Customer Reviews

Nothing But Velvet

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll go out on that well-known limb and take my stand, "This book was just ordinary." I suspect it would have made a good short story, but as a full length novel it suffered. The beginning was captivating, it held my attention, but somewhere along the way the story began to stumble. The book was too long for the ungarnished storyline.

The novel opens well - a duke callously murdered and his legitimate heir framed by an unscrupulous brother. The question the reader ponders throughout the book was "why?". What pressure, what insufferable issue, compelled a brother to hate and despise both his father and his sibling? Unfortunately, the author never answers the question.

Moving on, the novel continues to intrigue the reader. Years slip away and the falsely accused hero, Jason Sinclair, returns from the depths of misery. His mission: to clear his name, take back his realm title, regain his honor, and appreciate his freedom. To strengthen such a feat he must kidnap and imprison the novel's heroine, Velvet Moran. Now we have the recipe for spice -- a remote hunting lodge, two very attractive people, and hours of quality time together. Now this is the stuff for that long Canadian winter. But alas, the secluded adventure is short lived, unfulfilled, and sadly, the end of Martin's catchy storyline.

Kat Martin slides into the land of :
Our hero has a past. Our heroine doesn't care.
Our hero cannot love. Our heroine can.
Our hero cannot marry. Our heroine must marry.
Our hero does not want children. Our heroine does. And so on and so on.

"Nothing But Velvet", has the making of a grand short story found in an anthology collection.

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

I'm not sure I can add much to what's already been reviewed but I am a fan of Kat Martin. It simply has her name on it and I am putting it in my shopping cart.() I enjoyed the 'battle' Velvet gave Jason. When she was abducted she was determined and I liked the fact she wasn't a wimpy little twit. Apparentely, so did Jason......

The story develops and it's relationship is built on love, respect, and shear belief in innocence even though neither realize it at the timeI it kept me turning the pages.

Jason and Velvet..........(sigh). Where to begin. If you've not read Kat Martin then you should be warned, this book is unlike most romance authors. Usually the hero and heroine meet, fall in love, have the most wonderful sex of their lives, and something occurs to divide them; here enters mistrust and suspicions. It then takes half the book for the trust to be rebuilt and most of the time I'm saying to myself, "how stupid can you be???? . Get over it". I often read those type of books, because mostly that's what's out there. Call me masochistic but it's basically the norm for romance books. Since I've started reading romance novels 4 years ago I've discovered the story line has its' advantages but I enjoy a change ever now and again. This is different. Ms Martin has managed to give it all. Suspense, love, (even though the male is too stupid to realize it for a while) steamy love scenes, and trust (on Velvets part anyway). Velvet has such belief in Jason, there were often times I wanted to smack him and tell him to stop being such a nin come poop. I guess the author did her job if she created that response but when all is said and done, it's a NICE story. It gives you the mystery, the love scenes, and the happily ever after. I would recommend this book to anyone ()...

I hope you try it.

My friend gave me this book and said I'd like it. I'd like to say "Thank you" because it has given me many, many hours of wonderful reading. Not only did I read through Nothing but Velvet at record speed, but I went out and bought almost allof her other books I could get my hands on!

Nothing But Velvet is the awesome love story of Jason Sinclair and Velvet Moran. Jason was wrongly accused of murdering his father the Duke of Carlyle, and, now eight years later, has come back to prove his innocence. He plots to kidnap his brother's betrothed "wealthy" heiress, Velvet. Jason soons discovers that even the best laid plans have a way of going awry when Velvet is nearby.

Velvet, the heroine, is forced to wed because her father wasted the family fortune. She poses as a wealthy heiress and captures the notice of Avery Sinclair. Velvet is set to marry him, when she is kidnapped by One-Eyed Jack Kincaid, the notorious highwayman. And even as she is afraid of him, she finds herself attracted to him in a way she never could imagine.

Overall, this story is awesome. There is adventure, romance, subplots, and all kinds of twists and turns. However, the book lagged in some places, and it took over 200 pages before we found out why Jason is the tortured hero and what happened to him during his eight-year imprisonment.

I just started reading Ms. Martin's books. My favorite so far has been Innocence Undone. I tend to measure the rest of her books by that one. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this one a 4 or 4 1/2. It's not as good as Innocence, but it is still a great story.

I absolutely loved this romance novel. It was the first romance novel I've read by Kat Martin, and now I own every book she's made as of yet. This story is about a stolen dukedom, and innocent maiden desperate for funds, and Jason Sinclair, the true ruler of the dukedom of Carlysle. He beings to fall in love with Velvet Moran, but refuses to do anything because he believes he has nothing to offer her. Full of chivalry and honesty. A truly wonderful read.

I have read a lot of her books. Recently I discovered, "Perfect sin, Wicked Promise, Silk and Steele, Nothing but Velvet, Fire Inside, Fanning the Flame, I was let down because of her inability to add versatility to her characters discriptions and looks. Her characters all shared similar personalities and all of the Heroines in these novels had the same shade of red hair and green eyes. The hero's all had brown hair, some grey but mainly blue eyes.

