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Flowers from the Storm

by Laura Kinsale (Goodreads Author)

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 4,060 ratings · 372 reviews

The Duke of Jervaulx was brilliant - and dangerous. Considered dissolute, reckless, and extravagant, he was transparently referred to as the "D of J" in scandal sheets. But sometimes the most womanizing rakehell can be irresistible, and even his most causal attentions fascinated the sheltered Maddy Timms.

Then one fateful day she receives the shocking news - the duke is lo...more

Mass Market Paperback, 533 pages

Published October 1st 1992 by Avon (first published 1992)

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Jan 11, 2012 UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Historical romance lovers who want more than fluff.

Recommended to UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish by: MashJ

Shelves: author-laura-kinsale, historical-romance, starts-with-e-thru-h, secret-santa-picked-it-for-me-2010, best-book-ever, top-couples-of-all-time, social-class-plays-big-role, 5-stars-or-higher, 2011-reads, religious-differences-or-conflicts, illness-physical, illness-mental, favorites, mind-candy, reviewed-by-me, review-hard-to-write, cried-like-a-baby, hero-take-home-and-love-better, keepers, must-reread, top-10-heroes

With any book I read, I hope to connect with the hero and heroine, to feel what it is the author is trying to convey. Well, I didn’t have to try hard at all with this story, and no matter how many times I’ve attempted to write this review, I find myself in tears. And, as odd as it might sound, I find that I’m very protective of Christian, worried about revealing too much of his story. And wow, when I say that out loud, I realize how strange it sounds.

So how does one review a book like this, one...more
With any book I read, I hope to connect with the hero and heroine, to feel what it is the author is trying to convey. Well, I didn’t have to try hard at all with this story, and no matter how many times I’ve attempted to write this review, I find myself in tears. And, as odd as it might sound, I find that I’m very protective of Christian, worried about revealing too much of his story. And wow, when I say that out loud, I realize how strange it sounds.

So how does one review a book like this, one that hits so close to home that it literally could be your own story? The words I’d use to describe Flowers from the Storm are amazing, incredible, and heartwarming, compelling, complex, gut wrenching, joyous, painful, comforting… such contrasting words and emotions that it would take pages and pages to explain why it all means so much to me and frankly, I just don’t have that in me when it comes to this story. Part of what makes this story so hard for me to write about is that I’m married to a Maddy, the heroine of this book, my husband being a man who uses God as the ruler by which everyone is measured, and no one, especially not me, measures up. In this way I have a connection to Christian unlike any other fictional hero I can think of and found myself often in tears, not only for him, but for myself.

As with all books, anyone reading Flowers from the Storm will bring to it, and take from it, different things. In addition to living with a religious… enthusiast, for lack of a better word, I have this fear of something happening to me that will leave me unable to communicate with those around me. I fear being mentally whole, being able to think and understand the things going on, but unable to express myself, to let people know that I’m… here.

We learn early on in the story that Christian suffers a stroke of sorts and becomes unable to communicate. His mother believes that this was a punishment from God in judgment of Christian’s immoral behavior. I’ve also dealt with judgments against myself of a similar nature and so, for me, as I read this paragraph, and understanding Christian’s state of being, both physical and mental at the time he thought these words, this quote truly hit home.
He didn’t reckon that God owed him anything. He reckoned that he’d had it all, and wasted it. Burning lakes and howling fiends had just never seemed that convincing, perils hardly fit to frighten naughty children.

He turned over, staring up at the darkness.

Damned… having found out now what hell was really like.
Well, as you can see, I can’t seem to write a coherent review of Flowers from the Storm, and trust me, I’ve spent months trying. And as silly as it might sound, I’ve been afraid to write this review, because if you’ve read the book and didn’t like it, or if you believe as Christian’s mother and Maddy did, that he was deserving of the “punishment” God set upon him, then you believe those things about me, too, because this book is my life. But, fortunately for Christian and Maddy, they got their happily ever after. So, rather than write anymore and try to explain it all, I’ll just continue to watch over Christian and keep him close to my heart.

