Seize the Fire

Rating:
Summary: Another favorite
Review: I loved the book, and couldn't stop thinking about it after I'd finished reading. I grew to love both of the characters, and appreciated the fact that thier flaws weren't token, which made the characters all the more authentic, even amidst the somewhat fantastical plot.
I highly recommend this book, if you like to get invested in a story, because you'll definitely get drawn in and start to care about the characters!

Rating:
Summary: Lesson One : The Hardest One to Learn.
Review: Olympia St. Ledger is a princess. A princess in trouble. She is being forced into marriage with her uncle so that he may gain the throne.
Alone and afraid, Olympia seeks out the help of Sir Sheridan Drake, a decorated war hero. Sheridan agrees to accompany her and offer his aid in a mission to save both Olympia and her country. Sheridan's and Olympia's relationship blossoms into an intense love affair as together they survive many hardships at the hands of those who want to stop them. It is during this journey that Olympia learns not only of loyalty and courage, but that things are not always as they seem.
"Seize the fire" was an AMAZING read. It was a very emotionally intense story that left me feeling a bit drained and sad at times, but wow was it worth it. I loved The characters of Olympia and Sheridan. Sheridan especially was unforgettable. He was so tortured, and clever, and cynical to the point where it was amusing. His personality was brilliantly created by Kinsale.
"Seize the Fire" is yet another example of Laura Kinsale's unbelievable talent. I have read much of her work, but I have to say that this may very well be her best IMO.
A DEFINITE keeper.

Rating:
Summary: Romantic adventure in the 1820s.
Review: Seize The Fire by Laura Kinsale is not a typical romance novel, though it certainly belongs to the genre. For a reader of romance who is new to Laura Kinsale, I would recommend Flowers From The Storm by Laura Kinsale, a deserved romance classic and a personal favourite, as an introduction to the author. My very favourite Kinsale is The Shadow and The Star, which would be on my top 20 list of all time great romances. However, Seize The Fire might be a bit too dark or non-mainstream for many romance readers, something it has in common with The Prince of Midnight.

Seize The Fire is set in 1828. Sir Sheridan Drake, a rather amoral character to put it mildly, has retired from a naval career to his deceased father's estate in rural England. A naive, idealistic minor European royal in exile, Princess Olympia St Leger, seeks the aid of a man who she believes to be a naval hero. Olympia has been influenced by the revolutionary ideals of her former tutor and she wants freedom for a country which she has never seen (her deceased parents' homeland, a tiny kingdom in Europe situated between France and Italy), having spent her whole life in cloistered exile in a provincial town in England.

Thus starts an adventure which spans England to Madiera to the Falkland Islands, and then to the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire, darkly comic, fast paced, and ultimately deeply romantic. Sir Sheridan is a rogue, however we find he has a very dark past which explains his approach to life, denial has been his key to survival. Olympia, a rather shy and chubby woman in her mid-twenties (what a relief to encounter a heroine who is not the usual plastic perfect type) has led a sheltered life and dreams of adventure, of being a heroine and making a difference. These two unlikely people are thrown together in an adventure to survive, while various forces plot against one or the other.

Seize The Fire is an Indiana Jones type adventure story (I believe the author had Flashman in mind when she wrote Sheridan's character). As such, subtle black humour is present throughout, and also explains the frequent changes of locale (something I personally liked). However, there is a change of tone at the very end when real tragedy strikes both characters, when the Drake is forced to finally confront his past, and Olympia must deal with the real consequences caused by her revolutionary fervour and action.

Rating:
Summary: Not My Favorite Kinsale
Review: Sheridan Drake is a tortured military hero, idolized by the young and terribly innocent Olympia, the rightful princess of Oriens who seeks her hero's assistance in saving her kingdom from a bloody revolution. Though Kinsale's writing skill and style is always above average, the story takes so many twists and turns, it left my head spinning, and I was certain the original plot was completely forgotten until it resurfaces, rather unsatisfactorily, at the end. There are a series of Misunderstandings (Olympia thinks Sheridan has betrayed her by stealing her jewels and disappearing; Sheridan spirals into black depression when Olympia becomes engaged to a forgettable secondary character whom she doesn't really care for, etc.) The "spark" between hero and heroine just didn't seem to burn as brightly as the flames which fairly leapt between Maddy and Jervaulx in "Flowers From The Storm" or Samuel and Leda in "The Shadow and The Star." I still highly recommend the book, as Kinsale, I believe, is one of the most talented and gifted writers of our time, and though it's not my favorite, this book is still far better than the standard fare offered in this genre. As a side note, I didn't overmuch care for the constant references to Olympia's "chubbiness" and "plumpness," and I especially didn't appreciate the occasions in which Sheridan pointed these things out to her.

