The Flame and the Flower (Birmingham Family, #1)

by Kathleen E Woodiwiss

[rakesandrogues]

Heroine: Heather was a bit too naive in the beginning of the book. But I grew to like her. She’s not the most memorable heroine though.

Hero: I have really no complaints about Brandon except that he picks an ugly name for their child.

Supporting Cast: As much as I loved Hatti, I didn’t like the “racial profiling” of TF&TF. I understand that slavery existed during the time of the novel and racial stereotypes were dominant, but I just couldn’t get myself to accept the colloquial way that Hatti spoke. She was a great character, but I didn’t like how her speech was characterized “overly black”.

Plot: This one isn’t intense on the action or the mystery. It really focuses on the progression of the relationship between the heroine and the hero. There was a lot of tension in the romance department up until the last 100 pages so I was hooked. After that, I felt like the side / secondary plots were stretched out a little too much.

Romance: Lots of unresolved sexual tension. I knew immediately from the beginning that I was hooked. Woodiwiss just has this fantastic talent. She can reel you in. You need to learn what will happen to the characters. In terms of actual steamy scenes, they are lacking in this book. They happen, but nothing is ever described explicitly. No complaints from me, however.