Are my eyes red?
http://www.marybalogh.com
Why would my eyes be red? Well, I have just wrapped up reading nine Mary Balogh books...one right after the other. Funny, but after a while, they just sort of blend into each other. By the time I got to the end of all the books, I had forgotten some of what went on in the early ones. But I will try to recall as I write down my thoughts on the six books from the Slightly Series, aka Bedwyn, and the connected series, the four books from the Simply Quartet.
The first book is Slightly Married, written in 2003. This is the tale of the second eldest
Bedwyn sibling, Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn. Aidan's match is Eve Morris. Eve is an independent woman - sort of. She thinks independently, while she lives on a large estate which she manages. She also takes in lame ducks. So, there are a number of people who depend on her. All that could be taken away from her if something happens to her brother, Percy, and she's not married. She thinks she has a fiancé; she thinks she is promised, and she's been waiting patiently for the love of her life to come back to her. In the meantime, her brother is off to war.Well as luck would have it, Percy is mortally wounded, and as he lay dying in the arms of Colonel Bedwyn, he exacts a promise from him. Aiden promises Percy that he will protect Percy's sister no matter what. After Percy dies, Aiden takes leave to carry out his duty. Aiden is all about duty, and appears to be pretty hard nose about everything.
Aiden has to break the news to Eve that her brother’s dead. Aiden isn’t a dope; it doesn’t take him long to figure out something is wrong. There appears to be a threat hanging over Eve’s head. Since Aiden is a problem solver it doesn’t take long for Aiden to come up with a solution. His solution - a marriage of convenience. Aiden's initial thought about the marriage of convenience is: he will continue his life in the army, and she will continue her life on her estate, and never the twain shall meet. They travel to London to procure a special license. Aiden is determined to keep the marriage secret from his obnoxious, autocratic brother, the Duke of Bewcastle. Well of course the Duke finds out, and it isn't long before the Duke is insisting that Eve be brought out in society. He wants no scandal created by a secret marriage. This is the part of the book that irritated me. For some reason, she wasn’t good enough to fit into the Duke’s circle. It wasn't as if Eve was some illiterate doofus, with no teeth, and cow poop on her feet. But the Duke insists that she accept his and their aunt’s guidance as they transform her into an aristocrat. I was glad that Ms. Balogh gave Eve a backbone, and doesn’t make her into some simpering push-over. While she eventually accepts their guidance and listens to what they teach, she does it her way. She picks and chooses what lesson she will use, and she even throws some roadblocks in their path.
Ms. Balogh excels at writing thinking couples. Slightly Married is a good example of strong, independent people who come to love each other, and find a way to make their separate lives work. There are some wonderful secondary characters, and not just the Bedwyn clan. Eve has made herself guardian to two wonderful children, David and Rebecca. These two children almost steal the show, and there are some powerful emotions surrounding them. The chemistry between David, Rebecca, and Aiden is heart-warming.
This story has some fully developed characters walking through the pages. This story is a highly emotional Balogh book, and it is not one of her light-hearted reads. But it is highly satisfying and I do recommend Slightly Married, the first in the Bedwyn series.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
A-
Now on to Slightly Wicked (2003), the second book in the Bedwyn series. This book is about Lord Rannulf Bedwyn, the third brother. Rannulf is a bit of a rake, he has an eye for a pretty
woman, and he's about to meet a real stunner: Claire Campbell. Claire is the series' resident red-head. When Claire and Rannulf meet, the coach Claire has been traveling in has overturned, and the passengers are in need of rescuing. Enter our hero, Rannulf. Rannulf decides to ride on ahead to an inn and get help transporting the passengers, then his eyes fall on the dynamic red-head. Feeling an instant attraction to Claire, he asks if she'd like to go back with him to the end. Claire says yes. There is never any question as to what will happen when they get back to the inn. Both of them use assumed names, and then proceed to have a night of intense pleasure.In the morning, Judith Law, aka Claire and Rannulf, aka Ralph depart, and go their separate ways. Rannulf journeys on to his grandmother's house, and Judith on to her new job as a companion, aka unpaid drudge to her Aunt Effingham. But, both Judith and Rannulf have vivid memories of their night of passion.
