Rating: 
Summary: Don't miss this one!
Review: I've so enjoyed each of the "Slightly" books and love all the Bedwyn's so much-- but reserved the most special place for the cold and austere Duke of Bewcastle. His story was well worth the wait. It was so good to see him paired with such a warm and generous woman, perfectly designed to bring out the boy in Bewcastle. It's a wonderful story and watching Wulfric thaw out slowly as he woos her was such a treat. Well done Wulfric and Mary B!
Rating: 
Summary: A missed opportunity
Review: In all of the other books in Mary Balogh's Slightly series the character of Wulfric has been off to the side, a strong part of the stories but a mystery. Fans of these books have surely thought that his story would prove to be the best and most engaging one of the series. And with the news it was to be in hardcover,anticipation was high. Unfortunetly, the result is a bitter disappointment.His story is lame and weak and there is almost no action or suspense.Even the side charactors are boring and lifeless. Wulfric is bored in their company and so is the reader. Ms. Balogh is a fine romance writer but this book feels like the character of Wulfric was almost too much for her. He stared her down and she was the one to blink. This story of the Duke of Bewcastle and Christine would have worked fine if it were someone else's story. A good editor should have said, "this is nice, now go write the real story". It's too bad they decided to end the series on this note. It makes the extra price for the hardcover a ripoff.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet, Sexy and quite satisfying
Review: In the final installment of her Bedwyn sibling series, Mary Balogh gives Wulfric a love interest. Over the last 5 or so books that featured his siblings, Balogh had painted a very consisted picture of Wulf. He was a very controlled, icy, arrogant member of the peerage who held and wielded a lot of power. He doesn't suffer fools gladly and he is the undisputed ruler of his household. Yet he clearly loves his family and has deeply felt (and closely held) emotions.
Enter the widow Christine Derrick who is always laughing, full of life and makes a complete and total spectacle of herself. She is poor and her dead husband's relatives dislike her because apparently she had something to do with his death. The two meet at a house party that neither wants to actually be at. They butt heads, she doesn't treat him with proper respect. Other people look down their nose at her. And Wulf reluctantly, despite himself, falls in love.
I thought this was a delightful book. I wondered how MB would unbend Wulf enough to show him fall in love. Well she did it by building on the foundation of the character that she had introduced us to over the previous books. Wulf doesn't unbend, he stays Wulf. Instead of changing him, she delves deeper under the surface and lets us peek into the inner person. It makes for an effective and sweet and sexy love story. I think this one replaces the Judith/Rannulf story as my favorite of the series.
Rating:
Summary: A great beginning but a better end
Review: Slightly Dangerous is one of the BEST books I have read by Mary Balough. Wulf is a very complex character but at the beginning it is not noticable. When the story opens Wulf is displayed as a feelingless cold character. He has no compassion and cant even make proper conversation. Whats hidden beneath is heartbreaking. As the story goes on we get a glimpse of his inner heart and soul and things he wished to keep hidden from others. Wulf is truly a lovable character and is capable of love if only he felt it..The character opposite Wulf is Christine. Christine is a marvelous character and is always full of joy. She is a widow and is older than many of the ladies as balls and such. She is not looking for another marriage, but seems to be gettin proposals from all around. She is like a child and loves childrens. She is laughter and lives life as it should be lived. Her and Wulf meet through a conisident and begin to fall for each other. This is truly a beautiful story. It gives us a whole new insight on o character that we have met continuously through the series. It helps us understand his character and his personality. But dont take my word for it READ IT YOURSELF. I highly recommend this books to all romance readers. It is a story like no other. Read it and find out it is everything you want in a novel.
Rating:
Summary: even could enjoy it on a bus filled with middleschoolers
Review: There has got to be a special place for that kind of a book, huh? Even when the darlings sang "100 bottles of beer on the wall," I barely registered it because the book had sucked me in.
I enjoyed Christine -- she occasionally was over the top (farcical and klutzy, like Cora Downes of The Famous Heroine, a book I liked even more)but she relished life, she enjoyed laughing at the world including herself and she didn't apologize for herself.
Sometimes I get tired of scenes of parents playing with children that Balogh presents as the perfect life (maybe because I was on that school bus?) and think enough with all those daddies with all those toddlers playing horsie, but Bedwyn needed a touch of that and at least he didn't suddenly turn into some new sentimental sop. He just thawed enough for the inner man to appear a bit.
I'd rather suspected the two Big Secrets of Christine, but didn't mind that they were obvious, because the characters' development and relationship made the read worthwhile even without the added touch.
(It was a relief to see Wulf actually gave a damn about that mistress. I'd noticed several references to her in previous books.)
I think the person who gave me this book said "You'll be disappointed."
I wasn't.
Rating:
Summary: SWEET, SWEET, SWEET
Review: What a great ending to Balogh's series! Let's hope she has another one on the back burner. Wulf finally finds love even though it blindsides him. I thought this was a particularly appropriate plot device since in the other "slightly" books he was always in control and two steps ahead of everyone. Great character development in this one since Balogh takes the story a little slower than the previous books (slightly less action). This one put me in mind of Georgette Heyer. High praise indeed!
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