Thank you, Mshj Kate, for making this a Secret Santa gift. It's a story that will stay with me for always.(less)

51 likes · like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Erika rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers who are interested in thought-provoking romance

Shelves: historical, romance, special-collections, outstanding-characters, favorites, best-of-heroes, the-magnificents

The more we love a book, the harder it is to write the review, right? I have to, with this one. This is not, by any means, an average romance book. It's the kind of romance which I would recommend to those who think romance books have so little to offer. The book is so much more than two people from two different world who break all the rules, find their way to each other, and live HEA. From a woman's perspective, I say this book was too sad, too sweet, too emotionally intense. It's an epic love...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jun 04, 2011 Eastofoz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-regency

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was recommended to me as a sad story--I think the people thought it was emotionally gripping but I found it to be neither. First thing: it was too long. An easy 150 pages could have been cut out I thought. Kinsale writes very well but I felt the weight. I didn't find it anymore moving or emotionally gripping than any other love story I've read--ie it doesn't stand out for me. On the cover of the book where it says "One of the World's Most Cherished Love Stories"--I think that's a bit o...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Miranda Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: help-me-i-can-t-put-it-down

I told myself not to pick this up yet but I was thumbing through it and got caught up about halfway in. The duke has been stricken, Maddy has sprung him from the horror of an insane asylum and spirited him off to his ancestral castle with the help of his two good friends, one of whom, a minister, convinces her to marry the duke to save him from his evil in-laws. So I started reading where the rake starts reforming and the Quaker prissy prim petticoats starts enjoying debauchery, though she strug...more I told myself not to pick this up yet but I was thumbing through it and got caught up about halfway in. The duke has been stricken, Maddy has sprung him from the horror of an insane asylum and spirited him off to his ancestral castle with the help of his two good friends, one of whom, a minister, convinces her to marry the duke to save him from his evil in-laws. So I started reading where the rake starts reforming and the Quaker prissy prim petticoats starts enjoying debauchery, though she struggles with guilt for being so creaturely. And frequently considers the wisdom of nullification until he has at her in earnest and she becomes his wife in truth.

This is a doorstopper of a book, and a grand, moving soap opera with conniving relatives, judgmental and self-recriminating Quakers (that's got to be a first and only), bitter mistresses, bossy aunts, bastard babies, dogs real and spectral and a great big gamble that might not pan out. My god, this had it all and it would not let me put it down.

Reading this, either you like and respect Maddy for her inner struggle and high moral principles or you want to tell her Thee must withdraw thy stick from thine ass. I liked her though she was a buzzkill about nearly everything. (Nevertheless, I found the author's depiction of the Friends interesting and convincing.) I liked him better, a brilliant but flawed man struggling with debility that robbed him of his honeyed speech and left him vulnerable to exploitation. He comes to need her in ways that terrify him. She gets sucked into a life in a different, sinful world. He grows to be a better man; she accepts her love is real and her passion God-given as well as smoking hot. In other words, the chemistry was there, believable and at times wrenching. The duke embarks on a high stakes gamble to end forever the threat of re-commitment to an asylum, loss of his title and her ruin.

So I had to read till I was sure all was well.

Though I'm reading it ass-backwards, I will definitely go back to the beginning to learn how they become acquainted through her mathematician father and how she manages to save him from the asylum. This is a big, epic story. I think I prefer The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, but appreciate all the ways this was not the usual thing. Quakers, who knew.

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Apr 14, 2013 D rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of quality romance; bronte fans

Recommended to D by: Lynn Weber

Shelves: romance, regency, erotica

first read in early 2011: a shockingly good story. unexpected. this has the gravity and quality of jane eyre or wuthering heights. i was quite surprised to find this caliber of narration, characterization, plotting, and pacing in a romance novel. this book compelled me to give the genre my serious attention. i had no idea what i was missing.

apparently this book is often listed as the best among all romance novels. i've since read several that i prefer, but i am completely sympathetic to that poi...more

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Aug 15, 2010 Krista (One Love) (Critical) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, adult, heroine-i-hate, historical-romance, tears, wall-banger, cfmf, heroine-is-a-villain

This would have been five stars, if not for Maddie and her obsession with her religion. She started out more open minded, then became less so, which I found strange, since she was supposedly growing more in love with Christian the farther along in the book. Sometimes she's also a little too mean for my liking...I just felt so bad for Christian, I wanted to protect him and put him in this little bubble of safety. I seriously felt his pain as if it were my own.

This is one the most UNIQUE romance...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-cravings, just-okay, read-in-2011

Can't say that I really liked it. I didn't mind reading it, I just couldn't connect to the story. I waited patiently for that point when I would connect and fall in love with it, but sadly, that never happened. I'm mad, because this seems to be a favorite of many people.

