Customer Reviews

Slightly Scandalous

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really disliked Lady Freyja Bedwyn when she was first introduced in the wonderful "A Summer to Remember". She was haughty, disdainful, spoiled and downright nasty! But Slightly Scandalous takes us into the heart and mind of this feisty, proud and complex woman and by the end of this book, I admired the woman she became once she let herself love and be loved by the unconventional and decidedly unstuffy Josh.

Freyja had been engaged to Kit Butler, her neighbor, childhood friend and, for one summer, her first love. But Kit had other plans, bringing home his own bride (lovely and perfect Lauren) whom Freyja chooses to despise. Now their first child is due any day and Freyja cannot bear to be around to witness their happiness. And so she makes for Bath to stay with friends until after the birth and ensuing festivities. While staying the night at an inn, a man bursts into her room asking her to hide him then steals a kiss and earns a punch in the nose for his efforts before being forced out the window.

Once in Bath, routine and tedium take hold until Freyja meets up again with her midnight visitor from the inn. He is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere. He constantly has an amused, mischievous twinkle in his eye and he loves to push Freyja's buttons. He may be infuriating, but she quickly realizes that he is the most interesting and enjoyable company she's had since coming to Bath. Together they become the talk of the town and when a plot is discovered to marry Josh off against his will, he asks Freyja to enter into a fake betrothal to thwart his aunt. She agrees thinking it will be a fun and temporary lark.

How wrong they both are and soon things have gone way too far when Freyja's brother, the Duke of Bewcastle arrives in Bath demanding to know what is going on. Each time they try to end the betrothal something comes up that causes them to keep up the charade. And the more time they spend together, the worse it gets, for they are slowly becoming quite attached to one another. Freyja starts to see that Josh is more than just a shallow, handsome, enjoyable companion. He's kind, generous, down-to-earth and seems willing to take on his responsibilties to his estate and his female cousins. And Josh more than admires Freyja's spirit, intelligence, and new-found open mindedness and wonders why they must part at all. But will Freyja be willing to risk giving her heart a second time? Can she trust Josh with it?

An enjoyable couple who brought out the best in one another and were truly friends as well as lovers. A highly recommended read!

Ms. Balogh accomplishes what a talented few can... three wonderful books in a series, with each and every one standing firmly on its own merits as exceptionally entertaining romances!

I won't give a synopsis of the plot, since other reviewers have done so in detail, but I will just say that, I love Joshua, the hero in this book! He is a strong character, quite capable of handling the conflicts that arise throughout the book, but it's his witty repartee and wonderful sense of humor with which he views life and his "fiancee" that captured my attention, kept me grinning with each passing page, and made me fall in love.

And I must give Ms. Balogh an A+ for managing to turn around my opinion of the oh-so-serious tomboy sister-of-a-Duke, known as "Free" to her family. Joshua's ability to "take her down a peg or two" is so well written, you just have to laugh! She becomes the perfect balance to the fun-loving Marquess and their initial encounters, which ultimately lead to a full-blown relationship that's very real indeed, were an absolute joy to read!

I highly recommend this series: Just in case, for those who don't already know... the order is Slightly Married, Slightly Wicked and Slightly Scandalous... so far. Can't wait for Wulf's tale!

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 much 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 if predictable. Ms. Balogh writes in her usual warm, emotional style which enhances the somewhat over-used 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

If you've been following the Bedwyn series, you'll already know Lady Freyja Bedwyn. Haughty, shrewish, with the prominent Bedwyn nose and, at best, referred to as 'handsome', her best feature is her family name and wealth. She's refused suitors galore and frozen others out long before they've had a chance to get close to proposing. Up to this point, you might be forgiven for thinking that she doesn't have a lot to recommend her as a heroine. You might be forgiven for actively disliking her.

