Customer Reviews
A Bit of a Letdown
Mary Balogh created a fascinating world of Bedwyns in her "Slightly" series, and of all the interesting and colorful characters she imagined, Wulfric, Duke of Bedwyn, was the most intriguing. I, along with many other readers, have been waiting eagerly to see Wulfric meet his match, forget about duty for a while, and fall madly in love.
I think the main problem in this book is that Wulfric is not first introduced to the reader in his normal milieu, i.e., as the cold, forbidding duke intimidating his siblings and anyone else who gets in his way. The author presupposes that all readers will automatically remember previous books, and instead of showing us what Wulfric is like and how he interacts with others, she simply tells us. This has the unforunate consequence of minimizing the dramatic tension and making the book less interesting than it should have been. And I would have expected his character, especially considering his age, to have had a little more experience with women.
While this book isn't as good as previous ones in the the series, it is still a very good read, marked by Balogh's trademark wit and excellent writing.
In short, not what I'd hoped for, but still mostly satisfying.
Lovely Conclusion to Bedwyn Series
For some time now readers have followed the saga of the highly aristocratic Bedwyn siblings finding love in some of the most unexpected places. The tone of the "Slightly" series has ranged from raucous ("Slightly Wicked") to tragic ("Slightly Married") and in each book the powerful presence of Wulfric Bewyn has been felt. He is the icy, rigidly controlled Duke of Bewcastle who took on the heavy mantle of the title and responsibility for his five younger brothers and sisters at the tender age of 17.
In this book, Wulfric is thirty-six years old. His siblings have all married and started families. His mistress of ten years has died. Thus, one of the most compelling Regency heroes to come along in years is at loose ends and uncharacteristically accepts
an invitation to a two-week house party. There he meets and reluctantly falls in love with Mrs. Christine Derrick, a vivacious but impoverished widow with roots in the lower gentry.
Wulfric's and Christine's coming together is more than just an "opposites attract" story. It's a deep and moving exploration of the transforming power of love. Neither Wulfric nor Christine are looking for love or marriage. Wulfric doubts that he is even capable of love. Christine has suffered terribly as a result of her early love, her marriage, and the repercussions of her husband's death. Although they fight their mutual attraction and make many mistakes along the way they are hopelessly drawn to one another.
While there are some very amusing clashes between the penultimate toplofty aristocrat and the luminous free spirit who simply "doesn't know how to behave" this novel is at its heart a serious and deep love story. It has some of the most romantic scenes you'll ever encounter (Wulfric's and Christine's first walz, the scene in the dovecote).
It's rich and subtle. It was well worth the wait.
Perfect ending to the series
I have read many series romances, and am very critical of the last book in them because I fear the author will slack off just to tie up loose ends. And in some series, that has happened. But not in the Slightlys - Wulfric's story is my favorite of the bunch!
I read the review where the readers didn't care for Christine, but I liked her very much. I liked that she was older, I liked that she was always herself no matter what, and I liked that she didn't give a hoot to marrying a title. I LOVED that she was brave enough to refuse Wulfric even though it broke her heart, because she knew he wasn't what she needed for the long haul. He needed someone to finally tell him that he had to stop acting like he thought others expected him to, and Christine was perfect for that.
And, hello people, the first sex scene was short and rather cold to make a point - that's all that Wulf was capable of then. The eventual LOVE scene is that much more special, because it reflected his changed outlook. It's called contrast - did no one pay attention in high school lit. class?
And romance novels so rarely make me cry, but the Epilogue to this one did. I won't give anything away, but it is so very touching.
I'm glad Balogh is done with the Slightly series, because I don't think she could top this one. It's a keeper for sure.
