Customer Reviews

Highland Velvet

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Since there seems to be a lot of confusion as to the order of this series, I will try ot be helpful. The series is ordered in terms of the 4 Montgomery brothers' birth order:

#1 Velvet Promise - Eldest Gavin Montgomery marries Judith but his ex-lover tries to steal him back. A bit grim for my taste.

#2 Highland Velvet - Stephan Montgomery is given Scottish Bronwyn McArran for a wife. She hates him cos he's English ... but not for long! A couple of rolls int he heather - lots of fun.

#3 Velvet Song - Raine Montgomery the gentlest of the brothers gets a new squire, a young lad whom Raine, to his horror, finds himself wanting to kiss. Its Alyx and they make beautiful music together.

#4 Velvet Angel - Miles Montgomery is the dark brooding playboy of the lot, irrisitable to all women except Elizabeth Chatworth, whose family has a feud with the Montgomeries (this happens throughout the series). She looks like an angel but behave like a hell cat.

Hope this is helpful. Its a great series.

NOW THIS....Is what Historical Romance used to be. Read "Velvet Promise" first so that you know what is going on. I actually read this one first and then found "Velvet Promise" and I read the series when it first came out in the 80's. I miss the old days of romance where it sweeps you into another world and you get lost in the time I remember visualizing Bronwyn's hair and eyes the first time Stephan saw her, I remember feeling a ache in my stomache when Stephan says the words "You will be the Death of Me, Bronwyn" (sigh)

I can see how some readers of today would not like this sort of writing style but for me who discovered Historical romances through Jude Deveraux and Johanna Lindsay I applaud them still. This one will always remain in my "keeper" pile no matter how old I get.

Happy Reading

I was told by a few people that I might not like this installment of the Velvet books, but on the contrary, I absolutely LOVED LOVED it! The heroine's strong character and stubborness captivated me! I loved her spririt! I in no way saw Stephen Montgomery as weak in this story! He was a man truly and madly in love with a stubborn and willful woman who has held past hatreds deep in her heart and finds it difficult to trust anyone English.

Soon after Stephen's summons to marry a Scottish Laird named Bronwyn MacArran by King Henry, he invisions a horrible woman with claws and an ugliness so fierce she would scare him just by looking his way, what he encounters is a much, much different vison worth fighting for...clear blue eyes and hair the color of midnight...so breathtaking she makes him forget who he is.

Bronwyn is not under ANY circumstances a weak woman or meek in any form. She is the leader of a powerful clan. She fears nothing and no one, even her most hated enemy, the MacGregors. She will not bend to the will of any man, including some English sop like Stephen Montgomery. She too is shocked by his handsome face and seemingly sweet personality, but she must not be fooled into thinking he is anything other than a murdering Englishman, the same race that murdered her father and her men from the clan not too long ago. She only agrees to marry him in order to save bloodshed amoung her people and the English, but she will never become a loving wife to the horrible Englishman even though he makes her knees weak and her skin tingle when he looks her way with his devilish smile.

A battle of wills begins, more fierce than that of the battle raging between the two clans fueding. Can Bronwyn prove to herself and her clan that she is a worthy laird? Will Stephen gain the trust and admiration of her clan? Will he abandon his English ways for her? Does he love her? Can she love him enough to look past his race?

A truly touching love story of a will so strong that it takes a very determined and strong man to show Bronwyn that not all men are alike and that he loves her with all his heart. He will give up his life and identity for her, just to see her smile for him. I could not help but love Stephen and I truly loved Bronwyn. A very realistic view of how the Scots felt towards the English and how a woman laird with so much hate can try and overcome her misgivings.

The story is filled with history, action, adventure, villians, love and even humor! For example, one of the funniest parts in the book was when Bronwyn tried to stop Stephen from getting involved in the clans quarrels and said to him, "He hates the English more than I do!" and he responds, "That's impossible." Stephen proves worthy of any Scotswoman and even to become a noble and fierce Scotsman. I highly recommend this book, even with some of the bad reviews it has recieved. I simply loved it and could not help myself! Very hard to put down! If you love very very strong willed heroines and men who will not give up them for the world, then you will like this book! It was also nice to meet up with the other brothers, Gavin and Raine and Miles. We meet up with Judith also,Gavin's wife, from the first book, VELVET PROMISE. I think I have to admit, this might very well become my favorite of the series, but we'll see, I need to start the third book now about Raine called VELVET SONG and finish with the last story about Miles called VELVET ANGEL. You can't help but love the Montgomery men! Especially Stephen! Wow! (VELVET PROMISE, HIGHLAND VELVET, VELVET SONG & VELVET ANGEL)

Tracy Talley~@

From the beginning entries of the book I was concerned that I wasn't going to have a good reading experience but I trailed on through hoping that I was wrong. I forced myself to read the book telling myself that maybe it will get better. I have to say that it did not and I was really disgusted with the whole thing. I absolutely could not stand the heroine. I've never said that about any hero or heroine from the novels I've read (and there have been a great many) because there was always something redeeming about the person. In the case of Bronwyn this was not so. Not only was this person extremely childish she was very surly and WAY too high handed with people, especially men. My goodness, even the most minuscule of action or speech she thought was an insult to her pride and sensibilities she made certain to remind her husband (Stephen) and anyone who'd listened long enough that she was "THE MacARRAN" (The chief of the clan); geez, I couldn't stand it. Compound this negative attitude with repeated poor judgment on her part (mostly due to her childish and rash behavior) and it was enough to drive the most patient of people crazy. Throughout the novel I had the impression that the author was going out her way to point out the injustices of being a woman during the 1500s and how Bronwyn was going to break the mode and be as tough as any of the guys plus eat fire (chomp..."Hey, where'd his hand go?"):D

No...I'm sorry but this book was a huge downer for me; it was a strain reading it. Normally I enjoy reading about a heroine with spunk who is willing to take a stand against the ills of life however; I also appreciate a heroine with common sense and maturity. I did not see these traits at all in this "heroine." This woman's attitude took the cake with a vengeance and any man that would dare ask her for a piece risked health and happiness.

