My Sweet Folly

By: Laura Kinsale

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

"My dear girl! I could never fall in love by letter. Though I have no doubt you are a notorious breaker of hearts, not to mention a princess in disguise, and if I were a few miles closer to Toot-above-the-Batch I would be in great danger. From the safe distance of another continent, I will admit to a modest desire to see how your pearl becomes you, even to know the color of your hair and eyes, but this is mere curiosity, I assure you."

-Your knight, Robert

Through their innocent correspondence, a lonely young wife grows to love an imaginary man thousands of miles away. But when he returns to England from India, her idea of reality is turned upside down. Drawn from a safe world of tea and parlor chat into madness and mystery, she cannot find her own cherished Robert in the frightening stranger who claims her love.

Laura Kinsale personally chose the exceptional talent of Nicholas Boulton to voice her favorite heroine, sweet, witty Folie with her ferret, Toot.

©1997 Hedgehog Inc (P)2013 Hedgehog Inc

Critic reviews

• Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

"Flawless transitions and pacing convey the elements of suspense and sexuality in this romantic mystery." (AudioFile Magazine)

Boring...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. If you have ever read a romance novel, then you would have already read this book.

We love the Man Eating Ferret

This is the forth book I have listened to from Laura Kinsale. This might be my least favorite of the lot I've listened to, but I still was thoroughly entertained and engaged with the story. As with all of her books, it has the right amount of the absurd to keep the story believable in the world that has been created in the story. While Robert is the reason this is my least favorite story so far (Even when he over comes the first problem that we are presented with, how he treats Folly have everything to do with his past, but alot of it seem unnecessary and drags parts out), I can appreciate his character and the fact that we don't actually have the same male archetype from book to book.

Mr. Nicholas Boulton does a beautiful job in telling the story. He is probably one of my favorite narrators that I've had the pleasure to listen to. How he tells the story the, beats and timing of bits, the performance for each character, brilliant.

I do recommend this story and all of the stories I've listened to thus far (The Prince of Midnight, Midsummer Moon -my favorite one-, and Flowers from the Storm) I look forward to getting and listening to the rest. If not for Robert then for sure The Man Eating Ferret that is featured in this story.

Complex & wonderful storyline,amazing narrator

Any additional comments?

This is perhaps one of Laura Kinsale's best books I have listened to on Audible. The plot here is one of the most complex I have seen her do and she keeps you guessing throughout the book to no avail. LK is a truly talented writer. This book is witty, clever, and touching. Again, I can not say enough about how Nicholas Boulton brings characters to life with his superb narration. I absolutely adore him. LK + NB = An amazing book well worth your time.

Another amazing listen!!!

Cannot say enough about the combination of this author and this narrator. Amazing how she portrays the struggles in the minds of characters. Laughed out loud many times in this book, and also was very touched by the twists in the story line. This ranks right up there with 'Flowers From the Storm' as my all time favorite audio books. And the narrator continues to be amazing. What a talent for bringing characters, thoughts and emotions to life! I listened to almost the entire book in one day, couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Would give 10 stars for this if I could.

I Hooked

This is the second book by Kinsale I have listen to. I am hooked. The plots are similar but at the same time they are different enough to keep the audience wanting here more and listen to the end. I do not think anyone but Boulton could do theses stories justice. He gives a great performance.

Before finishing "My Sweet Folly" I downloaded another Kinsale book.

Her worst book

I couldn't finish it. Story was not believeable.
Main character, Robert was not appealing and his personality and actions did not match with his story. Storyline was a bit ridiculous.

Not the best of her books

There always seems to be an injured bird in her books. I couldn't quite understand if one of the characters was insane or just nuts. It was certainly quite an emotional roller coaster ride for the character which made the story a little dark. This was not my favorite Laura Kinsale book. As usual narrator Nicholas Boulton was excellent.

First class.

Laura Kinsale is a first class writer with a fabulous narrator. This is why we are Audible addicts.

Delightful Journey of Romance vs Reality

This is my first book by Laura Kinsale so I didnt know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find this author wrote complex real to life characters along with a story that was a combination of romance, mystery, and adventure.

For me, this was the kind of book that kept me guessing along the way. The main character Robert is a controlled, multi-faceted man of means and Folly is a woman who is a romantic dreamer who slowly loses faith in her quest. Together their romance grows in an unusual progression of adventure where they learn trust, faith and the journey of love.

The narrator was terrific. His voice is perfect for this type of story. His voice reminds me of the voice of (the actor) Richard Armitage who has narrated a few books on Audible. .

If you enjoy a great romantic/mystery story that doesn't have detailed sex scenes then I would highly recommend this book.

Delightful

Many other reviewers have remarked that "Folly" is like two entirely separate books, or that the plot somehow got out of hand along the way. To me, this felt like a wonderful cohesive adventure, but I can also see how this story could seem disjointed.

We begin with a series of charming letters exchanged by two lonely strangers who clearly form a connection - and then, with very little explanation, that connection is abruptly and cruelly severed.

Years pass, and the two are thrown together by circumstance. Folie, the heroine, is likeable and relatable - practical, levelheaded, optimistic and intelligent. When we finally meet Robert...he's basically completely bonkers and is THE WORST. But I LOVED this part of the book because it was a terrific homage to the gothic novel- think Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester and you'll get the idea.

I enjoy Laura Kinsale's plots for the most part; this one was complex and compelling; there are many mysteries here: the obvious questions about what has happened to Robert, who did it and why, but also the many complexities of his and Folie's relationship that get puzzled out along the way.

There were some steamy scenes and most of these were actually unpleasant - on purpose.
They advance the plot, tell us something about the characters, and contribute meaningfully to the story. The heroine is long-suffering and incredibly forgiving, but I found that very believable - we see just enough of Robert's underlying qualities to know that she is not just being a doormat when she puts up with his nonsense.

Having read some lukewarm reviews, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It wasn't quite as good as "Flowers from the Storm" or "Prince of Midnight," but it was still very, very good. Worth a credit!