Usually I really love the tortured hero stories. I consider myself a sucker for them. But Christian didn't fall into my “characters I love” category. There were times when I did like him, but that was about it. Sometimes the way...more

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 13, 2007 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, oneofthebest

This may be the best romance ever. Laura Kinsale crafts the unlikely love of Duke brought low by a stroke (he's a very young stroke victim) and the Quaker girl who helps heal him. The way she writes the hero is fabulous--he's perfectly understandable in his thoughts and you can almost hear the disability he's fighting in the writing. It's hard to describe the wonder of this novel and how good of a job Kinsale did with her characters.

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 08, 2012 Regan Walker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-reads

Quaker Heroine and Rake Hero Make for an Unusual, Brilliant Romance

Published in 1992, this historical romance moved the genre forward in a way others had not. Set in the late 1820s, it deals with the subject of physical malady leading to apparent (but not real) madness and the recovery that gradually restored sense and communication. It also involves the mind of a Quaker woman dealing with her growing feelings for a man she would otherwise find reprehensible.

Named for the great mathematician, A...more Quaker Heroine and Rake Hero Make for an Unusual, Brilliant Romance

Published in 1992, this historical romance moved the genre forward in a way others had not. Set in the late 1820s, it deals with the subject of physical malady leading to apparent (but not real) madness and the recovery that gradually restored sense and communication. It also involves the mind of a Quaker woman dealing with her growing feelings for a man she would otherwise find reprehensible.

Named for the great mathematician, Archimedea Timms (“Maddy”) is, at 28, a Quaker spinster who lives with her blind father helping him with his equations. It was through him, Maddy met “the mathematical duke,” Christian Langland, Duke of Jervaulx, for whom she has nothing but disdain. A rake and reprobate at 32, who lives his life as he wants, he also has a charitable side that would found a university where he invites Maddy’s father to teach. And then in a duel, while not wounded, he suffers a stroke that sends him to a rest home for the mentally unstable, where he again encounters Maddy who is working there. Having lost the power of speech and of understanding words, all but Maddy think him mad.

This story is very well written with meaningful dialog, richly drawn characters and an intricate plot. It deals with two worlds that come together in tragedy. The rakish duke with a life of opulence would not have found Maddy the Quaker girl so appealing, and perhaps she would not have found him so sympathetic, if not for his stroke. It makes for a very different romance. Some of it was slow and difficult to read, not that the writing wasn’t good, but his struggle to speak and be understood, though brilliantly done, was still difficult to read. I agree with the other reviewers who reacted negatively to Maddy’s unkind treatment of Christian, made all the worse for her being a woman of faith. She criticized and belittled him, often failing to support him in his hour of need. It took her an awfully long time to see the Truth. As one said, “I didn’t care if she was a Hindu; she had a wonderful man who loved her and she kept resisting a future with him. I just wanted to slap her.” But it is truly a compelling story and I recommend it.

If you liked this one, I highly recommend to you Penelope Williamson’s THE OUTSIDER.

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Jan 11, 2012 Galla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

4.5

This novel is about an unrepentant rake who has a severe stroke resulting in aphasia. When his family, who interpret his confusion, anger, and linguistic difficulties as a descent into madness, send him to a lunatic asylum, his only hope for recovery might lie with a Quaker woman who refuses to believe he's beyond hope.

A set-up like that could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't. Kinsale's characterizations are superb, in part because she doesn't shy away from representing the emotional...more 4.5

This novel is about an unrepentant rake who has a severe stroke resulting in aphasia. When his family, who interpret his confusion, anger, and linguistic difficulties as a descent into madness, send him to a lunatic asylum, his only hope for recovery might lie with a Quaker woman who refuses to believe he's beyond hope.

A set-up like that could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't. Kinsale's characterizations are superb, in part because she doesn't shy away from representing the emotional and the practical consequences of Christian's brain trauma--not to mention the consequences resulting from his burgeoning relationship with Maddy, whose moral, religious, and financial background has nothing in common with the Duke's.

This isn't a light Regency romance, though it has its humorous moments. This is high-stakes plotting, in which success requires a whole lot of social and financial maneuvering and failure means returning to an asylum. And throughout, it's easy to see why Christian's initial dependence on Maddy--his conviction that he can't live without her--blooms into a partnership based on respect and rapport, attachment and attraction. Eventually, he can live without her, but he doesn't want to.

This is not to say that the pair don't face their own sets of interpersonal obstacles; they do. And in this area, I think some reviewers are rather hard on Maddy. (view spoiler)

Not a story I'll soon forget, and future rereads are likely. (less)

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Nov 17, 2010 Wan "The Snake Charmer" rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dangerous-hero, 5-stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a 4.5 for me. It is totally a pleasant surprise for me. Talk about star-crossed love story between a womanizer Duke and a Quaker Spinster. The story line was a bit like a Cinderella story of the 18th century England (Although, the author didn’t mention the time period but I think it was in around that time) with a twist. A big twist!

