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A review by justinkhchen
The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
4.0
4 stars
A sub-genre starter still worth visiting, as long as one's aware going into The Flame and the Flower knowing there will be sprinkles of dated concept and language (the excellent audiobook was produced in 2023, and as far as I can tell nothing has been re-edited. The introduction was a nice touch providing context on its relevance in the history of publishing). In term of narrative and trope, it's amazing how much it has shaped the historical romances 'formula'—because the same structure is still being used relatively unchanged today.
'Epic' is the first word coming to mind; with its story spanning across continents, as well as the surplus amount of settings (small English town, on a ship, landed in the US, etc.), The Flame and the Flower leans heavily towards adventure. As a fan of Amanda Quick's plot-driven historical romances, I can trace the influence in this novel as well—as there's a heavy mystery element woven throughout—a very pleasant surprise that satisfies the thriller enthusiast in me (there is more body count here than some of the proper thrillers I've read recently).
You definitely will sense the length of this novel, especially around the 60%-70% mark, where there's a significant lull in plot progression (fortunately it picks itself back up with the mystery subplot). And the hero is not someone readers will be swooning over by today's standard (though the story tries very hard, and almost makes him redeemable). But as far as a melodramatic historical romance goes—this is among one of the older historical romances I really enjoyed.
***Historical Hellions Book Club | November 2023 Selection***
A sub-genre starter still worth visiting, as long as one's aware going into The Flame and the Flower knowing there will be sprinkles of dated concept and language (the excellent audiobook was produced in 2023, and as far as I can tell nothing has been re-edited. The introduction was a nice touch providing context on its relevance in the history of publishing). In term of narrative and trope, it's amazing how much it has shaped the historical romances 'formula'—because the same structure is still being used relatively unchanged today.
'Epic' is the first word coming to mind; with its story spanning across continents, as well as the surplus amount of settings (small English town, on a ship, landed in the US, etc.), The Flame and the Flower leans heavily towards adventure. As a fan of Amanda Quick's plot-driven historical romances, I can trace the influence in this novel as well—as there's a heavy mystery element woven throughout—a very pleasant surprise that satisfies the thriller enthusiast in me (there is more body count here than some of the proper thrillers I've read recently).
You definitely will sense the length of this novel, especially around the 60%-70% mark, where there's a significant lull in plot progression (fortunately it picks itself back up with the mystery subplot). And the hero is not someone readers will be swooning over by today's standard (though the story tries very hard, and almost makes him redeemable). But as far as a melodramatic historical romance goes—this is among one of the older historical romances I really enjoyed.
***Historical Hellions Book Club | November 2023 Selection***