The Devilish Lord Will - Jennifer Ashley 

Last book in this trilogy but book 10 in The Mackenzies & McBrides series, it tells the story of how Lord William Mackenzie helped his family return to their homeland after the Jacobite risings.

This is one of my favorite series ever and so is the author but I’m afraid this book was only ok and not as exciting nor romantic as the rest of the series. I was several chapters in and still didn’t know where the story was going and I felt lost somehow. It took me a long while to really get into it and although it did get better, I still didn’t feel any sparks between Josette and Will, not even with their shared past. I don’t know, perhaps because of everything that was going around them, what with the treasure hunting, Josette’s blackmailer, and Will on the run, it felt as if the story didn’t leave much room for romance.

*I received this book at no cost to me and I volunteered to read it; this is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher*

Funny, sexy, captivating story that pulled me into its pages from the moment it started.
This is the third installment in the Must Love series but can be read as a standalone.

Traci Campbell is vacationing with her sister Fiona in lovely Scotland when they wage handsome Scottish men are just a thing of legends. However once they travel to the past to discover which one of them is wrong they end up in more trouble than they bargained for.

I’m a sucker for historicals, if it’s a time travel then it has to be very well written for me to like it. I know it’s fiction but it still has to be feasible for me to enjoy it. Here I liked that Traci was smart enough to run as she needed to and stay when she had to. She had her moments of hesitancy but overall was pretty smart, I mean, given the circumstances. And her “modernisms” provided the perfect twists for an overall funny read.
Our sexy kilted Highlander was a charmer in disguise. He had different facets but he kept the real one hidden from the world for fear of letting others down. Once he met Traci and had no other choice but to protect her with his life, he faced his own fears and helped Traci faced hers. I kept imagining him as a big, broad-shouldered warrior with the heart (and smile) to go with the body.
The time period where the romance took place created the perfect setting; it gave the story the perfect amount of drama and suspense. Overall it was an awesome read and I can’t wait what comes next when it’s Fiona’s turn.

** I was gifted a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review **

This story started so amazingly captivating that I hoped it would remain so until the end but it just wasn’t so. I devoured the first few chapters in only a few hours but after a while I just had to put it down. No biggie, it happens. Sometimes you have to be away for a while to feel the heat again however I have to say that didn’t happen here.

The story takes place in Scotland after the battle of Culloden when there was still some talk of an uprising against the British, hence those thought to be traitors to the crown were being thrown in jail or worse. Our heroine Eleanor is witness to some terrible crimes against these so-called traitors and goes mute out of fear. She’s in a foreign country and doesn’t know anyone and feels she cannot trust anyone either so she pretty much gives up and is about to die when she meets our hero Brice. Given that they are both from the opposing “team” neither of them give in to trust the other however little by little he wins over her trust. She not so much his.
The historical subplot was amazing. For instance, we learn that there was an escape route that took many Jacobites and their possible allies from that area to Canada in search of a chance at life. We learn how the lairds and their people used to live at the times and how those in high ranks have used (and abused) their power since for ever. So as far as researching her topic and creating a plausible and vivid setting the author did a great job. Now, when it comes to the main characters I have a few cavils that unfortunately prevented me to enjoy the story to the fullest.

At the beginning of the story Eleanor sounded so vulnerable and terrified that her actions and reactions were completely understandable. However after a certain incident it was BOOM! a completely different character, and to me it wasn’t even a turning point in the story. She even recuperated her ability to speak without so much as a hint of a hoarse voice. I get that what she went through made her a stronger woman but the change felt forced as opposed to gradual. Then she went on to prove herself and her love for Brice over and over again and it still wasn’t enough for him. I have to say I wasn’t happy with the ending because of his attitude. And again I get the reasoning behind his feelings but he was way too possessive for reasons out of her control. Yes, there was definitely a HEA but it made me feel there was no middle ground when it came to it and that to Brice it was either my way or the highway.
Since this was the first of a series and my first from this author I will continue reading more by her and this series.

I received a copy of this story by Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

Nicola Marter has psychometric powers. This means that when she touches an object, she can see glimpses of whoever's owned it or touched it before. Her grandfather, who escaped from Russia, has the same powers and always admonished her to keep the gift hidden, which she does, even from her boss Sebastian, an eccentric and successful antiquities dealer. Yet when a woman, Margaret Ross, comes to them with a wooden carving which she wants authenticated, claiming that it was once owned by Empress Catherine of Russia, Nicola touches the little Firebird and can tell that the woman's story is true. There just isn't any actual proof, and poor Margaret has to go away disappointed. Having cared for sick relatives most of her life, the authentication and sale of the carving could have secured this woman's finances. Nicola can't forget her, and decides that she wants to try and help her, without actually openly revealing her powers.