Balogh goes some way to change readers' perceptions of Freyja in the first chapter. She's travelling to Bath, to stay with people she doesn't really like very much, but then she doesn't want to be anywhere near the Bedwyn family home at the moment because their neighbours, the Ravensburgs, are about to have their first child... and Freyja was all-but jilted by Kit Ravensburg (A Summer to Remember) and she hasn't yet got over that. En route to Bath, her bedroom is invaded by a man who begs her not to reveal his presence and then hides in the wardrobe. She doesn't give him away, but when he kisses her she gives him a bloody nose. Well, we find out that she's no shrinking violet, certainly. Next, we get an intriguing glimpse of her visiting a school to enquire after its well-being and being sent away with a flea in her ear by the owner... who we discover was a former governess of Freyja's and whom she treated badly. Unknown to the governess, Freyja has been secretly funding the school ever since - another insight into her character.

Freyja's mysterious inn encounter turns out to have been with none other than Joshua, the Marquess of Hallmere. They clash again in Bath, but then begin to find that they actually enjoy each other's company. Then, as Joshua is being actively pursued and almost compromised into marrying a cousin, Freyja agrees to 'rescue' him by pretending to be his fiancee, an arrangement they will call off once Joshua feels safe. All's well that ends well - until someone gossips in the Duke of Bedwyn's hearing. The Duke hurries to Bath to find out what his sister is up to and insists that she bring her fiance home to meet the family. All is still well, as they plan for Freyja to break off the engagement with some excuse later... and yet she doesn't. When Joshua finds himself accused of murder, Freyja and most of the Bedwyns decamp to his home to help him clear his name, and he and Freyja are even more cast into each other's company. Can Freyja trust Joshua enough to overcome her determination that he's not a good husband? Does he really want to marry her anyway, or is he just teasing?

By this time, I was getting a little tired of the 'fake betrothal' plot; we've had it three times, what with A Summer to Remember, Slightly Wicked and now this book, plus the marriage of convenience in Slightly Married. Yet I should have trusted Balogh. The execution of the plot isn't at all cliched, and the characters sparkle. It didn't take me long at all to feel empathy and then liking for Freyja - if you're tired of prim-and-proper heroines, then she's perfect. She's forthright, which means she puts her foot in it, but her heart's in the right place. Joshua is irreverent, with a huge sense of fun, which leads Freyja to think that he can't take anything seriously - which isn't true, but he enjoys letting her think that it is. Their dialogue sparkles, and Joshua himself is a worthy hero. Probably the best of the first three books.

We meet Lady Freyja Bedwyn in "A Summer to Remember" and she is haughty, stuck-up and insufferable. Throughout the first two Bedwyn books she remains so, although she does eventually grow on the reader. In "Slightly Scandalous" we finally get a glimpse into Freyja's mind, and what a mind it is. FINALLY, a heroine who does not simper or whine or play coy. Even though all of Balogh's heroines are wonderful in their own way, Freyja is simply the best. And, oh my, the hero of the novel, Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere! What a catch. FINALLY, a man who laughs at the woman, instead of getting into a snit because she doesn't fawn over him. Both leads are remarkable. There are no frustrating misunderstandings in this novel. When Freyja gets uppity, Josh laughs at her, forcing her to laugh at herself. The characters are multi-dimensional and just so wonderfully human. The comraderie and loyalty of the Bedwyns has never been stronger than in this book. It was nice to see them all interact and play with each other. I appreciated their bond, even Wulfric seemed human.

I have read five of Mary Balogh's novels and not one of her heroines has been like the other. Nor her heroes either. Often romance authors stick with stock characters and they are all interchangeable (Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught for instance...but hey, they found a formula that worked for them.) It is refreshing though to pick up a romance novel and read it and know that I am going to be reading a NEW story, one that hasn't been retold a thousand times over.

I did not want to finish "Slightly Scandalous" because I didn't want to be finished with Freyja and Josh. Hopefully I will see them at least three more times as I read the rest of the novels in the series.

Thank you, Ms. Balogh, for giving your readers a heroine and a hero to cheer for.

