Slightly Sinful 
asked by imtheboss on October 31, 2006 2:09 PM
Meet the Bedwyns--six brothers and sisters--men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality....Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction...where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal...and where Alleyne Bedwyn, the passionate middle son, is cut off from his past--only to find his future with a sinfully beautiful woman he will risk everything to love.
As the fires of war raged around him, Lord Alleyne Bedwyn was thrown from his horse and left for dead--only to awaken in the bedchamber of a ladies' brothel. Suddenly the dark, handsome diplomat has no memory of who he is or how he got there--yet of one thing he is certain: The angel who nurses him back to health is the woman he vows to make his own. But like him, Rachel York is not who she seems. A lovely young woman caught up in a desperate circumstance, she must devise a scheme to regain her stolen fortune. The dashing soldier she rescued from near-death could be her savior in disguise. There is just one condition: she must pose as his wife--a masquerade that will embroil them in a sinful scandal, where a man and a woman court impropriety with each daring step...with every taboo kiss that can turn passionate strangers into the truest of lovers.
As the fires of war raged around him, Lord Alleyne Bedwyn was thrown from his horse and left for dead--only to awaken in the bedchamber of a ladies' brothel. Suddenly the dark, handsome diplomat has no memory of who he is or how he got there--yet of one thing he is certain: The angel who nurses him back to health is the woman he vows to make his own. But like him, Rachel York is not who she seems. A lovely young woman caught up in a desperate circumstance, she must devise a scheme to regain her stolen fortune. The dashing soldier she rescued from near-death could be her savior in disguise. There is just one condition: she must pose as his wife--a masquerade that will embroil them in a sinful scandal, where a man and a woman court impropriety with each daring step...with every taboo kiss that can turn passionate strangers into the truest of lovers.
Reviews
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"Slightly Sinful" continues the story of the Bedwyn family, first introduced to us in "A Summer To Remember" and now with their own "slightly" series.
"Slightly Sinful" follows Lord Alleyne Bedwyn, youngest brother of the Duke of Bewcastle, as he approaches the Battle of Waterloo as a courier for a diplomat. Injured when carrying a letter away from the Duke of Wellington he falls from his horse and loses consciousness.
He awakes not knowing who he is - and finds himself in a brothel. He was rescued by Rachel York, a young lady who happens to be staying in the brothel with her former governess, now a prostitute, and her three co-workers. The five ladies are all bound together by a shared disaster - a clergyman they trusted to carry their money back to England has absconded with it. This clergyman was also engaged to Rachel but they now know he was only interested in her inheritance. The ladies decided to go and loot some of the bodies after the Battle of Waterloo and this is where Rachel found Alleyne, his body already stripped as he was thought dead. She brought him back to the brothel as the only place to take care of him, with the help of a one-eyed sergeant, and waited for him to wake up.
The descriptions of the battle are excellent, as is the way that Alleyne deals with his loss of memory. His romance with Rachel is gently portrayed - in fact it's something that arrives very gently over time. Of course both of them are very attractive (as usual in this kind of book) but Mary Balogh seems to be trying to say that shared experiences of fear and rescue are what originally bind them together.
They return to England and Alleyne agrees to masquerade as Rachel's husband so that she can get her jewels from her aloof uncle - they will come to her on her twenty fifth birthday or when she is married. She arrives at her uncle's house with Alleyne, the four prostitutes pretending to be maids or companions and the Sergeant. But her memory of her uncle isn't true to reality and she has to start reconsidering his dealings with her in the past and viewing them in a new way.
In some ways this book is a little cold and gentle - there's not too much action after the initial Waterloo battle, most of the scenes are between Rachel and Alleyne and I liked that, and the lovers themselves aren't as warm and passionate as some of the other books in the series. In a way I liked that about this book - it felt more real, particularly the description of Alleyne's emotions. He's afraid in the battle and once he realises who he is, he is afraid to go back to his family. This rang true and I liked it.
