Rating: 
Summary: Flowers from the Storm
Review: I have been reading romance novels for 35 years. Regency and Georgian novels are among my favorites. I have never read a book quite like this one. Laura Kinsale challenges you to go beyond the popular genre and I found myself re-reading whole paragraphs and entire pages to make sure I wasn't missing out on a single word that might be relevant to the story. An absolutely great read!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Deserves 10 Stars
Review: This has to be one of the very best historical romances I've ever read. It's the first Laura Kinsale I've tried, based on all the good reviews she gets for this book. The novel is a good length, about 470 pages in the Avon paperback. I really liked this as I prefer complex plots and characterization which do need that extra length, along with the attention to finer details. The novel is set in England in 1827. The duke of Jervaulx, a rake and a brilliant mathematician, has a stroke which sees him incarcerated in a lunatic asylum. There he meets again Maddy, the Quaker daughter of a mathematician he has been collaborating with. She becomes his only hope of escaping the hell he has found himself in. Maddy belongs to a different world to that of Jervaulx's, in class and religion. Under normal circumstances, it is unlikely these two people would have got together. However, Jervaulx's stroke makes him dependent on Maddy, his nurse, and romance gradually creeps up on them. Both have to deal with the consequences of a relationship in which each share very different world views, along with the social disapproval meted out by Jervaulx's aristocratic family and Maddy's Quaker community. Is it hard to understand dialogue in parts of the book? Not really. You just have to work a bit harder at it. Maddy's Quaker way of talking was easy for me to understand and in regard to Quaker dates I found the information on the internet (First Day is Sunday, etc and January is First Month etc). I didn't get some of the dialogue where Jervaulx is hearing speech from his stroke-impaired viewpoint, but that didn't really bother me as obviously Jervaulx is not understanding it either. I prefer more complexity in my reading anyway, and I like books that tackle more serious issues.
Rating:
Summary: In a Class By Itself
Review: After reading "Flowers from The Storm," I realize, with some chagrin, that I have meted out prior five-star ratings too easily, for "Flowers" surpasses them all. Maddy, a devout and humble Quaker, and Jervaulx, a profligate, amoral duke, have absolutely nothing in common and no earthly reason to have ever even made one another's acquaintance, save that Maddy's father and Jervaulx share a gift in mathematics and become partners, of a sort, on a certain theorem. Jervaulx shocks Maddy's sense of propriety and Goodness, while the duke takes little notice of the prim and proper Quaker lady. After Jervaulx's and Maddy's first face-to-face meeting, Jervaulx suffers a debilitating stroke, and the haughty duke is reduced to a man unable to speak or even buckle his own bootstrap, his memory vague and fleeting. Jervaulx's extreme frustration and confusion at his situation lead him to violent outbursts, and his greedy mother and sisters have him sent away to an asylum while they seek to gain control of his fortune. Enter Maddy again. She has come to her Quaker cousin's "institution" in order to assist him while his wife is closeted away with their newborn. To Maddy's shock, she recognizes Jervaulx, and is deeply moved by his situation. Only Maddy can see that the duke is not the mad savage the others believe, but that he is ill. She feels this so strongly and certainly, that she believes it is a revelation from God and that it is her duty to help this once proud man. To Jervaulx, trapped like a caged animal and at the mercy of cruel, unfeeling jailers, suffering every possible humiliation and degradation, Maddy is his hope, his light, his salvation. This moving, lovely novel is gripping and poignant. Maddy and Jervaulx's relationship begins as stark, desperate need and evolves to an all-consuming passion and abiding love. Jervaulx is, at times, so vulnerable that one aches for him, and yet we see glimpses of that proud, self-willed duke. Maddy struggles deeply to reconcile her Quaker beliefs with the "carnal" creature she becomes when she is with Jervaulx. From reading other reviews, I had expected that the reading would be somewhat difficult, but Maddy's Quakerish speech is not at all difficult to understand, nor is it intrusive; likewise, Jervaulx's somewhat impaired, fragmented speaking is not hard to follow. "Flowers from The Storm" is in a class by itself; superbly written, powerful, poignant, and passionate, and well worth a read...and then another.
Rating:
Summary: One of a kind
Review: This book is amazing, one of the best NOVELS I have ever read. It is a touching story, i suggest also a lot of tissues. This book is amazing, I re-read it all the time. I have never found another book quite like it, Laura Kinsale is amazing, her talent is beyond that of any other romance writer i've ever read.
Just READ IT, then you'll understand!!
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, dramatic, unforgettable story
Review: This is the first Kinsale book I read... It's truly a page turner. The story is very compelling and emotional. Christian Langland, Duke of Jervaulx, suffers a stroke and everyone considers that he is mad. He was sent to an asylum where Maddy tends to him and helps him get out of it and nurses him back to health again. Maddy is a very practicing Quaker. As she falls in love with Jervaulx, she struggles to fight between her commitment to her way and her true feeling toward Jervaulx. The story made me love and cry, it depicts a true love that bonds two people so tightly that nothing can do them apart. Ms.Kinsale adds lighthearted humors to reduce the intensity of the story by Jervaulx's two dogs - Devil and Cass. This is kind of story that will have a part in your heart forever.
Rating: 
Summary: Complicated book, not light reading...
