Customer Reviews

My Sweet Folly

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book lost points with me because although the tortured, devastatingly handsome hero was delicious, I had a hard time believing that he "came around" by the end.

Robert's the sort that has a heart of gold but has been so scarred by his past that he can't help but treat the heroine, Folly, quite badly from page one to...oh, page three hundred and fifty?

Kinsale does a pretty stellar job convincing the reader that Robert actually *does* have his heart of gold, that he really *does* love Folly deeply and sincerely, that he is really truly beating himself up over his own behavior. This is no small feat; it's often pretty hard to see the appealing human behind the nasty lashing-out jerk in a romance novel.

Folly is delightful, spirited and lovable, with a great sense of humor and very wise. An utterly appealing heroine, from beginning to end.

Their relationship is pretty well-written, and it's a good, page-turner of a novel. It's pretty moderate with the steam (with the exception of one really stellar and slightly scandalous-for-a-romance-novel scene somewhere towards the middle that really made me blush) & if I could have believed that Robert had really changed by the end, it'd be a 5 star.

Unlike many romances, the plot and characters of My Sweet Folly were very believable and actually delightful The historial setting was fascinating. For example, I don't think I've read any other book with a Regency England setting that truly conveyed how superficial and even boring the society balls such as Almack's might have been and how limited the communication between the sexes might have been. Yet, Kinsale conveys this without being the least bit boring and with a rich understanding of her characters, even small ones.

At first, like Folie the herione, you don't know what's going on. Is Robert insane? Is he an orge? Is he mean? There is a lot of adventure and miscommunication and so on before they understand what's happening and what their feelings for each other are. There are touches of humor. It is a good, thick, enjoyable read perfect for summe

The mind is a wondrous thing, unless it has gone astray...


Mrs. Folie "Folly" Hamilton started to write her cousin, Robert Cambourne, who resides in India. His letters are filled with knights, dragons, and the love of mysteries and the magic of life. When out of nowhere, Robert confesses in his last letter that he is married, this shatters the closeness these two had discovered together, by the power of their pens.

Out of the blue, Folly finds out Robert is now residing in England and he requests her and her stepdaughter's company. She really has nothing to say to the knight whose amour was tarnished so long ago, but he will not take no for an answer.

My Sweet Folly is by authoress Laura Kinsale. With her wily and precocious pen, Ms. Kinsale crafted another fascinating novel with the two main characters, Robert and Folly. These two dominated and entertained this reader until the close of the book. The detail to the emotional wealth of both characters left this reader connected to their inner turmoil and turbulent relationship, leading her upon a merry chase, needing to keep the pages turning and their lives exposed.

Folly is an absolutely astute woman. Though she may be plain to look at, she has a delightfully and sunny disposition. When Robert breaks her trust and confidence, her heart will ache for their lost correspondence, but she will never forget those wonderful letters, gifts, and the pieces of their lives they shared with each other.

Now, they will come face to face, and her knight in shinning amour is more than just tarnished, he is quite insane to boot! What has happened to the person Folly once thought she knew?

Could this dark and tortured man really be her prince charming?

Read on to see truths exposed and the mind left in muddled wonder...

If you are a loyal fan of Ms. Kinsale or a new reader looking for a wonderful happy-ever-after historical, then My Sweet Folly is sure to wet your whistle. Laura Kinsale is truly an outstanding and constant writer, and this reviewer looks forward to many more happy years dwelling within the characters lives she creates.

Reviewed by Janalee Ruschhaupt, 2006
Courtesy of Love Romances

In another genre-bending effort, Laura Kinsale manages again to write a mesmerizing tale of madness, loneliness and betrayal. Robert Cambourne has recently returned from a long military stint in India to his ancestral home in England. His career had been anything but distinguished, his father having purchased his commission rather than have him follow in the employ of the veritable East India Company.

Seven years earlier, at the urging of his father, he began a correspondence witha a much older male cousin, newly married, whose only passion was his prized roses. The cousin instructed his young wife to answer Robert and so began an affair of the heart played out in letters that began innocently enough but end in heartbreak.

Now widowed,and about to launch her much loved step-daughter, Melinda, into London society, Folie Hamilton receives a letter from Robert commanding that she and Melinda travel to Solinger Abbey for a visit. Circumstances now have it that Robert has become Melinda's guardian and in control of her fiances and future. Folie has never told anyone of her relationship with Robert, based solely on those letters. She only agrees to make the journey because she hopes Robert will assist in Melinda's debut.