The two main characters were in the totally different worlds. Christian Langland, the Duke of Jervaulx, was the most notorious bachelor in London while Madd...more This is a 4.5 for me. It is totally a pleasant surprise for me. Talk about star-crossed love story between a womanizer Duke and a Quaker Spinster. The story line was a bit like a Cinderella story of the 18th century England (Although, the author didn’t mention the time period but I think it was in around that time) with a twist. A big twist!

The two main characters were in the totally different worlds. Christian Langland, the Duke of Jervaulx, was the most notorious bachelor in London while Maddy Timms, was a penny pincher Quaker. She was the devoted spinster daughter of a blind mathematician, John Timms. They met for, the first time, at one of the Analytical Society where they attended. Later, they met again at her cousin’s asylum. Christian had become ill and declared insane by his family. He was sent there as a madman. Maddy saw beyond the madness, knew that he was sane, and volunteered to become his nurse and savior.

I really liked Christian’s unapologetic nature. He was the Duke and knew what he wanted. I also liked the wickedness of Christian’s and his two best friends’. They kept the story lithe and funny. They tricked Maddy into marrying him because he needed her. Selfish or not, he knew he couldn’t live with out his “Maddygirl”, his friends complied. She couldn’t resist his charm, to save her life. She felt for him and became the Duchess of Jervaulx, against all odds. The couple later discovered that his money was gone, while Christian gambled to save his title and won, he almost lost Maddy. Her final straw was when she found out about his bastard daughter with his ex-lover, Eydie. My heart went out to both of them.

The author contrasted of the two worlds well. I have to give her that, Simple VS Extravagant. At times, I was frustrated with the (too) simple minded of Maddy (I guess I couldn’t comprehend living the way she brought up), & wanted to shake her senseless, and tell her don’t be so mean to my poor Christian (I guess I fell in love with him too ha..ha.) Although, I really like this book, I think it can use a little more sizzling salt on some of the hot scenes. :-)
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Jan 03, 2010 Linds rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1800-s, cognitive-disabilities, england, historical-romance, romance, regency, tortured-hero

I really enjoyed this romance - it was very sweet.

The story starts out with a duke Christian and a Quaker woman Maddie. They are acquainted because her father and the duke work on mathematics together.

The story starts out with Christian having a stroke. Since no one knew what a stroke was he was thrown in a mental asylum. When Maddie comes to volunteer she recognizes him and feels led by God to help him.

The first chunk in the book is the best I feel. Only Maddie believes that he has trouble comm...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 16, 2008 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

Normally, I might hesitate to give a romance novel 5 stars, but I loved this book. It's a historical, set in Regency-ish England. Hero is a man who has a seizure of some sort that leaves him unable to speak, heroine is a Quaker nurse who meets him just before he has the seizure and, coincidentally of course, gets committed to her cousin's asylum. She's the only one who figures out that he's not crazy, he just can't speak.

Lots of layers here. The hero is trapped both in the cell in the asylum an...more

6 likes · like · see review

Mar 18, 2011 Abby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, romance

The book was introduced to me with the explanation that if the romance genre had a canon of literature, Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm would be in the top three.

It's a statement that I absolutely agree with. This is a literary fiction lovers romance novel. The characters are richly drawn, real and complex. They make mistakes and decisions that are real and are motivated from real emotions that resonate with the reader.

The hero and heroine are highly unconventional: the heroine is not gen...more

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Jan 07, 2008 maricar rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, romance

First off, i was not a big fan of ms. kinsale since i was disappointed with The Hidden Heart. i hadn't thought of picking up another book by her. when i heard how good FFTS was, i decided to brave the odds and give her another try.

and to this day, i am so glad i read this book.

straight to the point--this book is ONE OF THE ABSOLUTE BEST in the romance genre. no buts, no exaggerations.

it is so full of emotion and tenderness. and after reading it, i felt like i was holding a real treasure in my...more

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Sep 24, 2007 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

This is the book that absolutely sold me on Laura Kinsale as a great author, not just a great romance author. Spoilers ahead!!

The main characters are Christian, the Duke of Jervaulx (I know, I know, there is a Duke in almost every romance novel, but at least this time the fact that he's a Duke is very important to the story in a realistic way) and Maddy Timms, a Quaker.