Rating:
Summary: anguished anti-hero
Review: Sheridan is a more realistic character than I've run across in any romance book. He has fears and nightmares and though it may be selfish he survives for himself. You want to hate him for his callousness but at the same time he's slowly revealed to us as a man who was forced into ugly realities of war at the age of 10. He survives through guilt and the tortures of his past and nightmares of the present by being the way he is. On the outside he's labelled a hero for his deeds but he feels no glory in it as many veterans don't. He doesn't go looking for it but it seems to follow him none the less Like many of Linda Kinsales characters he has many many layers.

The Princess I didn't like in the beginning because she was naive to the point of being annoying but through out the book she grows and then I did come to like her and found her to the perfect chink in Sheridan's imperfect armor. He may not be a great hero but he's her hero.

A truly emotional read and the kind romance I love.



Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: This is the only romance novel that has ever made me cry. I am a Laura Kinsale fan who has read all her books many times but no matter how much I love all her books and can never decide which is my favorite, this is still the only that has me in tears at the end.

This book is essentially a swashbuckler with a focus on character development. The characters go all over the world, get deserted on an island, sometimes live with barely the necessities and other times live in the lap of luxury. Yet through all that, the focus is on the characters. With Sheridan it is all about understanding what his life has been like and how he turned out the way he did. With Olympia it is a coming-of-age story and how she learns about the realities of life. I started out thinking Sheridan was horrible and I could not even imagine liking him but by the end he and his problems are so real that I can't imagine not liking him.

This book is beautifully written and beautifully characterized.

Rating:
Summary: An unforgettable, intense book--my favorite by Laura Kinsale
Review: Usually I give a plot synopsis of the book under review, but I think in this case I'll just give my reactions to the protagonists, because that's what the book is basically about: Sheridan Drake, naval hero, blackguard, and secret musician, and Olympia, exiled princess and misguided, naive revolutionary. Sheridan is the very flawed but very vulnerable hero of STF. He can act so despicably that he leaves other alpha jerks in the dust, but there are glimpses of deep nobility in him that prevents him from being a total villain. As the story progresses, his actions make it obvious that he is inherently honorable (and this is important--Kinsale *shows* rather than simply telling that he's decent), but that life has given him hard knocks and he's had to do make difficult choices in his life just to survive. His life up to when he meets Olympia has been aimless, but being with her causes him to re-evaluate his life and to believe in goodness again.

Olympia by herself is not an instantly loveable character, but then I don't think she's meant to be. In the beginning, the best thing that can be said about her is that she has principles and that she tries to stick to them. She's very aware of her shortcomings and we sympathize with her when she feels hopeless to reach Sheridan when he retreats into himself. Her experiences with him make her stronger and slowly remove her rose-colored glasses. Both of them gradually show incredible depth. Their relationship as a couple--how they struggle to help each other overcome their demons, and also how they bring out the best in each other--is truly beautiful and poignant. They know that they love each other, but just knowing that is not enough, and they have to fight and go through a lot of pain in order to stay together. This is what elevates the love between these two above and beyond what is normally encountered in romance novels. They are two outsiders who will probably always remain outside of society, so basically they have the world in each other. That may sound extreme but it's entirely fitting for both characters.

The pacing of the plot in this book is less than stellar, and some aspects of the Turkish slavery/Arabian capture were confusing. However, by this point, I was too engrossed in their relationship to really care. Ms. Kinsale is one of the best authors out there when it comes to exploring a relationship; she finds ways to describe human emotions that just grab you and make them seem real. Normally I'm not a weeper, but I'll be darned if this book didn't make me cry two--OK, three times. I re-read it and it still moves me. Seize the Fire may not be for everyone, and you have to be in a certain mood to really get into it, but do give it a try; it's sure to be a memorable experience.