Customer Reviews

Silk And Steel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A long awaited sequel to Nothing but Velvet, we are treated to the story of Lucien Montaine, Marquess of Litchfield, the friend of Jason Sinclair, Duke of Carlysle, who makes an appearance, along with Velvet and their two children in this story. The heroine, Kathryn, is given an interesting background, having been committed to a lunatic assylum so that her uncle can control her fortune. Needless to say various plot complications follow. Another charming romance from Kat Martin, with some serious undertones - women were locked away for a family's convenience - but of course our heroine manages to escape and find the man of her dreams. Written with Kat Martin's usual flair for believable characters, and some interesting supporting roles, this latest book should please her fans, and introduce new readers to her well-crafted books. Always an interesting read, and one of the better writers of this genre, a new Kat Martin book is worth waiting for.

The Earl of Dunstan, Douglas Roth, will do anything to control the fortune owned by his niece Lady Kathryn Grayson. Taking advantage of Kathryn's interest in medicine, Douglas claims she tried to poison his daughter. He succeeds in locking up his niece at St. Bartholomew Hospital for the Insane.

Kathryn manages to escape the asylum. She persuades Lucien Montaine, the Marquis of Litchfield, into protecting her, but hides the truth from him. Lucien soon learns that he harbors a lunatic, but cannot quite match that description with the beautiful woman he now loves. Kathryn reciprocates his feelings, but fear of her uncle forces her to take action rather than allowing their relationship to develop. She tricks Lucien into marrying her, but that turns him into her enemy. When she can no longer take his scorn, she flees into the night once again, leaving Lucien to ponder what he really wants out of life.

SILK AND STEEL is a fast-paced story line that centers on the Regency era ease of an aristocratic male can locking up a female under his protection. Kathryn is a warm, intrepid, but desperate character. The smug Lucien is a typical sub-genre protagonist filled with male superiority and aristocratic haughtiness while believing he is always right until he loses his beloved Kathryn. Douglas seems more like the antagonist in the Perils of Pauline. In spite of the cartoon-like villain, Kat Martin's Regency romance remains worth reading as she guts the insides of her audience with the same fears that sends Kathryn running into the night, heart palpitating.

I'm going to start out by saying I am hooked on Kat Martin's books. I have several other favorite authors, but her books have a way of hooking me in and keeping me enthralled.

The story of Lucien and Kathryn was full of adventure and passion. Kathryn Grayson is a smart, intelligent woman born in the wrong century. She wants desperately to work as a doctor, but it only gets her into trouble. So much trouble, in fact, she winds up in an insane asylum. Her greedy and villainous uncle is behind her horrid treatment, and she becomes desperate to save herself. Lucien becomes her saving grace more than once, and their relationship is full of ups and downs. Lucien is downright yummy. He's dark and passionate, and the image Kat Martin paints of him on several occasions was just wonderful. He's as aristocratic as they come, but he has a soft side to him as well. This makes him endearing and likeable.

As a whole, the story was fast-paced and riveting. However, I did feel that the long separation between Lucien and Kathryn a bit overwhelming. Perhaps it felt a bit too long. Reading good characters makes one want them to NOT be separated for such long periods of time. :)

Now, onto the biggest nitpick: Something is definitely wrong with the editing. I have never read a book with so many glaring errors. At one point, one of the characters was cut off in mid-sentence and a new thread of thought was put in its place. Then, those same exact words were repeated by the hero a few paragraphs later. I was frustrated because I couldn't figure out what the first character was trying to say! I noticed many, many scanning errors. I try not to let grammatical errors and mishaps bother me - nobody's perfect. However, I felt the typos and blips in the story started to detract from the quality of it.

Still, "Silk and Steel" was an excellent read. I refuse to give the story less than 5 stars because of the typos and whatnot. I just hope the editor can do a better job next time.

This book is entertaining, touching, fast-paced and sexy--what more could you want? Kat Martin never disappoints, and this one is particularly involving since the heroine is so deep in peril it seems she might never escape. Don't miss it!

I've read a few of Kat Martin's books and they tend to be a smooth read every time. This one was a little to overdone for my liking. The hero, Lucien, was really shallow. All he seemed to want from Katherine was sex. I know what your thinking, that comes with a romance novel, but you couldn't get through a chapter without him WANTING her!! It was too much. Katherine was ok, she also had her shallow moments, but all in all, the book had some great moments and was still worth reading. It's just not one I would put in my top ten list.

Of all historical romance authors, Kat Martin is one of the best. She is capable of bringing her characters to life and stirring emotions in her readers with her vivid and descriptive style of writing. Silk and Steel is a great book because the story is passionate and intriguing: a ravishingly handsome Lucien Montaine falls in love with the beautiful, virginal Kathryn Grayson who's run away from a sanitarium her cruel uncle committed her to in order to gain her massive inheritance. But of course, the story is just not that simple. BUY SILK AND STEEL AND I GUARANTEE YOU WILL ADORE IT. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but the most important thing that Kat Martin accomplishes is this: she takes passion and incorporates the essence of real-life love full of hurt, pain, happiness, loss, and gain. The deeper message of this book, if you look hard enough, is that a fantastical romance such as that of Lucien and Kathryn is not all about sex and a happily-ever-after ending, but that love itself carries with it tremendous sacrifice. Ms. Martin has written another book worthy of 5 stars and the hearts of millions of historical romance fans.