Christian, at the start of the novel, is a rake. Not just a "rake for the sake of making the character slightly interesting - he...more This is the book that absolutely sold me on Laura Kinsale as a great author, not just a great romance author. Spoilers ahead!!

The main characters are Christian, the Duke of Jervaulx (I know, I know, there is a Duke in almost every romance novel, but at least this time the fact that he's a Duke is very important to the story in a realistic way) and Maddy Timms, a Quaker.

Christian, at the start of the novel, is a rake. Not just a "rake for the sake of making the character slightly interesting - he's had a lot of lovers, but never an innocent and never a married woman type rake" but an actual rake. He recently impregnated one of his lovers, the wife of another man, and he doesn't particularly care. His main good points are the fact that he takes good care of his investments and estates, he is very loyal to the few people he really considers his friedns, and he is something of a mathematical genius (although this last point is somewhat embarrasing to him).

Maddy is a Quaker woman who cares for her blind father. She is very strict, very judgemental, and doesn't have much of a sense of humor. She comes into contact with Christian very briefly because he and her father have been working on a mathematical treatise together. She doesn't like Christian because of his way of life.

All of this is established very quickly, and looks like a fairly standard opening aside from the fact that the characters seem like actual people and not just cardboard cut-outs. But then Christian suffers a stroke. He loses the ability to speak, can't understand what's said to him, and goes into rages from the frustration. His family decide he's mad and put him into an insane asylum.

This is where the writing really shines. The chapters from Christian's point of view are written in such a way that you can really see what Christian is seeing, and hear what he's hearing. It's sometimes hard to figure out what exactly he's thinking, and what's going on, and that is perfect - because that's what's happening to him. It's really well-written.

It is there that he meets up with Maddy again. She is working with an uncle at the asylum and is shocked to find Christian there. She figures out (through very realistic means) that he isn't crazy and is just having problems with language.

From there the plot continues. Maddy stays true to herself throughout the book, annoying as that sometimes is, but that's her character. Christian starts to recover, and slowly tries to retake his old life, but it's difficult for him and he never fully recovers (which is also amazing in a romance novel).

Anyway, once again I'm not doing justice to this book, but it is really amazingly well written. (less)

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Jan 17, 2010 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, romance, regency-napoleonic

This is a very nice Regency romance of the tormented-alpha-male-redeemed-by-the-love-of-a-beautiful-woman variety. The author gives the hero a truly dire affliction which adds interest to an otherwise formulaic plot.

There's a too-brief setup to establish that the hero is a womanizer, yet he's a philanthropist and a mathematician and his dogs love him. Then he suffers a stroke which leaves him stricken with aphasia. His family commits him to a genteelly horrific insane asylum, and there's only on...more

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Feb 18, 2009 Sonja rated it 4 of 5 stars

First, I have to tell you, the cover of this book cracks me up. It's sort of a romance novel cover cliche to have Fabio on the cover with his shirt somehow unbuttoned and tucked in at the same time, and usually, it has nothing to do with the content of the book. What makes me laugh is that in this case, there actually IS a scene in the book where the hero is wandering around outside in his shirt, unbuttoned and tucked in, clutching a bouquet of wildflowers. So, aside from his stupid grin, the co...more

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May 07, 2013 Ivana rated it 5 of 5 stars

My first Laura Kinsale book and I must say I truly am very pleasantly suprised ... I have read nothing but good things about this book, and I'm so happy it did not disappoint, on the contrary, it was my till 3 in the morning read ;)

I'm usually not such a huge fan of history romance because they're all alike, him a wealthy man with a title, her a poor, naive heroine that falls madly in love even though she resisted it for so long ... Ok, there is some of that in this book, but nonetheless I foun...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Dangermousie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: aaangst, hurt-comfort, perfect, reforming-a-rake, romance

The plot is highly unusual - a brilliant and rakish aristocrat suffers an early stroke and is confined to an insane asylum as people of the period do not understand his resulting behavior. His salvation comes in the form of the Quaker daughter of one of his scientific collaborationists - she ends up being his one hope for future and sanity.

Normally, little here would appeal - Quakers are as removed from my normal behavior as the moon and I usually avoid romances with severely handicapped heroes...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Caroline rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found this book very moving for several different reasons. The hero faces such challenges and torments - even after he leaves the asylum - that you cannot help but really feel for him. Some of the things he goes through - or even just the way things affect him - are truly horrific and I thought Laura Kinsale protrayed them really well. However, I also really liked the fact that he managed to show his own strengths.

