I'm on fire with the romances -- I just finished Flowers from the Storm, which was rated #2 of "Reader's 25 Favourite Books" in the December issue of Romantic Times Book Reviews.
In my mind, it is nowhere near the caliber of Bitten, but it's almost impossible to rate different sub-genres on the same quality scale, anyway. This one is what it is -- a historical romance from the early nineties, the kind that you find in hardcover at your local library with thick, slightly yellowed pages and Fabio on the cover. In other words, the kind of romance I love. This one has an interesting plot point, which is the reason I chose it; the hero, the Duke of Jervaulx, is a handsome rake that has a stroke which, among other more minor things, renders him unable to speak or understand speech. This only enhances the romantic heroism of him -- he doesn't talk much, when he does it's terse, and he is brooding, angry, and violent. Mmm.
The heroine, a Quaker who knew him slightly before the stroke and met him again afterward, is all right, but nothing really special, and all her "thy"s and "thou"s are irritating if historically accurate and/or religiously appropriate.
The sex is really surprisingly good -- I give it a 4/5 on the erotic scale. I would complain that the book wasn't dark enough, but like a drug addict that has to have more and more to feel the same high, I am beginning to find that I crave more angst and darkness with every book I read.
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