Customer Reviews

Slightly Sinful

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Arguably, the most rewarding romances feature heroines with whom one can identify and heroes with whom one can fall in love. "Slightly Sinful," the latest entry in Mary Balogh's ongoing Bedwyn series, provides both.

Overlapping somewhat with the action of Balogh's previous book "Slightly Tempted," "Slightly Sinful" begins during the climactic battle of Waterloo. Lord Alleyne Bedwyn, aspiring diplomat, has been sent to the front with a personal message for the Duke of Wellington. Riding back to Brussels to deliver the reply, Alleyne is shot in the leg, then topples from his horse, suffering a severe head injury in the process.

On awakening, Alleyne finds himself ensconced in a brothel, being tended by its inmates; more alarmingly, he has no memory of who he is or where he belongs. Cut off from his past, Alleyne forms an attachment to Rachel York, the young woman who rescued him from the battlefield. Rachel herself faces an uncertain future, thanks to the wiles of a con artist who has robbed her and her friends--a quartet of enterprising prostitutes--of their savings. All five women are out for revenge against the thief, now fled back to England, but they need funds if they are to pursue him. Not a little smitten with the lady he views as his guardian angel, a recuperating Alleyne proposes a scheme to retrieve Rachel's fortune, which is in the keeping of her estranged uncle. The catch? They have to pose as a devoted married couple to convince Rachel's uncle to release her inheritance into her keeping. Rachel's friends insist on taking part in this charade, as does the one-eyed army sergeant who aided in Alleyne's rescue and has now assumed the position of a gentleman's gentleman. Soon this lively entourage is bound for England--and an adventure that will exceed everyone's wildest expectations.

Despite some of the plot's seeming improbabilities, everything works in "Slightly Sinful." The romance between Alleyne and Rachel unfolds with a pleasing mixture of sweetness and sensuality. Although an early misunderstanding makes them wary of each other for a while, their continuing attraction and growing affection help them to overcome the obstacle in a timely fashion. Thankfully, they do not spend the majority of the book bickering. Rachel is a sympathetic heroine, neither a doormat nor a shrew, and Alleyne is a revelation here. An amiable lightweight in the earlier books, the youngest Bedwyn brother comes of age in "Slightly Sinful." The reader learns about Alleyne as Alleyne learns about himself, and the results are worth the wait. Despite trying circumstances, Alleyne retains his courage and sense of humor; his memory loss may cause him frustration and panic at times, but he never forfeits the reader's sympathy by becoming surly, whiny, or ungrateful.

Secondary characters are also well-drawn. Rachel's friends and the former Sergeant Strickland are likable and resourceful; it is satisfying to read how their fates are resolved too. "Satisfying," in fact, is the word that best sums up "Slightly Sinful" for me: I was entertained from first page to last, not wanting the story to end. "Slightly Dangerous," the finale of the series, is yet to come and the included excerpt looks promising indeed. However, "Slightly Sinful" is going to be a tough act to follow.

Well, I've read all of the books in the "Slightly" / Bedwyn series so far.. and honestly, I liked this one the least. I had a hard time getting in to it and after reading part-way through I found myself skimming page after page trying to find something interesting. I normally enjoy Mary Balough's books, but I think I was just expecting too much from this one. I really enjoy reading about the Bedwyn family and, in my opinion, they weren't in this one enough! They don't show up until the last 25-30 pages of the novel.

The basic story is: Lord Alleyne Bedwyn was a diplomat carrying a message to a Duke during the Battle of Waterloo. He ends up shot and unconscious. This part happens actually in the previous novel, which is Morgan Bedwyn's story. His family thinks he is dead. Enter Rachel York, a well-bred young lady who has had a rough life. Now an orphan, she is taking refuge in a brothel run by good-hearted prostitutes. She met a conman, got engaged to him, then he took off with her money and the life savings of the prostitutes.

She's now living with them, trying to figure out a way to get their money back. They end up searching the dead bodies on the battlefield and come across Alleyne, who has been stripped naked. They bring him back to the brothel and nurse him to health. Unfortunately, Alleyne has amnesia and doesn't remember anything about himself! Alleyne decides to help Rachel and her friends find the conman, which ends up involving visiting Rachel's uncle and pretending to be married in order to get Rachel's inheritance.

For me, the story didn't even get interesting until Alleyne, Rachel and friends show up at the uncle's house. The relationship and dialogue between Rachel and her uncle is interesting and quite touching. Rachel's prostitute friends are quirky and interesting, especially when interacting with each other and with Alleyne. Alleyne is kind of bland compared to how he has been portrayed in previous "Slightly" novels.

In my opinion, the amnesia thing went on far too long. Amnesia as a plot device is so tired and overdone, especially in romance novels. I've probably read 25 or 30 with virtually the same plot. Probably even an even MORE tired plot device is the "Pretend marriage!"

