Slightly Tempted by Mary Balogh

The Chick: Morgan Bedwyn, youngest and prettiest of the Bedwyn children, and wants to be known by her personality, not her family.

The Dude: Gervase Ashford, Earl of Rosthorn, exciled to europe many years ago for a crime he did not commit, he is looking to seek revenge on the people who did not help him.

The Plot in 10 (ish):

Gervase: THAT is the sister of the Duke of Bewcastle! I think I will enjoy my revenge.

Morgan: You are a silly rake, but I will match you with flirtation, you can't fool a Bedwyn!

Gervase: hey your actually quite intellectual and I like you, maybe I wont use you in my revenge.

War! BATTLE!

Allyene: what are you dong her still! This is no safe place for young women! I will just pop out and when I return I will take you home!

Self centred chaperone: my darling son has been injured! He has a splinter in his leg and I must take him back to England to ensure he has the best treatment and uses the correct tweezers to remove the booboo.

Morgan: can you please wait one day for Alleyne to return, he should be back very soon.

Self centred Chaperone: Strong minded will-full girl! My son my suffer from a small limp the rest of his life!

Gervase: Fine if you wont stay, she can stay with the other army wifes and I will make sure that she is safe.

Morgan: Alleyne has not returned and I must return to England to tell the family. Please comfort me!

*Bow chicka wowow*

Gervase: Will you marry me I will make more scandel so you will have to if you don’t say yes

*more scandal*

Morgan: ok, yes!

The End

The Book:

It is a hub of anticipation in Brussels as the Army is gathering to fight back the French and finally defeat old Boney and the family’s of friends of the officers have gathered to offer support while it is still safe. Morgan has come with her brother, Allyene and the Earl and Countess of Caddick and she is good friends with the daughter and their son is believed to have an attachment between him and Morgan.

Gervase spots Morgan from across the Ball Room and he is trilled to discover that she is the sister of the Duke of Bewcastle, who is the cause of his exile to the continent 9 years ago. He decides to cause gossip between himself and Morgan so that it will reach the Duke of Bewcastle and gain revenge for his lost years and humiliate him like Gervase has suffered. He starts with a Waltz, dancing too close and too fast for the British sensibilities and starts tongues wagging. Morgan sees him for what he is a Rake, but decides to flirt back and not be shocked, because you can not shock a Bedwyn!

As Gervase continues his scandal by hosting a midnight picnic in the forest, he starts to realise that she is more than just Bewcastle's sister and he does start to like her, so much so that he decides she should not bring her into his revenge and decides to stay away from her.

All hell breaks loose when fighting starts just outside the city Morgan and the Caddicks cannot leave in time and must stay in the city instead! Alleyne returns from his business and is shocked to find Morgan still there! He must go to the front and deliver a message to Wellington, but when he returns, he will take her home personally. In the mean time Morgan helps the army wives look after the wounded as they start to flood into the city. Gervase is shocked to find her at the gates, with blood smeared on her dress attending a wounded soldier. Alleyne has still not returned and the Caddicks will not wait for him to return as they wish to take their son back to England to ensure that his broken leg has been set correctly and will not have a limp. So Gervase personally sees that she is kept safe and no harm can be done and brings her back to England but unfortunately this brings even more gossip which Gervase did not want to create as he realises he cares for her.

I really enjoyed this book and all the Bedwyns so far.

Morgan, I found endearing trying to make her mark on the world and not be just another Bedwyn.

Gervase did get a little bit annoying for me, due to his constant French Endearments of Cherie. I can't understand how he is English born, and lived in England till he was in his early twenties and yet he has a French accent. I understand that his mother is French and she would have spoken it as well as with his family, but you never see his use his 'native' language, even when he see his mother for the first time in 9 years. I understand in his exile he hadn't been living in France as Brussels was the closest he had come to home, but instead spoke English on his travels with a slight accent that gets heavy or light.

His first reaction when he sees Morgan to get revenge I fully understand, but what confused me was that when he gets to know her and decides not to create any more scandal with her, but be her friend. Fine, until he reaches English soil and then decides to create more scandal by dancing alone with her in a room... why? It is not as if everyone is mentioning the past about why he had to leave, I think I recall one vague mention.

