I've been reading this series on and off for a while and just recently binged on the last two and it reminded me of the best of romance, the meeting of two people who at first seem incompatible but turn out to bring out the best in each other and find that they miss having the other around, no matter how much the other infuriates them sometimes.

Wulfric Bedwyn agrees to go to a house party and Christine Derrick agrees to go too, they're not a couple, in fact she is not suitable Duchess material at all.  But he can't stop looking at her, being attracted to her and occasionally rescuing her from her good-hearted impulses.  She was happily married until her husband started to doubt her, now she lives in poverty and tries to be insignificant. Then Wulfric asks Christine to be his mistress and she refuses.

He wants her in his life but he's not sure that she's a suitable wife. Can he survive without her?

Charming and entertaining and worth reading.

The situations people find themselves in, the characters, the revenge meeted out, all so satisfying. Yes, the main female character had moments of silly and the male occasionally was a bit too determined that his way was the best, but the women kept showing him different ways of approaching problems and poking gentle fun at his assumptions.

Knocking himself out and waking up in a brothel doesn't sound like a bad plan to a lot of men, but no clothes and no memory is a problem.  Waterloo has just happened and the chaos has caused a few problems, not least of which is how to get back to England and how to get revenge on a man who robbed several of the characters.  In order to fix things Rachel York decides on a plan, but Lord Alleyne Bedwyn (known as Jonathan Smith for a lot of the story) wants to help, and his help complicates things.

I really liked the cast of characters and would love to see it filmed.

Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh is a fantastic historical romance.  Ms Balogh has delivered a well-written book furnished with amazing, lovable characters.  Wulfric and Christine's story is loaded with drama, sizzle and humor.  I totally loved this book and look forward to reading more from Mary Balogh in the future.  Slightly Dangerous is book 6 in the Bedwyn Saga but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I read a print copy of this book.

Opposites Attract is one of my favorite themes. I love the fun of two very differnt people learning to love and then live with each other. 

Here are some wonderful Historical Romances with this theme!

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy!

1. A Man and a Woman by Robin Schone

Widowed Megan Phillins longs to experience the intimacies shared with a man just once more. Playing the role of a harlot, she travels to the Land's End Inn, where she knocks upon the door of a mysterious stranger. After a night of forbidden passion Megan is shocked to discover the traveler is actually Connor Treffrey, an Englishman who was marooned and sold into slavery. But now Connor has returned to reunite with his well-bred family. And together, he and Megan will embark on a breathless journey of indescribable pleasure. . .

2. The Devil's Delilah by Loretta Chase

What’s a girl to do, when her father, known as Devil Desmond, is one of the most infamous rogues in all of England? Delilah Desmond is not happy. To provide for her, her father has sold his memoirs, filled with scandalous and embarrassing exploits—effectively ruining her chances for a suitable marriage, so she can support her family while saving her father from disgrace. 

But it seems the manuscript is in demand by all sorts of unscrupulous persons, and preventing its publication is going to be impossible; especially now that it has been stolen. Can the hot-tempered Delilah and her very unwilling accomplice, absent-minded, bookish, Jack Langdon with his soft grey eyes and tousled hair, salvage the disaster? It appears that deceptively quiet Jack may have a core of steel—and be the one man smart and strong enough to be the hero she’d been hoping for all along.

3. Garters by Pamela Morsi

Esme Crabb has spent a lifetime in the mountains trying to stir up good gravy from watery "poor-do". And she's had no help from her ne'er-do-well father or silly sisters. The family lives rough and gets by beholden to their neighbors. Esme was hoping the twins could marry well, but like everything that needs doing in her family, it seems she has to do it herself. Cleavis Rhy, Vader, Tennessee's prosperous storekeep hardly takes notice of the raggedy hill girl. That is until she asks him to marry her. 

4. The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

"I'm Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can't be celibate. Everyone knows that."

Desperate to escape her scheming relatives, Evangeline Jenner has sought the help of the most infamous scoundrel in London.

A marriage of convenience is the only solution.

