Velvet Is the Night

Deveraux Trilogy #2

by Elizabeth Thornton

To save her family from the guillotine, proud Claire Deveraux would do anything - even stike a devil's bargain with the ruthless new commissioner, Phillipe Dehet. Though an innocent, the breathtaking beauty has no illusions about what she has just promised...to surrender herself, body and soul, and become sensual prisoner to Duhet's every whim of pleasure.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, French Revolution, 18th Century, France, Regency

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Mary Forrest George, née Baxter was born and educated in Aberdeen, Scotland, where she taught school for a number of years before establishing her own nursery school, St. Swithin Street Nursery School, an institution that is still going strong today.

She and her husband then emigrated to Canada with their three young sons. She taught kindergarten and Grade One for a number of years in Winnipeg, Manitoba, before becoming lay minister at a Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg.

As part of her continuing education, she enrolled in evening classes at the University of Winnipeg to study Classical Greek. Five years later, having completed an Honor's thesis on Women in Euripides, she received her B.A. (Classics Gold Medalist).

After reading her first romance, a Regency by Georgette Heyer, she was captivated by the genre. Hereafter, writing became her hobby. In 1987, her first book, a small Regency entitled, Bluestocking Bride, was published by Zebra books.

She is the author of twenty-four historical romances, and two novellas. She has been nominated for and received many awards including the Romantic Times Trophy Award for the best New Historical Regency Author and Best Historical Regency. Seven of her novels have been finalists in the Romance Writers of America Rita awards, Scarlet Angel, Strangers at Dawn, Princess Charming and The Perfect Princess, Shady Lady, The Marriage Trap, and The Bachelor Trap. Her books appear regularly on national best-selling lists and have been translated into many languages.

Elizabeth's hobbies include reading (particularly mystery and suspense novels, biography, and history), and traveling to do research for her novels. She is also an avid Harry Potter enthusiast.

Reviews

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re read2021
Reread 2024
It’s still this authors better books, because I loved how obsessed he was with the h.

- if you like stunningly beautiful heroines, this book has it.


Safety
H wasn’t celibate during their separation. He had sex 1 time with ow.

After h betrayed him (in his mind, she didn’t), and he had left her, to get over her he brought a woman aboard his ship to replace the h and had sex with her on page. Detailed scene, all on page.

A reviewer said he couldn’t get aroused and had to think of the h to get it up, that’s not true. I just read the book so what happened was, he tried in the past week with other whores, but couldn’t get it up.
With the current partner, he did get aroused when she started touching her privates and because she gave him a blow job, and not because he was imagining that it was the h in bed with him. As matter of fact, he said he tried sleeping with a whore who looked like the h and he couldn’t even touch her, so this new whore looked the opposite of the h.
Moreover, he called out the h’s name when he came but he pulled out to finish on the whores stomach, which he never did with the h, so to me he wasn’t thinking he was with the h while he was doing it with the whore. If he were, wouldnt he finish inside the whore like he did with the h?
No condoms.

He felt terrible for sleeping with the whore, as if he had betrayed the h. After this ONS, he went back to the h willing to take her back no matter what…he didn’t care that she betrayed him and might again in the future. He gave up trying to live without her.

As a safety reader, because he showed me how much he loved the h, how miserable he was during the sex part with the whore, this scene didn’t bother me. I am glad this ow scene was shown on page, because even though he had sex, he was not having a great time. It was a chore, he wasn’t in lust with the whore, he did t want to do it, he was trying to get over the h, and his misery could be felt.

He went back right after this scene.
They were apart 2 weeks before he went back, but they remained apart for months and he was never tempted to cheat after his lesson with the whore.
.

[Fre06 Begum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read!

[Being Human · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read so far!! It has a great beginning, a great middle part and a great ending. With great leads. Simply loved Adam and Claire!! This writer is amazing!!

[Nessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS WAS INFINITELY BETTER THAN ZOE AND ROLFE'S STORY. ALTHOUGH IT HELD NOTES OF THE SAME 'BUTCHERY' WHEN IT COMES TO THE HERO, AT LEAST HERE THERE WAS A BIT MORE DECENCY AND NORMALCY OF A HR.

HERO wavered between an arrogant jerk and a caring lover. To be honest, I was waiting for the pin to drop on his character. After meeting Rolfe in first book of this series, I was VERY DOUBTFUL and FEARFUL that the author might create another thrash MC. Luckily, while Adam may have some unlikeable characteristics, he does make up for it in the end and I blame it all on stupid male pride, especially of men in that era - where they believe females or wives don't have the right of speech or equality. Anyway, Adam's story begins with a re-tale of his childhood and the unspoken competition/antagonism between him and his half brother. Back to present, he usurped Phillipe's identity while his brother was away in France and became Claire's lover instead. That was cheesy as fuck though. What I HATED the most about him was the betrayal and quick to jump to conclusion attitude. When all was going well, and he was attempting proposing to Claire (please note that matrimony would send him running and he can downright hate a woman who wants to drag him to the parson's noose), someone sent a letter in her handwriting that points her as a traitor. He immediately ups and cuts her off, sending her to the gallows. That was UNFORGIVEABLE. If fate hadn't worked in Claire's favour, she would have been hung at the guillitone just because he was too arrogant and prideful to investigate the truth. After that moment, I loved every second of having to watch him grovel, because frankly I don't think I would forgive him for the next 10 years. Especially when he left Claire to miscarriage their baby in all that chaos.

HEROINE was better than her sister Zoe. She's more level headed, wiser and while prone to hysterics...at least she had better control of her emotions. All her life Claire has been told by her father that she's the stronger one and has to protect her siblings. When their life goes to hell, she bargains her body in exchange for safe passage for Zoe & Leon. We also discover the truth about her parentage later. Claire and Adam's relationship was complicated. They had a lot of ups and then plenty of downs. Their fights were almost unbearable sometimes because of pride and jealousy. I do admit it made for a better story, filled with angst and I almost rated this 3 stars but at one point, the hero does redeem himself in my eyes.

OVERALL this story does have one scene of 'cheating' if you can even call it that. After abandoning Claire, Adam immediately slept with someone else...and it just repelled me a little. It was definitely better than the first book, but it reminded me why I don't often touch classical historical romances written by authors of the time, because their characters are often so volatile and dramatic they make my head spin and hurt. Would I recommend this? Yes, but please read it at your own peril. This book isn't for the faint hearted.

[Usagi77777772003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Even though cheating is one of my two biggest triggers, the incident in here was an exception, because it touched upon the ML's unconditional love for the FL.

He falsely believed the FL betrayed him and abandoned her. Then he wanted to prove that she's nothing to him by sleeping with a prostitute, but found that he couldn't get it up until he imagined it was the FL. This revelation destroyed him at that moment, esp. when he called out the FL's name. I guess his visceral reaction made me truly believe this is the first time he's realizing how much he loves the FL and can't live without her.

I would have still preferred that the ML didn't go through with it all the way, but the fact that he could only get it up by picturing the FL and ended up crying over that revelation kind of touched me.

Ultimately, I was very satisfied when the hero decided to go back for the heroine BEFORE finding out the truth. This shows that he truly can't be without her. I love it when the ML loves the FL despite believing the worst and still goes after her before any revelations are revealed.

[Regan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in France in 1794, during the French Revolution, this is the story of beautiful Claire Deveraux, the bastard child of a prominent American who fell in love with her mother on a trip to France, though he already had a wife and children. Raised by her uncle Claire loves his family as her own. When they are threatened with the guillotine, she agrees to a bargain with the diabolical new commissioner in Rouen, Phillipe Dehet, the protégé of Robespierre: she will become Phillipe’s mistress in exchange for her family’s safe transport out of France.