Review: This is *not* a comfort read, nor is it a conventional romance. For one, the romance takes decidedly second stage to the illness and recovery (if it be recovery) of the hero. The hero is a dissolute young nobleman who thinks nothing of getting a married woman pregnant and then fighting a duel with her husband. On the other hand, he is also a brilliant mathematician who is co-authoring a paper with a Quaker mathematician. It is this capacity that he meets the heroine, although she makes only a small impression on him, given his other concerns. We meet the hero again in very different circumstances, when he is confined to a lunatic asylum, and where the heroine Maddie is trying to get him to respond to her. She discovers that he can still understand mathematical formulae, but that his language skills are gone - he cannot understand words nor speak making any sense. No wonder his relatives think him insane. We also learn that although this particular asylum is relatively benign (it has been founded by a Quaker cousin of Maddie), there are still darker elements, stemming from the love of power and brutish ignorance shown by the keepers of the patient. Laura Kinsale draws this portrait pitilessly (compare her portrait with that of the insane asylum in Putney's WILD CHILD) - and asks us to consider what happens to people who are not insane but who are then placed in an asylum with all their freedoms taken away. For the hero, there is some justification to think him mad, but there were surely many women placed in asylums by their relatives for being too independent, too "unruly" or exhibiting behavior thought deviant for that time. The story is about Christian's struggle to regain his personal freedom and to keep his legal freedom (he has not been formally declared insane). To this end, he is ruthless - he forces Maddie to marry him using strategems that are revealed to her much later. Unfortunately for her, this marriage means expulsion from the Quaker community, a punishment that means much to her and far more than any material wealth and rank she might gain by this marriage. What is worse - is that Christian's wealth and freedom are based on tenuous foundations. The denouement is brilliant. By the end, Christian regains some power of speech and some control over his actions, but he will clearly never be the man he once was. Which might not be such a bad thing, considering some of his past actions. Maddie's decisions through the novel are impelled both by consideration for Christian and his feelings, and her own feelings of charity for all humanity, stemming from her strong Quaker faith. The major problems with this book is firstly that it is so complex that it might put off people expecting a straight-forward if angst-ridden romance, and secondly that the style of speech affected by the heroine and her father (Plain Speech) can be even more off-putting. Finally, this book is not really a straight romance, and should not be classified as such. Unfortunately the bare-chested man on the cover does nothing to dispell that illusion - which is unfortunate. People picking up this book for its cover would receive a shock when they open the pages. I wish the publishers had been more honest and have chosen either a neutral cover or a more honest cover. Laura Kinsale should sell on her name alone, not her covers. I rate this book on average at 4.5, since there are some slow and puzzling parts which keep it from a higher grade.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding in Every Way
Review: This is a novel that deserves reprinting, and a much more sophisticated cover treatment! Everything about this story is outstanding, thanks to the top-notch writing of Ms. Kinsale. Many a romance has a handsome man and beautiful woman falling madly in love. This is one author who isn't content to dish up a traditional fluffy fantasy. Instead, she gives us a reckless playboy of a nobleman, hardly admirable in any way. A sudden seizure leaves him with the behavior of an apparent madman, fighting for his life and his sanity. Not your ordinary hero! His salvation comes in the unlikely form of a devout Quaker woman who couldn't be more removed from the kind of world he struggles to return to. These characters actually develop and grow in the process of discovering their need for one another. With powerful characterizations, remarkably authentic dialogue and rich sensuality, "Flowers from the Storm" is truly an oustanding romance from an exceptionally talented author.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the genre...
Review: I don't normally review Kinsale's books because I think they are just too perfectly written for my meager attempts at review, but then that's not fair, is it? So, I'll attempt to put my admiration for this book into words... Jervaulx, the hero of this book, is as flawed and perfectly loveable as all Kinsale's heroes tend to be. And Maddy, our prim and proper heroine, is the typical Victorian miss -- except for her strong spiritual sense and her impressive reserve of courage and integrity. She is truly an inspirational heroine, in her quiet, unassuming way. One of the things I like best about Kinsale's couples is that the sense of belonging is right there, from the very first meeting. The conflict is most definitely there, but that irrepressible down-deep knowledge and acceptance of the other exists for the heroine and hero both. This is what really makes a romance novel click for me - the ultimate truth of the "rightness" of the relationship, despite all the things that are telling the hero and heroine that it must be "wrong". Of course, the dialogue, the narration and the plot are very smooth. Just as one would expect from Kinsale, the characters are intense and very real. I've read this one four times so far, which means the cover is about destroyed, and I'm going to get another copy very soon. Highly recommend for all admirers of romance.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've read ever!
Review: This book totally blew me away! I expected it to be good from the reviews I read but I couldn't realise how unbelievably amazing it truly was. I made the mistake of getting the book the day before an important exam. I couldn't wait to read it, so I read part of it but then all the while I was away I could NOT stop thinking about it [I don't want to know how badly I did for the exam!]. It just astounds me how Kinsale's characters just totally engulf you in their web - I've read all her books and I find them on my mind for days after I've read them! The characters of Christian and Maddy were just spectacular, so intricate and beautiful. This book had me laughing one moment then crying at another - I loved how deeply Christian loved & needed Maddy. I could practically feel his frustration on not being able to express himself - in the most basic manners that we take for granted and being so lost & alone in his world. Maddy was perfect - strong but yet unsure of herself. Her Plain Speech annoyed me a little at the end ('thee' 'thou') but I cannot expect her to drop that instantly - would be too unreal. I loved that when Kinsale wrote from Christian's point of view, she actually wrote the words out just as he would hear it. Its a great story, I definitely recommend this book - its one of the best books I've ever read (and just not in the romance genre). I think Laura Kinsale truly transcends that, her writing is just so good it unbelievable that its supposed to be a 'simple' romance novel. She's definitely my favorite author.
Rating:
Summary: Superb writing.
Review: I first read this book in 1993. Since then, I have re-read it four times, given away 2 copies to friends, and have purchased every other book I could find by Laura Kinsale. Her writing style in "Flowers" conveys the frustration and confusion of a stoke victim as if you were the character. She also shows a subtle sense of humor-- I love the dialogue about the "good wife"!
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