No one would have ever paired the shy, stammering wallflower with the sinfully handsome viscount. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Evie is a woman of hidden strength—and Sebastian desires her more than any woman he's ever known.

Determined to win her husband's elusive heart, Evie dares to strike a bargain with the devil: If Sebastian can stay celibate for three months, she will allow him into her bed.

When Evie is threatened by a vengeful enemy from the past, Sebastian vows to do whatever it takes to protect his wife . . . even at the expense of his own life.

Together they will defy their perilous fate, for the sake of all-consuming love.

5. Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh

All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke’s eye—and she was the only female in the room who wasn’t even trying. Christine Derrick is intrigued by the handsome duke…all the more so when he invites her to become his mistress. 

What red-blooded woman wouldn’t enjoy a tumble in the bedsheets with a consummate lover—with no strings and no questions asked. An infuriating lady with very definite views on men, morals, and marriage, Christine confounds Wulfric at every turn. Yet even as the lone wolf of the Bedwyn clan vows to seduce her any way he can, something strange and wonderful is happening. Now for a man who thought he’d never lose his heart, nothing less than love will do.

6. The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale

The Shadow is wealthy, powerful and majestically handsome, he is a man of dark secrets - a master of the ancient martial arts of an exotic distant land. Scarred by a childhood of shocking degradation, he has sworn to love chastely ... but burns with the fires of unfulfilled passion.

The Star is lovely, innocent and nearly destitute, and drawn to him by a fevered yearning she could never deny - following her enigmatic ′shadow warrior′ into a dangerous world of desire and righteous retribution.

7. She's No Princess by Laura Lee Guhrke

A Royal Pain... 

The illegitimate daughter of a prince and a notorious courtesan, Lucia has been confined to schools and convents for most of her life. But that hasn't stopped her from causing one scandal after another. Exasperated, her royal father decides that his exquisite hellion of a daughter must be married immediately. And Sir Ian Moore, Britain's most proper diplomat, is the perfect man to choose her a groom. 

Diplomacy, not matchmaker, is Ian's forte, but he vows to get Lucia married off as soon as possible so that he may return to his real duties. Yet, despite an abundance of very eager, worthwhile candidates, none is a match for Lucia's spirit and fire. And the more time Ian spends with the infuriating beauty, the more reluctant he is to marry her off. Could it be that he has already found Lucia the perfect husband...and it is Ian himself?

8. The Last Rogue by Deborah Simmons

Raleigh Hadn't Gambled On Finding A Virgin In His Bed—

but when he awoke next to Jane Trowbridge, he knew all bets for bachelorhood were off. Now, instead of a love match, he'd gotten a sparring partner.

Jane had never imagined herself anyone's lawfully wedded wife, and now ironic fate had bound her to a hedonistic viscount who was a Tulip of the Ton. Still, could a man who only pursued pleasure find any pleasure pursuing her? And could she restrain her maidenly blushes long enough to lethim…?

9. The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas

Thrown off a wagon train with two other women and trying to avoid jail for a murder they committed, Bailee Moore agrees to enter a “Wife Lottery”—a ploy concocted by the Cedar Point sheriff to secure wives for the men in the small Texas town. For the sensible Bailee, however, marrying Carter McKoy is like exchanging one life sentence for another—especially since her new husband hasn’t even seen fit to utter a single word in her presence. But still, she can’t help thinking that something about this strong, silent farmer could be the key to leaving her troubled past behind…and making a worthy wager with her heart.

10. To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn

Eloise, a 28-year-old "spinster," flees London to visit her secret pen pal, Phillip, a troubled botanist and widower. The two plan to see if they are compatible, but Eloise's hopes plummet when she discovers that Phillip is not the romantic charmer of her dreams, but a grumpy father of twins. She agrees to remain for a fortnight, however, and as she interacts with him and his unruly children, she learns that he has a good heart, even if he is an emotionally distant father.

Did I miss one you love? I am sure I did because there are so many great reads!

Let me know!

Vote on my Goodreads list: Odd Couples: Opposites Attract in Historical Romance Novels