NMmomof4's Reviews > The Velvet Promise

2 Stars

Overall Opinion: Whew. This was a doozy. I still read it though! I was intrigued by how this was all going to turn out. I don’t have many triggers and I don’t typically have huge issues with OW/OM drama, but this had it out the wazoo and not in a good way! I struggled because of the almost even ADD feeling to the different POVs going on too. It was all over the place! Why did we need to focus on these side romances?! Maybe because the actual mc’s story wasn’t all that romantic?! I couldn’t get past the initial rape of the h by the H and how he slapped her. I don’t care if she did a 180 and then was sexually aroused and into it for their second round! Yeah, no...overall this felt like a mess.

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Judith and Gavin’s story. Gavin is heartbroken when he finds out that his love, Alice, is going to marry another and that the King has arranged for him to marry Judith. Judith has been raised to join the church but once her brothers die, she has to marry a stranger to pass her father’s title and property on to their potential heirs. They connect instantly, but Alice is still a major figure in their lives and causes some major roadblocks for them. There are some suspenseful scenes, some mild sexy times, and a few sweet scenes...and they get a HEA ending.

Point Of View (POV): This alternated between focusing mainly on Judith, Alice and Gavin in 3rd person narrative with some focus on other side characters.

Overall Pace of Story: Alright until the abrupt ending. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well otherwise. As stated above, it was weird with the different POVs.

Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.

H (Hero) rating: 2 stars. Gavin. He was hard to like because of how blind he was and how he was even abusive towards the h at times. I did like him when he was playful and sweet to the h though.

h (heroine) rating: 3 stars. Judith. I liked her but I wanted her to be stronger in the face of the H’s sexual appeal. When she gave in sexually it felt as though she also crossed that line into doormat status.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes (view spoiler)[ They both push away and I’d say that the H is the main pursuer of the relationship (at least sexually) (hide spoiler)]

Heat level: Low. They have some tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not super descriptive and not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Not quite fade to black, but also not super descriptive either.

OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes (view spoiler)[The H has OW that causes lots of drama that he is in love with up until the end and there are OM that make the H jealous (hide spoiler)]

Sex scene with OW or OM: Yes (view spoiler)[ There is a scene with the H and OW at the beginning before he is with the h. The h also kisses OM when married. (hide spoiler)]

Cheating: Yes IMO (view spoiler)[ The H is in love with other woman up until the end. He doesn’t sleep with her but he does care for her and holds himself back from the h and kisses this OW (hide spoiler)]

Separation: No

Possible Triggers: Yes (view spoiler)[Domestic abuse/rape/violence/murder (on page), h was a virgin, and miscarriage (on page) (hide spoiler)]

Closure: This ends rather abruptly with what I would still call a HEA ending but there could have been better closure.

Safety: This one is probably either Not Safe or Safe with exception for most safety gang readers depending on personal preferences
(view spoiler)[
- Does have cheating
- Does have a (somewhat) descriptive sex scene with the H and OW
- Does have both the h and H pushing away
- Does Not have a separation between the h and H
- Does have abuse
- Does have a HEA ending (hide spoiler)]