Flowers from the Storm

6, 7, 8...ALL the stars!!!!!

I stayed up late last night to finish this, and during the final few chapters I bawled my eyes out. First sad tears and then very, very happy ones. I think this may be the best book I have ever read. Phenomenal. Such a unique plot...I've never read anything like it. Absolutely fantastic.

I have 3 more of Laura Kinsale's books on their way to me (all paperback, as her stories deserve to be read that way to get the full experience, imo) but they aren't here yet! I need more of her work PRONTO! In the meantime, I have to read this one all over again. I'm not ready to go on to something else. It will just pale in comparison.

(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)

Oh my goodness, you guys. This book was like nothing I had ever read before! Seriously. I read this one because I have been trying to explore some of the older romance novels to understand the romance genre more fully, reading some of the romance “classics” that are heralded on various Best Of Romance lists. First thing you need to know: That blurb up there? Disregard it. It's lame. The important thing? This book is a romance between Christian, Duke of Jervaulx, a brilliant mathematician who is unable to speak due to a stroke, and Maddy, a British Quaker. Intrigued now? I was, too.

The best thing about this book, hands down, is the originality of the plot. But a very close second is the writing style. See, the easy way out of this story would just to have the entire thing be told from Maddy's point of view. Nothing wrong with that, and it would have been a good story. But it would not have been nearly as complex. It would not have been great. And great it was. Christian's POV was absolutely fascinating. Because the stroke had impacted the language part of his brain, he had difficulty processing what was said around him (as well as reading, writing, and speaking). And you got to see that! Using a method very Stream of Consciousness-esque, Kinsale portrayed Christian's thoughts and understanding of the world around him. And you had to sort through the language to figure it out, as well. It made for more difficult reading at times, but ultimately was completely and totally worth it. It made me appreciate Christian's struggle so much more.

As for Maddy (short for Archimedia. Can you say OUCH?), she was a very interesting character as well. As a member of the Society of Friends, she had grown up in a completely separate world from the duke. The only reason they were even connected in the beginning is because her father - also a mathematician, but blind - and Jervaulx were collaborating on a mathematical project, and she was, essentially, the messenger. She was very devoted to her beliefs and her principles, and I liked that about her. However, Maddy had to grow and come to some realizations about herself and the world throughout the book, and it was interesting to watch how this progressed.

Obviously, this book contained a lot of things about which I know almost nothing. I know the basics of how a stroke can impact your brain, and I basically only know stereotypical things about Quakers. Therefore, I cannot vouch for the authenticity, but I can tell you that it felt authentic to me. It broke my heart to see how little the doctors understood mental illnesses and conditions back in that time period, and therefore how they treated the patients. But it was very realistic; they simply didn't know better.

The book was a little difficult to follow in the beginning because Maddie and her father spoke in Plain Speech, using “thee” and “thou” and such. But I grew accustomed to it quickly and hardly noticed it as the book went on. One thing I liked in this book was the various relationships and how they were all different and complex, from family to friends to the romance. Oh, the romance. The love story between these two was simply splendid. They also had one of the most beautifully written and emotionally impacting love scenes I've ever read. Really, I just loved this book in general. Another thing I appreciated about it was that while the story was complex, it was without Huge Drama stemming from the Uber Evil Super Villain of all Villainy, which is usually totally unnecessary. I kept waiting for it to pop up, and it didn't, which made me happy.

I can see why Flowers from the Storm is one of the most beloved romance novels of all time. It is a truly beautiful and utterly unique story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance and/or original love stories.

No rating because I don't know how I feel about the book.

I've seen a lot of reviews hating on the heroine and I'm extremely shocked. There are a lot of complaints about her supposed selfishness as she kept leaving the hero in his hour of need. These statements distress me because I feel like they totally invalidate the heroine's own emotions and feelings and gloss over the fact that while yes, the hero's life was unraveling, hers was too. She found out that the reasons she had for marrying him were fabricated, that he had a baby and that she was effectively being excommunicated by the only community she had ever known. Was she supposed to stoically bear these heartbreaking occurrences in order to secure his happiness whilst forgetting about her own? Or are we assuming that the moment he was happy she would be too? I think that given the circumstances, she's allowed a little selfishness.

I feel like in general, us romance readers tend to be a lot more forgiving of a hero's flaws than we are of a heroine's. And I think in this case, hatred of the heroine is unjustified.