Throwback Thursday - Blue Velvet by Iris Johansen

Author: Iris Johansen
First published in 1985 by Loveswept


Kate Gilbert is a woman without a past—or even a passport—to tie her down. Raised by smugglers, she lives on her wits, relishing the sense of freedom that only the life of the open sea can provide. All she knows of love she has learned from classic literature.

Nothing she read about in Shakespeare, however, could prepare her for Beau Lantry. The brash, handsome playboy helps her out of a tough scrape and puts his own life on the line to save her friend. Now Kate is in Beau’s debt, and as reluctant as she is to compromise her hard-won independence, she’s intrigued by the prospect of a new kind of life in the arms of this wealthy stranger. But can Beau keep her out of harm’s way long enough to convince her that happiness is worth leaving behind a world of ever-present danger?


Blue Velvet contains characters that appear in White Satin, which I reviewed as a DNF book earlier this week.  While I wasn't totally crazy about this book, it was a big improvement on White Satin.  Kate was abandoned by her mother as a young girl and has been living with smugglers ever since.  She has had no formal education, yet she is pretty smart when it comes to the ways of the world.    I liked Kate.  Even though her choices weren't always the smartest and were often done out of a sense of misplaced loyalty, I still thought she was a great character.  She stood up for what she believed in and wasn't afraid to risk herself for it.


Beau on the other hand was a little annoying.  While understood why he was so protective of Kate, I got tired of waiting for him to see that she really could take care of herself.  She really didn't need to be made better because she was pretty great already.  As for the over all story, it was just OK for me.  Nothing really happens as she is never is any real danger.  I guess I was hoping for more action with this one, given the setting.