Rating: 
Summary: If this is supposed to be romance....
Review: I'm sorry, maybe I'm old fashioned, but I had no respect for Eve in this book. She let herself be used physically and emotionally by her first lover (who was a complete jerk) and then also by Aidan. I just couldn't root for her, or for Aidan either, who just did not tug at my heartstrings at all. I didn't find this book at all romantic and I hope Ms. Balogh doesn't screw up Wulfric's story the way she did this one.
Rating: 
Summary: entertaining Regency romance
Review: In 1814 on a battlefield in France, a dying Captain Percival Morris calls in a life debt earned two years earlier when he saved Colonel Aiden Bedwyn's life. In his final breath he obtains a promise from Aiden to protect his sister no matter the personal cost.About a month later, Aiden visits Percy's sister Eve informing her of the heroic death of her brother and that he asked him to protect her. Eve is in shock because she always expected to see the smiling Percy come home soon. She also knows that Ringwood Manor, her beloved home to her "family", will belong to someone else unless she marries rather quickly. Honor is Aiden's middle name so he proposes they marry as a business deal, but neither expected that the matchmaking death wish of a cherished individual would lead to love. A spin off to A SUMMER TO REMEMBER, SLIGHTLY MARRIED is an entertaining Regency romance that sounds on the surface like a googol of other sub-genre novels. Although the plot device has been used often, the tale is a light-hearted romantic story that starts with Eve and Aiden mourning, converts into a business relationship, before finally evolving into love. Readers observe the delightful metamorphous of the lead couple even as the secondary cast (her "family") provides amusement and depth to a warm story that sticks to its theme. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: More Than Slightly Brilliant
Review: In this first installment of the story of the Bedwyn family, Mary Balogh takes a plot line that has been used hundreds of times before--the marriage of convenience--and somehow makes it seem fresh and new. This is the story of Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn, second son of the late Duke of Bewcastle and brother to the current Duke, whose devotion to duty and honor leads him to find love in a most unexpected place. On a dusty battlefield in France, he promises the dying Captain Percy Morris to do "whatever it takes" to protect the Captain's sister, Eve Morris. When Aidan takes the news of her brother's death to Eve, he discovers that she and her "lame ducks," a menagerie consisting of two orphaned children, an impoverished aunt, a lame dog, and a houseful of unusual servants that no one would else would hire, are about to be turned out onto the streets by Eve's slimy cousin, Cecil. In order to do "whatever it takes" to honor his vow to a dying man, Aidan persuades Eve to agree to a marriage of convenience to save her home and inheritance under a clause of her father's will. Eve feels that she has no choice but to accept Aidan's offer, despite the fact that she is in love with a neighbor who is in the diplomatic service and whom she has been expecting home "any day." What neither Aidan nor Eve can forsee is that, by marrying, Eve will inextricably become part of the Bedwyn clan, overseen by Aidan's brother, the imperious Duke of Bedwyn, and that Aidan will just as inextricably become part of Eve's menagerie of "lame ducks." This is a brilliant and beautifully written story of two very different people--different in temperment, station, and experience--who gradually come to know, appreciate and love each other. Like the talented artist that she is, Mary Balogh does not tell us who these characters are, she lets us discover them for outselves, through their words and their deeds. Aidan and Eve grow more beautiful to the reader with each passing page, just as they appear more and more beautiful and wonderful to each other as they reluctantly begin to fall in love. This novel is a work of great art and great heart, and I am eagerly awaiting the next two novels in the series. Bravo, Mary!
Rating:
Summary: And the Bedwyns are off and running ..........
Review: It pains me to give this book 4 instead of 5 stars because Mary Balogh is without doubt one of the best in the genre. Indeed, she always makes me feel she is writing for me personally, meeting all of my own personal and private criteria in romantic historical fiction. However, I am sorry to note that Slightly Married was a wee bit of a disappointment. The opening salvo in the saga of the Bedwyns introduced the family of the Duke of Bewcastle and I will follow it eagerly. I will probably like some of the players more than others and Col Lord Aidan Bedwyn will be a hard act to follow although the story of the Duke himself promises to be something quite out of the ordinary! My problem with this book was the peripheral characters in our heroine's family. Let's just say that Aunt Mari, Cousin Cecil, the over-drawn domestic servants and even the poor deceased brother Percy were one-dimensional and ill-drawn. Also, although Balogh is herself British (from Wales), she let a number of awkward Americanisms slip into this novel, particularly in the first quarter of it. This, for me at any rate, disturbed the rythym of the narrative and was rather distracting. The story of our two very different protaganists, once the action moved to London, picked up and became more like the Mary Balogh we all love and admire and I felt she got her stride back after a rocky start. Bewcastle is going to be a wonderful irritant to his brothers and sisters and the saga looks promising. Lord Aidan was a different sort of hero and although his volte face in the closing chapters was hasty and hurried, I liked him; he was not the usual sort of man Balogh presents. Of course I have to recommend this if only as the start of the Bedwyn tales but I felt it wanted a last re-write and polish. It was an entertaining if sometimes slightly less than perfect Balogh read.
