Review: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

This month's book selection for the She Reads Book Club is probably not one that I would have picked up on my own, but it definitely piqued my curiosity.  THE FIREBIRD by Susanna Kearsley combines ruch historical fiction, romance and paranormal elements similar to mental telepathy or ESP. Here's a bit about the book taken from Goodreads:

Nicola Marter was born with a gift. When she touches an object, she sometimes sees images; glimpses of those who have owned it before. It’s never been a gift she wants, and she keeps it a secret from most people, including her practical boss Sebastian, one of London’s premier dealers in Russian art.

But when a woman offers Sebastian a small wooden carving for sale, claiming it belonged to Russia’s first Empress Catherine, it’s a problem. There’s no proof. Sebastian believes that the plain carving — known as “The Firebird” — is worthless. But Nicola’s held it, and she knows the woman is telling the truth, and is in desperate need of the money the sale of the heirloom could bring.

Compelled to help, Nicola turns to a man she once left, and still loves: Rob McMorran, whose own psychic gifts are far greater than hers. With Rob to help her “see” the past, she follows a young girl named Anna from Scotland to Belgium and on into Russia. 

There, in St. Petersburg — the once-glittering capital of Peter the Great’s Russia — Nicola and Rob unearth a tale of love and sacrifice, of courage and redemption…an old story that seems personal and small, perhaps, against the greater backdrops of the Jacobite and Russian courts, but one that will forever change their lives.

My Thoughts:

I'll start with what I liked about his book. The historical fiction part of the book was fascinating to me, as was the setting. I don't read many books taking place in Russia and Scotland, so I really enjoyed that aspect. I also appreciated the author's note at the end of the book that clarified the true events of Russian history and what parts she embellished for the story. That said, it isn't hard to surmise that I enjoyed those parts of the story much more than I enjoyed Nicola's story in the present with her friend Rob. I found myself whizzing through the parts that didn't include Anna and the quest to find out how she came to possess the wooden Firebird statue. 

For me, the main reason for this was I never quite felt a connection to Nicola. In my opinion, there was little character developmen pertaining to Nicolat that explained to me how she first received her 'gift'.  The brief mention of the experimental trials that she participated in where she first met Rob, was very vague and also felt under-developed, aside from explaining her first session including Rob. Since finishing the book, I've noticed that Goodreads has this book listed at 'Slains #2', which, I'm assuming, is part of a series.  If that is the case, it might have changed my view had I read that first book. I did find WINTERS SEA, but it doesn't appear to have any connection to this book aside from the Russian/Scottish history.. That said, I can only go on what I read, so as a stand-alone, it was a bit hollow for me.  

Additionally, I was not completely sold on the ESP or psychometry angle of this book and that is probably, again, because I felt thrown into it without any development.  Lastly, the romance between Rob and Nicola was a bit lacking to me. It was bland and uneventful and I was underwhelmed by it completely.

Though I would not have chosen this book on my own, I can appreciate what I've learned of Russian history by reading it. That part I did find fascinating and I was fully engrossed in it, although at times I started to get overwhelmed by it. All in all, it was a pleasant read but not one of my favorites. 

THE FIREBIRD 
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: June 4, 2013
Length: 545 pp
Source: Publisher

Review: Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

BLACKBERRY WINTER, Sarah Jio's third novel is my first, but it will not be my last. This book actually tells two stories in one and takes place in a city that I, personally, have never visited, but has always intrigued me: Seattle.  The main story, taking place in present day drives the second story, which takes place in 1933 during a very tumultuous time.

In present day we meet Claire, a journalist at a large, local newspaper, owned by her husband's family. It becomes obvious early on that Claire and her husband  heve been through something traumatic in the last year and the strain of that trauma is beginning to put cracks in  their marriage. During a rare  late season snowstorm, Claire is assigned to write an article about the odd weather phenomenon.  At first, she is less than thrilled with her assignment but while researching the archives she stumbles across a most unusual story from 1933.  The fact that a similar snow-storm occurred on the exact same day in 1933 was to be the focal point of the story, however, what really caught Claire's attention was the disappearance of a three-year-old little boy in the middle of that storm and the subsequent murder of his mother, a worker in one of Seattle's poshest hotels at that time. A local townsman had been convicted of the crime but very little was done to locate the boy.

The mysterious disappearance of that child and the complete lack of information in the files is just what Claire needsedto get her spark back.  Against her supervisor's wishes, she turned this simple story about the weather into something much more. Soon she is consumed with finding out who the little boy is and if he was ever found. The trail she set out on took her places she never dreamed and  to people she couldn't have imagined.

My Thoughts:

I have to admit that I saw this book making it's way around the blogs after it's release and saw it mentioned on Twitter a lot but I just never picked it up. I don't know what I was waiting on. To be honest, I remember reading a few reviews that indicated it may be a little predictable and that is something I hate in books. But this was a good lesson for me to learn because I didn't find it predictable at all. Sure, I had my moments of 'I knew it!!' but overall, I was completely caught off guard by the final outcome. And I loved it.