Most of the reviews on this book seem to target-locked on distasteful hatred for the heroine, Bronwyn MacArran. I'd like to address and de-bunk some of that, if I may: I loved her.

First off, maybe it's just me. But in a romance novel, I TOTALLY loathe the saccharine, fluffy, weak-willed, Disney type of heroine that say, Barbara Cartland is famous for. (The kind....that speaks...in a shy...whisper...with ...an ellipsis...after every third...word. **BLARF***, Babs!!!! You milked that archetype for what, over a hundred books?)

With that in mind, Bronwyn was a real breath of fresh air. Those who villify her, really don't seem to understand her well. She's not one-dimensionally ugly or full of hate, and she's not meant to be.

If you'll look a bit beneath the surface, she's not iron-clad, but genuinely terrified of showing tenderness. She's been conditioned from an early age to be a leader---not to show a sign of weakness, to her clan and especially not to Englishmen. She worshipped her father, and he got slaughtered. Her three prospective suitors (ALL of whom she seemed to have some degree of feeling for!) got massacred. She adored her brother, and he repaid her with contempt and treachery. The only things safe TO love, were her clan, and her guard-dog. Everything else had better darned well stay at arm's length!!!

All of this, before the age of nineteen. (Tell me, how emotionally stable were YOU at nineteen?)

Throw a little (justifiable) race-hatred into the mix. Plus a forced marriage--to someone ultimately good-hearted, but with a bit of medieval chauvanism and bigotry of his own to overcome. Turn up the heat, and watch the fun. Watch them both grow up, and grow into each other.

Admittedly, I first read this book when I was in my early teens; but recently I re-read it. "Highland Velvet," and the other so-called Montgomery Annals, have really stood the test of time.

Save your bile for the historical inaccuracies. ;) Like, in 1501, Scotland had a frigging king. Hello? Couldn't Bronwyn have appealed to HIM, to save her from this marriage? And the "plaid"--by this, Devereaux seems to mean the "great-kilt"--wasn't known to exist for another couple hundred years. It's just a good, kinky stock device for love-scenes.

Bronwyn was selfish and annoying, and at some points I really wanted to slap her. That being said, however, I hated Stephen too.
Everyone keeps writing about his pride and how he was too good for her, but hey, he wasn't prince charming either. In my opinion, any guy who can raise a hand against a woman is a creep. I don't care if he seems nice and sweet and caring, he's still a creep. The fact that he SPANKED her as if she were a child just shows that he has no respect for her and thinks of himself as better than her, just cause she's a woman. Later, when she angers him, he again threatens to spank her, in front of all her men!!! ooo yah, he was really considerate of her pride...
Anyway, the only book in the velvet series in which the man does not feel the need to put his wife "in her place" is Velvet Angel. It is terribly sweet and a great redemption for an absolutely AWFUL series of books. Don't get me wrong, some of the books are greatly written, it's just that spankings and rape and men hitting their wives to the floor tend to make me hate the hero, even if it is just a small part or the book.

I enjoyed this book so much as well as the rest in the Velvet series. You will enjoy the banter of the main characters. The herione is strong and flawed but so much delightful. You will have so much fun with this story.

I have read all of J.D's Velvet series. I enjoyed it all except for this one. I have been looking forward to read Stephen's story because he was my favorite of all the Montgomery brothers...just to be totally disappointed! I don't mind strong, intelligent, spicy/saucy heroine. In fact, I do prefer it from time to time, however with limit. Bronwyn is too brawny that it made Stephen look weak. Her foul mouth is annoying and very unlady like at all. She has no finesse whatsoever. Made you wonder what Stephen sees in her. OK! she is supposedly beautiful but heck, her mouth and her attitude sucks badly! My ears is actually still ringing from all her whine and insults. I had to force myself to finish this book! She doesn't deserve Stepehen at all! oh well, read this book and judge for yourself. You might like Bronwyn like some reviewers here who rated this book a fiver. But for me, Bronwyn sucks!

Yes, this book would have been captivating if not for the irritating heroine, Bronwyn. The plot was strong and intriguing. The family circumstances were heart warming. The hero was to die for, until he lost his heart and his head in the process. I was turned off by his weakness towards the end. Brownyn really ruined this book for me. I didn't even want to finish this bec. i keep getting this annoyed feelings everytime i read her name and her actions. But i forced myself to read through, only because i want to know what happend to Judith and Gavin of Velvet Promise, I also want to read about the rest of the Montgomery brothers. I scanned-read the pages of this one until the end. I pretend not to see "her" name. Bronwyn isn't worth to be a Montgomery wife. She doesn't even deserve the villain. She is better off alone and shrivelled. YUCK. I really hate her. Her character is definitely like a large LUMP that is hard to swallow and is better off spitted out since it's of no importance anyway. Like one reviewer who also wasn't drawn to the heroine, SKIP THIS ONE. I agree, you won't miss a thing.

This is the story of the the Second Montgomery brother Steven and Jude brings the story of the family to life, with great secondary characters. But the Romance between Steven and Bronwyn was a disappiontment, in the end I felt Steven deserved better, and Bronwyn deserved the Chartworth Name (the Villian of the story) rather than the Montgomery Name. Steven was kind and giving, but Bronwyn was just plain selfish.