The Firebird

by Susanna Kearsley

Nicola Marter was born with a gift. When she touches an object, she sometimes sees images; glimpses into its past, and of those who have owned it before. Born with this rare ability, Nicola sees it as something to keep hidden. But when a young woman arrives at the London gallery Nicola works at, offering a wooden carving for sale and claiming it belonged to Russia's Empress Catherine, Nicola faces a dilemma. With no proof of its past, Nicola's boss believes the carving - known as 'the Firebird' - is worthless. But Nicola has held it, and she knows that the woman, who is in desperate need of money, is telling the truth.
Compelled to help, Nicola turns to a man she once left, and still loves: Rob McMorran, whose own psychic gifts are far greater than her own. With Rob to help delve into the past, Nicola travels from Scotland, to Belgium, and on into Russia. There, in St Petersburg, the once-glittering capital, Nicola and Rob unearth a tale of love and sacrifice, of courage and redemption - a story which will change their lives for ever.

• ISBN10: 1451673841
• ISBN13: 9781451673845
• Publish Date: 30 April 2013 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Touchstone Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Nicola has a rare gift, she can touch an item and glimpse the lives of its previous owners. When she holds a small wood carving called The Firebird she sees a glimpse of Catherine I, wife and later successor to the Tsar Peter the Great. The Firebird is a fresh take on the time traveling romance genre, blending it with the ever popular paranormal romance genre. This is the second book in the Slains series by Canadian author Suzanna Kearsley.

My wife is a big fan of Kearsley and since this novel is partly set in Russian she thought I should check it out. There is some interesting aspects of the life and times of Peter the Great and allowed me to learn a little more about Russian history and culture. However there is something about this novel that I did not like. The Firebird is a story with no conflict and no antagonist and for me this meant it was a really boring novel. I understand people would read this book for the romance but I was uninterested in that story line, I was reading this for the Russian setting. Obviously I am the wrong person to judge The Firebird, it really was not my type of book.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/literature/book-reviews/genre/historical-fiction/august-2015-mini-reviews/

[phyllish]

I had not realized that this was a second book in the series when I read it, yet having not read the first book did not detract from this one at all. I was able to follow along and not feel like I had missed anything. That said, I realize without checking what the first book is probably about and will need to go back and read it.

This was an interesting book, the story was almost more the story of Anna than the story of Nicola, but they were intertwined well and in a way that you didn't get lost in who was what or what was going on.