The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley Published by Sourcebooks Landmark on June 4, 2013
Genres/Lists: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Pages: 544
Read synopsis on Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links)
July’s She Reads pick is The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley. I’ve heard of this author before and have, in fact, had one of her other books on my to-read shelf for a long time but just had too many other things going on to pick it up. Now that I’ve read this author, I can guarantee I’ll be picking it up a lot sooner than I had originally planned!
The Firebird is about a woman named Nicola who has a special gift. Along with her friend Rob (and by friend I mean mean complicated love interest), who also has the gift, she sets out to help verify the authenticity of an object thought to be hundreds of years old. Because Nicola has the gift, she knows that the object is authentic, but she has no proof. It is this quest to prove its provenance that is the driving force behind the story.
I adore books that go back and forth in time to tell the same story from different points of view, and this book does that. What is wonderful about this book is that instead of telling the story from two different people’s points of view, the book is told from Nicola’s at all times. It is her and Rob’s gift that allows them to see into the past and follow a little girl named Anna that holds the key to what they seek.
This completely new style of writing could be a hit or miss with readers, I imagine, but for me it was a hit. I loved how I could go back two hundred years without having to readjust my frame of mind, which is what oftentimes happens with this kind of writing style.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction or stories that are propelled forward by a quest to find the truth about something, then this is the book for you! Don’t be afraid of its weight!
