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Title: Slightly Wicked (Get Connected Romances)
ISBN: 0440241057
Author:
Mary Balogh
Publicate Date: 2003-04-29
Publish: 2003-04-29
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $1.82
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Not Wickedly Exciting
In the second of the Bedwyn series, Lord Rannulf Bedwyn is en route to his grandmother's estate when he stops to help a mail-coach overturned in the rain. Impulse leads him to offer an attractive young woman, who claims to be an actress, a ride on his horse to the nearest inn - and to stay overnight with her as it seems they both want the same thing: a night of passion. This turns into a couple of days of passion before they part, each to journey on to their own destination.
Rannulf's actress is actually Judith Law, a 'poor relation' on her way to become a companion - coincidentally, of course, to the family of the young lady Rannulf's grandmother has selected as his bride-to-be. To Judith, those few days spent with Rannulf were her one act of rebellion before she has to submit herself to a life of drudgery. However, Rannulf is enraged by her deception and, for days, avoids her... yet finds himself unable to stand by when she is overlooked or treated badly. He finds that he is far more drawn to her than to his chosen bride, who is a spoilt and immature young woman. Then things go badly wrong: Judith is accused of theft and Rannulf finds himself wanting to clear her name, and he needs all the resources of the Bedwyn family to do so.
I didn't find this book as compelling as others in the series. The characters didn't engage me to the same extent, and I found Judith's leap-before-you-look behaviour and her refusal to tell her grandmother - who does care about her - just what was going on somewhat irritating. The ease with which the real thief was caught was also a little far-fetched, as was the whole theft plot itself.
However, even if it's not as sparkling as Balogh's other work, this book is still streets ahead of most of what's out there in the Regency-era romance market. Balogh does her readers justice: her research is thorough, her characters sound like they're from the early 1800s and we're not treated to anachronisms and ignorance of cultural and social mores. That alone makes Balogh's books a treat.
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2: Most of the Bedwyns aren't exactly likable...
After reading the first two books in this series, and two other books by Balogh, I wasn't expecting much from Slightly Wicked. But I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't absolutely love it, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. The book had much more character and emotion, plus a little more meat, than the others of hers. The other two Bedwyn books just seemed so cold and like a clinical narrative - though maybe I'm the only one who thinks that way. The testimonials at the front of Slightly Wicked are glowing, calling Balogh's books passionate and sensational and vivid. Me, I just don't see it. Slightly Wicked did have a bit more emotion to it, but I still didn't find it to be something that really pulled at me.
The books is fairly typical for a historical...the wealthy nobleman, the poor young miss, forbidden romance, the woman not feeling worthy, etc. Nothing all that original. But it worked for the story. Judith and Rannulf have a nice chemistry and the romance between them is developed fairly well. I could believe the love between them more than I could between Eve and Aidan in Slightly Married. And I enjoyed the fact that the story had more meat to it; that it wasn't just the characters fluttering about. It wasn't suspenseful, but there was a nice added aspect of Jude being accused of stealing jewelry - though I must admit that I saw that plot point coming from ten miles away.
Like the other books, Balogh, in my opinion, portrays the Bedwyn's in too negative a light. I still can't stand Freyja, and unfortunately her book is next. She is just too judgmental and b****y for my liking. And Wulfric...I know Balogh is going for the hook that Wulf is cold-as-ice and you just can't wait for his book to see him melted, but there's a line between developing and outwardly cold character with hints of humanity, and a character that is hopelessly hard-hearted. To me, she's gone too far with Wulf. I can't sympathize with him at all...and the silly thing? I've already read his book, months ago. I can't remember a thing about it - which I suppose says a lot about the book. And the whole way he carries him drives me nuts. I know it probably fits the times, but I can't find much appealing about a guy who is described a thin-lipped with dead eyes, and who carries around and uses a jeweled quizzing glass and walks with an unneeded cane. (And hearing about all the nights he spends with his mistress also doesn't enamor me.)) So yeah...the Bedwyn's just don't come off as all that lovable.