Not bringing in the rest of the Bedwyn family until the last chapter or so was a huge mistake. Some of Mary Balough's best and most interesting characters are the Bedwyns, especially when they're interacting together. They were sorely missed! I'm hoping that Wulf's story is better than this one, especially since he has been the most intriguing and mysterious Bedwyn sibling.

To be fair, I did manage to get through the whole book and it wasn't all bad. The supporting characters were interesting (albeit a tad bit unbelievable) and the subplots were pretty amusing as well. Alleyne and Rachel had their moments as well. Overall, I would say it was an average romance novel. Unfortunately, it just doesn't compare to Mary Balough's other works. My favorite Bedwyn novel so far has been Freyja's story (Slightly Scandalous), I highly recommend reading that one over this, if given the choice.

I thought I enjoyed Slightly Wicked, but I did not know what Mary Balogh is capable of until I read her Slightly Sinful. In this book her style comes as close as it gets to Julia Quinn and Suzanne Enoch. Because of Alleyne's (how do you pronounce his name anyway?) character it is full of witty dialogs and funny comments. It is very light compared to Slightly Scandalous and Slightly Wicked, but because of that it is an absolute joy to read.

The book is full of colorful characters and I could not put it down once I started reading. As a word of caution, the narrative for the book sounds way too boring compared to the plot itself. I had reservations about reading it. In fact, I had the book for over a week before I started reading it. And the experience was worth every minute of it. My favorite part was the Chapter 23, I kept coming back to it. Enjoy it!

I was only "Slightly Tempted" to continue on to the next novel in the series after Morgan's dull, dull story, but I'm very gald I did!

Slightly Sinful is the best in the series so far, in my opinion. It pretty much summed up everything I look for in a romance novel: A hero with a sense of humor and a good dose of good looks, an endearing heroine, one of the best cast of supporting characters I've ever encountered, and a lively and original plot.

Mrs. Balogh knows how to write with class. Her heroes are rarely domineering, her heroines are rarely argumentative just for its own sake, and the love scenes (towards the end) are always touching. Another thing to appreciate: Mrs. Balogh isn't afraid to let her heroes show some emotion. (Gasp! A man actually cries?! Can express himself clearly? Isn't afraid to say "I love you"? Thank goodness!).

I saw that this book only recieved 4 stars in Romantic Times, and I really don't understand why. Perhaps this book isn't as emotionally compelling as some of the author's other works. Most of the depth in the story comes from Alleyne's search to discover who he really is, which serves as a great tool for developing his character and the story. So I suppose, if you're looking for something a bit heavy, try Slightly Tempted, which deals with the gravity of war (and weighs the story down until I could barely persuade myself to pick it up again). However, if you read romance novels for the pure joy of entertainment, this one won't fail.

I read this book through in less than a day, simply because I HAD to know how Ms. Balogh was going to reconcile this one! So many different things, so much fun.
Alleyne Bedwyn is the brother that is protagonist in this latest edition of the Bedwyn family chronicles. A diplomat, he has been entrusted to take a letter to the Duke of Wellington during the Battle of Waterloo and return with the Duke's reply. While returning to Brussels, he is shot, falls from his horse, and is knocked unconscious.

Rachel York has lost her employment as a lady's companion, and forced to take refuge with her former nurse, who is one of four "ladies" operating a brothel in Brussels. Having made a small fortune servicing the soldiers, they have given their money to Rachel's betrothed, Nigel Crawley. Nigel turns out to be a scoundrel, not the man of God he has portrayed to rachel and the "ladies" and runs off with their money. They decide to head out to the battlefield to loot the bodies of the soldiers and gain enough money to go after Nigel. It is during this nefarious mission that Rachel comes upon Alleyne, stripped naked and left for dead.

But he is alive, and Rachel's soft heart insists they bring him back to their home and nurse him back to health. But once he awakens, there is a small complication. Alleyne cannot remember anything at all about himself. He has amnesia. From there, the fun ensues.

The characters in this book are fun to get to know, especially the irrepressible ladies of the brothel. Yes, this book uses the tried and true "hooker with a heart of gold" through and through, but I think it is a good part of the story. And of course, there is that happy ending, which brought a little tear to my eye.

I think this is a fine addition to the Bedwyn family saga, and a great new book from Ms. Balogh. If you are a fan, this will be a treat. Enjoy with a cup of tea and a bon bon or two!

Better than Morgan's tory, but still not close to Balogh's best.

I SO wanted to love this book, but it is rather plodding and has little romance or sensuality to recommend it. Alleyne has been one of my favorite Bedwyn's; I was so heartbroken at his seeming fate in Slightly Tempted, which parallels this one in time. But I don't quite know what to make of him in this book. Worse, Rachel seems to almost be two different women. I just wasn't convinced of their chemistry. There was more saying than showing going on.

The cast of secondary characters, however, was absolutely delightful. Alleyne was much more interesting with them than he was with Rachel. And the absence of the rest of the Bedwyn's was felt here just as it was in Morgan's story. Indeed, perhaps the best scenes in both books was Wulfric's reaction to news of Alleyne in each. How I long for that book (should arrive any day now); it had better be good--I've been waiting for Wulfric's story for a long time.