Lady Freyja Bedwyn is staying in an inn on her way to Bath when Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere bursts into her room and hides in the wardrobe. He gives an unwanted kiss and in return she gives him a punch on the nose. Later they meet by chance in in a park in Bath and Lady Freyja gives Joshua another punch on the nose thinking that he is about to compromise an innocent girl in the park. Further meetings take place in Bath and after clearing up their misunderstanding Freyja agrees to pose as Joshua's fiancee to thwart plans by his aunt to get Joshua to married to his cousin. As time goes by their betrothal becomes more and more real as do their feelings for each other.

This book was a wonderful regency romp. The hero is a mischievous rogue with a heart of gold and the heroine is a headstrong lady with a punch that packs. Freyja is not a typical beauty but Joshua sees her as his beautiful untamed lady anyway. It was great to see the two antagonists fall in love with each other and realise that their betrothal is more than a fake one. A very good read indeed and I can't wait to read the other books in the series.

Lealing

Oho ... who would think that the "slightly" series could get even better? Well it just has!

Honestly, this is the first (sorely waited) story for a side character, Freyja first appeared in 'a summer to remember', that has actually exceeded my expectations and had exactly the kind of exciting, interesting story I have believed the portrayed character, Freyja, would have (or rather demand)!!

Freyja Bedwyn and Joshua Moore (Marquess of Hallmere) are two thoroughly interesting characters who embark on numerous adventures together and end up falsely bethrothed along the way ..... the question for Freyja is does she want a real bethrothal with "the man"?? I won't ruin all the wonderfully witty things that occur in this story, but let you delve into the depths of this excellent book yourself.

If you love "fresh" story-lines, conversations that make you laugh out loud, and characters that are honest to themselves with their own feelings (and not simpering idiots) .... then this is definitely a book you will love! Freyja is the most entertaining, unique "leading lady" that I have EVER read about in a romance novel ........ she is simply fabulous!

This is definitely worth your trouble .... buy it/borrow it, do whatever needs to be done to get your hands on it and read to your hearts content ...... you will not be disappointed!!!!!!!!!!! .... you have my guarantee ... good reading, Kristina

Wow - I wasn't sure that even Mary Balogh could make Lady Freyja Bedwyn someone I would like as a heroine; but she did it in spades!

We have seen Lady Freyja in 'Summer to Remember' and the two previous Bedwyn books and know her as a tomboy (hoyden), not pretty (how can she be with the family hooked nose) and we have had hints that she is far more vulnerable than surface appearances might suggest. 'Slightly Scandalous' lets us enjoy watching her deal with her past and her insecurities, this kind of character development the Balogh does extremely well and which I thoroughly enjoy.

Briefly, the book starts when Lady Freyja is on her way to Bath - to escape the family home during the celebration of Kit and Lauren's (Summer to Remember) first child - and meets the charming and bold Joshua Moore (Marquess of Hallmere) who is escaping the clutches of a fortune hunting "young miss" who is trying to compromise him. This hilarious (to us the reader!) encounter ends with considerable misunderstanding on the part of our H/H. Watching them meet again in Bath and get acquainted is delicious. I especially liked the "big scene" in the Pump Room. Besides learning about the people, we get an excellent "portrait" of Bath as a slightly passé summer retreat for Society.

Enter Joshua's aunt (the villain of the piece) and her grand scheme to coerce her nephew into marrying his cousin Constance (her eldest daughter) just to keep control of the estate and money. Joshua and Freyja enter into a mock betrothal to foil her plans, with all sorts of ramifications! ( I found it a bit hard to swallow the characterization of Lady Hallmere - but was able to suspend judgment to further the "plot".)

Our protagonists then move back to the Bedwyn family home due to the intervention of Wulfric, the Duke (who else). Here we are treated to a glimpse of family life and see Freyja begin to face her true feelings about Kit. Further machinations on the part of Lady Hallmere (she dreams up an accusation of murder against Joshua) move Joshua, Freyja, Lord Alleyne and Lady Morgan all to Cornwall and Joshua's estate. There is not a great deal of tension or mystery involved; Joshua pretty competently sorts everything out. There are, however, some excellently drawn secondary characters in this part of the book for example, Joshua's younger cousin Prudence (who is mentally handicapped) and even the deceased Albert.

