[.ca] Nothing But Velvet (ISBN 0312962436)

good but no one "moment":
as nearly every other person who reviews a kat martin book they have usually gone through a number of her other books. it's the same case with me. i first picked up mrs. martin's book "the silent rose" and loved the steamy and passionate way she wrote her stories. the conflict and characters that clashed and came together with something a little more possesive than love, a little more conflicting than courtship. her books always have me turning the pages as fast as i can. "Nothing but velvet" is the story of velvet moran, a paupered heiress in need of a wealthy husband to survive, and Jason Sinclair, the defamed duke framed for the murder of his father. Jason kidnaps Velvet to keep her from marrying his half brother Avery who we learn in the first few pages was the actual murdered of Jason's father. Everything leads from there as Jason searchs to clear his name and again and again ends up thrown together with velvet and a sexual tension that simmers just below the surface. Though i liked this book i felt like there was no defining moment in this book. That one moment where everything clicks and both people realize, whether they admit it or not, that they care about the other person past simple lust. Jason is the classic tortured hero but the reader is left to wonder why he's so tortured until nearly the end of the book when it would have had far more impact earlier. Velvet is the naive but passionate heroine. Martin's heriones are one of the reasons i so love her books. Her leading ladies are never afraid of their sexuality, even when they are portraited in eras as the 18th century. Velvet accepts Jason's desires and damn near seduces him herself several times. It's a refreshing change and something i wish i could see more of. Though Velvet is almost overly naive and innocent or the "good" socital lady she's likeable and loyal. The only thing that truly bothered me in this book was that it was written in the time period of 18th century england. This is not a very common period to have a romance take place, at least in my experience. it was hard to imagine some of the places and dress and i found myself placing the characters in a regency setting instead. this was more my personal doings than any draw back from the book. i just have little experience with the history of that particular era. All in all this was a book i don't regret reading. i will still continue to read kat martin's books and consider her a fine author.

Routine.:
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.

Routine.:
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 in 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.

An Awesome Story, But....:
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.

A Keeper:
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.