Author: Susanna Kearsley
Source: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 paws up
When Nicola Martin touches an object, she sometimes sees the previous owner of any given time period. When an older woman brings in a wooden carving, Nicola can see it's entire history which reveals that it is named after a Russian legendary creature: the Firebird. Nicola finds herself compelled to know more and follows the life of a young woman named Anna: in the past. She enlists in the help of a former love whom she is somehow mentally connected with. Together they travel through tales of Jacobites, Russian courts as the unravel tales of love, courage and of course redemption.
I have come to really love Susanna Kearsley's work ever since I had read Shadowy Horses. I could not get the chilling tale out of my mind so I have been devouring much of her other time travel, historical fiction novels. In my mind, she is a master at weaving the time travel together so that it flows naturally rather than feeling disjointed in going back and forth between time periods. She does it in a way that makes the reader want to know more about each time, you want Nicola to go back to Anna's time and then go back to her own to see what happens with the handsome cop.
While it is a standalone novel, it does reference The Winter Sea and Shadowy Horses, which I love that she ties them together through small references while keeping each book their own. The book may seem intimidating at a little over 500 pages, but they fly by. I could not put this novel down. In fact I think I may have lost sleep because I kept saying "One more chapter."
Kearsley doesn't fall into the trap of spending too much time on details like period clothing or excessive info dumping. She gives you the right amount of information right when you need it. It made me want to know more about the Jacobite Rising, I mean who wouldn't after the way she tells it. Sounds like such and interesting period of time to study.
I cannot wait to tackle another one of her novels, I think I have 3 more sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.
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