I noticed from some of the reviews that not everyone really likes Maddy and that...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Jean rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The premise sounded great and it received rave reviews. As a work of fiction it was brave, detailed and uncompromising in its depiction of characters who were true polar opposites falling in love. I liked the stark depiction of the Victorian asylum, the inadequacy of health services and rehabilitation, the constant jockeying of mercenary relatives, and political manoeuvring of the upper classes. However, for me, as a romance it failed. I found Christian...more I wanted to like this book, I really did. The premise sounded great and it received rave reviews. As a work of fiction it was brave, detailed and uncompromising in its depiction of characters who were true polar opposites falling in love. I liked the stark depiction of the Victorian asylum, the inadequacy of health services and rehabilitation, the constant jockeying of mercenary relatives, and political manoeuvring of the upper classes. However, for me, as a romance it failed. I found Christian more compelling than Maddy. For most of the book he was constantly battling being reincarcerated, bankruptcy, his relatives and trying to convey his love for the heroine. It was hard not to feel sympathy for him. I think his character arc began early and remained to the end. In contrast, Maddy's character arc started later, and this is where the romance failed. For most of the book she was so ... unyielding in her staunch religious beliefs, constantly full of prejudice, suspicion, and accusations of Christians' true motives that she came across as sanctimonious and annoying. She had a simplistic moral system, seeing the world only in black and white, misunderstanding his actions, inexplicable though they were at times, and she never gave him the benefit of doubt that all he was trying to do was save himself and his duchy. I stopped counting the times she was obstructive or unsupportive and quite frankly ...dense... about Christian's actions and I got bored of the number of times she contemplated running away from her problems during their marriage. Certainly not "Death us do part". Early on in the book, the moment when she threw his offering of handpicked daisies into the wind and caused him pain pretty much summed up her character's actions for the rest of the novel. Lastly, I don't want to be disrespectful of Quakers as I know nothing about them but Laura Kinsale portrayed them so unflatterringly as ignorant, arrogant, prejudicial people who were not above publicly humiliating their transgressing members that I would not voluntarily read another Quaker novel. In summary, a good historical novel but the religious prejudice and weak, annoying heroine did not endear this romance to me. (less)

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Dec 16, 2012 MaryReads rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, erotic-romance-historical, favorites, spirtual

Loved this book! Amazing!

This is a VERY different romance. Sweat and yet thought provoking.
The story has a very unlikely hero and heroine who are as different from one another as day and night.

The heroine is a severely religious Quaker female who meets the hero initially through her Father who is a mathematician hobbyist.

The hero, also a math genius and hobbyist, is also a handsome immoral rake.

Also in a completely new twist, it is the heroine that must save the hero in this tale.

Their effect o...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Rosario rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't expect anything from this book (although I had read the reviews posted here) and it did surprise me. The hero is not the usual rogue and the heroine is also originally crafted (even if a tad difficult to believe at some points). The story was nice and I was really hooked, which is more than I can say about many Regency romances which are often way too predictable --even if fun if you read them with the right disposition I guess. Maddy's hesitations irked me at some points, but I think t...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Daisy-Mai rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

Given the abundance of positive reviews for this book, I expected more from it. It was lovely written but somewhat hard to read. I didn't overly enjoy the book but I didn't dislike it either. And yet it was something that I felt compelled to keep reading into the early hours of the morning despite it leaving me with a rather tortured feeling.

The plot is unique and something that captivated me from the start. Christian, the Duke of Jervaulx is a flawed character, no morals or sense of decency. Wh...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, fiction, historical-romance

Maddy is a painfully judgmental Quaker and the devoted daughter of a blind mathematician. Christian is the seemingly-stereotypical rakish duke, himself a genius mathematician. She really, really doesn't care for him; he might enjoy teasing her as she assists her father in their research, but Christian has other things on his mind (affairs with married women, duels, y'know, normal rakish duke stuff). I don't suppose what happens is a spoiler, given how beloved and widely-discussed this book is, b...more Maddy is a painfully judgmental Quaker and the devoted daughter of a blind mathematician. Christian is the seemingly-stereotypical rakish duke, himself a genius mathematician. She really, really doesn't care for him; he might enjoy teasing her as she assists her father in their research, but Christian has other things on his mind (affairs with married women, duels, y'know, normal rakish duke stuff). I don't suppose what happens is a spoiler, given how beloved and widely-discussed this book is, but just in case: (view spoiler)

The intensity of nearly every scene, whatever the leading emotions, was cranked up to eleven. Right from the beginning, even before the major plot kicks in, the interactions between Maddy and Christian are exquisitely tense: at one point near the start of the book, Christian describes, in very flattering but also beautiful terms, to Maddy's blind father what Maddy looks like, and Maddy bears this in her utterly Maddy-ish way, and I was struck by how attentive Kinsale was to all the nuances of emotion and chemistry and character. There was nothing "stock" about what she was doing and how her characters interacted. I've heard other readers talk about how good Kinsale's writing was, and even with all that hype, I was still very impressed by both her prose and her craft.

