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Title: The Firebird
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Genre: Paranormal contemporary romance/historical fiction
Thingummies: 3.5
Synopsis: A psychic tries to track the provenance of a firebird statuette that may have been given to a Jacobite orphan by Empress Catherine, while sorting out her own feelings about a fellow psychic.
Thoughts: It's never quite entirely clear whether this is supposed to be two parallel narratives or a story within a framing device. The fact that one story involves the supernatural while the other doesn't just confuses the issue.
On one track, we have a psychic who hasn't come to terms with her own powers. It's a sweet little romance, but there's a lot that could be done with the setup that's ignored, and her problems are resolved a little too neatly.
Meanwhile, there's a touching story about a girl who loses her family to the conflict over whether George of Hanover or James of Scotland should be king of England. There's a lot of great historical detail, and an engaging romance to boot. But again, some of the threads are wrapped up too easily.
And the existence of psychics in one line but not the other makes the modern story kind of awkward--it seems more like a frame for the historical story, but takes up too much time for a mere framing device.
It's a pity, actually--I liked both stories, but the attempt to get them to cohabit does end up selling both a bit short.
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Genre: Paranormal contemporary romance/historical fiction
Thingummies: 3.5
Synopsis: A psychic tries to track the provenance of a firebird statuette that may have been given to a Jacobite orphan by Empress Catherine, while sorting out her own feelings about a fellow psychic.
Thoughts: It's never quite entirely clear whether this is supposed to be two parallel narratives or a story within a framing device. The fact that one story involves the supernatural while the other doesn't just confuses the issue.
On one track, we have a psychic who hasn't come to terms with her own powers. It's a sweet little romance, but there's a lot that could be done with the setup that's ignored, and her problems are resolved a little too neatly.
Meanwhile, there's a touching story about a girl who loses her family to the conflict over whether George of Hanover or James of Scotland should be king of England. There's a lot of great historical detail, and an engaging romance to boot. But again, some of the threads are wrapped up too easily.
And the existence of psychics in one line but not the other makes the modern story kind of awkward--it seems more like a frame for the historical story, but takes up too much time for a mere framing device.
It's a pity, actually--I liked both stories, but the attempt to get them to cohabit does end up selling both a bit short.