Rannulf is very fond of his ill grandmother, even when she’s matchmaking. And, she has picked out the perfect woman for him. While he might find that a little irritating, he’s rather lazy, and he doesn’t want to upset his grandmother. He decides to check his grandmother’s choice out. Who knows, she might be the one. His grandmother’s choice is a woman by the name of Julianne Effingham. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Have we seen that last name before? Effingham. Could there be some kind of relationship? Yep! Judith and Julianne are cousins. The Effingham family live right next door to Rannulf's grandmother. What are the chances of Claire/Judith and Rannulf/Ralph meeting again? I think the chances are pretty good.
Rannulf arrives at a tea, aka get together. Judith, who is being a drudge, spots him immediately. She tries to be inconspicuous. But the hairs on the back of his neck is on high alert, and he notices her. It dawns on him that she is the woman from the inn. Seems that the rules of society only count when you are related to someone else in society. Evidently, men don't have to act honorably if the woman is a lowly actress. He proposes marriage to Judith. She rejects the proposal, so he continues to court his grandmother's choice. If only the memory of hot Judith wasn't burned into his brain.
This happens to be one of those stories with an absolutely gorgeous woman who doesn't know she is. People have walked all over her, taken advantage of her, and treated her with contempt. I guess their treatment of her has made her think she's ugly. I didn’t buy it. I think if you’re pretty and you know it, you would resent those people, not believe their lies. Judith has a number of horrible relatives, a snotty cousin, an unpleasant aunt, and parents who dump crap on her. Judith has a bit of a poor-me attitude, and in my opinion, Ms. Balogh has thrown one too many difficulties into her path.
Overall, I liked this story as well, just not as much as I liked the first in the series.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
B+
On to Slightly Scandalous, and a female Bedwyn - Freyja. I don't believe I've mentioned this before, but the Bedwyn's have big noses. How do I know that? Because Ms. Balogh tells us
this at least 500 times in each book. Although, supposedly Freyja's is a feminine version - whatever that means. Freyja is quite a strong character. She's haughty, she's always right, stubborn, speaks her mind, and never backs down. But all this bravado hides a woman who wants to be loved.Freyja made an appearance in the book, A Summer to Remember, she is the woman who is stood up at the altar. Fast forward, in Slightly Scandalous, Freyja is trying to get over her attachment to the boy she grew up with, and later planned to marry, Kit. It seems that Kit and his wife are planning a party to celebrate the birth of their child. Being the scorned woman, Freyja is not in the mood to be around the happy couple, so she leaves for Bath. While spending a night at an inn, a strange man burst into her room, then hides in her closet. Freyja wants no part of him, and is going to call for help, but she gets mad at the landlord and doesn't do anything. When the people looking for the stranger leave, the stranger kisses her, she screams, and he jumps out of the window. A pretty funny beginning, but more was to come.
The stranger turns out to be Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere. They run into each other in Bath, and have more outrageous encounters, Freyja even socks Joshua in the nose. It was all pretty amusing. I'm a big fan of Ms. Balogh's lighter moments, and wish she'd do more. The entire story is full of fun dialog between Joshua and Freyja. Joshua is the first man who isn’t intimidated by Freyja. This story has a pretend engagement theme, and it's handled brilliantly. Thanks to Freyja's interfering brother, the Duke, Joshua and Freyja dig deeper and deeper into their pretend engagement. Finally, they find that they cannot get out of the engagement.
The chemistry between Joshua and Freyja was a thing of wonder, I loved this story.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
A-
On to the next Bedwyn. At this point I had to check to see how many Bedwyns I had to read yet. Slightly Tempted (2003) the fourth book in the series, and this one is about Morgan
Bedwyn, the youngest sibling...and the prettiest. Morgan is a female and she is beuuuutiful, and has men falling all over themselves just to be near her. There was one problem with Morgan, at least with me, she was eighteen. When the story begins, she is in Brussels with her brother Alleyne (Alleyne is in the army).She is at a ball when this story begins, also at the ball is Gervase Ashford, the Earl of Rosthorn. Gervase is considerably older than Morgan, so there was a big age difference, twelve years I believe. On top of that, Gervase hates the Duke of Bewcastle for some slight that happened nine years ago. So, when he finds out who the beautiful woman is, he decides to exact revenge on Bewcastle through Bewcastle's sister. Then war erupts.
