~ BEST OF THE SERIES and of Mary Balogh; a perfect ending for all of us Bedwyn family fans (5 stars) ~

SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS is the sixth and final book in Mary Balogh's Bedwyn family series and takes place two to two and a half years (it spreads out over several months) after Rachel and Alleyne's wedding in SLIGHTLY SINFUL. It is absolute perfection and reading it will make you giddy - and in several locations laugh out loud. I think it's the **best** of the series, which is saying something since IMO often the final books in series aren't as good as the first ones and with a character like Wulfric ... I mean, after encountering him in six of Balogh's previous books, it almost seems impossible that he could possibly be a hero in his own romance! One is compelled to read the book if only to discover how Balogh could possibly pull off such a thing and what heroine on earth could make it all believable.

MAIN CHARACTERS, Christine and Wulfric:
Mrs. Christine Derrick is 29 years old and has been a widow for two years. She was married at the age of 20 to Oscar Derrick, the younger brother of Basil, Viscount Elrick. She is absolutely enchanting (as Wulfric himself calls her), a heroine full of vitality and genuine kindness who has a passion for life and living and lacks any pretension or artifice. She is sometimes self-conscious, since she has a tendency to get in embarrassing public scraps, but she easily engages and wins over everyone she meets (best of all, she's able to laugh at herself whenever she does blunder).

Wulfric Bedwyn, Duke of Bewcastle is 35 years old and has never been married. When SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS begins his mistress of 10 years has just died and with all of his siblings happily married off (and reproducing at a rate you wouldn't believe!!) he feels uncharacteristically lonely; that's what propels him to impulsively accept the invitation to the house party, something he would normally never do. He is austere, cold, hard, **extremely** haughty and arrogant - every inch the powerful duke that he is - and just the last man on earth whom you could possibly imagine falling in love or feeling passion. Ah, but read this book and you will realize how wrong you are. :-)

They are opposites in so many ways: Christine is lightness and laughter and joy and Wulfric is austerity and haughtiness and oppressive duty. Yet Balogh does such an *incredible* job at writing them and their relationship that the chemistry between Christine and Wulfric is unbelievably magnetic. I mean you have to hand it to her: SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS has a hero who does not - I repeat, DOES NOT - smile or laugh until page 347 (out of 365 pages) and yet the love story between them will sweep you off your feet and you will absolutely adore and believe every single encounter and every single progression of their relationship. Now THAT, in my opinion, is talent.

READ AFTER OTHER BEDWYN BOOKS:
If anyone is considering reading SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS having not read any of the previous Bedwyn books, I would discourage it for one simple reason: to truly appreciate and understand Wulfric's character and heighten your enjoyment of the romance, it helps to be lead up to this point after having read the five sibling romances (and A SUMMER TO REMEMBER if you like, a prequel where the Bedwyn family is first introduced). This book can stand alone I suppose, though one could easily get lost with all of the various Bedwyn siblings, spouses, and children that appear (joy!). But to feel what I described at the beginning - a sense of complete incredulity that Wulfric could possibly be involved in a romance and a burning curiosity as to who such a romance would be with and how it would progress - you would have to already know him from Balogh's previous Bedwyn books. (They're great reads!)

There are many different types of heroes that we encounter in this genre, but no serious-never-smiles hero that you have EVER read could possibly live up to the Duke of Bewcastle. So many times when we read about those types of heroes, they melt surprisingly fast in the presence of the heroine, they begin to change and start laughing relatively easily. To fully be able to comprehend how ice-cold this man is, it helps to know him from the other books; literally, if someone hugged him you feel like they would immediately catch hypothermia. However, we have also been teased with one or two moments in each previous book with a glimpse of not a top-lofty unbelievably arrogant duke, but of a mere man who feels not only duty and responsibility, but who is very alone in all his power and feels a deep love for each of his siblings.

SIGH-FILLED HEART-MELTING SCENE (one of many):
"I would be consumed by you," she said, and blinked her eyes furiously when she felt them fill with tears. "You would sap all the energy and all the joy from me. You would put all the fire of my vitality."
"Give me a chance to fan the flames of that fire," he said, "and to nurture your joy."

BOTTOM LINE:
**READ IT** (after having read the other five books in the Bedwyn series)!!! Buy the book (definite keeper and re-read) and prepare yourself for a read-in-one-sitting romance filled with Bedwyn siblings and spouses, a hint of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, laugh-out-loud scenes, unbelievable chemistry, dialogue and thoughts by the hero that will have you sighing constantly, and a delightful heroine.

