Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
i’m not even sure what to think…this is less a romance and more a thriller? a mystery? with a romantic thread throughout? and also regency? very weird. but i was into it.
I started reading My Sweet Folly because I am a sucker for anything epistolary. The first few pages, the ones with the letters, were thoroughly charming. 5/5, up there with the best romance letters.
And then...the plot twisted and turned and jumped all the sharks and became...I have no idea. I don't know what I read. It's gothic on steroids, I'm not even sure if it's meant to be satirical and therefore humourous, or if it's taking itself seriously? I am thoroughly confused and exhausted from reading My Sweet Folly because there is SO. MUCH. plot!
Still, 2.5 stars because the letters were fantastic, and Folly seems like she'd be good company for a pint.
And then...the plot twisted and turned and jumped all the sharks and became...I have no idea. I don't know what I read. It's gothic on steroids, I'm not even sure if it's meant to be satirical and therefore humourous, or if it's taking itself seriously? I am thoroughly confused and exhausted from reading My Sweet Folly because there is SO. MUCH. plot!
Still, 2.5 stars because the letters were fantastic, and Folly seems like she'd be good company for a pint.
This passage from one of my favorite parts of My Sweet Folly felt so analogous to the "pantser" style of writing that I feel it probably sums up Laura Kinsale's writing process for this and her other books. Sometimes it works out beautifully, and sometimes it doesn't work out quite as beautifully -- as in the case of this interesting but flawed book.
Robert sipped his ale. "What are you making?" he asked at last.
"I don't know," she said. "Sometimes I just knits and sees what comes of it. Often enough, I pull it all apart again. But now and then, ah, my hands just seem to know what they want to do."
He smiled in the darkness. Skipper stood up and turned around, lying down again in the firelight.
"I love the best what I make that way," she said. "'Just make a scarf,' me husband he'd say. 'Ye can turn out lovely stuff. Just make me a waistcoat, can't you? How hard can it be?' But even if I tried, it would come out ugly. And I took it apart. Don't know why. It was because my hands wanted to make something else."
There were a lot of great things about this book -- the warmhearted, witty, brave, and unique heroine, Folie, most of all. But the plot was here, there, and everywhere and the romance between Folie and Robert never really gelled for me. I felt a lot of sympathy for Robert, actually. He'd been through some rough stuff and was very damaged inside. But I would've liked him to get his messy self together a little more in order to be a better match for the lovely Folie.
I still enjoyed reading this, though, despite its imperfections. There's not another writer whose prose makes me so happy. And I definitely enjoyed listening to Nicholas Boulton's narration as I read. The man pretty much doubles the quality of everything when he reads it. I don't know how he managed to get through one particular scene, though. My face was surely as red as a beet, just listening to it! If you've read this book, I'm sure you know to what I am referring.
Robert sipped his ale. "What are you making?" he asked at last.
"I don't know," she said. "Sometimes I just knits and sees what comes of it. Often enough, I pull it all apart again. But now and then, ah, my hands just seem to know what they want to do."
He smiled in the darkness. Skipper stood up and turned around, lying down again in the firelight.
"I love the best what I make that way," she said. "'Just make a scarf,' me husband he'd say. 'Ye can turn out lovely stuff. Just make me a waistcoat, can't you? How hard can it be?' But even if I tried, it would come out ugly. And I took it apart. Don't know why. It was because my hands wanted to make something else."
There were a lot of great things about this book -- the warmhearted, witty, brave, and unique heroine, Folie, most of all. But the plot was here, there, and everywhere and the romance between Folie and Robert never really gelled for me. I felt a lot of sympathy for Robert, actually. He'd been through some rough stuff and was very damaged inside. But I would've liked him to get his messy self together a little more in order to be a better match for the lovely Folie.
I still enjoyed reading this, though, despite its imperfections. There's not another writer whose prose makes me so happy. And I definitely enjoyed listening to Nicholas Boulton's narration as I read. The man pretty much doubles the quality of everything when he reads it. I don't know how he managed to get through one particular scene, though. My face was surely as red as a beet, just listening to it! If you've read this book, I'm sure you know to what I am referring.
Overall I think it wasn't as much of a mess as I'd been expecting after reading some reviews. However I would still very much like to read the book that was set up in the amazing prologue instead of the book I got. What an intriguing, well written, engaging masterpiece of an intro. The book held so much potential at that point. It didn't quite live up to that potential for me but I still liked it. As with most Kinsale novels, it was a very unusual and complex tale she wove that felt a little overwrought and could have ended a bit sooner or been whittled down a bit.
