I first fell in love with Susanna Kearsley’s stories with The Winter Sea and she’s captivated me ever since. It’s historical fiction, with varying degrees of romance and time travel, at its best. She reminds me of Diana Gabaldon in many ways.
The first book I read by her was The Winter Sea. I heard her tell someone that this is what some consider her ‘gateway’ book to introduce new readers to her work. If you want to judge her by the company she keeps these are the authors who wrote blurbs for the cover of the lastest book; Diana Gabaldon, Ariel Lawhon, Sarah Penner, Barbara Erskine, Susan Elia MacNeal.
If you like stories with historical intrigue, a little bit of magic and a hint of romance, and lots of great research holding it all together, she’s for you! I was able to meet her last year when she came to a local library to promote her latest book. She was every bit as wonderful in person as I’d hoped she’d be.
The Winter Sea (Slains 1) from my review in 2013
Satisfied. I finished this book tonight and I am completely satisfied. I was drawn into the story right away. Scotland, both now and in 1908, is an appealing setting and the idea of a successful woman being able to pick up and move anywhere in the world to world is exciting. I admit to being a little confused in the earlier chapters by all of the people and politics of 1708, but I got a handle on most of them and dismissed the others until they became useful in the story.
I was rooting for Carrie and Sophia to find love and happiness. I was sure of Carrie’s fate and hopeful for Sophia, but I did get nervous. I also kind of love that Sophia’s happy ending did not include everything she wanted. I shed tears and that’s not something I do often when reading a novel.
My love of genealogy was celebrated and Carrie’s discovery of ancestral memory was a fun one to consider. We all know we share DNA with our ancestors, why not the memories of them too? It’s safe to say that we won’t come close to this romantic notion in our own experience, but it is fun to dream.
A book full of love, political intrigue, strong women, strong men, mystery, and both storylines were good. I wish there’d been more of Carrie’s story but that’s because I’m greedy. I didn’t want it to end!
The Firebird (Slains 2)
I loved The Winter Sea and this is a continuation of that story. I didn’t love it as much as its predecessor for one big reason. It also tells two stories, a modern one that links to a historical one, but in this book the modern story is not at all engaging. It involves two people who can read minds and travel in time by using their paranormal abilities. It was just to hard for me to care about Nicola and to a lesser extent, Rob. They could do too much. It was too easy. This was pretty much the first third of the book so I made a slow go of it. Once we got to Anna’s story in Imperial Russia, I loved it! Anna is the true star and I loved every minute of her adventures.
The Vanished Days (Slains 3)
This was my least favorite of all of her books. If she hadn’t written it I would have given up on it before the halfway point. There was a nice twist at the end that was a reward for making it that far, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Mariana, one of my favorites, from my thoughts in 2017, the only one of her books I’ve read twice.
Here were my first thoughts on Goodreads when I finished this one, “My love affair with Susanna Kearsley continues. This was one of her first books and it may be my favorite so far. I didn’t want it to end. I was worried that the ending would be all wrong. But it wasn’t. It was perfect.” There is something so magical and romantic about her stories. There is history, romance, and a perfect sense of place in all of her books. This one also felt a little like a ghost story.
Julia was sure she’d found her house and she packed up and moved from London to a small English village without a second thought. She was a children’s book illustrator and was able to make a few friends right away just as she was being transported back in time at unpredictable times.
It’s tricky when you are going back and forth between time periods and characters. Inevitably, you are drawn more to one story than the other. This one did a great job of tying the two together so I was invested in both. Was this book, the first time she tried the time travel travel romance, perfect? No. Was it perfect enough to have me rereading the last few chapters again and again because I wasn’t quite ready for it to end? A resounding YES!
The King’s Messenger set in 1613 Scotland.
I love all of Susanna Kearsley’s books, but this is a favorite. King James has tasked Andrew Logan to find Sir David Moray and bring him back to the king to answer for the death of the prince. I LOVED the group making their way to the king while trying to escape from groups with competing interests.
There’s history, love in all its forms, second site, betrayal, respect, loyalty, and revenge. It’s fun and left me feeling satisfied for the futures of the characters. The authors note at the end tells what is based on truth (quite a bit) and what was made up in the mind of a gifted storyteller.
A Desperate Fortune, from my 2020 review
Sara, as explained early on, has Asperger syndrome. Her best friend is her cousin, who is offering her a chance at a code breaking job in Paris. A famous writer wants her to decipher an almost 300 year old diary and she accepts since she is between jobs. She gets put up at a nice home with a cook and with a good looking man who catches her eye as a neighbor. She begins to uncover Mary’s story, one that could easily be called a thriller, and it’s there that this book finds its heart.
