Rating: 
Summary: Laura Kinsale's books are keepers.
Review: From where I sit I can see five books by Laura Kinsale on my shelves. I love re-reading them. I find her characters interesting, and hope she has some more books out soon.I would like to say something in Maddy's defense. I like her, and understand that for a devout Quaker there would be a bone deep conflict of life styles, religious doctrine, and personal beliefs, in many ways large and small between her and Christian a member of the Church of England. The Plain Folk, Quakers, believe in a simple life. They do not believe in military service, preachers in church, personal adornment, or titles. In a marriage even small differences over saying grace at dinner, or not, can cause trouble. For Maddy to commit to a lifetime of alienation from fellow believers, to be shunned, by her life long friends is no small matter.
Rating:
Summary: The best of Laura Kinsale.
Review: I have read and enjoyed all of Laura Kinsale's books but this one will always be my favorite. I felt the characters were very real. Christian's plight moved me totally and Maddy's inner struggle between her love for Christian and her religion was handled beautifully. I have re-read this story numerous times.
Rating: 
Summary: LOVE CONQUERS!
Review: The hero and heroine could not be more different. Christian is the Duke of Jervaulx - rich, powerful, arrogant and possesses the charms of a lady's killer. Maddy is of modest birth, deeply religious, prim, prudent and loyal. An unexpected tragedy brought both of them together. However, what sarted off as a patient-nurse relationship soon developed into something deeper and stronger. As in most romances, I know that the story will crusie towards the happily-ever-after path, but several unexpected sub-plots kept me glued to the book. In addition, it seems almost impossible that Christain and Maddy, whose characters are so different, would become true lovers. Along the way, Christian remains arrogant and inconsiderate; in fact, I find nothing admirabeble in him. Maddy is the true heroine all the way, remaining loyal and patient, standing by him even as she realises the deceit surrounding their marriage and is caught between her beliefs and religion, and her deep passion for the man whose world seems to be out of her reach. The author makes no excuses for Christian's fault- in fact he tells Maddy more than once that "he does not deserve her"; no simple solutions to Maddy's delima. In this way, the author brings the message soundly across- love overrules all. That's what makes this book likable.
Rating:
Summary: Bring on the flowers!!!
Review: This book is the poignant story of a cavalier duke who is suddenly beset by an unexpected illness which lands him in an asylum and the Quaker turned nurse who becomes his only means of communication. Christian and Maddy's story brought tears and frustration as well as smiles and warmth. It deals with love at the physical, parental, familial and spiritual levels. It portrays real life conflict between doing what your brain says is right versus what your heart feels is right and the choices one is forced to make as a result. Once started, it was difficult to put down. If you enjoy novels that have a credible plot, but evoke emotion and provoke thought, then Flowers from the Storm is definitely for you
Rating:
Summary: I was captivated by this story. I cried as I read it.
Review: This story happens to be the best one I have read so far. As I was reading the story I found myself crying and strongly disliking the relatives of Christian. The only one in his family that loved him was his aunt. If it had not been for Maddygirl, he would have been lost in that mad house. I thought the heroine was the right woman for him, but through no fault of her own, she was so steeped in her religion. She was experienced enough to be his "caretaker" because of her father whom she had tended for 18 years. On the negative side, she was quite annoying battling her devotion to her religion and her love for a wonderful man who needed her support. I loved this book. I thought the story was so sad for too long. I would like to have seen Christian recover completely. In reality some people do recover without any indication of ever being sick. As I was reading this story I thought about "My Sweet Folly", as it relates to "Robert" who was being poisoned and was almost left to a world of darkness. Overall, I liked Christian and Maddy and gave this story two thumbs up
Rating:
Summary: A man's fight to overcome stroke and take back his life
Review:
You'll find this one in the romance section, but it's primary
appeal isn't as a romance -- I actually found the heroine to
be very UN-likeable, and wanted to smack her a number of
times. But although this took a point or so off of my
rating, it doesn't prevent this from being one of Kinsale's
best books, and with Kinsale that's saying a lot.
The hero is a wealthy nobleman who's also a brilliant
mathematician. Overcome by a stroke, he finds himself
in an early 19th century madhouse, where the treatment is
brutal and he's left with his helplessness and frustration.
The stroke has taken away his capacity for language -- he
can think, but he can't speak or understand language. (In
computer terms, the CPU is fine but the I/O port is shot.)