The Duke of Richmond's ball. If anyone has ever read anything about the Battle of Waterloo, you should be aware of the Duke of Richmond's infamous ball of June 15, 1815. In Ms. Balogh's book this ball is so colorful, so full of life, that it becomes a character. All the excitement and fear of an approaching battle are vividly written. This moment in the book almost steals the show.
After the ball, Morgan is stranded in Brussels, and Alleyne is missing in action. With the help of Gervase, she escapes to England. It is during this time that Gervase realizes that seeking his revenge through Morgan is wrong. But, by then it is too late to stop the momentum of what he has started.
When she returns to England, her reputation is in shreds, however like all Bedwyn's she doesn't respond like other aristocrats might. She turns down Gervase’s marriage proposal, she also finds out about his revenge plan. Then the story takes an interesting turn, because Morgan has a few tricks up her sleeves, and gives Gervase a run for his money.
This was an interesting Bedwyn story. I didn't like the twelve-year age difference between Gervase and Morgan. I might have been more comfortable with it if she hadn't been a teenager. Having said that, I did like the way they fell in love with each other. I liked the fact that Gervase didn't keep his revenge idea very long after he met Morgan. I did like this story, and I do recommend it...even if the age thing is icky.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
B-
Now on to the next Bedwyn story, Slightly Sinful, 2004. This one concerns Lord Aleyne
Bedwyn. Yes, he's alive! He didn't lose his life in the previous book, but he has a head injury. You know what that means? Go ahead guess. Yes, yes, it's amnesia time. He was found on the battlefield by Rachel York. He has been stripped naked, there is no identification at all...so really, really amnesia. But why is Rachel wandering around the battlefield.Well it seems that Rachel is robbing bodies. She and her prostitute friends. Yes, this book has a group of good-hearted working girls. So, why is Rachel (an innocent) hanging with a group of prostitutes? Rachel is a bit of a looby. She's in Brussels serving as a companion. But somehow, she falls for a con-artist handsome guy who claims to be a minister and steals her money. He also somehow steals all the prostitute’s money. The prostitutes have been in Brussels. with all the soldiers, raking in the cash. They have a dream. They are going to take their hard-earned money and retire. So, why is Rachel with the prostitutes? Well, she happens to know one of them, in fact one of them used to be her nanny, or something. Anyway, she’s back with her nanny who is now a prostitute, and all of the women have lost their money. Which is why they are on the battlefield looting bodies. But instead of money, Rachel finds a naked guy. The naked guy moans. Rachel and her friends grab a wounded one-eyed sergeant, load him and the naked guy up, and head back to their house. The good-hearted hookers put the sergeant in one room and the naked guy in another. and turn into hooker-nurses. It isn't long before the sergeant is on the road to recovery. In the other room the moaning naked guy opens his eyes and sees a golden goddess...Rachel. He also sees the rest of the women in the room, and immediately identifies them as working-girls, he lumps Rachel in that category, then passes out. Later he wakes up, and guess what! He can't remember who he is.
Let’s take a moment to reflect. Now we have a group of prostitutes seeking revenge, an innocent woman mistaken for a prostitute, a surly sergeant, and a naked guy who doesn't remember who he is, but he does know he likes the golden-haired goddess-hooker. Oh, and she likes him. They have a one-night stand. Whoops! Complication! Naked Alleyne figures out she's not a prostitute. He evidently has a sensitive Timothy Toad. And, this is just the beginning. They are not even out of Brussels. There are more plot lines added to this story.
More plots. First of all, everyone needs to get out of Brussels. As you might expect, Rachel has an inheritance...back in England. She just needs to get it. So, they come up with a plan. Oh no!!! Not a Romanceland plan! Yes, my little Petunia's there is a plan, and it's a doozy. They will go to Rachel's uncle's house. Then convince him that she's married to the naked guy with no memory. So, alllll the prostitutes, the surly sergeant, and the naked guy, aka Alleyne will take on roles. There will be a maid, a cook, a traveling companion and her niece, the one-eyed sergeant becomes a valet, and Alleyne will become a pretend husband. All the time Alleyne will have bits and pieces of his memory returning. It was all very convoluted, and confusing, dare I say silly. But wait, there's more.
