July 14, 2022
https://marybalogh.com/
Well that was a thrill! I finished Queen Balogh’s Bedwyn series: One Night for Love, 1999, A Summer to Remember (2002), Slightly Married (2003), Slightly Wicked (2003), Slightly Scandalous (2003), Slightly Tempted (2003), Slightly Sinful (2004), and Slightly Dangerous (2004). Even with all the angst in these stories, it was great to check back in with a masterful writer. If you haven’t read any of these books, you really need to. I did a previous review on the Bedwyn/Slightly series, and I haven’t changed my mind. If there was anything which changed since the last time, it would have been Freyja’s habit of punching the hero. I now look at that as abuse. As I did the last time, I liked Slightly Dangerous the best!
There are also two books which are sort of connected to the Bedwyn series: One Night of Love (1999) and A Summer to Remember (2002). One Night of Love is the story of Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, and Lily. This story is about Neville and Lily marrying before a battle in Portugal, and him thinking she died. Guess what, she didn’t. He is about to wed another woman, when she shows up at the church. Surprise! Good story, filled with the standard amount of Balogh angst. And, the connection to the Bedwyn’s is: the bride who Neville leaves at the altar, Lauren Edgeworth.
Lauren Edgeworth is a bit of a stick, so she is a bit humiliated. But wait, she gets her own story. She is saved from a life of being a stick by Kit Butler. In A Summer to Remember, Kit Butler, Viscount Ravensberg is being forced to marry his childhood friend Freyja Bedwyn. Well he doesn’t want to, so he develops a plan – a Romanceland Plan…the dreaded fake fiancée. He persuades Lauren to go along with his plan. What does she get out of it? She wants a summer of passion and adventure. After the summer is over, she will break the engagement. This theme is then repeated in Freyja’s story. Even though the fake engagement theme is repeated, Ms. Balogh handles both differently. I did like A Summer to Remember better than One Night of Love, but I do recommend both reads. - B