It was close to a five-star read for me, but a couple of things kept me from being fully in love with the book. One was that the plot dragged on a bit for me. The other was that I didn't "get" Maddy for large parts of the book. I was already uncomfortable with how religion worked as a plot device for her (I think I came into the book with the mistaken assumption that Maddy's religion would be portrayed more positively, which was my fault for assuming, because in reality, it read to me as a cult; I'm perfectly okay with negative portrayals of religion, but this felt pretty one-sided to me), but also I didn't get her big changes of emotion/motivation/drive (like, how she suddenly was okay with making out with Christian, after he agreed that their marriage could/would be annulled), and this sometimes left me bewildered. I didn't mind that I didn't like her (because I didn't really like her), as I don't necessarily need to like characters, and since Christian clearly loved her and needed her, and her life was clearly better with a relationship with Christian, I believed very much in their romance and loved reading it. I just didn't always believe in Maddy as a character.(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 D.W. Nichols added it

Desesperación y terrorífico. Son las primeras palabras que me acuden a la mente para describir esta novela. Estos son las dos emociones que más nos sacuden a lo largo de la narración, sobre todo en las partes que corresponden al protagonista, Christian, un duque con una inteligencia superior a la media, un genio de las matemáticas, que a causa de una embolia cerebral (apoplegía) sufre daños en los centros del lenguaje del cerebro. Aprisionado dentro de su propia mente, incapaz de comunicarse con...more Desesperación y terrorífico. Son las primeras palabras que me acuden a la mente para describir esta novela. Estos son las dos emociones que más nos sacuden a lo largo de la narración, sobre todo en las partes que corresponden al protagonista, Christian, un duque con una inteligencia superior a la media, un genio de las matemáticas, que a causa de una embolia cerebral (apoplegía) sufre daños en los centros del lenguaje del cerebro. Aprisionado dentro de su propia mente, incapaz de comunicarse con sus semejantes, la frustración se convierte en violencia y agresividad y termina encerrado en un manicomio.

Como lector vives de primera mano esa frustración, y el miedo permanente en el que Christian vive lo respiras y lo sientes bajo tu misma piel. Eso lo hace un personaje atípico, tan lejano de esos machorros a los que estamos acostumbradas en este tipo de novelas, en los que él es ÉL, con mayúsculas, valiente, arrojado y sin miedo a nada. En este caso Christian es totalmente vulnerable y dependiente, y se aferra a Maddy como a lo único que puede salvarlo y sacarlo de esa pesadilla en que está viviendo. Ella es su única oportunidad de conseguir, por lo menos, un pequeño rastro de normalidad en una vida que no es vida, si no más bien una muerte horrible prolongada simplemente porque aun no ha dejado de respirar.
Las descripciones de las terapias y tratamientos son absolutamente… ¿puedo repetir la palabra terroríficos? Porque no creo que haya ninguna que se acerque más para describirlos. Y eso que es un manicomio para ricos, algo que me hace no querer saber lo que ocurría hace doscientos años en los sanatorios mentales que eran para pobres, porque a su lado probablemente “Saw” se convertiría en un cuento infantil.
La protagonista femenina, Maddy, es una mujer adulta, hija de un matemático ciego que ha mantenido una prolífica correspondencia con el duque a causa de sus investigaciones, y un personaje muy especial por sus creencias religiosas. Ella es cuáquera; consultad la Wikipedia si no sabéis qué es, hay un artículo bastante completo que a mí me ayudó a comprender qué y quién es Maddy, y sobre todo hizo que entendiera ese estado de “iluminación” al que llega y que la impulsa a ayudar a Christian.
Maddy empieza a trabajar en el manicomio que dirige su primo Edward, y allí se reencuentra con el duque, ahora convertido en mucho menos que humano y poco más que un animal, y emprende muy decidida la tarea de ayudarlo, algo que acabará chocando violentamente contra sus profundas creencias religiosas y que hará que se vea obligada a tomar decisiones que marcarán su vida para siempre.
Una novela inolvidable e intensa, con unos protagonistas muy distintos a lo que estamos acostumbradas, con una narración fluida que te envolverá y te adentrará fácilmente en la mente de los personajes, haciendo que vivas como si fueran tuyos cada uno de sus miedos, dudas, y decisiones.
Totalmente recomendable.(less)

