Flowers from the Storm

By: Laura Kinsale

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

He's a duke. He's a mathematical genius. He can't talk and he's locked in a lunatic asylum. Only a modest Quaker girl can reach him, but when she helps him to escape, she's swept into his glittering aristocratic world, her life torn apart by his desperate attempt to save himself.

Laura Kinsale personally chose the exceptional talent of Nicholas Boulton to narrate her classic romance Flowers from the Storm - cited by readers of The Washington Post and Glamour magazine as "one of the greatest love stories of all time" - creating a fresh and unique work that brings all the power and intensity of the original to audio.

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Great story and even better narrator!

This book was an absolute delight, made even more so by the excellent narration. When I first saw it was three parts I was a little skeptical that it would hold my interest for such a long time, but I found myself unable to put it down. Well worth the credit!

Just loved it - great story, characters, voice

What did you love best about Flowers from the Storm?

The premise of a person being thought a lunatic because of the age in which he lived.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Flowers from the Storm?

When they were in the church and they were pounding at the door and they were trying to save him.

Which character – as performed by Nicholas Boulton – was your favorite?

The Duke - just amazing how he was portrayed.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't cry but I continued to listen even after the drive was over. I just couldn't let go of the story.

Any additional comments?

Truly one of the best stories and voices!

cover

the illustration for this audible shows a figure whose hand is afflicted with an incredible, bizarre growth.What gives?

It was a struggle, but the ending was gratifying

The story was very slow-going. Nothing wrong with the narration. I felt the struggle for speech by the Duke. That was genuine. But there were times when I wanted to yank the words right out of the heroine's mouth.

Such an enjoyable experience

Excellent story by Laura Kinsell and the masterful presentation by Nicolas Boulton made my favorite book even more enjoyable.

Amazing

What did you love best about Flowers from the Storm?

The narrator did a superb job giving this love story life and depth. Simply breathtaking. I am still thinking about it three days after finishing.

What does Nicholas Boulton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His ability to Christian correct intonation.

Outstanding!

What did you love best about Flowers from the Storm?

One of my very favourite books - how could it get any better? Well - by having it narrated by Nicholas Boulton....just the best.

Amazing narrator brings flawed hero to life

Read from December 02 to 12, 2013

I initially added this title to a "books to sample" list a while back because a majority of the romance bloggers I read list this as one of their all-time top favorites. But it wasn't until one of them wrote an absolutely glowing review of the new audiobook version that I finally gave it a shot, and I'm so glad I did. While I can't say it's one of my all-time favorites, I'm absolutely amazed at the risks Kinsale took in creating a romance hero who has trouble communicating due to a stroke. The progression Christian makes from the time when Maddy first encounters him at her uncle's asylum---in which even his thoughts are jumbled and incoherent---to the man at the end who has started to regain his life . . . and his soul . . . is stunning. And hearing it brought dramatically and emotionally to life in the audio version made it all the more powerful.

That said, I can't say that I ever truly "loved" Christian or Maddy. I swung back and forth throughout as to which one I felt most sympathetic toward, but more often than not, one or the other, or both, of them really annoyed me. I loved Christian's mental characterizations of Maddy and her overly pious pronouncements, decisions, and actions (or inactions). I felt for Maddy when she kept her cool when Christian had his outbursts of rage from his desire to speak but inability to get the right words to come out. I laughed out loud when the words that came easiest for him were some of the same ones that worked so well for the King in THE KING'S SPEECH. I liked the way Christian figured out how to tease Maddy and get her to loosen up just a bit.

The audiobook clocked in at almost 19 hours, which is a good 7 or 8 hours longer than most of the standard-length romances I read/listen to. And while there was a lot of story here, there was also a lot of description, and sometimes it got a bit overwhelming, especially when it came during parts in which there already wasn't much going on action-wise in the story. At about 2/3 through, I downloaded the Ebook to my Kindle and started reading in between bouts of listening---not because I wasn't enjoying the audiobook, but because it was moving just a little too slow, and reading in print allowed me to skim the overly descriptive parts.

Refreshing

It’s not as often as one would hope to encounter a great story well executed via audio. This book has done both.

Both Maddy and Jervaulx were deep and complex characters, and truly a great romance.

I appreciated the honesty of Maddy’s internal turmoil between her long-held and sincere religion and her evolving true faith and understanding of love, always staying true to her real core.

Jervaulx’s struggle became real to me, and my heart broke for him and anyone in a similar circumstance.

This was not a book stuffed with endless drivel of repeat conversations just to fill pages. It was hard to put down even to sleep!

Not just a must read, a must re-read!!

After first listening to this incredible story, masterfully performed by Nicholas Boulton, I immediately downloaded a Kindle version so I could pore over the written words, too, and then I bought extra print copies to give away to my friends. I love it so much, I didn't even want to write a review until after I had gone through it several times.

Flowers from the Storm is one of those books that has profoundly humbled me; it is a perfect example of fiction that is faithful to the truth. There is an analogous element of this in the deceptions within the story that ultimately bear fruit in truth and love. What I fundamentally appreciate about this novel is that beyond (or because of) its imaginative and lyrical dexterity, theological nuance and metaphysical metaphor, and psychological insight and emotionally provocative power is that this is the kind of transformative love story that enables us to grow with the protagonists through the realistic portrayal of their internal, existential struggles and worldly adversities and injustices and make us better, braver, and lovelier human beings--the kind of people capable of giving and receiving more forgiveness and love than any of us deserve. Truly excellent.