Overall I think this was a well-written book but it wasn't the sort of novel that stays in your mind and that you want to read over and over again.
"Slightly Sinful" follows Lord Alleyne Bedwyn, youngest brother of the Duke of Bewcastle, as he approaches the Battle of Waterloo as a courier for a diplomat. Injured when carrying a letter away from the Duke of Wellington he falls from his horse and loses consciousness.
He awakes not knowing who he is - and finds himself in a brothel. He was rescued by Rachel York, a young lady who happens to be staying in the brothel with her former governess, now a prostitute, and her three co-workers. The five ladies are all bound together by a shared disaster - a clergyman they trusted to carry their money back to England has absconded with it. This clergyman was also engaged to Rachel but they now know he was only interested in her inheritance. The ladies decided to go and loot some of the bodies after the Battle of Waterloo and this is where Rachel found Alleyne, his body already stripped as he was thought dead. She brought him back to the brothel as the only place to take care of him, with the help of a one-eyed sergeant, and waited for him to wake up.
The descriptions of the battle are excellent, as is the way that Alleyne deals with his loss of memory. His romance with Rachel is gently portrayed - in fact it's something that arrives very gently over time. Of course both of them are very attractive (as usual in this kind of book) but Mary Balogh seems to be trying to say that shared experiences of fear and rescue are what originally bind them together.
They return to England and Alleyne agrees to masquerade as Rachel's husband so that she can get her jewels from her aloof uncle - they will come to her on her twenty fifth birthday or when she is married. She arrives at her uncle's house with Alleyne, the four prostitutes pretending to be maids or companions and the Sergeant. But her memory of her uncle isn't true to reality and she has to start reconsidering his dealings with her in the past and viewing them in a new way.
In some ways this book is a little cold and gentle - there's not too much action after the initial Waterloo battle, most of the scenes are between Rachel and Alleyne and I liked that, and the lovers themselves aren't as warm and passionate as some of the other books in the series. In a way I liked that about this book - it felt more real, particularly the description of Alleyne's emotions. He's afraid in the battle and once he realises who he is, he is afraid to go back to his family. This rang true and I liked it.
Overall I think this was a well-written book but it wasn't the sort of novel that stays in your mind and that you want to read over and over again.
reviewed by costa on November 15, 2006 3:18 PM
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This book is a great addition to the Bedwyn Series, each book is very different and does not have the same plot as some series can lean toward. A great read!!
reviewed by papi on November 24, 2006 3:20 AM
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Like other readers I knew I was going to love Alleyne. From the moment I finished Morgan's story I could not wait to find out what happened to him - falling from his horse, shot near Waterloo he is surely to die. However an angel discovers him - Rachel York. He is immediately in love, why not she saved his life, she is beautiful and a kind and wonderful person. She is also living in a brothel. Alleyne of course assumes wrong that she is working there and when he is able attempts to seduce her - although she had started to have feelings for him too so it was mutual. This is the part of the story I had difficulty with. I wanted them to be lovers. I realize Alleyne had lost all memory and being a gentleman he believed he realized he might even be married - but his reaction to Rachel being a virgin just seemed troubling. He was angry with her - the fact that she saved his live I think should have overshadowed him having any reason to be angry. The fact that she was not able to enjoy her first time was sad. The fact that they acted for a long time after that resentful of that act was not what I wanted in the story. I wanted real romance. I think this story could have been more. I liked the fact that he could not remember. I loved how he sorted out what kind of a person he might have been and what he was enjoying now with no memories. I too could hardly wait for the ending and his being reunited with his family. I liked Rachel and I am happy these two find each other, I just believe that the road there could have been a little more romantic and not so analytical. The secondary characters were good and since they were all prostitutes it made for an enjoyable back drop to the story. Certainly one of the best moments of the book is the reunion with his family right after the marriage of Morgan - lots of tears at this part of the book. As part of this great series it is important to read them all - some of the stories are a little better than this one but this is still a good solid 4!
reviewed by alec on November 27, 2006 12:58 PM