I liked Sara and enjoyed the honest portrayal of a character on the autism spectrum, but it was Mary that had me turning the pages, hoping that she would get her happily ever after. For a girl abandoned by her family and then used to curry favor, she was easy to love. In the 1700s a trek from Paris to Italy was fraught with danger, especially when you were caught with a man who recognized the bounty on the head of her travel companions. I won’t spoil Mary’s end, but I will say that it was fitting.
Kearsley is a master at the dual storylines set in different time periods. Usually the storylines match up a bit better than they do in this one and there is most often more of a mystical aspect, but I was still happy to be reading.
The Shadowy Horses, from my 2019 review
I fell in love with Susanna Kearsley’s storytelling with The Winter Sea which connected to The Firebird which is connected to this one. They are all standalones, but you’ll recognize the Roman soldiers from this one in The Winter Sea and Robbie from this book appears all grown up in The Firebird. Just go ahead and read them all (you know you want to).
Verity makes a temporary move from London to Eyemouth, Scotland, a border town with a rich history. She is to help find evidence that the famed Ninth Roman Legion had been there. Archeological digs are not that exciting when they’re just starting out, so the slower pace allows Verity to get a feel for the new place and the new people who will feel like family before all is said and done. While most of Kearsley’s stories have contained dual story lines, one in the past and one in the present, this one was different with just a modern story and one active ghost.
Kearsley is one of my favorites. I always enjoy the trip into her magical worlds. This one had history, mystery, danger, just a touch of romance, and some paranormal shenanigans.
The Bellewether, from my 2019 review
This was my first book of the year and it took me a while to become invested in the three characters whose stories make up Bellewether. Charley who moved to the area so that she could live with her niece after the untimely death of her brother, took a job as museum director of the under construction Wilde House. There she encountered maybe my favorite character of the book, the ghost. There was also a cute contractor and some animosity toward the grandmother she’d never met who lived nearby.
As for the 1700’s storyline, we move between Lydia and Jean-Philippe’s perspective as the former tries to come to grips with unwanted houseguests and brothers with problems of their own. Jean-Philippe only spoke French, so for much of the book he didn’t communicate freely.
I liked getting a deeper understanding of the war and what was happening in the region. Some of these characters were based on real people or compilations which made the story richer, but maybe not quite as fanciful as I’d hoped. There was romance, sure, but most of Kearsley’s books feel magical and this one didn’t quite get there for me. It’s still good and I really enjoyed the multitude of characters and history. My favorite ghost saved the day and the end was excellent and worth reading 400+ pages.
Season of Storms, from my 2018 review
Any book that takes me to Italy starts as a winner and when Kearsley does it, well, don’t talk to me until I’ve turned the last page. This one felt different than all of her others, there was a gothic atmosphere that I always like. I liked the setting and the dark nature of it, Italy and Kearsley will always save a bad day.
Named of the Dragon, from my 2018 review
Susanna Kearsley is a perfect escape for me. I fall into a different world, both geographically and historically, get a little romance (never too much), and close the book with a smile on my face a little smarter than when I started. This book took me to a small village in Wales, where literary agent, Lyn, is accompanying one of her clients to her boyfriend’s home for Christmas. He happens to be a successful author and Lyn hopes she can land him as a client. He also has a cute brother, but the real thrill is when she discovers one time flavor of the month writer, Gareth, hiding himself from the literary crowd.
Splendour Falls, from my 2015 review
Kearsley has officially become a comfort read for me. This was my third read from her and each of them has left me satisfied and happy. There is always a back story that takes place in another time that connects with the current story in some way. This book had less of the back story, which I think it suffered for, but the mystery, romance, and yes, evil all combined to make this a fun read.
The essence of the setting is always so easily felt and her writing is so accessible that once I get started I find it hard to put down. There were so many potential bad guys in this one that I didn’t really have and handle on it until late in the game, but those smarter than I probably figured it out much sooner.
The Rose Garden was set on the Cornish coast with Eva traveling between today and the time of the Jacobite Rebellion. I had to resist the urge to peek at the last page to see how things ended up. Rest assured, everything was good.
This one had an extra twist to the time travel storyline that was as confusing to my brain as it was a fun twist at the end.
This book is a collaboration with three other women, none of whom I’ve read before. I’m going to ruin the surprise and tell you that I loved this.
There once was a watch made from cursed gold and it ruined the lives of all who touched it. The four women seamlessly tell the tale of the watch, from its inception in 1700s Spain (Kearsley), to 1831 Scotland (Huber), 1870 London (Trent), and finally to 1944 Kent (Harris). The authors use characters from their previous books or series which will make their readers happy, but didn’t confuse me when I wasn’t familiar. It only made me want to read more about them.
You can see who else is on my Top 100 Authors list here.
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