This story also doesn't touch the heart as deeply as Balogh's works usually do, although Alleyne's response to the war had more impact than Morgan's because it was more subtle and less preachy. There is a good deal of humor both Alleyne and Rachel have good senses of humor, as go the brothel ladies. The story goes awry when Rachel becomes morose and waspish. Alleyne's amnesia lasted a while, and his fear over returning home was interesting but not dealt with fully enough.

Important to the series, definitely -- but I'm hoping that Wulfric's story gets back to the high quality, heart-touching work Balogh is known for.

This love-story has an engaging plot, I was swept away by this tale of the privileged gentleman Lord Alleyne who is shot and injured in battle, only to awaken in a brothel. But he took a vicious fall from his horse, hitting his head, and he can't remember anything, even who he is. He's nursed back to health by the equally well-bred but hapless Rachel. Once married, she's supposed to inherit a fortune, so Alleyne thinks up a scheme where he pretends to be Rachel's husband in order to help her get the fortune. But in the process of all this pretending, they genuinely fall in love with each other. They'll have each other, but will they also get the inheritance? Fun escapist reading. Recommended especially for female readers.

Mary Balogh's been writing romance novels for almost 20 years and during that time, especially in the first decade, she produced some of the most original, angst-ridden books in the genre. Several titles from her first decade of writing, such as The Notorious Rake, Heartless, The Christmas Bride, Dancing With Clara, The Secret Pearl, and Lord Carew's Bride are gems in the Regency sub-genre. (If you doubt this statement, take at look at the prices some of these out-of-print titles command here at amazon.)

No one could write a tortured hero or heroine like Balogh and her plots almost always dealt with unusual, burdened individuals struggling against both internal and external forces to find their true selves, as well as their soulmate.

But the Mary Balogh who wrote thoses titles seems to have disappeared and in her place is a talented, competent romance author who creates nicely crafted but essentially souless "romance candy" reads. Slightly Sinful, the next to the last of the Bedwyn sibling novels, is in this camp (as all of the Bedwyn stories have been) and while it's not a bad romance novel it's not the challenging, exhilarating, heart-rending story Balogh once created.

Actually, I liked this title better than the other four in the series. If you can get past some truly preposterous plot devices (prostitutes with not only hearts of gold but who behave like a combination of Mary Poppins and Pollyanna) and a hero who suffers from amnesia (what a concept!) you'll probably get a pleasant four hour read from this book. The heroine is likeable and the hero sufficiently interesting to keep you reading but, in the end, it's another forgetable programmer romance.

And that's a shame because, once upon a time, Mary Balogh was the Queen of the Regencies with a talent that soared. I'll keep hoping she'll take us there again someday.

Maybe I was just in a bad mood, but I did not find Slightly Sinful to be as romantic as others in this series. First, I found Alleyne's attitude towards their first sexual encounter to be self-centered, boorish, and insensitive. How many woman -- especially in an era that valued virginity as much as the Regency Period -- want their first sexual encounter to be labeled that "ugly episode" based on lust and temptation only??? His feeling of "betrayal" for her not telling him the truth about her status, and rejecting her because of that -- ignoring the fact that she just saved his life and nursed him to health (not to mention the fact that he's incredibly dim not to have guessed) -- is very irritating. His method of "fixing their relationship" is also impractical, unromantic, and -- considering that he still doesn't know if he's married/betrothed yet -- dishonorable. Second, it's never entirely clear why/how Alleyne finally realizes that he loves Rachael -- except that he's scared to go home, and she is beautiful and acted as his Florence Nightingale. You can't help but wonder if there's enough for a long-lasting relationship.

That said, the subplots with Rachael's uncle and friends are entertaining and heartwarming, if predictable. The "bad man" subplot is resolved too easily and painlessly -- not more than a vehicle to throw Alleyne and Rachael together.

If you read the previous book in this series, however, it is fun to find out what happened to Alleyne and to see more emotion in the Duke of Bewcastle.

I'm still looking forward to Slightly Dangerous -- hardcover release for June. I think that that still has the potential to be very intriguing.

The 5th book of Bedwyn series. I love Alleyne, I only wish that his story hadn't been overshadowed w/ reuniting him w/ his family. I don't feel as acquainted w/ Rachel as I felt w/ the others, only because I went thru the book, impatient, to get to the Bedwyn reunion.

If you've read the previous book, Slightly Tempted, you'd know that Alleyne was assumed dead at the Battle of Waterloo, so this book opens up at the time he came missing and explains what happend to him in the 2 months that transpired in Slightly Tempted. You find out why he was gone for 2 months w/ no word and then the book picks up right where Slightly Tempted left off, w/ Morgan and Gervase approaching a man standing at Lindsey Hall.

You can't complete the series w/out reading Alleyne's story, it just wouldn't be right, but the momentum in the other Bedwyn books is slightly absent in this one.