P.S.
1) WHY does Balogh always write "head over ears" in love instead of "head over heels"???
2) Stop complaining about his quizzing glasses everyone - they're horrid, yes, but Christine thinks so too and the two scenes where she lets her annoyance and humor about them show are priceless!
3) And sorry but I have to write the following: This is to all historical romance writers out there, including Balogh - curls are NEVER EVER EVER brushed! As a young woman who has had ridiculously curly hair all her life, I can tell you with utmost certainty that *no one* with curly hair would EVER dream of brushing their curls! Show me someone who does and I'll show you someone who looks like they just put their finger in an electrical socket. Sorry, but just had to get that off my chest.

(http://historical-romance-heaven.blog...) ( )

Balogh's definitely cribbing from "Pride and Prejudice" in this one (the haughty aristo* and the poor but captivating woman) but it was actually kind of fun to see familiar characters in a slightly different setting. Quick, light and enjoyable. What's not to like?

* He's Mr. Darcy crossed with pre-reconciliation Sir Percy, basically. ( )

* * * 1/2 ( )

Synopsis: Slightly Dangerous is the 6th and final novel in the Bedwyn family series of regency romances by Mary Balogh. This is Wulfric's long-awaited and much-anticipated story. The impoverished widow of a jealous man, Christine Derrick lives in a tiny cottage with her mother and spinster sister. When she is invited to a wealthy friend's house party, she intends to spend most of her time quietly observing the other more fashionable guests from the sidelines. However, her cheerful and fun-loving nature has a tendency to land her into all kinds of awkward situations. Stodgy, top-lofty Lord Wulfric, the Duke of Bewcastle, first meets the pretty and vivacious Christine when she accidentally drips lemonade in his eye from an overhead balcony. What happens after that is a series of comical mishaps wherein Wulfric is forced by gentlemanly honor and common decency to aid her. Christine finds the stuffy duke amusing and can't resist teasing him on occasion. Of course, she has some unpleasant secrets from her past, including some questionable business having to do with her husband's death. In fact, her late husband's family spurn her at every opportunity and disparage her character to anyone who will listen. Everything in Wulf's nature tells him that he should stay away from the wild miss, but instead he feels drawn to her. Finally, he decides to act on his attraction to her by asking her to become his mistress. Needless to say, Christine is unimpressed with the offer and sparks fly.

This is one of the best novels of this series. After seeing Wulf in the preceeding books, it was very satisfying to see him in his own story. He is a wonderfully interesting character. He hides his inner dreams and feelings behind a VERY heavy veneer of aloof pride and his ever-present quizzing glass. And yet, when he is with Christine, he cannot help himself: his uncomfortable feelings bubble to the surface. She has an effervescent vitality that he cannot resist. And in true Wulfric fashion, he decides he must have her, only he could not possibly condescend to marrying her. Christine, on the other hand, wants him too, but sticks to her guns. She is not going to satisfy her heart at the cost of her self-respect. In the course of the story, though, she manages to bring stoic Wulfric out of his shell (at least a little) and helps him to realize that it is alright to let others into his heart and that he can realize his own dreams if he would only allow himself to do so.

(slight spoiler) My favorite parts: When Christine grabs his quizzing glass and throws it up in a tree and he has to go and get it. Then when they are at the ball and he looks at her from across the room and raises his quizzing glass to his eye to examine her, she whips out her own glass and lifts it to her eye to stare back at him. Wulf laughs and is transformed by such a never-before seen display of humor. ( )

"Slightly Dangerous" is the last book in the "Slightly" series. This book follows the eldest son, Wulfric Bedwyn, the Duke of Bewcastle. The story opens with an introduction to Mrs. Christine Derrick, a widow who is living with her mother and her spinster sister. She is invited to a house party by a friend, Melanie, to balance the horror of having too many men and not enough women. The imbalance had been caused by Melanie's brother Hector inviting a friend - the Duke of Bewcastle. Christine is reluctant to go, but eventually gives in. After an auspicious beginning to her acquaintance with Wulfric, Christine plans to stay in the background of the party, but finds this impossible. As Wulfric finds himself fascinated with her despite himself, a passion develops between them and despite the great differences between them, Wulfric finds it impossible to get her out of his mind...

A plot synopsis does not do this book justice. A completely character-driven story, Wulfric is the perfect romantic hero. Cold, haughty, seemingly emotionless, the Bedwyn in him is drawn to Christine's light and joy. The more he tries to deny his attraction to her, the stronger it becomes. Christine, on the other hand, is clumsy, laughs too much, and does not possess the cool, bored hauteur expected in ladies of the upper classes. She is the antithesis of what a duchess should be. Their love-story, which has similarities to "Pride and Prejudice," is a heart-rendingly poignant blending of two souls. In Wulfric, Christine finds the solid, confident man she did not have in Oscar, and in Christine, Wulfric finds the light and joy that had been missing from his life since the death of his father.

I simply cannot reccomend this book enough. ( )