I liked Folly very much. She and Robert both were incredibly funny, especially when bantering with one another. I really felt for Robert. He was so damaged that he honestly didn't know how to behave within a "normal" loving spousal relationship. I could buy into his behavior for the most part but I definitely wanted more of a resolution. What was offered was far too abrupt. "Everything's good now, The End." :/
But the ferret. OMG. Laura Kinsale knows how to write animals into books! I found every scene and every mention of the ferret hilarious. The ferret interactions even made me like the characters more, not to mention LOL at several points.
I liked Folly very much. She and Robert both were incredibly funny, especially when bantering with one another. I really felt for Robert. He was so damaged that he honestly didn't know how to behave within a "normal" loving spousal relationship. I could buy into his behavior for the most part but I definitely wanted more of a resolution. What was offered was far too abrupt. "Everything's good now, The End." :/
But the ferret. OMG. Laura Kinsale knows how to write animals into books! I found every scene and every mention of the ferret hilarious. The ferret interactions even made me like the characters more, not to mention LOL at several points.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book starts with letters between Folie Hamilton and her husband's cousin, Robert Cambourne, and we get to watch them believably fall in love over the span of a few years and many letters. After Folie's husband dies, she alludes to visiting Robert in India, where Robert drops the bombshell I'm married and their correspondence abruptly ends.
Years later, Robert is the guardian of Folie's stepdaughter, and he summons them both to his home, where we find out he's gone full-out tortured gothic hero. He's contradicting himself, seeing ghosts, and struggling with basic communication, and Folie is baffled at the change in him. The only thing Robert seems sure about is that he needs Folie, but he doesn't know how.
Folie is so dang likable, it's easy to see how someone could fall in love with her by mail. Robert's the more challenging one, but keeping his demons at bay are a full-time job, and in the end I just <i>really</i> wanted a win for him.
Years later, Robert is the guardian of Folie's stepdaughter, and he summons them both to his home, where we find out he's gone full-out tortured gothic hero. He's contradicting himself, seeing ghosts, and struggling with basic communication, and Folie is baffled at the change in him. The only thing Robert seems sure about is that he needs Folie, but he doesn't know how.
Folie is so dang likable, it's easy to see how someone could fall in love with her by mail. Robert's the more challenging one, but keeping his demons at bay are a full-time job, and in the end I just <i>really</i> wanted a win for him.
Overall I think it wasn't as much of a mess as I'd been expecting after reading some reviews. However I would still very much like to read the book that was set up in the amazing prologue instead of the book I got. What an intriguing, well written, engaging masterpiece of an intro. The book held so much potential at that point. It didn't quite live up to that potential for me but I still liked it. As with most Kinsale novels, it was a very unusual and complex tale she wove that felt a little overwrought and could have ended a bit sooner or been whittled down a bit.
I liked Folly very much. She and Robert both were incredibly funny, especially when bantering with one another. I really felt for Robert. He was so damaged that he honestly didn't know how to behave within a "normal" loving spousal relationship. I could buy into his behavior for the most part but I definitely wanted more of a resolution. What was offered was far too abrupt. "Everything's good now, The End." :/
But the ferret. OMG. Laura Kinsale knows how to write animals into books! I found every scene and every mention of the ferret hilarious. The ferret interactions even made me like the characters more, not to mention LOL at several points.
I liked Folly very much. She and Robert both were incredibly funny, especially when bantering with one another. I really felt for Robert. He was so damaged that he honestly didn't know how to behave within a "normal" loving spousal relationship. I could buy into his behavior for the most part but I definitely wanted more of a resolution. What was offered was far too abrupt. "Everything's good now, The End." :/
But the ferret. OMG. Laura Kinsale knows how to write animals into books! I found every scene and every mention of the ferret hilarious. The ferret interactions even made me like the characters more, not to mention LOL at several points.
This book starts off with a great story - love via letters! Intrigue! Widows and widowers! But then the suspense kicked in and dragged everything down. The heroine skirts Too Stupid to Live, there's a marriage based on a Big Misunderstanding, and the unraveling at the end was wholly unsatisfying. Re: the marriage, I'm not against marriages of convenience but when both characters are dragged into it and don't say their I love yous until the last page I get mad. Grah. Not to mention the daughter is thrown overboard for the second half of the book. Good on mom for not getting her involved in the crazy, but I would have loved to see her happy ending, too.
I went from not being able to put the story down to skimming just to get to the end. I hate it when that happens.
I went from not being able to put the story down to skimming just to get to the end. I hate it when that happens.
It would have been five stars if the line, “Robert, kiss my pussy.” Wasn’t in it.
What an annoying hero! A good plot and some exciting adventures but the hero kept dragging down the story.