Title:

The Firebird

Author:

Susana Kearsley

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

October 13, 2025

read Kearsley's historical novel The Vanished Days and thought it was a good book. Judging from the reviews on Goodreads, I saw that The Firebird appears to be Kearsley's most popular book, and so expected another good tale. I was disappointed. What a horrible plot. Kearsley can write, she creates good characters and she has the ability to describe the past in convincing detail, but the story Kearsley elected to tell in The Firebird is just a bad romance novel.

The Firebird is told in two parallel timelines, in alternating chapters. The first story thread is set in the present and is told in first person. It is the story of Nicola Marter, a beautiful young woman who has a supernatural power called psychometry which allows her to touch an object and know its history. Since Nicola works in the art world, this useful skill allows her to touch a piece of artwork and determine if it is authentic. One day a woman comes into the office with a carved wooden object in the shape of a firebird. The woman wants to sell it, but without any records, there is no way to know if the firebird is authentic, and so it has no value. However, when Nicola holds the carved firebird, she gets an image of a woman named Anna talking to Catherine, the empress of Russia. Nicola knows the firebird is authentic, and wants to find a way to prove it, so that the woman can receive a lucrative sale price. But Nicola is not strong enough at psychometry to track down Anna (who lived in the 18th century), so she enlists the help of Rob, who is the strongest psychometrist Nicola met at a testing institute for ESP powers.

The character of Rob is a major mistake by Kearsley. He is perfect in every facet. Tall, strong, lean yet well muscled (even though he never exercises and he eats a prodigious amount of food). Rob is patient, understanding, clever - any positive attribute it is possible for a human to have, Rob has it in spades. Even when unshaven, Rob looks handsome with face stubble. I wished Kearsley would put a pimple on Rob's perfect nose just to prove he is actually human and not an AI construct, but no luck. Rob is flawless through out the novel.

The chapters that deal with the present consist of Nicola and Rob tracking Anna around (we soon discover that Rob has the uncanny ability to sift through centuries and find Anna no matter where or when she might have walked by) soon dissolve into Rob telling Nicola that she is strong enough to track Anna with her own psychometry powers, yet Nicola is always doubting her own abilities. But with the help of Rob's guidance, Nicola's skills always increase. By the end of the book, Nicola and Rob are watching 18th century Anna, even though she is out at sea on a sailing ship, and Nicola and Rob are not touching anything at all. The Nicola/Rob chapters quickly became tedious.

At one point, Perfect Rob reveals that he can also see into the future, but not with great accuracy. However, Perfect Rob's future-casting allows him to apply for a visa to visit Russia, and he knows the correct dates and the hotel that he and Nicola will visit. What a horrible bit of plotting that was by Kearsley. I found myself wondering why Perfect Rob wasn't busy locating abducted children, solving crimes, and revealing the truth of past historical events, such as who was Jack-the-Ripper. Perfect Rob gently scolds Nicola for hiding her psychometry talents, but he sure isn't doing anything with his own abilities.

The second thread that follows Anna through the 18th century is a much better tale, and it is the reason why I kept reading even though I hated the Rob/Nicola chapters. Anna is a young girl who doesn't know her real parents. Gradually we learn that her family is involved in trying to restore King James to the throne, and that the English would try to capture Anna if they knew her identity. The dastardly English would use Anna as a pawn to ruin her family. This part of the novel is interesting.

But eventually Anna finds herself as a beautiful young woman in St. Petersburg. And her story dissolves into a typical romance story. There is an honest, sincere Mr. Taylor who has fallen in love with Anna. To all outward analysis, Mr Taylor would be an ideal match. But as is typical with romance novels, good Mr. Taylor is just too boring for our heroine. Anna instead gives her heart to the dark scoundrel Edmund O'Connor. The other women gossip about Edmund; the rumor is that he was caught in bed with a harlot and got into a fight with the hussy's husband. Oh, the scandal! But Anna cannot help but fall for this rogue, because at least he isn't boring. Yuck.

The novel ends with Nicola kissing Perfect Rob, and Anna kissing Edmund (who turns out to be a fine upstanding fellow all along, despite his reputation - who would have guessed?). This book is a tremendous disappointment. Perhaps suitable for readers who enjoy completely predictable romance tales, but not recommended for anyone who expects authors to tell a convincing story.