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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
4.5 Stars • "The Firebird" by Susanna Kearsley is a captivating novel that weaves together historical fiction and romance. Set in the early 18th century, the story follows Anna Moray, a young woman with a mysterious past, as she navigates the glittering courts of Europe. Anna's journey is intertwined with the mythical tale of the Firebird, a symbol of hope and transformation. Along the way, she encounters love, betrayal, and the true meaning of courage.
#TheFirebird #Slains #SusannaKearsley #Bookstagram
#TheFirebird #Slains #SusannaKearsley #Bookstagram
I usually enjoy S. Kearsley's books but not this one. A character's talents/gifts were just to 'pat' to the story. I got bored and started leaping over large sections. Didn't finish.
Heavy on the Scottish history (yay!), light on the romance (boo!). It was totally enjoyable though! Well written and fun!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another great mix of history and fiction, and also present day characters. Interesting plot device to use psychometric to let the present day characters time travel.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved returning to the world of Susanna Kearsley's Scotland and the world of the Jacobites. The dual plot lines were handled well, and shifting between them never felt awkward. Anna's storyline was my favorite, as we followed her from Scotland to Russia, and she learns the important skill of learning who she can actually trust with the information of who she is and how deadly that information truly is. Though I was able to easily picture Anna, I had a harder time picturing Nicola, and I was not sure where to place her in time. Was she in the 80s? The 90s? 00s? It was hard to know, or at least keep consistently in my brain while I was reading. The inclusion of her powers seemed a little strange for this genre since, neither The Winter See or These Vanished Days uses that, and added a fantasy/sci-fi element that, while really interesting, seemed out of place in this series. It made Nicola's storyline less enjoyable to read, especially later in the novel, though I did really like her acceptance of her abilities at the end. I gave this book a 4 overall since I greatly enjoyed the overall story, despite the issues I had with Nicola's storyline.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As with the first book in this series, I enjoyed this novel despite it not being my usual genre. I appreciated that the author went with "some people are just straight-up psychic" in this edition, rather than the hand-wavy "the main character has weird insights into an ancestor's memories, because genetics!" device used in the first book. It felt more honest somehow, and definitely less annoying to geneticists!