She'll need help proving the carving's history, though, and turns to a man she hasn't seen in two years, Rob McMorran, whose psychic gifts are much stronger than her own. He agrees to help her, and together they travel first to Dundee in Scotland, and later to Belgium, France and Russia, all to track Anna, Margaret's ancestor, and try to prove that the Firebird carving was a gift from a Russian empress. As they travel, their feelings for one another start to resurface. But can they ever have a future when they feel so differently about their psychic gifts?

Nicola is an intensely private person, keeping her psychic gifts hidden from everyone around her, always remembering the dire warnings from her grandfather. Apart from her family, only a very few people in the world know what she can do, Rob McMorran is one of them. Nicola met him while studying in Edinburgh, and his psychic powers are much more extensive than hers, he has premonitions and visions, and much more control of his gifts than she ever managed. The two shared an attraction that could have turned into something more significant, if Nicola hadn't gotten spooked and run away. Now, two years later, she realises that she can't help Margaret without Rob's aid.

Nicola is about to go to Russia to acquire a mural for her boss. What better time to investigate further into the Firebird carving Margaret Ross wanted authenticated? Nicola doesn't think her own powers are strong enough to trace through the centuries to Margaret's ancestor, so she goes to Berwick Upon Tweed to find Rob. If he were to come with her to Dundee, to see Margaret a second time, and touch the carving, he may give her enough clues as to what to search for in St. Petersburg. She wants to prove that the carving originated with the Russian Empress, so Margaret can sell it and get enough money to travel the world.

Rob is a police officer in Berwick and also works as a volunteer lifeguard. It's obvious that the entire town knows about his abilities and that they are a great aid to him in his work. One of the reasons Nicola fled from Edinburgh is because she felt that her powers made her a freak, and she has trouble accepting that Rob can so proudly and openly display his clairvoyance. When she turns up in Berwick, it becomes obvious that he was already expecting her and he's cleared his schedule so he can come with her on her journey.

Their quest to authenticate the carving takes them on a longer and more complicated trip than Nicola had anticipated. When tracking Anna, Margaret's ancestor, who Nicola saw being given the carving by the Empress in her first vision, they first go further north in Scotland to Slains castle, only to discover that she was taken from Scotland to Belgium as a young girl.

When Anna Logan is about eight, she discovers that the family that has raised her isn't actually her own, and that her parents gave her up as a baby to keep her safe. Her great uncle arrives to take her to a convent in Belgium, as in 1815, it was not safe for Jacobites in Scotland and as both Anna's real parents were prominent Jacobites, there are fears for her safety. Traveling with her great uncle is the injured Lieutenant Jamieson, who Anna takes to seeing as a sort of surrogate father. They spend a lot of time together until Jamieson's leg heals, and he promises to return before too long to take Anna from the convent to her family.

Even in the Belgian convent, Anna is not entirely safe. There are those who would use her as leverage to get to her family and relatives, all Jacobites, and through a series of dramatic events, Anna has to flee the convent and eventually ends up in St. Petersburg with a kindly naval captain, who in time becomes vice admiral to the Russian Tsar. Anna is raised in his family alongside his own daughters, but always feels a longing for her real family. To aid her foster father's further rise in society, Anna goes to live with General Lacy, as a companion to his pregnant wife. There she meets the roguish Edmund O'Connor, the general's Irish kinsman. Initially, they are constantly at each other's throats, but time and proximity causes their feelings to develop into something deeper.

Suddenly reunited with Rob, spending so much time with him chasing through Europe and Russia for Anna's history, Nicola's feelings towards him start to reawaken. They have to be in physical contact to share the visions of the past, and Rob always behaves as a perfect gentleman, almost like a brother much of the time. At other times, he confuses her by being decidedly flirtatious. During their journey, Rob keeps pushing her to use her psychic abilities more and more, challenging her perceptions that being able to do such things are bad or undesirable things. He can't understand why she hides and represses her talents; she is unnerved at how willing he is to show his skills to the world.

