Book Review: Slightly Married by Mary Balogh

We begin on the battlefield in Toulouse, year 1814. Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn surveys the carnage; he’s very grim, very stoic, very cold. Not the military man you want to mess with, for sure. Also he’s probably not your ideal pick for Romantic Leading Man:

He looked broad and solid and powerful and menacing. He had a harsh, weathered face, its darkness accentuated by black hair and eyebrows It was a grim face, with hard, nearly black eyes, a great hooked nose, and thin, cruel-looking lips.

Anyway. Aidan, our paragon of bleak martial sobriety, comes upon a fellow officer dying of his wounds. Turns out that it’s Percy Morris, a young captain who saved Aidan’s life some time ago. Percy faces death quite bravely—like any proper British subject should, but extracts a promise from Aidan to go and tell his sister, Eve, of her brother’s death in person, and also to protect her. Whatever that means?

So then Aidan’s like, “Well, shit, gotta go to Oxfordshire and tell some poor woman she has no living family, and also I have to help her do something? Fun times.”

And he had sworn on his most sacred honor to protect her. From what—or from whom—he had no idea.

No matter what!

The echo of those last three words of the dying man rang in his ears. What could they possibly mean? What exactly had he sworn to?

And then we’re off to England.

Bum bum bum.

So, in England, Eve Morris is a pretty great human. She’s independently wealthy and completely happy with her life. Something of bleeding heart, she’s spent most of her efforts taking care of the poor and others whom Regency-era society deems undesirable (orphans, ex-convicts, amputees, unwed mothers, etc.). Eve’s pretty great.

But then in rides Aidan there to spoil her fucking day. Asshole.

Annnnd, now Eve’s got a problem. Because her dad was also an asshole and really wanted her to get married and improve the family legacy and all that nonsense, his will stipulates that she can only keep her inheritance if she gets married within 1 year after his death.

And the year is running out in…4 days.

Well, shit.

Lucky for us, we have Colonel Lord Aidan Bedwyn at hand, ready to step in and do the honorable thing. Which means: MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE!

*throws confetti*

So, on the short list of Renae’s favorite historical romance tropes we have: virgin heroes, second chance romance, married couples, and…marriage of convenience. This is the content I’m here for, and Mary Balogh really seems to have my number when it comes to the tropes I love. I fucking ate Slightly Married with a big spoon and then asked for second helpings. I love it and I’m here for it.

One thing I’ve noticed about Balogh is that her characters are super real. I absolutely believe that Eve and Aidan would be two people who exist is the real Regency world. These are two grown-up people with real issues, shared goals, and a mature attitude toward figuring things out. There’s drama in this book, but it’s like…grown-up drama. You know, the kind of drama that a 25-year-old and a 30-year-old with vastly opposing personalities would be having if they found themselves suddenly married for better or for worse.

Also, let’s just talk about the Bedwyns as a family, because man are they great. And they’re great because they are unlikeable as hell. Forget problematic fave, these guys are just problematic. Obviously the reader grows to like Aidan quite a bit by the time Slightly Married concludes, but I’m not like…he’s still a ultra-serious soldier with a too-highly ingrained need to always do the right thing and a bit of emotional constipation.

Anyways, yes. The Bedwyns are lowkey awful. And Eve gets mixed up with them because the Duke guilt-trips her into making an appearance in London for the Season. Gooddamit, Wulf. Stop being such an asshole. But! Eve doesn’t take shit from anyone, even cold-hearted dukes with quizzing glasses. She stands up to them all, doesn’t compromise on who she is, and eventually proves that she’s just as good as anyone, even if she’s the daughter of a Welsh coal miner.

Which, of course, gets Aidan’s love juices flowing:

He was starting to wonder about her as a person. He had had a few tantalizing glimpses of a warmhearted, loyal, fun-loving woman, and it was not good for him to think of her a person. Worse, he had caught himself more than once with lustful thoughts about her.

Going along with that, I did like that Slightly Married has a pretty good outlook on the protagonists’ sex lives. Aidan and Eve sleep together pretty shortly after they’re married—because why the hell not? Two consenting adults who also happened to be married might as well, even if they’re not in love. Good for you, Mary Balogh! I support this so much.

Oh yeah, remember when I said Aidan was a little bit emotionally constipated? Well, he is. He’s got a slightly pessimistic outlook on romance in general:

“I do not believe in romantic love. It is a mere euphemism for sexual appetite with men and the desire for home and security with women. I do believe in loyalty and familial affection, though.”

And, I mean, yeah that’s a little dark. And maybe Aidan sort of changes his tune by the end of it all, BUT I LIKE IT.

I love Mary Balogh.

Moving on!

I will leave you with this wonderful thought on why would shouldn’t actually all want a Happily Ever After:

“But is there such a thing, Aidan? Happily ever after, I mean?”

“No,” he said, his smile softening to tenderness. “There is something infinitely better than happily ever after. There is happiness. Happiness is a living, dynamic thing, Eve, and has to be worked on every moment for the rest of our lives. It is a far more exciting prospect than that silly static idea of a happily ever after. Would you not agree?”

Look, maybe two people admitting that marriage a lot of hard work doesn’t give you the fuzzies, but like I said, I eat that shit up with a spoon. Simply Married, I salute you.