Their first meeting is heart-wrenching - Folie initially believes that the dark, sinister gentleman awaiting them is an impostor. He can't actually be her beloved Robert of the letters. These letters are not gimmicks but serve a true purpose in conveying a sense of discovery and longing between two very lonely people. Living in an age of immediate communication, where we can not only talk but see others instantaneously, I found these letters so poignant. They serve as a foundation for a very real flesh and blood relationship.

I have only touched upon the basic plot - it's very complicated and I really appreciated it upon my second reading. As with any great book, the secondary characters are wonderful and essential to the story. In fact, Kinsale has made Lander so fascinating, I almost wish she could find a way to continue his story.

Whereas,I did not find that this was Kinsale's most sensual book, Folie and Robert's encounters were real and integral to the story. As with all of her books, the sex between hero and heroine is an extension of their conduct outside the bedroom. Robert's incapacity to consumate their relationship is the very real consequence of years spent in an abusive marriage. Folie is a great heroine. Faced with Robert's maddening mood swings, she uses lessons learned raising a petulant step-daughter and tears down his emotional walls with love and patience.

My favorite scenes were Melinda's tantrums at the dinner party, Folie and Robert's parting at the bridge, their wedding at Cambourne House, their meeting in the rain and their last letters.I might also add that despite such a dark premise, there are some very funny and witty exchanges that deepen the essence of this beautiful love story.

**********This was a perfect 10!*****************************

Oftentimes I wish the Amazon rating system allowed for more flexibility. Even as I think that I know that more leeway would just lead to the need for more leeway. I'll just have to settle for what has worked so well in the past.

I would love to give this book more than 5 stars in almost every area. It is totally entertaining, absorbing, well written and has a whole host of characters you are interested in and love, like, or hate. I must admit that I had begun to feel true despair for Robert. Page 134 was the first glimpse of the true man without the "madness". I found it very wearing from the standpoint of my own emotions. I wanted so much to get to know him without the hindrance of his mania, delusions, paranoia; whatever he was suffering from. Folly is a fabulous character. She seems to others to be level headed, confident in her own abilities, a perfect parent able to guide Melinda through all the pitfalls of a London season and come out the other side with a worthwhile husband for her stepdaughter. But there is a hidden Folly, just as there is a hidden person inside each of us. The hidden Folly is totally captivated by a man she made up from sentences written on stationery. Now she must meet him face to face and risk finding out that she is, after all, still in love with him.

Laura Kinsale has written a story that brings together two people who "know" each other but who do not actually "know" each other at all. They have a ten year history to fall back on but in actuality it does not help them in the least. It was a joy to watch Folly fall in love with Robert, even against her wishes. And also a joy to watch Robert come to understand that Folly was a woman to be trusted and loved, truly loved so that he could actually say those three little words. Ms Kinsale understands how very hard it is for men to gather their courage and say those three little words. There has to be a whole lot of trust there!

Bravo! Ms. Kinsale. I look forward to reading more of your works.

I thought that opening with the love letters was ingenious. I have read many romance novels, and they always follow the same path, frustratingly predictable. In this book you are constantly surprised, and the plot flows through the end of the book, whereas in others in stops three quarters of the way through, and the last part is usually about how deliriously happy the couple lives on, and different places where they make love. This one is definitely a keeper.

This book starts brilliantly - the correspondence between Folie in her little village and Robert Cambourne in India. Folie is married to a much older man who appears to evince little interest in her, and Robert becomes, for her, an escape into someone who is interested in her for herself.

And then the shocking end of the letters, when Folie's husband dies and she says she is considering coming to see Robert in India - and he says he is married, has been married all along.

The story continues four years later when Folie and her stepdaughter Melinda are summoned to see Robert Cambourne, now the head of his family and Melinda's guardian, in England. All communication had been at an end between them but now she is to see him - the man with whom she fell in love through letters.

Their meeting is unlike anything she imagined it would be - as Robert appears to be mad. He doesn't even look as she expected (he only ever described his height to her) although the reader is pleased to discover he's actually dead dishy.