And a last comment on the book...one thing in particular that I didn't really like was the decidedly Cinderella-esque edge to the book. There's nothing wrong with the Cinderella story, I suppose. It's a classic and immensely popular. But it's also overplayed. The book just screams Cinderella...the beautiful but poor woman who has to live with wealthy, unkind relatives who treat her horribly. The cousin who has aspirations of marrying the lofty Lord Rannulf, while the revered Rannulf is taken with the down-trodden Judith. Then him riding to her rescue when she is dangling at the end of a proverbial rope. There's even a kindly grandmother figure. Some variation on that theme wouldn't have gone unappreciated.
Well, now that I've rambled enough...Slightly Wicked is still probably the best book by Balogh that I've read, but still not an exceptional book. I probably wouldn't have gone through the effort of gathering the whole series if I hadn't stumbled across all the books without looking for them.
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3: Nice...
This book was pretty good except I hate the way Judith's family treats her. They treat her like a dog with such disrespect. And Rannulf doesn't like it and actually his actions say so. This book is hott and sexy but it just wasn't one of my favorites of the Slightly series.
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4: A well-written and engaging romance
I'm a real fan of Mary Balogh's books. I think "More Than A Mistress" and "The Secret Pearl" are brilliant pieces of writing with engaging characters. These are some of her older books though, her newer books are the "Slightly" series following the Bedwyn family and the "Simply" series which tell the stories of four schoolteachers (not all yet published).
Slightly Wicked, therefore, is a story about the Bedwyn family. It's the second in the series and follows Lord Rannulf Bedwyn, brother to the Duke of Bewcastle. The events take place a month after the close of the first book in the series, Slightly Married, which followed the story of Aidan, second brother.
Rannulf is a very different character. Both the Duke and Aidan have very much lived up to the expectations of their positions - they do their duties admirably (apart from Aidan marrying a coal-miner's daughter). Rannulf, as third son, should have gone into the church - but didn't. Instead he's spent the last decade or so not doing a great deal, just wandering about and having fun. He's pretty bored and not expecting much out of life but is on his way to see his grandmother, who has made him her heir.
On the way he comes across a stagecoach in the ditch with a number of stranded passengers. He agrees to ride to the next village for help but takes up one of the passengers, a young lady, on his horse. When they get to the village he realises that she is an actress and courtesan and so they spend a couple of very pleasant nights together. He offers to go with her to York, her destination, to prolong the acquaintance but she runs away without saying goodbye except in a letter.
However, it wouldn't make much of a story if that was it! Rannulf and Judith meet again under unexpected circumstances and although she's entirely unsuitable for him he can't quite seem to let go. Rannulf takes a while to work out what his feelings are, Judith's whole life seems to be going down the toilet, especially after someone tries to rape her. Her position in life as drudge to a family is insupportable, her carefree and unthinking brother is bringing their family to impoverishment and she finds herself the target of a nasty plot. Having her secret lover in the picture is even worse - she wanted a time in her life to remember and dream about but reality has a nasty habit of intruding.
Although I enjoyed this book I didn't feel that it quite engaged me as some of her others have done. I liked both characters, although there seemed to be a lot of importance placed on the fact that Judith was beautiful. The theme of Rannulf trying to at last live up to his responsibilities was lightly played - and Judith's learning of her beauty was also part of her growing experience. There's nothing wrong with this book, it just didn't grip me like some of her others which is a shame as she is an excellent writer.
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5: 2nd Book of Bedwyn Family
Slightly Wicked is the story of Rannulf the third son (brother of the Duke). Rannulf rides up on overturn stagecoach and takes one the passengers to the local village. This passenger is Judith Law who is on her way to be her grandmother's companion. She decides to plan of a fantasy and pretend to be actress and spends a few rainy nights with Rannulf. Of course when the affair ends they think they will never see each other again. It took some time to get into the novel but over it was quick day read with some great romance, adventure and dash of mystery.
Check out the whole series Bedwyn series. The six brothers and sisters of the Bedwyn family are introduced in A Summer to Remember. Aidan's story is told in Slightly Married, Rannulf's in Slightly Wicked, Freyja's in Slightly Scandalous, Morgan's in Slightly Tempted, Alleyne's in Slightly Sinful, and Wulfric's in Slightly Dangerous.
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