All in all a book rich in character -best of the three Bedwyn books so far. I recommended it

Again, I have to play both sides of the coin, as I have done with the other Balogh books that I have read. I've got some good things, and some bad things that I can say.

Overall, the book wasn't too bad. I ended up not disliking Freyja as much as I did in the previous books, but I still didn't quite like her. She was a bit too much of a snob. I really enjoyed Josh, though. The romance was fairly nice between Josh and Freyja, and the overall storyarc made sense and all that. I liked the parts surrounding Josh's family. It added some nice depth to the story. So yeah, overall, I didn't mind the book so much.

On the flip side of the coin, I became increasingly aware during reading the book, that Balogh really likes to recycle her own ideas. It got annoying. Part of the main hook in the book was a fake betrothal between Freyja and Josh. That was by far not original for Balogh, and especially this series. In the prequel, A Summer to Remember, Lauren and Kit do the exact same thing for pretty much the exact same reasons. And in Slightly Married, Aidan and Eve enter into an almost fake marriage - one of convenience. So having that same hook used for Slightly Scandalous was tedious and repetitive.

And even aside from that Balogh, has a tendency to recycle even simple things. The characters tend to have almost the exact same thoughts or phrasing on something that should be original to them. And she's ended the books almost all the same. I think it was in A Summer to Remember where Lauren speaks about the sea, calling it wild and uncontrollable..and all these other more poetic descriptions. Then in Slightly Scandalous, Freyja says almost the exact same thing. It struck me as ridiculously unoriginal. She also likes to have her characters say something like "no, I do not want happily-ever-after; I just want happiness" or something to that effect. It's a nice line, but having too many characters in too many books repeat it takes away it's effectiveness. Then there's the endings of the books. They all seem to end with a wedding scene followed by the bride and the groom standing outside the church before all the revelers, wondering if they should just mosey on along to their carriage, or whether they should make a spirited run for it. It was cute the first 1 or 2 times...but as an ending to every book? Not so much. It's unrealistic and silly. And one of the biggest annoyances? The use of the word "haughty". I'd hate to see a word count of it. It'd be astronomical. I think the word comes up in every sentence Wulf is mentioned, and if not haughty, then cold. By the end of Slightly Scandalous, I wanted to bang my head into a wall.

I think if a person read the books in the series over a longer course in time, instead of one after another like I'm doing, these things could probably be overlooked. But when read quickly together, the faults really stand out. Even so, it wasn't really a bad story. I didn't mind it so much.

sometimes a rogue with a hellraising reputation can actually be so much more. Lady Freya is from a haughty - high in the instep family , which often seem way too severe, to critical and too reserved to be of interest. Joshua Moore, a marquess could not appear to be more opposite as a mate to Freya. They meet on the way to Bath, as he burst into her inn room, escaping from a marriage trap. Everything goes down hill between them, as they meet again in Bath. Freya gives him a royal set down in front of many witnesses, for improper actions toward a serving girl. Well, sometimes opposites attract and these two begin to spar, they begin to chat and each time they come together they find that to releave the bordom of Bath, they actually are enjoying each others company. Joshua then finds he needs her help, to get out of a betrothal announcement by a pushy relative to his cousin. So he and Freya pretend to become engaged - just temporarily. Both families get involved and the engagement takes a life of its own. The longer it lasts, the more these two find there is much more to the other, and of course passion gets involved! I think one of the best parts was Freya realizing there was so much more to Joshua, she might actually be able to love this man. Of course she is so afraid to give her heart again and be rejected. The longer Joshua is with Freya he realizes he wants this for his future, but seems uncertain as to how to convince her of his true feelings. As the passion become very real, and they both come to grips with their feelings, this book indeed evolves into a beautifully written love story!