Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 Dums dums in love. For such a pratical woman, Eve could be dumb as shit. She was so contradictory.
About five to six years back, I bought a bunch of "classic" aka popular/former bestseller romance novels at my local used bookstore (and by bunch, I mean around twenty to thirty of them in one go) and have barely touched them since because I am a raccoon who is only attracted to shiny things. Pulled this one out of my TBR Jar, though, early in January, and it did feel nice to finally get around to it. And it was fine! Utterly normal, nothing surprising. It also didn't really pull me in emotionally. Something about the plot, the characters, the writing style, was fine but not compelling. It didn't get me in my swooners, but it was nice.
The basic set-up here is that Colonel Aidan Bedwyn witnesses the death of a fellow soldier at the Battle of Toulouse, right before Napoleon surrendered, and the man (who saved Aidan's live two years previous) ekes a death bed promise out of him to take care of his sister, no matter what. Aidan takes this promise seriously, and when he returns home to England he finds that she is days away from being forced out her home by a cousin who is set to inherit, unless (and wait for it) she gets married. It reads as a lot more convoluted in this summary than it does in the book, which is a point in the book's favor. Eve Morris is a kindhearted daughter of a Welsh coal miner who married the daughter of the man who owned the mine, and then used that fortune to make even more money. The Morris's are wealthy and have their own estate, but they are still bourgeois. It is Eve's ambitious, social climber dead father who has put her in the position of marrying or losing her own inheritance.
The two leads worked well together, and there were standout moments where I really felt for them, but overall, their courtship felt very staid and laid back, despite being set against the backdrop of England's celebrations in Napoleon's defeat, Aidan's family forcing Eve to learn how to behave like an aristocrat (which she pushes back against), and both of them pretending they don't want their marriage of convenience to be an actual marriage. (There was a slight bit of that troublesome trope where if they would both just tell the other they want to actually give it a go, instead of assuming the other's feelings, the whole book would have been pointless.)
I'm not sure if I will be continuing with the series. I probably won't. There are a lot more and better romances that will probably do more for me than this author's tame and sort of outdated approach.
The basic set-up here is that Colonel Aidan Bedwyn witnesses the death of a fellow soldier at the Battle of Toulouse, right before Napoleon surrendered, and the man (who saved Aidan's live two years previous) ekes a death bed promise out of him to take care of his sister, no matter what. Aidan takes this promise seriously, and when he returns home to England he finds that she is days away from being forced out her home by a cousin who is set to inherit, unless (and wait for it) she gets married. It reads as a lot more convoluted in this summary than it does in the book, which is a point in the book's favor. Eve Morris is a kindhearted daughter of a Welsh coal miner who married the daughter of the man who owned the mine, and then used that fortune to make even more money. The Morris's are wealthy and have their own estate, but they are still bourgeois. It is Eve's ambitious, social climber dead father who has put her in the position of marrying or losing her own inheritance.
The two leads worked well together, and there were standout moments where I really felt for them, but overall, their courtship felt very staid and laid back, despite being set against the backdrop of England's celebrations in Napoleon's defeat, Aidan's family forcing Eve to learn how to behave like an aristocrat (which she pushes back against), and both of them pretending they don't want their marriage of convenience to be an actual marriage. (There was a slight bit of that troublesome trope where if they would both just tell the other they want to actually give it a go, instead of assuming the other's feelings, the whole book would have been pointless.)
I'm not sure if I will be continuing with the series. I probably won't. There are a lot more and better romances that will probably do more for me than this author's tame and sort of outdated approach.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve had Slightly Married and the subsequent Bedwyn Saga books on my list of historical romances to check out for literal years. I even wrote about this Welsh-Canadian author last year, but still kept this series by her on the back burner in my mind. I finally picked up Slightly Married and am so glad that I’ve begun this series. I’m completely enamoured with the Bedwyn family.
The first book introduces Aidan Bedwyn, the second son of the family, who returns from the continent to honour a dying soldier’s request and inform his next of kin personally. Enter Eve, who manages her home and estate following her father’s death, but with the death of her brother, the property is in danger of going to a ruthless cousin that threatens to turn the household out. Unless Eve marries within a scant few days to accommodate her late father’s will.
I love a good marriage-of-convenience trope and I also love how Aidan and Eve were so adamant that the marriage remain almost like a business transaction. Of course, it slowly blossoms into something more and I had so much fun following along with their story. I especially love Eve and her nurturing heart. Her staff were hilarious, the children were so sweet I just wanted to hug them myself, and watching Aidan immerse himself into this family was adorable. His first true smile was worth the wait.
Probably more like 3.5 stars.
I used to read a ton of historical romances, way back before my kids were born, but I haven't picked one up since. I felt like I was in the mood to try this genre again, so I looked for an interesting title from my online library, and this one happened to be it.
This was my first Mary Balogh book, and although I was impressed with the writing, I was a little bored by the plot. Maybe it's the setting, the whole Regency time period, I'm not sure, but yeah, plot wise this felt sluggish to me. I may continue with the series, but at this point I'm undecided.
I used to read a ton of historical romances, way back before my kids were born, but I haven't picked one up since. I felt like I was in the mood to try this genre again, so I looked for an interesting title from my online library, and this one happened to be it.
This was my first Mary Balogh book, and although I was impressed with the writing, I was a little bored by the plot. Maybe it's the setting, the whole Regency time period, I'm not sure, but yeah, plot wise this felt sluggish to me. I may continue with the series, but at this point I'm undecided.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
While the story and characters were OK for the most part, I didn't feel the chemistry between Aidan and Eve. Also I was annoyed by the sex scenes and how overall awkward they seemed (for all Balogh says Aidan is experienced, he doesn't seem to know where the clit is but Eve has a great time anyway so I guess his dick is magic?). Two stars for this being a Marriage of Convenience story (my favorite relationship trope) and also Aidan being a really awesome dad to those orphans.
Nice and easy romance read. I really enjoyed that there was no 3rd act breakup!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated