3.5+ starsI truly enjoyed this book, because as outrageous as it might seem, I could relate to Judith's plight and even her decision to be "slightly wicked". I realize many might not be able to suspend belief to accept that a woman like Judith might be more than tempted -- that she might actually *be* wicked with a handsome, wealthy stranger for 1.5 days and 2 nights, when she was a gently bred lady. And then to refuse his offer of marriage?But that's the charm of this book... Judith is not our ordinary heroine. Sure, she fits much of the romance-genre formula in that she's smart, witty, resourceful, and very much unaware of her own beauty. And it must be such a challenge, as a writer, to come up with unique characters, especially heroines -- people the readers can like and relate to that aren't copies of another character in another story. But I find Judith refreshing. She's got her sense of duty, but she's got an imagination. And a talent for acting! All hidden away...When we first met Rannulf Bedwyn, he appeared at Aidan's and Eve's home at the end of Slightly Married to meet his new sister-in-law. Rannulf was on his way to visit their maternal grandmother, and he'd missed all the excitement with of Aidan's "secret" marriage and subsequent to-do in Town. And at the end of that book, the new Lady Aidan (Eve) prophetically wishes that Rannulf could be so fortunate as his brother Aidan to find a wife and love and a happy marriage.Judith is the 2nd or 3rd daughter of a small village rector. Her father has a modest living, but the only son Branworth is the darling of the family (as the only son). Bran has been well-educated and is currently living it up as a gentleman in London Society. Why, I really can't quite figure out, since I couldn't see that Bran was in line for any titles. He is a gentleman, but not a Lord, only a Mister. So to me, Bran, and the way his family spoiled him was a mystery. (I suppose Bran was 2nd in line to his uncle's title, behind his cousin Horace, but is that enough to allow Bran to practically bankrupt the family living it up? And to be allowed to do so?)Anyway, Judith's father is so busy paying off Bran's debts and clothing bills that the family is practically destitute. So he appeals to his sister, who married a baronet. Lady Effington is everything you'd imagine the noveau titled to be: arrogant, haughty, and a pretender. She's just brought out her daughter Julianne, and with the Season ended, Julianne seemed to have a few offers. But her mama hadn't yet decided which was the most advantageous offer, so they returned to their country home. Lady Effington's mother, the elderly Mrs. Law, is quite a handful, and Lady Effington doesn't have the time or inclination to deal much with her. So Lady E decides that to take on one of her brother's daughters as a companion to Mrs. Law and to be at her beck-and-call as an unpaid servant. Besides, her neighbor, the rich Lady Sarah Beamish, has decided that perhaps Julianne will make a good wife for dear Rannulf. Lady Beamish made Rannulf her heir, and at 28, he's still not married and settled. Rannulf loves his grandmama, so he dutifully rides out to see her. What he doesn't know is that his dear grandmama is dying. And so her constant attempts to get him married and produce an heir are more than just trying to get him married off. She's hoping that Rannulf (Ralf) will truly settle into the living that he'll soon inherit. And that she might see a grandchild or two before she's gone. On his way to see her, Rannulf encounters a carriage (post) that's overturned on the muddy roads in the storm, and the passengers are in need of assistance. Rannulf spots a goddess among them, helping with the minor cuts and scrapes of the incident: Judith. Her glorious golden sunset hair has fallen down in the crash, and her hourglass curves are being shown to their best advantage. Rannulf makes a bold offer: he'll take her with him on his horse to send back help. Judith knows that she's off to be a poor relation and unpaid servant at the Effington's; she's certain that she'd doomed to life of spinsterhood. And Judith has always thought that she was ugly, because her rector father was constantly criticizing the way she dressed and accusing her of soliciting the stares and leers of the young men.So when Rannulf makes his slightly wicked offer, Judith accepts. And decides to play the role of Claire Campbell, an actress and sometimes courtesan. And when she responds to his flirting, Rannulf procures a room for them to spend the night in -- or at least until the rain stops and the roads are passable again. Judith knows what a lady does and does not do. But she figures it's her only opportunity to find out what goes on between men and women in the intimacy and privacy of their bedroom, since she doubts she'll ever experience it any other way. Except that after spending 1.5 days and 2 glorious nights with him, Rannulf (who pretended to be Ralph Bedard) decides he wants to follow her to her destination and make her his mistress. Claire (Judith) can't bear for him to learn the truth, so she runs, hugging the dream of their time together to stave off her coming misery. But a few days after she arrives at the Effington home, and is properly put in her place by her aunt (her hair must be covered with a cap at all times, nothing showing, and her gowns are