This novel tells the story of the older of the Bedwyn sisters, Freya, who spends some time in Bath and meets Joshua, the Marquess of Hallmere. He is an adventurous and funny man and after some turmoil the two end up in a fake betrothal. But before Freya ends it to enjoy her freedom again, she starts suspecting that there is more to Joshua than his utterly carefree façade.

I think that this entry in the Bedwyn series is not as good as the previous ones. I found it hard to warm up to Freya as a character and while I understand why she is that bold and at the same time guarded and secretive, I would have liked to see more development in her, especially when it came to how she treats Joshua. The Bath and Cornwall settings of much of the novel are interesting and described well, but the story of Joshua's background seems a bit overdone at times. ( )

Really enjoyed this! ( )

Hilarious main characters and lovely story! I think I missed a bit more angst, but it was great overall. ( )

This is an excellent series.

re-read: does anyone like Freyja? She's kind of the worst. ( )

Slightly Scandalous by Mary Balogh is the third book in her historical romance series about the Bedwyn family. The first two books dealt with two of the men in the family while this book is about Freyja, their sister. Freyja has made appearances in the other books, so we already know much of her backstory and personally, I didn’t find her very likeable. Luckily, the male lead, Joshua Moore, Marquees of Hallmere is much more sympathetic.

Joshua appears to be a laughing, light hearted rake but we soon find out that he has a sensitive, compassionate side as well. He very much admires Freyja and encourages her free spirit, but he also likes to challenge her. The two end up in a fake engagement, and are, of course the last to realize that they are perfect for each other.

The “fake” engagement is a standard variant of romance stories and this one is quite well done. As the relationship develops first into a friendship and then into love, we grow to know the characters and it isn’t too long before we are rooting for them. While Slightly Scandalous isn’t my favorite of the series, I enjoy reading about this family and as there are still three more siblings to read about, I look forward to continuing on in the series. ( )