The story becomes strange and confusing after that. Robert is paranoid - or is he? He tries to keep Folie and Melinda in his house against their will and they escape to safety with a neighbour - but is he safe? Melinda's season in London commences and eventually they run into Robert again.

The book then rather wildly shows Folie as kidnapped along with Robert and a whole host of odd things happen. Robert appears to be psychic, their friendly neighbour a baddie... it got a little confusing here. I suppose this is partly to reflect the muddle in Robert's brain as he finally is rid of the poison that people really ARE feeding him to make him go mad. There's a murder, other weird stuff, and it all got a bit jumbled.

Eventually of course things sort out - Folie and Robert marry, although even here it isn't smooth as Robert has huge issues of rejection from his previous wife and messes Folie around rather unpleasantly. In fact, this is only really resolved in the last couple of pages, and I wasn't entirely convinced that they could be happy together.

The book is well written but I found some of it a bit too far-fetched and confusing.

This is the only book that I have read by Laura Kinsale, but I am hooked on her style and I plan to read all of her novels. I found that this story was romantic without being trashy, the tension that builds between the couple is incredible. I also appreciated Folie's bewilderment in the relationship, this was a true reaction. So often heroines are brash and decisive, it was refreshing to find a woman who was admittedly confused about exactly where her relationship was going.

...then you will cherish and delight in this novel. It had all the feel of Bronte's "Jane Eyre;" a dashing-yet-mysterious, seemingly demon-driven man who harbors dark secrets and even darker fears is saved from a rapid spiral into black despair and even madness by his practical, plain, yet brave and generous "Folly" (Folie). I am genuinely perplexed at the handful of negative reviews and would venture to guess that some readers may have expected something more in keeping with what's typically offered in today's "historical romance" genre, and thus were frustrated with Ms. Kinsale's departure from the recipe. Though there are passionate moments of physical intimacy between Robert and Folie, the romantic aspect of the book is much more emotional and visceral and thus more satisfying, in my opinion, than the redundant sexual exploits favored by many authors. There is a strong element of sexual desire, but it is not the sole focus of the book.

Kinsale is a superb storyteller. She is, I believe, the only author today who truly presents an accurate portrayal of the Victorian era, its etiquette, verbiage, and complex social mores. This talent of hers is particularly evident in "My Sweet Folly."

The characters in this novel are complex, yet endearing, remarkable, yet painfully human, and Kinsale weaves together a story of friendship and love, despair and madness, intrigue and mystery, and even subtle humor into a rich literary tapestry that was a genuine pleasure to read.

I beg to differ with the reviewer who was dismissive of the written correspondence between Folie and Robert which introduced the story and was the foundation of their relationship. I found the letters telling and deeply touching; one is able to witness what began as an innocent diversion for two lonely people grow not only into love, but into a lifeline for both Robert and Folie. I felt this method of writing was inspired! Robert and Folie, had they met in person, would never have had the opportunity to know one another on such a personal level, given their circumstances, let alone had the opportunity to fall in love; however, the premise of corresponding to a "stranger" on the other side of the world seemed to offer a certain freedom from inhibition which allowed both Robert and Folie to reveal themselves to one another in a way they never could have - or would have - in society.

The tenderness that develops between Robert and Folie in their correspondence is quite moving and romantic, (I re-read the letters several times) but their relationship becomes even more compelling when danger throws them together years after their ink-and-paper relationship ended on a heartbreaking note. It is then that both are confronted with the flesh-and-blood embodiment of their secret hopes and desires, and it is then that what began as a somewhat unrealistic romantic idealism grows into a deep, passionate need that neither foresaw.

If you expect more from romantic fiction, if you appreciate exceptional writing that can hold its own against the classics, and if you are ready for a memorable romantic adventure, do try "My Sweet Folly."

I loved the beginning of this novel. Laura Kinsale and the Gothic hero seem like the perfect combination. Is he insane? Or is someone really trying to kill him? Plus, the letters were charming.

But then, the plot went off in a different tangent, and it was as if another story was being told. It's the bizarre plot elements from the latter half keep this from getting a higher grade.

The characters are realistic, though they're not Kinsale's best. Or at least not her most interesting. Robert is not a typical Kinsale hero -- and perhaps this plot could have used one of those.

Read "The Flowers of the Storm" or "The Shadow and the Star" for a better Kinsale.

Anne M. Marble Reviewer, All About Romance