Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very enjoyable read, 22 Nov 2003
I thorougly enjoyed reading Freyja and Joshua's story. It was in total contrast to Eve and Aiden's story in "Slightly Married". These were two strong and socially powerful characters. There was a lot of honesty, such a welcome change to the usual formula. Freyja was no simpering miss and Joshua was a likeable hero. And as for the energy in love scenes...Of course there were obstacles to overcome in the form of dreadful relatives, some of which were clichéd, and is why I have not given this book full marks.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Light, Pleasant Read From Mary Balogh, 28 Feb 2005
Lady Freyja Bedwyn is not the usual Regency romance haute ton beauty. In fact she is not a beautiful woman at all, although many would call her handsome, with her prominent nose, dark brows, olive complexion, and mass of fair unruly hair. Her high spirits, independence and competitive ways are anything but ladylike. She was raised with her four older brothers, Wulfric, Duke of Bewcastle, Aiden, Rannulf, Alleyne and younger sister Morgan, and matched her male siblings in all their sporting activities. She was definitely not one to sit still and play the fragile female.The story opens with Lady Freyja visiting friends in Bath. She has escaped the christening of her ex-fiance's son back home and is depressed by old memories of a time when they were betrothed. She hides her vulnerability behind a veneer of icy pride. In an outrageous encounter on her journey to Bath she meets Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallsmere, when he barges into her bedroom at a local inn and begs her to hide him. The two meet again in Bath under extremely funny circumstances. This brash, adventurous young man is fleeing his aunt's matchmaking schemes and is much taken by the strongwilled Freyja. There is obvious chemistry between them. In a spontaneous moment the two decide to fake a betrothal - he to get away from his aunt's matrimonial plans, she to prove to the world that she need not remain a spinster. Obviously fate intervenes and the couple is unable to announce their break-up within the week as they originally planned. This is the last book in the Bedwyn family trilogy. "Slightly Scandalous," as with the first book "Slightly Married," makes for a light and pleasant romantic read. The plot is not very original, although it is more complex than the storyline in book one. I did like Josh as a hero. He appears quite cavalier at first, but then the depth of his character becomes obvious. I also enjoyed the scenes with their families at their different estates - Freyja's at Lindsey Hall and Josh's in Cornwall. The other characters are charming, although predictable. Ms. Balogh writes in her usual warm, emotional style which enhances the cliche plot. I enjoyed reading "Slightly Scandalous" and do recommend it as long as potential buyers/readers realize that this is not Ms. Balogh's best effort.
JANA
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The excellent third book in the Bedwyn Series, 4 Feb 2007
Although very much a fan of Mary Balogh's Regency romances I have been a little disappointed in some of her more recent books, mainly in the "Slightly" series. Chronologically "Slightly Married" (the story of Aidan) and "Slightly Wicked" (Rannulf) come before this book, although "A Summer To Remember" introduced this family. In many of these books Lady Freyja appears and she was always a character I found difficult to like - she was positively nasty to the heroine in "A Summer To Remember" and seems to go around punching people; not very endearing.
Slightly Scandalous is Freyja's story and it's actually very good. It starts off as she is on her way to Bath to stay with a friend, ostensibly to be social but really to get away from her home and her neighbours as Viscount Ravensberg, the man she loved, is expecting a child with his wife (the characters from "A Summer To Remember"). Despite these events having happened almost a year ago Freyja is most certainly not over them - Bedwyns love only once, of course, and she loved Kit Ravensberg. What hope is there for her future?
But in Bath, and in fact before, she bumps into Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, who seems to be about the only man who can match her in fun, humour and derring do. They have great fun together (despite Freyja's lamentable tendencies to punch him in the nose) and it ends up that they will both help each other out by a fake betrothal. But fake betrothals are rather difficult to handle when people get more and more involved, especially when one of the two is accused of murder.
This book was excellent in terms of plot and character. Joshua, Marquess of Hallmere, slowly reveals to Freyja that he's not just a wastrel laughing lad but also has hidden depths. Freyja is revealed as someone who can have her heart broken and who has her own secrets - some of which are very honourable (she is the benefactress of a school, which is the school featured in the most recent "Simply" series). The rest of the Bedwyns make quite a showing in this book - it's evident that Mary Balogh loves these, her creations, but I find them a little trying at times. Still they worked well in this book, even Wulfric, who sometimes seems too cardboard a villainous character.
My reservations about this book were its similarities to "A Summer To Remember" - fake betrothal etc. Also I couldn't separate out the characters of Kit Ravensberg and Joshua Hallmere - they seemed almost identical; if I were Josh I'd worry his wife was trying to find the man most like her lost love. But these are minor niggles in what is otherwise an excellent story and something for the keeper shelf.
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