Once Rachel and the gang arrive at her uncle's estate, they realize that Rachel's childhood memories concerning her uncle are not quite right. Then they start feeling guilty. It also takes Alleyne a loonnnng time to remember who he is. Both the deception and the amnesia went on waayyyy to long. Eventually, he remembers...and then there are a number of solutions to everyone’s problems.
Spoiler. One of the best things in this book was the heart-wrenching reunion between Alleyne and his Bedwyn family, especially the master manipulator, elder brother, Wulfric. This was an interesting book to review. Even with the amnesia plot (not one of my favorites), and some of the convoluted story lines, the characters were all fully developed. The hero turned out to be a highly honorable man, even when he didn't know who he was. Rachel was an interesting mix. One moment I liked her, and the next I didn't. The prostitutes and the one-eyed sergeant were delightful. So, parts of the story I liked, and parts I didn't. But, overall...I will recommend it.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
B-
On to the next Slightly book, Slightly Dangerous from 2004. At last we get Wulfric's story.
This guy has been stealing enough scenes in the previous books to make us palpitate when it's his turn. He is one of those overbearing, know-it-all, everything- in- its- proper- place, you- better- do-what- I- want kinda’ guy. Let me say right up front, Ms. Balogh has managed to maintain Wulfric's persona. You know how it is. Authors create a series character, they build on that character, they give that character certain idiosyncrasies. And, we the reader fall in love with that character. We rub our hands together in anticipation of their story. Then the story arrives, and all of a sudden, we are faced with a stranger. The author has changed that person we have been waiting for. Well, Wulfric doesn't change. He's still the obnoxious snob, with the eye-glass, that he has been in the last five books. Only now, he’s even more so. But, do not worry, for you see Ms. Balogh has given him the perfect heroine.Christine Derrick is a plain woman. However, sometimes a plain wrapper can disguise a wonderful treat. She is everything that Wulfric abhors. She's clumsy, she has no respect for uptight pretensions, she's not a big fan of aristocracy, she laughs loudly, she runs, jumps and tumbles down hills. She irritates Wulfric. She makes him groan. How can Wulfric possibly resist her?
House party. Wulfric and Christine are invited to a house party. Wulfric is the main draw of the house party, but he doesn't want to be there. But he’s experiencing empty house syndrome. All of his siblings are gone, they are having their own children, and he's all alone and feeling blue. Against his better judgement he's accepted the invitation to the party...just because. Christine is there to fill in the numbers. After all, who would want to attend a party where there were more boys than girls?
Ms. Balogh usually excels at writing older couples. Wulfric and Christine are no exception. These were wonderful characters with great chemistry. There moments together on the pages just sparkled. Poor, perplexed Wulfric has quite a struggle keeping his emotions deeply buried; it was a thing of beauty to watch them emerge.
The villain. I'm not sure if the bad guy is really a villain, however, this guy is a real stinker. He is a silent stinker. He's one you don't see coming. He's quietly evil. I will be honest, because I am a big fan of the pervading creepiness of George Sanders in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, or The Portrait of Dorian Gray, I started to wonder about this character in the beginning. But then, I kept saying nah, I'm mistaken...but I wasn't. I believe this man is one of the better bad guys written in romances. Nothing better than a great villain. Except a great hero who is wise to him.
I was happy for a number of reasons with Slightly Dangerous. First of all, Ms. Balogh didn't let me down. I was waiting for Wulfric’s story with anticipation, and I was extremely happy with what I read. Secondly, it was the last book in the series, but it didn't have that last book rushed feel about it. Thirdly, it was a great love story, and Slightly Dangerous is why I love romance stories. Just so you know, I loved this book. If you haven’t done it yet, and if you have the time, you should read the entire Slightly aka Bedwyn series. You won’t be disappointed.
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
A+
2 comments:
Excellent reviews. Now I need to re-read these.
Usha: Then you can have red eyes also. Stay Well
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