BETRAYAL - Velvet

St. Martin's Griffin (Trade Paperback)

ISBN: 978-0-312-37583-2

August 2008

Erotic Contemporary Romance

New York and Washington D.C. – Present Day

As the successful and very handsome owner of the Black Door, New York's exclusive erotic club for women, Trey Curtis is literally surrounded by beautiful women all the time.  Michelle, his girlfriend of the moment, has recently moved to Washington D.C. to explore other career opportunities, and even though they try to see each other on the weekends, the relationship is becoming a little stale. 

Michelle does care about Trey, but her focus for the moment is to excel and get to the top of the social scene in the political world of D.C. At the top of Michelle's agenda is becoming absolutely indispensable to her boss, Justice Preston Hendricks.  She means business by any means necessary, and she could care less that he's already married to Ariel.

Working for years to prove her worth as an attorney, Ariel is thrilled at being a partner with Yates Gilcrest.  She is also pleased to be married to such a successful and prominent judge, and she's comfortable with their relationship. Michelle may be going out with Preston's son, Trey, but Ariel doesn't like or trust her around her husband and never hides her feelings.

Trey and Ariel have a secret that they hope never gets back to Preston. Unfortunately for them, Michelle knows about their affair, even though it's long been over.  Will Michelle's desire for power cause her to spill the beans and ruin Ariel's marriage?  How long can Ariel hide her guilt from Preston?  What will Trey do if his father finds out he's slept with his wife?

Velvet continues to explore the depths of her imagination in her latest book, BETRAYAL, as she introduces us to some characters guaranteed to induce an emotional response. This is part of a series that can be read on its own. While quite appealing and sexy initially, I never warmed up to Trey's actual disposition.  His nature seemed distant and unfeeling, making it difficult to believe he could ever sustain a real and committed relationship.  While Ariel is successful and has achieved more in her profession, I still found more depth of character in Michelle.  Yes, she is a gold digger and clearly out for herself, but her individuality, while unappealing, is still unique and honest.  Preston, as the husband of Ariel, and the father of Trey, is necessary to the overall storyline, but I found him to be insubstantial until close to the end of the novel. This book oozes erotic sexuality, and there is plenty to go around; but this entire tale's concentration is definitely more on BETRAYAL.  Does deceit and disloyalty ever pay off?  You'll have to read more to get that answer.

Allegra Alston