Unbeknownst to innocent Claire, Phillipe has a look-alike half brother, Adam Dillon, who though raised in France, is now an American patriot and the most sought after bachelor in New York. Adam is sent to France by none other than Claire’s real father to engage in a daring escapade to take the place of Phillipe and provide the nobles fleeing France a path to safety. Claire’s natural father tells Adam to do all he can to protect his daughter, Claire Deveraux, if he finds her.

When he arrives in Rouen where Phillipe has been appointed commissioner, Adam finds Claire waiting in his bedroom, but under an assumed last name. He has no idea the young woman whose beauty he cannot resist is the woman he was asked to protect.

This is a great story. Thornton has done much research to provide us with a vivid picture of what was going on in France at the time, including the fear that had spread throughout the population. And this is a wonderful romance surrounded by deception, treachery and misunderstanding that keep Adam and Claire apart. Fast-paced and full of action, it kept me reading late into the night. I recommend it!

This is a part of the Devereux Family trilogy but can be read as a stand alone:

TENDER THE STORM
VELVET IS THE NIGHT
CHERISHED SEPTEMBER

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This follow-up to Tender the Storm got me hooked from page one with the glimpse into the Adam's and Philippe's childhood and the genesis of their rivalry. As the story begins with the meeting of Claire and Philippe, and takes the reader through the switching of identities and budding love between Claire and Adam, i became absorbed by the angst and trust issues the protagonists had to deal with, all while trying to survive in Revolutionary France.

The heartaches, betrayals, big-Misunderstanding, and eventual reunion and capitulation of hearts took me on an emotional journey, that while every bit as melodramatic as the first novel, captured my imagination with its diverse setting -- France then America -- and its engaging main characters. Definitely another keeper from Ms Thornton, and one that bears another read. I've no qualms in rating this a 5-star read.

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story itself contained interesting elements and there were scattered passages that felt authentic and moving, but mostly:

The main female character was criminally stupid.

The main male character was boorish and self-absorbed, even taking into account his backstory.

The writing style suffocated the story. Pages and pages of thoughts would be followed by two lines of dialogue that clarified the thoughts not one whit. The reader is told what happened or what someone said, not included in the event or conversation. The main characters lived in their own separate thought bubbles instead of talking to each other, created elaborate assumptions instead of talking to each other, and lying to each other when they did speak.

The horror and tragedy of the French Revolution became a cardboard backdrop for a substandard romance.

[Jynt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style was too detached for me and there was too much telling rather than showing. Even the emotions of the characters were hard to grasp. I did feel sorry for Claire eventually but Adam was a frustrating character to get behind.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's predictable, but still not bad. The hero is kind of dick, but redeemable. He's just not my favorite hero. He's not personable enough.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok this one was WAY better than the first. It took me a while to realize that I had to pay more attention than usual and put two and two together when it comes to how the H is feeling sometimes - but once I started looking at his behavior rather than waiting for the author to describe his feelings outright, I discovered that it’s pretty darn eloquent with a really good grovel.

The H is a terrible person but does a 180 over the course of the book. Yes, he’s a jerk at times, and an arrogant jerk at that; at first he tries to prove to himself that he’s not affected by things by reverting to his original way of life…but he feels terrible. Later he is extremely thoughtless and brushes things off that are very serious to the h, but that’s because he’s done not done with his 180. He‘a intelligent, which I appreciate, so once he got it in his head that there was a problem, it really nagged at him and he gave it his all to solve it.

And then somehow it segways into a cat-and-mouse game with a brilliant villain that is truly dangerous…so much so that the H has to alter his behavior in his own home and around his own wife for weeks to avoid giving the villain the hint that he has a weakness.

Yeah, it wouldn’t work in real life, and it was a bit of a leap from the original premise which threw me off at first, but the threads of the segway had been laid out since the first pages of the book and the H’s penchant for acting had been well established, so plot-wise it was set up very well…but I was still thrown off a bit.