Rating:
Summary: And so the Bedwyn series begins
Review: It was so hard to decide how to rate this book. It's wonderful, but after the tour de force that was A Summer to Remember (which I finished the day before I started this one), it seemed somewhat less. Having said that, however, I enjoyed the book and will buy it (the one I read was from the library). It starts a little slowly (not the first chapter, but afterwards), but the reader is soon drawn into the emotional lives of the characters. This is Balogh's forte: intense, realistic emotion. It is a pleasure to watch Aidan Bedwyn slowly (very slowly) emerge from his cool, harsh demeanor, and it is Eve's sweetness and strength that does it. Unknownst to the other, both give up their private dreams to settle for a marriage of honor and convenience--one that is to never be a real marriage at all. But as they are forced to spend time together, they discover a connection that leads to feelings neither had wanted and a new dream neither dared hope for. I had disliked Freya Bedwyn (the sister) in A Summer to Remember (in fact, I wasn't crazy about anyone in the family except young Morgan), but she becomes a more rounded character here, as do most of the family, especially the Duke. Thus, I am beginning to like them--or at least be intrigued by them. They are certainly not your usual, too-gorgeous-to-be-real heroes and heroines. Aidan is dour and stiffly formal, but so dear once you see the man underneath. And Eve's surprising rebellion against the formidable Bedwyns could have you cheering for her. The problems for me were a little too much description, some secondary characters that could have been more fully developed (they were merely walk-ons, really), and the love scenes. There was little passion in the latter; in fact, Aidan's approach tended to suck all the passion and romance from the scene, especially the most important one (the first time, it made sense). If I were Eve, and he did that for the rest of my life, I think I'd smack him upside the head. Mostly, however, Balogh does a fine job of pulling the reader into the lives of her protagonists, getting into their heads and allowing us to feel their doubts, hopes, and heartbreaks.
Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 *s Yes, a marriage of convenience but so well told!
Review: Looks like I've been suckered into another family saga! Gaelen Foley continues to thoroughly entrench me in her Knight Family series and now I believe Mary Balogh has hooked me into the Bedwyn family chronicles (this series technically begins with the wonderful, not-to-be-missed "A Summer to Remember"). Dark and stoic second son Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn has pursued a military career only because he felt it was his duty to do so. Now a deathbed promise made to one of his officers leads Aidan to dutifully offer to marry Eve Morris, the officer's sister, in order to save her home and her household of misfits! A marriage of convenience is agreed to and once accomplished, Aidan returns to his family's home never revealing his marriage to anyone and never expecting to see Eve again. But his plans are upended when his elder brother, Wulfric, the Duke of Bewcastle, learns of the marriage and confronts Aidan with the knowledge. Aidan steadfastly refuses to involve Eve in his family though they have been invited to Carlton House by the Prince Regent. Bewcastle, however, is not one to take no for an answer! Eve Morris is trying to resume her quiet country life - but no, she's no longer Eve Morris. She's now Lady Aidan Bedwyn for what that's worth since, sadly, she will never see her husband again. But when she receives an entirely unexpected visit from the Duke of Bewcastle, he convinces her (for Aidan's sake) to accompany him to London to be presented to the Queen! And so, Eve, the daughter of a Welsh coal miner, is introduced into the world of the arrogant, overbearing, haughty Bedwyn family and the haute ton. This is everything Aidan had hoped to avoid and he is extremely unhappy about Bewcastle's interference. But is it because he wanted to spare Eve or because he is ashamed of her humble origins? And can Eve stand up to his family, not to mention the pressure of being presented? Is a real marriage in the cards or just a sweet, unattainable dream? Read it and find out for yourself! I must confess that I disliked those Bedwyns (Wulf, Freyja, Morgan and Ranulf) introduced in "Summer". They were so haughtly, arrogant and disdainful - yet also fascinating. These books will explore what lies behind those cool, haughty exteriors and I think I can safely say that the most interesting of the six stories (thus likely to be the last) will be Wulf's. He's entirely fascinating and enigmatic. I look forward to reading more about this family. A recommended read!
