Slightly Dangerous

I was really looking forward to this installment as I knew that it's a favourite of some LT members, and I just couldn't wait to get to Wulfric's story. He is the Duke of Bewcastle, the eldest brother of the Bedwyn siblings, and so far he has appeared as an imposing, forbidding character, who sometimes saves the day, but always seems to be distant. How can this character be the hero of a romance? Well, he can, and he was the first hero in this series who really made me swoon.
The heroine is Christine Derrick, a widow, who is the opposite of Wulfric: She is funny, open-minded and unconventional. They meet at a house party, and from their first meeting, a long and not uncomplicated love story develops.

I really enjoyed this novel, not only show more because of the hero, but also because to my mind, it does not have any parts that are too lengthy. The obstacles in the couple's way were credible to me, as is their development. Christine got on my nerves a few times because I think that her shenanigans and the not-like-other-girls energy were depicted a bit over the top, but apart from that, I totally loved it. show less

I was a little worried that Wulfric would be too much of a haughty aristocrat to be a passionate romantic hero, and I was right. He was a cold fish.

He reminded me of Mr. Darcy, with all the arrogance, icy stares, and condescending proposals. (We all know that if Jane Austen had been a little more realistic, Darcy would’ve first asked Elizabeth to be his mistress too.) He loosened up a bit towards the end, though, and wasn’t a total cold fish anymore. A lukewarm fish, maybe? Definitely nothing hot.

Christine was his polar-opposite sunshine type, which was necessary, because who else would have the patience for that man and his quizzing glass? She was also a badass—my favorite moment was when she snatched that glass from his hand and show more tossed it into a tree. YES!!!! Finally!!! I wanted to do it since the first book!

What I absolutely adored was the Bedwyns—their family dynamic and their matchmaking shenanigans. It was so much fun! I love cameos—it feels like meeting old friends. Even Aidan grew on me since his book.

Overall, a solid four-star read. What am I going to read next, now that I’ve finished the Bedwyns?? show less

It's always been clear that I love this book for the same reason I love anything Pride & Prejudice related. There is something so infinitely compelling about the cold, emotionally constrained man falling head over heels for his warm, witty opposite.

I hit my ultimate squee mode at about 80% of this, and it didn’t stop at all through the end. Christine was an absolute love and the only woman for Wulfric. He had a lot going on, and I’m glad that we finally got to see a bit of the man beneath the duke. Once the rest of the Bedwyns show up, the book became perfect to me; but I’m glad that we got to see the real start to everything for them even before Lindsey Hall.

As the Duke of Bewcastle, Wulfric Bedwyn has ruled his family for decades. He is perfectly controlled at all times. And, he realizes, he is desperately lonely. The last of his younger siblings has married and moved away, and his life-long mistress has just died. There is no one on earth with whom he is on intimate terms. In an uncharacteristic moment of weakness, he accepts an invitation to a house party. It is there that he meets Christine Derrick, a poor widow whose irrepressable high spirits and interest in others make her the life of the party, even as they expose her to the censure and ridicule of others. They are drawn to each other, but struggle against the attraction. For he cannot countenance being linked to a woman who is so show more constantly getting into scrapes and making social gaffes, and she dreads the idea of marrying a man without warmth or humor. After a disastrous first proposal (reminiscent in all the best ways of P&P's without being derivative), Wulfric strains to prove to Christine that he does have a heart.

This is the best of the Bedwyn series, and a perfect ending for that family's tale. Wulfric has been so icy and condescending for so many books that seeing just a single crack in his facade feels like a real triumph. And Christine is a woman worth getting to know. She is older than most Regency romance heroines, and so knows her own personality and has made a life for herself already. But she's not flaw free--even though the debutantes arrayed against her are a decade younger, their taunts still hurt, and she has moments of insecurity and humiliation that are uncomfortably familiar. I also enjoyed the longer stretch of this novel: many of the other Bedwyn romances take place over weeks or at most months, but it takes Wulfric and Christine well over a year to come to terms with each other, and it makes their romance feel more realistic even as it heightens the narrative tension. show less

I am officially Balogh'ed out. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this, but I feel like I'm just going to skip the final novella and be done. I think I'm tired of the incessant pursuit of the heroine by the hero, I think I'm done with the fact they are all so singular for a while.

I think Balogh has the tendency to push me right up to the edge in how insufferable some of her heroines in particular are. This book was no exception. Whether it was because we knew Wulf already or Christine was illogically rude and presumptive to him, it was a wild experience for me. I don't usually have issues with the heroines, I think there's a mile of leeway I give to their behaviors and annoying traits but Christine just pushed me right up to the show more edge.

So, to me, in the end, this is Wulf's book. And that's no surprise, because it actually is Wulf's book. But Christine didn't come off to me as someone with much substance or development. i felt like we saw her really only through his eyes, and she was only fully realized in our minds due to his interpretation of her. I would've enjoyed this nearly as much if he just lived out his life in quiet contentment among his family and I guess that's saying something about the romance. It was just...his book!

All that said, who doesn't like the buttoned up becoming a little undone and out of character, and to Balogh's credit he was never far away from the character we saw through the series. I appreciate the consistency and voice. He really was one of the most reserved heroes I've read, and I enjoy that. I like that he was the very essence of "still waters run deep," which is obviously part of why Christine's mischaracterization of him constantly grated on me. For whatever reason, I was hoping for someone that assumed the best of him, but I couldn't see why she'd fall for him believing what she did.

So mark it down, I was on the hero's side for once. Less successful for me than I hoped, but still worth a revisit someday. show less

The final novel in the Bedwyn series, Slightly Dangerous tells the story of the seemingly cold, authoritarian eldest brother, Wulfric, the Duke of Bewcastle and the widowed Christine Derrick, a lively schoolteacher with a talent for calamity. Wulfric is that peculiarly affecting kind of hero who isn't overt in his emotions, but shows them, almost inadvertently through his uncharacteristic actions around the most unsuitable Mrs. Derrick. Well worth reading (and re-reading).