Then it clicked that I’d entered an unexpected masked hero subplot without the mask; sort of like a scarlet pimpernel marriage situation, with a clever archenemy. At that point, I really got into it and actually got nervous when the villain took the h for a walk near the water…and in his past he had dome a terrible thing where water was concerned…I was actually nervous!!!

I was really surprised that it worked…but for me, somehow, it worked brilliantly. I rarely want to re-read a book immediately and this one is long but I can’t deny I’m tempted. I might even buy it…and that’s saying something.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't fault the basic execution of this story, but partway through, I almost quit reading it. After the high-stakes premise of the first third, Thornton seemed to find a lot of too-convenient resolutions to the major problems created for the characters.

Maybe some of this stemmed from a structural problem -- while at first, both protagonists' choices drive a lot of the action, it mostly seems like luck that resolves a lot of the initial issues. That didn't convince me. Worse yet, the epilogue tied all ends up so neatly, it could have been a Hallmark story.

I do give Thornton credit for having Adam reckon with the question of selflessness after an adulthood full of selfishness, but she ultimately leaves it largely undeveloped. Never before have I seen a character in a book like this confront that question. I would have liked to see a far more thoroughgoing treatment of the challenge to love selflessly. Had Thornton done so, the book could have become a far stronger, more interesting exploration of romantic love.

She also delves a bit more deeply into the challenges a long-term marriage can face, nicely drawing out some tensions in a secondary relationship. Here, too, though, Thornton sets up significant stakes, but almost lost her nerve a bit in the resolution, which tied things up a bit too neatly for my taste. Show forgiveness, yes, but I would have liked to see more balance in how both characters had to change to resolve things.

[Márcia L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the reviews from other readers. There are not redeemable about the H in my opinion, he sent her to the gallows she could be hanged when he did the first thing he did it was to have sex with a prostitute I don't care that his junkie wasn't working until he pictured the h. The main focus that he almost sent her to her death after that he is having sex afterwards with other woman. It shows that he truly didn't care enough for the h. And because of all the things that happened she miscarried.
I can see a lot of Hs sending their heroines to the gallows or worst adding the insults and beatings/slapping that they do to the hs but they never do to the OWs even if they realized that they are truly evils. Am I supposed to believe that the so called Hs loved the hs when they don't care if the heroine die but they never do anything to the OWs. Please.

[Su · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started to read this one and on page 25 I remembered that I had read it already years before.
It is about a man impersonating his cruel half brother who is one of the prominent men in France during French revolution.
Very good plot flow. Well planned and executed writing.

[Dee Turner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why can't we erase books entered into our queue in error? The book I'm actually beginning is Velvet WAS The Night. But I can't take this one down unless I call it "finished," when I'm never going to read it. ARRRGH

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Almost too painful.

[Series Of Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went through CRAZY EMOTIONS while reading this book. I love Claire soooo much. I adore her. I felt for her and Adam. My heart bled for both. I teared up so many times.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read in the Deveraux series.
SYNOPSIS:
As the newly appointed commissioner, Phillipe Dubet has the power of life and death over the local French aristocracy. In return for her family's safe passage out of the country, the breathtakingly lovely Claire Devereux agrees to be his mistress. She is to live in his luxurious quarters, to be seen with him about town, and to accommodate his desires whenever he wishes.

Claire surrendered her body to Dubet, but swore he'd never break her spirit. What she didn't know was that the real Dubet had been abducted, and his American twin brother Adam Dillon was installed in his place as a spy.

[Anneliese Bennion · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, Elizabeth Thornton has written a delightful book. I've read the other ones in the series. I think I read them out of order, but that really didn't matter. I was a little frustrated at the amount of miscommunication between the main characters though. Although, what great story doesn't have miscommunication. All in all it had some really low moments and some really great ones. It's not my favorite in the series, but it was a lot of fun anyway.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why am I surprised that a book that starts with a rape scene is a one?

[Marianne]

Interesting story. Learned more about the French Revolution.