Trapped inside his own head, controlled by people who treat
him like a crazed animal, he finds, with the help of the
heroine, that one thread of communication has been left to
him -- mathematics. He can communicate with mathematics,
and though this is rather inadequate for requesting sausage
for breakfast, it's enough to convince her that he _can_
still think, and reason, and that there's still a human
being in there, no matter what it might look like on the
outside.
She helps him escape from the madhouse, and they discover
that the relatives who will inherit his title and fortune
have been working to have him declared legally incompetent.
He has to become legally functional in time for the competency
hearing, or his life will be gone. A judge who knows him is
willing to grant him some extra time, and
they work frantically, battling his disability and all the
frustration and anger and passion (not always romantic)
caused by his struggle to break free of the prison his own
head has become.
As usual, Kinsale's characterization genius rests largely
with the male of the pair. Her heroines are often less than
fascinating, but this one is particularly annoying. I think
the main problem is that Kinsale has made her a devout
Methodist, and although she's very steadfast in her devotion
to her faith in the midst of the wealth and frivolity of the
hero's world, in the end she has to choose between her
beliefs and her love, and, since this is a romance, she
chooses her love. It's necessary for the genre of the book,
but it diminishes the integrity of the character herself.
All through the book, this conflict between their lifestyles
is constantly before the reader, and it feels as though
Kinsale knew, at least subconsciously, that the heroine was
going to have to cave in. Or rather, it's as if the heroine
herself knew -- she comes across as a narrow, evil-tempered
girl much of the time, as though she knows the author is
going to force her to renounce her faith at the end of the
book, and she can't help but express her anger ahead of
time. She'd have been a wonderful character in another type
of book, and one has to admire Kinsale for taking on the
difficult task of using her in a romance (no one ever
accused Kinsale of taking the easy way out), but in this
case the experiment just hasn't worked.
Despite the character problem, however, this is still an
excellent book. Kinsale takes us into the head of the hero,
forcing us to feel his frustration and terror. The
possibility that he might never regain his ability to
communicate invokes real horror, and fear which strikes
closer to home than any splatter-tale of a slobbering
slasher. And his slow and painful recovery, one maddening
step at a time, is inspiring to the reader, as well as
invoking empathy.
Even if you never read romances, read this one. Ignore the
Fabio cover -- it's hideous -- but don't pass up the story
inside. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: It's one of my favorite romances!
Review: If you like romance without the cutesy, sweet, dialogue and overwhelming emotional sap, this book is for you. The story is original and solid.The romance is compelling and passionate. The characters are REAL! Kinsale has a way of producing a proud, frustrated(not sexual)hero and a practical, quiet heroine you can relate to
Rating:
Summary: Challenging but captivating read
Review: "Flowers from the Storm" is a most unusual romance. Indeed, take away the silly cover and it probably could be placed in the literature shelf. The book certainly includes the growth of a relationship but it is so much more complex than 99% of the romance market. Indeed, it was a bit more of a challenge than I wanted at times (I read it while ill) but I'm glad I stuck with it. The challenge lies mostly in the language of the book. For many authors it would be enough to have a Quaker character with all of the "thee/thou" language. Kinsale starts with not only the Quaker language but Maddy's struggle to be a Quaker falling in love outside of her faith. THEN, Kinsale creates a most unusual hero - a regency rake who's a mathematical genius. THEN, our hero has a stroke and we spend much of the book looking at (and hearing) the world through his impaired facilities. Both his speech and his hearing are damaged and the reader has to guess at what he says and hears. It can be done but it requires careful reading. Bottom-line: An unusual romance that is worth the extra effort - but it is important to go into this reading experience prepared for a different experience.
Rating:
Summary: One of my very favorite stories
Review: I have read this book so many times over the years I have lost count. This is a classic. No other book compares. The story is so unusual. The language and words so authentic. The characters so real. I bonded with Maddie immediately, as I am a nurse and a christian. I felt compassion for Christian also. The way stroke victims are so misunderstood. Communication is so difficult with them. The research for this book must have been well done as I could picture the asylum trying out those aweful methods to shock patients into responding. Wow! Very memoriable. Unforgettable.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice begining but..
Review: I loved the character Christian, but I wanted to strangle Maddy by the middle of the book. She was so creepy to Christian and just downright stupid and annoying. How could anyone be such a jerk even back then. She ruined the whole book for me.
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