SILK & STEEL is the sequel of one of my favorite historical romance book NOTHING BUT VELVET. Lucien Montaine, Marquess of Litchfield was a savory & an interesting secondary character in NOTHING BUT VELVET. He was Jason's best friend who supported and helped Jason till the end. Aside from his handsome and manly looks, his faith, loyalty, generosity & friendship to Jason drawed me to him. I was happy to learn that he has a book of his own. However, upon checking the reviews of this book here...(on the website) and after hearing couple of my friends mentioning this book as "unworthy", I braced myself for a wee bit of disappointment. The book was overall a 4 star rating here but base on couple of reviewers plus my friends, this book wasn't suppose to be an entertaining one. Since I would like to read updates of Jason and Velvet and I really, really like Lucien, I thought I'd give this book a shot regardless of the neg. comments. As the book progress, I was totally charmed and couldn't possibly believe why some would find this book an unworthy read. When the book ended, I was glad I wasn't swayed off by the negative reviews. People do have different requirements and expectations of the books they read, therefore, I suggest you pick up this book and decide for yourself. I will simply hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did. This is my 3rd book of Kat Martin and she has yet to disappoint me.

Lucien's character was pretty much consistent as his first appearance in NOTHING BUT VELVET. He was more detailed here though considering this is his book and you couldn't but love him more. He is a Gentleman through and through... Kathryn Grayson wasn't as appealing to me in the beginning but the more I read, the more her character was developed then you get to see through her. You couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I like her spunk and her determination. Despite what she's been through, she's still spirited. I admire the way Kat Martin insisted on making Kathryn a stubborn/bull headed woman. Considering she owes Lucien more than you can imagine, Kathryn wasn't overly pleasing and too grateful to the extent of loosing her personality and becoming a doormat. Now that would have been a drag. But it so happend that Kat Martin created Kathryn uniquely in this circumstances. Kathryn knows herself and therefore insist on her identity. She knows what she wants, does what she believes is right. She does what makes her feel good even if it means arguing with Lucien. I like that immensely.

I have to admit that there is a couple of niggle in this book... To mention one: When Kathryn ran away the second time, I was wondering how she could have succeeded in hiding for such a long time when she couldn't have done this the first time. Well, I just tell myself that perhaps the second time, she was more prepared with small money, food and warm clothing. She also had a sound plan while the first one was totally spur of the moment. I really enjoyed this book so it does merit for a 5 stars despite this small niggle. I don't read between the lines and over analyze a book that thoroughly entertained me. I simply just seat back, love every minute I have with the book and ENJOY. I really believe most people would love this book especially when you have read the prequel NOTHING BUT VELVET. Aside from the twisters, the appearance of Jason and Velvet was an added spice to this book. Also, there is no EPILOGUE in this book so I hope Kat Martin is creating another book that relates to this one. Perhaps a story of Michael or any of Jason and Lucien's children....

I have not read Nothing But Velvet, and can only judge this book by itself.

First, the things I like about SILK AND STEEL. I like the character of Kathryn Grayson (although the image of the famous 1940s movie star keeps popping into my head). I love female characters who pursue interests out of the ordinary for their times, and her unladylike pursuit of medicine is interesting. The scenes in the asylum are chilling and something you don't see in romance novels too much.

Now for the things I don't like. I don't find Lucien to be all that exciting. I don't sense very much chemistry between the two characters. Also, halfway through the book, it goes to that tired old plotline of the "marriage of convenience" which bores me to tears.

I don't know what went wrong here, but the first 3/4 of this book was fairly well written (except for the proofreading - there are 1 or 2 glaring errors). The main characters were interesting & likeable, as were the secondary characters; there was good dialogue, a wonderful hero, an intelligent heroine & some steamy lovemaking then... the last part of the book becomes ridiculous; the heroine turns into an annoying, weepy, brainless twit. She runs away without a thought as to how the man she supposedly loves will feel (& stays hidden - no one can find her for months - yet in the beginning of the book she wasn't capable of hiding herself for a day). She just assumes (out of all proportion) certain things will happen that don't even come to pass. The heroine is supposed to be this brilliant minded woman who wants to be a doctor (in 18th century England, no less!), yet seems to have about as much common sense as a pea. The author wraps the ending up so quickly that my reaction was, "what the heck happened here?" I probably would have given this book at least 3 stars, but as I have stated, the last part was so poorly done that I'm being generous w/2 stars.

Once again Kat Martin brings us back to Georgian England, telling another wonderful romance.

Committed to an insane asylum against her will so that her greedy uncle can spend her fortune, Lady Kathryn Grayson has finally found a way to escape. When she is caught by Lucien Montaine, the Marquess of Litchfield, she lies to him and he agrees to help her. Eventually time runs out for Kathryn and Lucien finds her real reason for being found dirty and in her nightgown.

If you loved Nothing but Velvet, this romance will sure to please. Velvet and Jason are back in this wonderful romance that is guaranteed to please