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Title: Slightly Married (Get Connected Romances)
ISBN: 0440241049
Author:
Mary Balogh
Publicate Date: 2003-04-01
Publish: 2003-04-01
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.38
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Standard
*** Back cover synopsis ***
Like all the Bedwyn men, Aidan has a reputation for cool arrogance. But this proud nobleman also possesses a loyal, passionate heart - and it is this fierce loyalty that has brought Colonel Lord Aidan to Ringwood Manor to honor a dying soldier's request. Having promised to comfort and protect the man's sister. Aidan never expected to find a headstrong, fiercely independent woman who wants no part of his protection... nor did he expect the feelings this beguiling creature would ignite in his guarded heart. And when a relative threatens to turn Eve out of her home, Aidan gallantly makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him... if only to save her home. And now, as all of London breathlessly awaits the transformation of the new Lady Aidan Bedwyn, the strangest thing happens: With one touch, one searing embrace, Aidan and Eve's "business arrangement" is about to be transformed ... something slightly surprising...
*** Review (without spoilers ^_^) ***
Two strangers, Aidan and Eve, steps into a marriage agreement only for the sake that Eve could keep her house safe away from her cousin. What was intended to be a good one day endeavor, turned out to be a huge inconvenience which Aidan had not planned for the marriage to go known in public. He only intended to honor a dead soldier's wish, and then leave Eve with her people at Ringwood Manor and never had to see her again, but fate seemed to think otherwise. Since Eve was known to be Lady Aidan Bedwyn, Aidan had no choice but to take her home with him and to `meet' his family. Eve was expected to go to functions and learn to behave like a proper lady. One thing lets to another and eventually true love was within one of those explorations.
*** Personal opinion ***
I didn't know what to expect when I first started this book, except that I read this book because it was the first book to the Bedwyn Family. The characters portrayed in this book were all so nice to read about. I especially adore Eve's independence. However, Aidan and Eve's sudden attraction with sex towards each other was sort of out of the line for me and for the storyline in my opinion. I expected Eve to be a girl with more conservation than that.
In between the romance development between the two main characters, a bit of comedy dialogues could be found which made the book a bit more enjoyable to read about. There are also a few delightful scenes that were pleasing and my favorite has to be when Aidan threatened to harm Eve's nasty cousin, Cecil when he dared to threaten her again. I also love reading the parts with Aidan and his older brother Wulfric.
Considering this to be the first installment in the Bedwyn Family series, you might want to read this first just to get a glimpse of other Bedwyn characters. Although, "A Summer To Remember" is actually the book that introduced the Bedwyn family.
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2: Nice introduction to the series
This is the first of the Slightly series by Balogh and features my favorite plot; the marriage of convenience. Colonel Aidan Bedwyn, marries Eve, a fallen comrade's sister to save her from financial ruin. Of course, by the end of the book they fall in love and their marriage becomes a very real one.
I loved the begining of the book. I am a fan of cold, aloof heroes and Aidan certainly fits the bill. After the first 70-80 pages, I thought this book exactly matched my favorite kind of story; moody, dark, emotional and angsty. However, nice as the book was, the tension seemed to lighten with each page and despite the sudden peak it made by the introduction of the third person into the story, never managed to escalate high enough.
Balogh has lately been one of my favorite authors and I admire her writing style. This book is nicely written and interesting, that's for sure, neither a loss of time or money. However, I felt the passion somewhat missing, the tension less than palpable. I did order a couple more from the series though, as Balogh's less than perfect book is still enjoyable and one of the best I've read lately.
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3: One of the best of the 'Slightly' series
My favourite book in the series about the Bedwyn family (apart from perhaps the last one). Mary Balogh writes beautifully, she does character development very well and can put the most unlikely couple together at the beginning of a story and end up with them so obviously being made for each other with the transition always fascinating, moving and totally believable. Aidan is (apart from Wulfric) the darkest and most complex of the brothers and the gradual realisation of his love for Eve is beautifully told.
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4: Cliched plot but well-executed
On a battlefield in the Peninsula, Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn, nearest brother in age to the Duke of Bewcastle, finds a fatally-wounded man, one who previously saved his own life. He makes a promise to the dying Captain Morris that he will protect Morris's sister Eve, 'whatever happens'. Lord Aidan, when he returns to England, visits Eve to inform her of her brother's death. Devastated, she still insists that she needs no help, and so Aidan prepares to leave, believing himself to be free of obligations. However, he discovers that Eve and her family and dependents are about to be evicted by a grasping cousin who is now to inherit Eve's family home. Eve's father's will provided for Eve to inherit if she married within a year of his death, or for Eve's brother to inherit otherwise, and otherwise for the property to pass to the cousin. Because of his obligation to her brother, therefore, Aidan marries Eve.
It's intended to be just a marriage of convenience. The couple was to go their separate ways after the ceremony and never see each other again. However, in London for the marriage, Aidan meets an army acquaintance and is forced to introduce Eve as his wife, and the story's soon out. Once his brother the Duke hears about it, he insists that Aidan bring his wife to the family home in London to be presented as the newest member of the wealthy and highly influential Bedwyn family. But this is not what Eve wishes at all...
The plot is cliched, but the characters do make it less so. Aidan is gruff, unsmiling, difficult to become close to. The rest of the Bedwyns are snobbish, top-lofty and unwelcoming to outsiders, and as Eve is actually just a coal-miner's daughter and her dependents (servants, companion, foster-children) are not of the 'right' class either it's clearly not a match made in heaven. However, little by little, Eve earns the family's respect - but is Aidan even capable of love, let alone of loving Eve?
I did enjoy this book. It's not vintage Balogh by any means, and it did remind me a lot of Beverley's Malloren series, to the point where I call the Slightly series Balogh's version of the Mallorens. But Slightly Married did hold my attention throughout and, of course, as always Balogh does get the historical details right and never makes me feel that I'm reading a contemporary romance. I enjoyed it enough to read the rest in the series, which is definitely a good sign!
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5: Price Reflects Story
Paid .99 for book and the story was worth the price. Not a really complex piece of writing but enough to keep you entertained through a long cold night.
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