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Oct 14, 2012 Rhea Rhodan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance, regency, romance, non-series

Unique premise with a rake hero who suffers from what is (apparently, we're never told since they didn't have a diagnosis then) a stroke. Thought mad, he's put in an asylum where he re-meets the heroine, a Quaker who found him reprehensible when he was whole, yet is the only one who recognizes that he's not not insane, just frustrated and angry because trapped in a body and brain which refuse to cooperate with him. The romance develops slowly, the love scenes are late in arriving, sparse, but se...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Fedora rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. What a story!

Ms. Kinsale does a beautiful job of creating Christian Jervaulx and Maddy Timms. He's a brilliant, dissolute duke, and one who cares not a fig for what the world thinks of him. Then he's struck by a sudden stroke, and the resulting paralysis and weakness and foggy confusion has the world judging him both mad and incompetent.

Archimedea Timms, or Maddy, is a plain speaking Quaker. Her father has co-written a mathematical treatise with the duke, and greatly admires his work and mi...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Allison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-of-2012, historical-fiction, guilty-pleasures

Some authors stand out in the romance genre for me, for various reasons. Laverle Spencer, for her unique characters and situations, for example. This novel by Laura Kinsale reminded me of Spencer's best work in that regard. I even found myself telling my husband about the story as we painted this weekend, it was so engaging.

I hate to review romances, because they are usually so formulaic, but this one is worth mentioning. Aside from the hero being a duke and a womanizing rake (of course), he is...more Some authors stand out in the romance genre for me, for various reasons. Laverle Spencer, for her unique characters and situations, for example. This novel by Laura Kinsale reminded me of Spencer's best work in that regard. I even found myself telling my husband about the story as we painted this weekend, it was so engaging.

I hate to review romances, because they are usually so formulaic, but this one is worth mentioning. Aside from the hero being a duke and a womanizing rake (of course), he is also a mathematician and a stroke victim. I think it says a lot about the way the author handled this that I even read this book. I am a health care professional and if she'd really romanticized his condition or botched the symptoms, I'd have been unable to enjoy it. She did a great job of representing real challenges (he suffers from expressive and receptive aphasia, unilateral neglect, slurred speech,and some personality changes/mood swings) while keeping him desirable. There was enough geometry in it for me to know that she must have worked with an actual mathematician on this novel, or she's very gifted. Because he can't talk effectively, we spend a lot of time in his head, and the author does a fantastic job of making him muddled but understandable, and showing incremental improvements.

The heroine is a Friend, or Quaker. I almost put this book aside in the first few chapters because of of the Simple Speech (thee, thou, wouldst and canst) and the seemingly random capitalizations, which turned out to be Quaker terms. I got used to it, though, and the author used the Simple Speech to good effect in character development. Her stubborn egalitarianism is frustrating, courageous in the face of aristocracy, and eventually endearing. I felt like I understood a little bit the attraction and comfort of being in the Society of Friends, which is threatened by her involvement with the duke.

I like to see utterly broken people redeemed by their relationships, and this romance delivers. (less)

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About Laura Kinsale

Laura Kinsale is a New York Times bestselling author and both winner and multiple nominee for the Best Book of the Year award given by the Romance Writers of America.

She become a romance writer after six years as a geologist--a career which consisted of getting out of bed in the middle of the night and driving hundreds of miles alone across west Texas to sit drilling rigs, wear a hard hat, and at...more

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Books by Laura Kinsale

The Shadow and the Star (Victorian Hearts, #2)

For My Lady's Heart (Medieval Hearts, #1)

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Quotes from Flowers from the Storm

“The baby closed its mouth, staring at him with hope and small hiccups.

“Jesus,” he said. He lay down on the bed, pulling the pillow under his head, and drew the whole bundle of coat, shawl and infant up against his shirt. A tiny hand closed tight on the lace. One sob erupted, and then changed midbreath to a soft sigh.

Women, he thought sardonically, sinking in the bedclothes, with sleep revolving and closing in his head. He moved one finger, feeling a cheek as soft as down.

What’s your name?

Ask the girl. Remember that…

Maddy…

It was wrong. I must leave thee now.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry, little girl… I’m so tired. I never deserved you, did I? Maddy… but I loved you.

I always loved you.” — 10 people liked it

“He liked radical politics and had a fondness for chocolate.” — 10 people liked it

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