let out at the seams to hide her curves and make her appear chubby and over 30), Judith learns that Ralph Bedard is really Rannulf Bedwyn, the "intended" of her own cousin, Julianne. Now what Judith thought of as a wonderful dream is just... a nightmare. And then there's her step-cousin, Horace, determined to treat his poor relation as his plaything, despite what she might think. And try as he might, Rannulf can't keep his mind off Judith -- or stop rescuing her from Horace's clutches.As predictable as this book is, and yes, it is predictable, it's still a fun, fluff, guilty pleasure of a story. Judith isn't a bad girl, she just wanted a taste of something she thought she could never have. She wanted that one, handsome stranger to whisk her away and make love to her -- to give her memories that she could hold onto for the rest of her dull life. And as funny as it is to us, the reader, that she's "caught", it's also sad, because Judith can no longer hold onto that dream. Now she's only caught in shame and confusion, because that stranger is a stranger no longer. As imaginative as she is, Judith is very practical. And she can't conceive of any world in which she and Rannulf could be involved.While Rannulf is an alpha-male, he was remarkably constrained, I thought. He truly is a gentleman. And yet, he needed Judith. Someone to open up to, to share his thoughts with. Someone to help him see that it's time for him to take on the responsibilities that he's going to inherit. And to see that love is inconvenient, but when it comes, you should embrace it and go with it.I'm really liking the Bedwyn sagas! Wulf, the eldest, is such a character, I'm tempted to read his book next, just to see who could possibly catch his eye and heart! But I'll be good and read them in order, so that I won't potentially spoil the books in-between.
1,5 stars Tw's: Attempted rapeNo one is infallible, and to expect otherwise is just unreasonable.Also, tastes are tastes. What works for a person doesn't work for another...This is the fourth book I read by this author. And for the first time, a Mary Balogh story didn't work for me.There has been something wonderfully constant in the previous books I read by this author: No insta love or lust.The characters behave as sensible people. They normally find themselves together due to a promise made by the hero to a member of the heroine's life, and love, the big L, only comes pretty much towards the last part of the story.This works for me, although I have read some reviews in which readers complain of the opposite thing: they feel the romance lacks intensity and emotion.I believe those readers will love this book.This story practically begins with the heroine throwing herself into the hero's arms....Okay...so we have a woman of 21/22 year old, raised in a very conservative environment _her father is a pastor _ that suddenly finds herself having to leave her home due to financial circumstances: Her brother basically behaves as he pleases, spending money hither and yon, and the family is practically ruined, forcing her to go and live with her well-off family members...where she will live the life of a servant.We all know that when it comes to sons and daughters, what is good for the goose, normally isn't good for the gander o_O But, being her father such an austere man, I found it a little too convenient, that the father would support every little whim of the son. Just saying...Were this a contemporary novel, this would suffer from : Am I beautiful?, syndrome...The girl has been told her entire life by her preachy of a family, that she is ugly. Due to the historical nature of this story _no friends, no tv, no internet _it is feasible that something like would be ingrained in the girls' mind; and as such, needed the hero _and a villain _ attentions to tell her how beautiful she is.But what really got on my nerves was the way this story begins: Taking all this into consideration, how would a rational young woman risk _when she was already facing a bleak future _ a tryst with someone she had just met by the the side of the road?She gets involved with a stranger just because she liked the look on his face?Really? REALLY? In that time and age?What if she got pregnant?I am sorry but this was just ridiculous, and the explanation on why she was behaving the way she did, also didn't work for me...She wanted something to remember...but, and although one understands her reasoning, it didn't work for me.After that, everything and everyone else was basically depicted with cardboard depth: It was like I was "seeing" a "Cinderella kind of" retelling: The poor girl _who is beautiful_ who is mistreated by the evil _in this case_ aunt and spoiled cousin...who is then persecuted by a crazy villain, who at some point tries to rape her. Luckily there is the _I met you by the side of the road _ prince o_OThe rest of this...the romance, didn't manage to ensnare me,maybe because I never found the thing between them believable. The attraction between them? Okay fine. Besides that, I have my doubts that due to the way they met, a duke's brother would be interested _or would be allowed_ in marrying an impoverished parson's daughter.The rest of it, ends up falling into the soap opera field with the villain trying to ruin our heroine's life in every way possibleVery predictable and not all that interesting.
