Lady Freyja has not been my favorite Bedwyn, but she holds her own in this story. ( )

This is a very enjoyable book. The sparring between Freyja and Joshua is wonderful and it's funny seeing her lose her temper with him - sometimes in very public places. They have very different personalities, but complement each other very well and seem destined for one another (and the chemistry between them is great!). One of the highlights is encountering the other members of the Bedwyn family again; they contribute greatly to a few of the entertaining and humorous scenes.

SUMMARY (Bedwyn Family, Book 3):
Lady Freyja Bedwyn goes to stay with a friend in Bath to avoid the birth of a past flame's child (Kit Butler, hero of A SUMMER TO REMEMBER). Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, is in Bath to visit his grandmother after gallivanting around Europe (and doing unofficial spy work) for five years. They meet and enjoy several *very* amusing incidents, leading to an impulsively created fake betrothal to help Joshua avoid an undesired forced one. While the betrothal was only supposed to stand for a few days, it ends up lengthening all the way to Lindsey Hall (Bedwyn home) and then to Penhallow in Cornwall (Hallmere's home). Balogh includes the usual villain subplot (this one is well-employed), dastardly relatives, past ghosts and demons to be faced and overcome, but in the end the book is an enjoyable read and as always, it's a treat to see the hero and heroine get their happily-ever-after.

MAIN CHARACTERS, Freyja and Joshua:
Lady Freyja Bedwyn is the third youngest Bedywn sibling and is 25 years old at the time of the story. If you have read previous Bedwyn family books, you may not be predisposed to like her; she's arrogant and haughty and in the aforementioned A SUMMER TO REMEMBER, she's horribly malicious and unfriendly towards Lauren. SLIGHTLY SCANDALOUS shows a different side to her, however, and we find that she's also a lonely woman with a sensitive side, who hides this in order to not appear vulnerable or be hurt again. A plus in my opinion is that she's not the normal beauty - well, actually she's not a beauty at all, and is considered ugly at worst, and somewhat handsome and interesting-looking at best.

Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere is 28 years old and comes off at first as a devil-may-care blond Adonis whose laughing eyes show him to be the rogue he is and nothing more. Of course (surprise, surprise!), this is not the case, and although he is a cheerful man whose teasing grin comes easily, his childhood was an unhappy one and his past is riddled with painful secrets. He is a very charming and engaging character who initially comes off as shallow and unable to take anything seriously, but is actually a very thoughtful and kind man.

Neither Freyja nor Joshua expect their light flirtation to turn into anything serious and due to this, they are actually a little afraid to get to know each other on any other level. She doesn't want to see beyond the laughing roguishness and he only wants to have fun by teasing her into losing her haughty temper. Of course, love gets in the way!

FAVORITE LINE:
"Freyja," he said, "what are you doing for the rest of your life?" ::sigh::

BOTTOM LINE:
Although if you read many of Balogh's books you'll start to experience deja vu quite frequently (some of the lines, the idea of a fake betrothal that will later be called off, etc.), she's an excellent writer and this is a highly enjoyable read and must-have if you're going through the whole Bedwyn family series. Enjoy!

(Written December 9, 2008 on Amazon.com) ( )

"Slightly Scandalous" is the third book in the "Slightly" series. It follows Freyja Bedwyn, the oldest daughter and fourth child of the Bedwyn family. The story opens with Freyja on her way to Bath in order to escape the arrival of the child of the man she loved and lost and his new wife. While staying the night in a less-than-stellar inn, a man bursts into her room seeking refuge from the results of his not-quite-gentlemanly deeds. While Freyja reluctantly shelters him - for a short time - he eventually is forced to escape out the window. Arriving in Bath, she discovers that this man is none less than the new Marquess of Hallmere - Joshua Moore. Their tumultuous relationship continues, and upon the arrival of Joshua's evil aunt, Freyja and Josh decide on the spur of the moment to fake an egagement to save Joshua from being forced to marry his cousin against the will of both.

Freyja's backstory was first given in "A Summer to Remember," and while that book gives a lot of detail and clarifies a few things, it is not necessary to have read it to enjoy "Slightly Scandalous." Freyja is a wonderful and unique character. She is a strong, intelligent, spunky and passionate female without going outside of the mold of 19th century ladies. Freyja knows how to behave and can conduct herself quite well in social situations - she was bred to it - and while brash and tomboyish, she is also feminine and, in some ways, very sad. Freyja grows a good deal more in this book than does Josh. While they both have "issues," Freyja's seem prominent. She must learn to overcome her residual love and bitterness towards Kit in order to accept Josh's love. Josh must grow to take his place where he is needed. As a character, Josh is a joy. His one fault would be that he is perhaps too nice and too wonderful. One of my problems with this book, however, was that I kept confusing Josh's aunt with Judith's aunt ("Slightly Wicked.") Both horrible and evil, that is. ( )

Synopsis: Slightly Scandalous is the third book in the Bedwyn family series of regency romances by Mary Balogh. This is the story of Freyja, the eldest of the two Bedwyn sisters. It opens with headstrong, independent, and haughty (read: reckless, bitchy, and autocratic) Freyja pretty much fleeing to Bath to lick her wounds after having the guy she was in love with three years ago (a.k.a. Kit Butler - see A Summer to Remember) get married to somebody else and then additionally watching two of her older brothers get happily married one after the other while she remains unmarried and alone. Now her old flame's wife is about to give birth to their first child and it's just all too much for Freyja to take, so she heads off to the resort town of Bath to escape the hubbub back home. While there, she meets dashing former spy turned Marquess of Hallmere, Joshua Moore. She hates him on sight (which is pretty much how she reacts to most people) and even confronts him at a crowded gathering, accusing him of a transgression which he then publicly proves he did not in fact commit. Instead of eating humble pie, though, our heroine can't back down and they spend a few days sparring with one another. Poor Joshua has his own problems, with a kindly grandmother who would like nothing better than to see him wed, an evil aunt who tries to manipulate him into marrying her daughter, and an accusation of murder flying around. To deflect some of the matrimonial tension, he and Freyja decide to form a sort of mock betrothal and then they head off to Joshua's country estate to fend off the murder accusations.

I did not really like this book. I didn't absolutely hate it or anything, I just didn't like it. I think the main reason, really, is that I didn't like Freyja. At all. I have had a hard time liking her since we first met her in A Summer to Remember. I did try to like her. Truly I did. I even told myself when I started this book that I should not apply any kind of double-standard on this character - that I would not dislike traits in a female character that I would find acceptable and understandable in a male character. However, I think that if the roles had been reversed and Joshua behaved as Freyja does, I would have disliked him as well. Freyja is just so abrasive and mean.

The other thing that really bugged me was the way she ran around punching people in the face. I mean, I was ok with the first punch, when she thought she was defending another woman from an attacker. However, after that it just bothered me. I would not have accepted that kind of behavior in a male character. It is difficult to see why Joshua puts up with her at all, much less falls in love with her. And I really did like his character - he is charming, kind, caring, etc. It is hard not to admire these Balogh heroes who love their grandma's so much.

Otherwise, I thought the storyline was pretty entertaining, with the scheming aunt and the way Joshua comes to realize how much he loves the people and place where he grew up. I also enjoyed the further interaction with the rest of the Bedwyn family. I really like the other Bedwyns, especially Aidan and Wulfric. It's neat to see how the characters from the previous books are doing and what's happening in their lives even after their main romance story has been told. ( )

Freyja Bedwyn marries Joshua Moore and becomes the Countess of Hallmere. Third in the Slightly series. ( )