Another aspect I appreciated was that Sarah Jio successfully wrote a book of mystery with some romance thrown in.  Typically, I'm not a big romance novel reader, but this had just the right amount that didn't overtake the story but added to it. I thought it was well done.

The characters are strong, in both storylines and though I enjoyed Claire's story, I was always anxious to get back to Vera Ray and her lost son in 1933. It was fascinating to me. The city, itself, became a character in this book and I really enjoyed that as well.  I felt the chapters alternating between the stories fit very well and moved it along and kept me wanting more from both. As I read on, the stories began to intertwine, which drew me in even more.. I honestly had a hard time putting this one down.

As I said earlier, having the backdrop of Seattle only added to the goodness of this novel. There is such a rich history in that city and I found it very endearing in the way Sarah Jio used it to her advantage. I've since learned that she lives in Seattle, which explains her obvious admiration for the city.

I'm very anxious for her fourth book, THE LAST CAMELLIA to be released on May 28th by Penguin (Plume). I've read that it's her 'darkest and most mysterious novel to date'. Hmm, dark and mysterious - I'm in! I also have made a promise to myself to go back and read her first two books as well. BLACKBERRY WINTER is one of my most enjoyable reads so far this year. If you've read it, I'd love to know your thoughts..

BLACKBERRY WINTER
Author:  Sarah Jio
Publisher: Penguin (Plume)
Pubilshed: September 2012
Source: Purchased
Recommend? Absolutely!

Review: Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews (Audio Version)

I have been a fan of Mary Kay Andrews' books since way back...SAVANNAH BLUES, and SAVANNAH BREEZE being two of my favorites, so naturally, when she comes out with a new one, I definitely read it. This time, with SUMMER RENTAL, I decided to listen instead. I was already reading a couple printed books and I was looking for something to listen to while cleaning the house and so forth. Besides, now that summer is here, I thought it was the perfect time for this book.

About The Book -
SUMMER RENTAL is the story of three thirty-something women who have been friends since they attended Catholic school together back home in Savannah when they were girls. Dorie still lives in Savannah and teaches at the school, Julia, a model, lives in London with her successful boyfriend and Ellis has been in banking for over a decade while living in Pittsburgh. Though each of them have had successes in there lives, they have each come to a crossroad where decisions must be made for their futures.

The girls have rented a house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend the month of August and thanks to Ellis doing all the research and contacting the landlord, Mr. Culpepper, there is only one set-back. Dorie's older sister was supposed to come but cancelled at the last possible minute, so its costing a bit more for each of the girls. This really nags at Ellis, since she's just been laid off from her job at the bank and worries that her severance pay will only go so far. Dorie soon solves the rent problem when she meets a young woman from New Jersey at a diner and impulsively invites her to rent the bedroom on the top floor, promising privacy, which seemed to be very important to the woman.

As the days go by, it becomes apparent that not everyone staying at the beach house is being forthcoming about their lives. Ellis can't even get Mr. Culpepper to respond to her many emails about the guy living in the apartment above the garage that they share who calls himself Ty Bazemore.  Dorie, Julia and Ellis confide in each other about the changes taking place in their lives, but they still know nothing about Meredith, the girl from New Jersey and its making Julia uneasy considering she's living with them. Finally, Julia breaks into Meredith's room one day and what she finds gives the girls every reason to worry, so they decide to confront Meredith with what they've found.

My Thoughts:


Let me start with the narration of this book. Hands down, it is great. Not everyone can pull off a true Southern accent and Isabel Keating does a fabulous job. She expertly manipulates her voice to distinguish between each  of the characters and it is flawless. She has done the narrations for many of Mary Kay's books but this is the first one for me. There were a few times, though, that I felt she over-pronounced a few words but thankfully, that only happened a few times, so I can easily overlook that.

As for the story, I thought the premise was good and with the backgrounds of the women, had the potential to be very interesting. Unfortunately, I felt it fell a little short of my expectations. Without giving too much away, the part concerning Ellis and her love interest was a bit too predictable for me and honestly, a little fairy-tale-ish. I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a pessimist, but I don't know many good-looking young men, who work as a bartender at a hoppin nightclub that falls in love with a woman the first day he meets her and is ready to change his whole life for her! Really?? C'mon!!! I realize this is fiction, but . . . On the other hand, maybe thats why I choose to stay away from romance novels. I'm more of a realist than that.

That being said, I just wish that Ms. Andrews would have dug a little deeper and come up with some really good content and maybe a few surprises along the way. And believe me, that is very hard for me to say because I have been such a fan of hers for so many years. Maybe a few less storylines would have allowed the more prevalent ones to shine through.

I really wanted to love this book and it pains me because I didn't. But that doesn't mean it won't appeal to readers who really enjoy escapist or chic-lit novels.  As for me, my tastes change and evolve and maybe I'm now leaning more towards different types of books. But that doesn't mean I am not a Mary Kay Andrews fan anymore. I know she just released a new book, SPRING FEVER, and I will read it just like all her previous books and I hope you will too.

SUMMER RENTAL(Audio Verson - Audible.com)
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: August 2011
Length: 14h 46m
Narration: 4 out of 5 Stars
Story: 3 out of 5 Stars