There are two parallel stories in The Firebird, a narrative device that may seem familiar to anyone whose read any of Kearsley's other books. This book is actually a sequel to one of Kearsley's previous novels, The Winter Sea, known as Sophia's Secret in the UK. It is also, as far as I could tell, loosely connected with her book The Shadowy Horses, where Rob McMorran first appeared. Anna Logan is actually Anna Moray, the daughter of Sophia and John from The Winter Sea. Her life is an eventful one, and throughout she seeks love, belonging and to be reunited with her true family. That's not to say that she doesn't experience a lot of love and care in both of her foster families. The Logans and later the Gordons care for her deeply, and while she doesn't have the life that her parents wished for her, it's by no means a bad one.

I read The Winter Sea a long time ago now, and must admit that I no longer remember all the details of the plot. I do remember finding Kearsley's writing completely spell-binding though, and being drawn into the story, captivated by the story lines in both the past and the present. It's exactly the same with this book. When I read Lauren Willig'sThe Pink Carnation series, I tend to get annoyed every time I have to leave the story of the brave spies of the past, always feeling that the jumps back to the framing story in the present is a bit like getting an ad break just as the movie you're watching is getting really good. Here, I was almost more compelled to read about Nicola and Rob in the present day, although Anna's story was also fascinating. It's a big book, which takes its time to reveal its secrets. I especially loved the sections in St. Petersburg, which I was lucky enough to visit about five years back. This book really made me want to return there.

The carving that Nicola is trying to authenticate is a Firebird, which appears in several Russian folktales. There are several different versions, but they all seem to amount to the same thing: whoever goes to chase after a Firebird, may return from their journey with something entirely different than what they originally set out to find. This is absolutely the case for both Nicola and Anna, and I very much enjoyed taking part in their romantic journeys.

This is the third Kearsley novel I have read, and I can see why she's so popular among her fans. I would also like to emphasise that while this book is a sequel, and seems connected to some of Kearsley's other books, it works fine on its own, and as it features a lot of the narrative devices I've seen in other of her novels, can be a great introduction to her writing.

First of all, kudos to the author for making me want to be transported to eighteenth century Scotland and England, a time that was not particularly pleasant for anyone.  Susanna Kearsley has a talent for embedding enough detail and research into her stories about this time period without making them feel weighted.  I appreciate the thoroughness of her research and highly recommend reading the author's note following the conclusion of The Firebird in which she elaborates on her research and how she developed the book's characters.  It's fascinating to read. 

I read The Winter Sea a few years ago and with the exception of the whole haphazard concept of genetic memory, I absolutely loved the book.  The Firebird is a continuation of this story, but you can probably follow it well enough without having read the first book.  The main characters, Rob and Nicola, possess the ability to see the history of objects by touching them.  While working at a museum, Nicola comes into contact with a wood carving of a firebird and becomes captivated by the images of a woman named Anna, an ancestor of the firebird's owner.  Nicola enlists the help of her friend (and ex), Rob, to discover the firebird's origins and learn Anna's story.

The Firebird is at its best when we're transported to Anna's world and see her interacting with characters like Colonel Graeme and his sons, Empress Catherine, Captain Jamieson, the nuns at Ypres, Captain Gordon, General Lacy and his family, as well as Edmund.  Anna is essentially an orphan and an unknowing political pawn, but her story is unlike most orphan stories because the people she comes into contact with see the best in her and show her compassion.  She should be an underdog, but never really is one.  While Anna's story is somewhat tragic, it also emphasizes the importance of maintaining hope for a better future and continuing to fight for your beliefs when all seems lost and forgotten.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it isn't as strong of a story as The Winter Sea.  I don't think the Russian history we're given is as thorough or complete as that of Scotland and England.  When I learned this story would take place in Russia, I knew I had to read it because it would be something different from what I normally read.  The focal point of the book is on Anna's Scottish family and political beliefs and not on the firebird or Russian folklore/history/events, which was disappointing and kind of misleading. 

In addition to this, I thought Rob and Nicola's modern romance was rather dull.  I'm not particularly fond of frame narratives (i.e. a story within a story) because one story is always dominant over the other.  It is obvious The Firebird is meant to be Anna's story.  I don't understand why the modern aspect was necessary as Nicola and Rob's observations and romance do not add any depth or perspective to the things Anna experienced during her lifetime.  The book would have been better had it focused on Anna's life and the modern tale been completely abandoned, but this is simply my own reading preference.