But over all I do like Gervase he is there to comfort and look after Morgan and ensure she doesn’t get in harms way. Morgan softens him and encourages him to forgive and dwell on the past which she must also swallow her own medicine at the end.

I also really enjoyed the background to the battle of Waterloo as well. It was interesting to see how the women coped with the situation and did they really have a ball the night before battle?

B+

Find it on Amazon -  Slightly Tempted

Her Cinderella Season by Deb Marlowe

The Chick: Lilly Beecham, wild as a child, she became reserved after the death of her father to please her mother. She is only out in society when it is connected with her work in the evangelical church and so when she eventually gets to visit London, she wishes to make the most of it and find out what sort of person she really is.

The Dude: Jack Alden, having be thwarted by a thief who was trying to steal antiquities. Jack is obsessed with catching the thief and bringing him to justice. His only connection is the missing cousin of Lilys, but will she tell him where he is?

The Plot in 10 (ish):

Priest: I'm going away for a year, but I wish for you to wait for me and when I return we shall marry?

Lily:*life flashes before her eyes* this is not what I dreamed of.. who have I become.

Jack: I need to find this thief! Why don’t you stay with mother and experience society and you can tell me if you hear from your missing cousin.

Lily: Yey, I get to go out and be my self for a change!

Jack: you are so good and kind, I want to be in your presence at all times

Lily: oh no the orphanage has burn down, we must save the orphans!

Jack: Your goodness emanates from you, but you have lips which make me want to sin....

*Bown Chika wow wow*

Jack: I can't be with you because I am not good enough!

Lily: come back to me when you have caught the thief... then you will know if you are good enough

*thief caught*

Jack :I'm Back and I realised I was always good enough.

Huzzah!

The Book:

After the death of her father Lily has became the perfect daughter to try to win her mothers respect. Helping her mother with her work with the Evangelicals. She has stayed away from London and society and instead helped with causes and raise awareness. She is in London with her mother to raise money for a cause but she will not be able to go to a ball and see the sights or parks which she deeply wishes to visit. When a rector proposes to her and asks her to wait for a year until his return, she realises that this is what her life will be and she will never be able to do what she wanted to do.

In shock she walks in to the road and is almost run over by a carriage driven by Jack. Jack is a recluse scholar who was recently shot while trying to stop thieves stealing antiquities. Unfortunately one got away and Jack is still searching for him, so that he can be brought to justice. Jack believes that Lily's cousin may hold a clue as to the location of the thief, but he is missing too and so he must gain her trust and find out what she knows. He manages to manipulate the situation so that she can stay in London with his mother for the season while her mother is travelling spreading the evangelical word. Lilly cannot believe her luck as she will be able to be herself again and maybe even attend a ball!

Jack feels a connection to Lily but he is very guarded with his feelings because of how his father treated him and so he does not think that he is good enough for Lily. Lily can see past his emotional walls and wants to be part of his life, if only he would bring them down long enough so that she could show him.

I found this book a little bit annoying.

It felt like I needed a construction hat with the constant references to walls being built and destroyed and then rebuilt and then partially destroyed, it got annoying after a while.

And then there was the constant monologuing, he would look at her and from one facial expression he knew that she could bring world peace and end world hunger and cure cancer, etc. Some people really enjoy reading the constant self - physoc analysis of characters, but it just isn’t my cup of tea. I much prefer showing how they feel than talking about it and analysing it.

I'm also not sure about the name cinderella story, I'm mean lets do a check list of what makes cinderella:

Poor – nope

Ugly sisters – nope

Evil step mother – nope

go to a ball in a dress– check

Dance with prince and him not know who you are – nope

Loose an item of clothing at ball – nope

Prince then try to find out who you care carrying lost item - nope

fairy godmother – half check (his mother sort of counts)

seems to me a bit of a long shot to call it that. It should be called something like 'the walls that he built'.

The story wasn't awful but the characters seemed a bit flat and boring Lily was a bit little miss perfect who is kind to animals and the poor and sings, if she started talking to the animals then she would definitely be a Disney character. Jack I didn’t really find him interesting, I just found it all mediocre. I understand that this is part of a series about the brothers, so perhaps reading the others would help me understand them, but it just did nothing for me.

C

Find it on Amazon - Her Cinderella Season (Harlequin Historical Series)