a burning issue. But it doesn't seem to me that history was particularly ill-served by the end of the Stuart dynasty. I know all kinds of romance surrounds the Jacobite revolts, together with nostalgia about the loss of Scottish independence -- but the cause doesn't move me. The one really important historical figure who figures in this book very briefly is Peter the Great. But after one very brief appearance, he disappears so we don't learn much about him. That's fairly typical I think. The author isn't interested in the major themes and events of history and keeps her focus squarely on the smaller stuff. It's not a bad book, not at all poorly written or silly. But neither is it great. The author, like her characters, seems determined not to fully realize the potential of the idea her imagination has brought to life.

A bit of mystery, a bit of history and a bit of psychic. I really enjoy mystery books that go back in time. This one is set in today but has episodes in historical Russia and Scotland. I found it a lovely read. I would definitely read more by this author.

First of a continuation. She's😀 a great author and combined some history with fiction. I loved this book.

I am glad I followed some others’ recommendations regarding the order of stories where characters already known, get somehow together in this tremendously entertaining story. Loved it!

I was quite astonished when I learned that Rob McMorran (the shadowy horses) was one of the leading characters. The shadowy horses is by all means my fav book and altough I was hoping to find a hint how Davy and Verity are doing in the future I loved to see how the little boy with the sixth sense had turned out. And after settling in with the first pages I could not stop reading. When you also read Sophia's secret you will be even more captivated... The characters are well drawn and easily loved by the reader. Romance is an impotant part of the book but never too gooey. the historical part is more than well carved out, giving a lot of background knowledge. Places of the plot are always described thouroughly so sometimes you feel like being inside the book yourself, witnessing the story. I even had tears in my eyes at some point... if you aim to read the book, you mighf think about starting with the shadowy horses and sophia's secret, as you will see the book through different eyes...

I have never read one of Kearsley's books before and I am so glad that I chose to read The Firebird. The story flits between present day with Nicola Marter and Rob, two psychics with an interlinked history, who chase down a wooden carving called the Firebird on a journey that takes them into the past circa the time of the Jacobites and across countries to unravel the tale. In previous reviews I have seen people state that there was too much detail, that they flicked through to reach the present day story and that they couldn't continue to read this book. Well, in my opinion, those people are missing out! All of the detail was necessary to build up a rich and vivid picture of landscapes, both past and present, and the author brilliantly intertwined the two stories along the way. I do agree (ever so slightly!) that towards the end of the book the story of the present day felt a bit left behind and wasn't visited so frequently until, all of a sudden, we were back in present day and the events that had built up nicely along the way reached a sudden climax. Although this was not a bad thing, I personally would have liked to have been eased back into the present day story after being in the past for a fair few pages, just to re-jog my memory and strengthen the attachments I had made with the present day characters. However, I was so enjoying the characters in the past that I didn't feel sad we had stayed with them for so long, either! I think a great novel grips you and you form bonds with the characters and for an author to illicit this feeling in both the past and present sections of the book I believe it shows a great talent. The story was wrapped up nicely and there were no loose ends- it was a very satisfying finish to the novel! In reading the author's note at the end of the book I must also comment on how well researched and detailed this story is and I couldn't believe so much was based on true historical facts and people. A lot of time, effort, research and love went into the making of this book and I will 100% read more from this author- I look forward to doing so immensely!