What do You think about Slightly Wicked (2011)?
Judith Law, an impoverished clergyman's daughter, is traveling to become her grandmother's unpaid companion when the stage coach overturns. Lord Rannulf Bedwyn happens to be riding by and, interested in her beauty, offers her a ride to the nearest inn. Judith is convinced she will never have a chance at love or marriage, and intemperately allows herself to be seduced. After a few wonderful days together, she sneaks away and catches another stagecoach to her richer relations'. They might never have seen each other again, and Judith might indeed have died an old maid, except that Rannulf is being pressured to marry Judith's younger, richer cousin. And so they happen to meet again, and as the houseparty continues, each realize that they love the other. But Rannulf is the son of a duke, and Judith's family is increasingly poor due to her brother's profligate spending. Neither thinks a marriage between them would be at all suitable.I liked the first Bedwyn story better, but this one has a lot of charm. Aside from their romance, Rannulf and Judith each have other friendships and subplots. Rannulf has always been rich and has never much stirred himself, but coming in contact with the ruin Judith's brother has brought upon his family makes him think about his own dissolute habits. And Judith's friendship with her grandmother, and mixed feelings about her beauty, give her depth. Most of all, this book heightened my anticipation of reading some of the other Bedwyn's romances: Lady Freyja, for instance, who rides hard and treats her suitors like they're comrades in arms, but is still getting over a broken heart. And the Duke himself, the freezingly cold, intensely proud, always controlled young man who rules the Bedwyns with just a hissed whisper.
—Wealhtheow
Rannulf & Judith. These are such great fun! The heroines are strong but not bitchy or emotionally unavailable. The largest foibles of the men is their aristocratic arrogance which the heroines usually set down in a most enjoyable way. Once that happens the men seem to get a deer in the headlights sort of quality that makes them rather endearing. I chuckle all the way through these. I'm having so much fun reading them! I was telling one of my friends who recommended them to me that I am rather surprised that with each book I warm a little more to the rather severe and daunting Duke Wulfric Bewcastle (the last book in the series). I'm sure Balogh intends it that way and it's the sort of delicious build one can enjoy without feeling too toyed with.
—Suz
About the 3rd brother of the Bedwyn family, the notorious rake or rebel or whatever and the bootylicious girl from a pious family. I know, Weird description, but Rannulf is one of the weirder characters, whose personality was nearly impossible to truly classify. Judith, on the other hand, is a beautiful, bootylicious woman with sinful red hair and a terrible self-esteem, due to her annoying family members (her father and her aunt). Ranulf and Judith had this weird tension thing going on, but they seemed to bring out the most scandalous from each other. I loved Judith, since she seems a whole lot like me, minus the red hair and stunningly beautiful, but a definite dreamer, while Rannulf could be hotter. Well, I can imagine him any way I want, but there was repeated reference to the fact that he was NOT handsome. He was a sexy character though and a totally nice guy, though they did start the book with some scandalous premarital sex. Its a stunning contrast to the first novel, yet not unlikeable. The quality of the writing is suberb and the tension is more diverting in this story, compared to Aiden's and Eve's.
—Nisha