Maybe my mistake was in reading them one after another. But I can say I was disappointed, the storyline was at times unbelievable and just plain boring. After reading the first two novels the rest became so predictable. He or she was once incarcerated and are now being accused of a murder they did not committed. They meet, have sex, marry then she leaves him. BORING, even the sex scenes were the same in each book. My advice to readers read two of these books then just insert the names of the different characters from the other books in there place and BAM you have read all SIX!!!

I guess I am the odd woman out who found this Kat Martin novel not one of her best. It took me a while to figure out why, but I believe it has to do with the much-raved over hero, Jason Sinclair, and his background. The heroine for me is never as important, being just a sort of place holder for the female reader. The hero, to me, must be smart, handsome, mysterious, intense, unexpectedly tender, and conflicted. Unfortunately, Jason is not exactly stellar in the first quality. Passion seems to be his dominant trait, which is fine in a romantic hero, but not if it habitually overpowers his intellect. I kept thinking that Lucien was better equipped in brain power, whenever Jason kept rushing into things and doing things (such as his intentions once he resides with Velvet), which even for a romance, sounded absurdly masochistic, something not even his mysterious dark background can fully account for. Which brings me to the other main flaw--the delayed revelation of what is bothering the hero.

I understand Martin's desire to keep the reader in suspense, but the best novels show, don't tell, and the best romance novels maintain the tension within the relationship itself. It would have been far more effective and thrilling, in other words, if Martin began the narrative with Jason's plight, so we could see, directly, how it affected his whole being. Then we could factor this into his relationship with Velvet, understanding the reason he cannot do what she wishes (even as she cannot), which otherwise seems contrived and needlessly masochistic. I didn't find this long withheld mysterious pain to be enough of a suspense to carry my interest in this pair to its fullest.

I did like Velvet, though I believe she was too giving, taking away the tension from the romantic encounters.

The peripheral characters were well sketched, but Martin's use of them was problematic also. The father is barely there, contradicting assertions by the heroine that she's doing it all for family. And Lucien Montaine, the staunch friend, along with the romantic subplot of Mary and Christian, become a kind of distraction from the main plot. Lucien distracts because Jason doesn't compare well with his friend's intellect, and the couple because they steal some sexual tension away from Jason and Velvet (I kind of like Christian better, too; his torture is more palpable).

In all, NOTHING BUT VELVET was a good, often involving read, with an excellent ending (I liked the sexual humor, which avoided the usual sappy overkill of romance conclusions). But for better novels of Kat Martin, I recommend above all, HEARTLESS, and also SWEET VENGEANCE. The tension there was superb, with both characters evenly matched in all romantic attributes!

Nothing But Velvet captures your heart with the loyalties and bonds between friends and family. A loyalty that comes to bind the lovely Lady to the true Duke of Carlyle. Kat Martin's ability to capture the murder of his father and the secrets of his past as he learns what true love means by Velvet Moran's hands is breathtaking. This story is both moving and intriguing as you are absorbed into another world

Some romance novels are keepers because they can be read again and still enjoyed. This is one of them. I have read several Kat Martin books and perfer her historicals, though I was vastly disappointed in "Nothing but Velvet's sequel, "Silk and Steel", which is the story of Lucien, Jason's friend and helper in clearing his name. I am not one who gives 5 stars often; to me, a 5 star rating is perfection, and this story did have a flaw or two, but still, I feel, a much better read then tons of romance books in stores today. Jason and Velvet make a great couple. In so many romances, the heroine is always fighting or tries to deny her sexual needs. That, thankfully, is not the case here. Velvet finds Jason as sexually appealing as he does her. I liked Lucien and he is a noble friend to Jason. At times, however, he is much smarter than Jason and so sometimes Jason appears to be like the classic gorgeous but dumb guy! Of course, to survive what he had to takes brains as well as brawn. My main issue with this story is the ending. Jason ends up with a noose around his neck and is saved. Well, that is okay but it is so rushed. It is like, hah? What is happening? Why is Lucien rushing to save him; what happend to bring the law down to save him when he was just convicted? It was too rushed and unclear. I hated when Velvet gave money to the poor semi-blind man and he tells her that her husband was innocent, yada, yada, yada. That was stupid. So the end was not great. I liked the epilogue, though. Nice way to end, knowing they had children, etc.

For what it tries to be, this is a very good book. Fundamentally, it's a book about a romance that emerges out of a life and death situation. We've all seen in in the movies and it makes the pages turn. It just doesn't happen to be my favorite plot line. The pragmatist in me simply doesn't like the "happily ever after" chances of a couple that falls in love while in peril.

But if you like that combination of romance and suspense, this is a darn good example of the genre. Velvet is a spunky heroine. It was particularly nice that she doesn't spend half the book denying her feelings. She feels and she acts on her feelings. Jason's baggage is probably necessary for the plot but got a bit old - particularly since the author waits way too long to expose his big secret. And, if you have to have a villian, Avery is decidedly evil.

Bottom-line: Good sensual tension and plenty of suspense (if you're into that type of a book.) If you're like me and like a romance without outside evil, you're better off with a writer such as Judith McNaught.