Rating:
Summary: No "Slighty" to it... It's ALL Good.
Review: Ms. Balogh brings the Bedwyn family - initially introduced in her historical romance, A Summer to Remember - to life with exceptional skill. It's an old familiar storyline of a man promising to take care of a dying man's sister "no matter what" and ultimately falling in love with that same sister. But, Ms. Balogh's journey from promise to love is filled with intriguing complications and interesting characters! The hero is a man of honor, worthy of the lead role... and the heroine proves her strength when she takes on the Bedwyns and captures the heart of her hero. It's a great story and wonderful beginning to a series that I've thoroughly enjoyed! My sincere thanks to Ms. Balogh.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant But Predictable Romance
Review: On a battlefield in Toulouse, France, 1814, Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn gives his word of honor to one of his dying soldiers that he will "protect the man's sister - no matter what!" The English had prevailed over Napoleon's army and Colonel Bedwyn, home on leave in England to visit his large family, stops at Ringwood Manor in Oxfordshire to personally break the sad news to the man's sister, Eve Morris. Determined to discover the problem that caused the vehement promise to be exacted, Bedwyn discovers that Miss Morris and all her dependents are to be evicted from their home and reduced to penury unless she marries within the next four days. Her father had bequeathed the manor and land to her for the period of one year. If she had not married in that time, the estate would go to her brother. If he were to die, then a social climbing, grasping cousin was to inherit. Bedwyn, a man of his word, proposes a marriage of convenience to allow the lady to live out her life on her estates. As Bedwyn had never planned to marry, he would, of course, return to the army and the couple would never meet again. As fate would have it, the marriage turns out to be anything but convenient and their time together is prolonged with interesting consequences. This is the first of a three book series about the Bedwyn family - Wulfric, Duke of Bewcastle, his brothers Aiden, Rannulf, and Alleyne and sisters Freyja and Morgan. This novel about Aiden and Eve makes for a light and pleasant romantic read. There is nothing complex about the tale, no subplots or much tension between the characters, who are charming if predictable. Ms. Balogh writes in her usual warm, emotional style which enhances the somewhat over-used storyline. I enjoyed reading "Slightly Married" and do recommend it as long as potential buyers/readers realize that this is not one of Mary Balogh's best efforts.
JANA
Rating:
Summary: This is my first Mary Balogh and it was delightful.
Review: Others have described the story so all I will add is that it is an enjoyable read with wonderful, believable characters. The hero was so honorable and had so much integrity, it was refreshing. It easily was matched by the kindness and compassion reflected in his "lady". It whet my appetite for the next 2 books of this triology.
Rating:
Summary: A book you can devour!!
Review: The authoress .... This is the second Mary Balogh ("MB") story I have read and she is becoming one of my favourite autheresses! If you like Julie Garwood, Johanna Lindsey, Stephanie Laurens, and/or Amanda Quick then I think you will probably enjoy MB! Having exhausted all available books of the other authoresses listed above I have been searching for a new great authoress, with wonderful books I can devour!, and I think I have found her in MB!! The book ..... Slightly married is a wonderful story with a lot of ROMANCE, humour, and a sweet story-line that keeps you turning those pages. The wonderful thing about MB story's is that no two story-lines are the same! The Bedwyns are growing on me with each subsequent story that I read (they were first introduced in 'a summer to remember') and following the tradition set in a summer to remember, Aiden is not your ordinary 'leading' man in a romance novel but is refreshingly different, not an arrogant bored rake, etc, etc .... Eve too is not your ordinary 'leading lady', she has spunk, determination, and is well sweet .... not simpering, etc, etc. Thus, this was a thoroughly enjoyable novel, with enjoyable characters, and although the storyline is not action-packed it is a very good read .... it is more about the romance than it is about action or side-line-issues (e.g. action that takes the story away from the romance part of the plot) ... don't get me wrong there is a plot and story-line (a very good one actually) BUT it is definitely a ROMANCE: about feelings and emotions and love and passion and sex .... which is lovely because that's why we read romance books .... for the romance (emotions, feelings, etc)! Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable story-line and a great addition to the Bedwyns growing novels! Good reading my friends, Kristina
|
