A witty tale of true love with just the right amount of scandal to make this book an interesting read.

This second book in Delilah Marvelle’s Scandal series is leaps and bounds more interesting than the first book, Prelude to a Scandal. I found that book very hard to read and Delilah’s writing style difficult to follow and absorb. This book seems to have remedied the style issues I had from the first novel and the story itself is more appealing and light. I like a book that deals with serious issues but in a light-hearted way and Delilah delivers that here in her second Scandal book One Upon a Scandal.

At age 19, Jonathon, Lord Remington is obsessed. He can’t stop thinking about Victoria Emerson and he is determined to have her as his wife. He strikes up a volatile friendship with the young beauty, swearing his heart to her and promising that he will return from Venice in a few months to claim her before she starts her first season. But tragedy strikes in Venice and Jonathon is forced into an unbelievable circumstance in order to protect himself and his family from ruin. Five years later, after ignoring Victoria’s letters and pleas for him to return, Jonathon arrives back in London to find Victoria unwed and her ill, deranged father demanding she marry a man of his choosing in order to keep her inheritance. Lucky for Jonathon, he is one of the selected men. Unlucky for Jonathon, Victoria wants nothing to do with him. What comes to pass through the pages of this story is a battle royale fought for a love that is timeless and deep between two characters with a long history and one very large scandal to overcome.

The plot for this book moves at a great pace and I found it easy to follow the characters thoughts and feelings. I really enjoyed the way Delilah framed her story around the idea of sexual indenture on the part of a man and I found that plot theme to be a refreshingly different approach to a romantic conflict. I also enjoyed the many tension filled moments as the author pits our main characters against one another with true love the ultimate prize they both are seeking.

The characters in this story were far more appealing than the first book in this series. I really liked Victoria and the stubborn way that she sticks to her guns regarding Jonathon. She has been wronged by him and she has a right to be angry and I was happy to see that this strong, yet vulnerable heroine did not give in too easily.

Jonathon is a unique hero in that he has is own romantic bent quite Byronic in nature. I like it when a hero has a softer side yet is still a powerful, determined man. I think had Jonathon been written in the standard hero guise – dominant, brooding and all sensual allure – the story would not have been nearly as powerful. Delilah wrote her male lead just right in my books.

The love scenes are gentle and unexpected from what I have found with Delilah’s other books. The single love scene is delightfully sweet but didn’t fit the book as well as a more steamy scene might have.

Overall, this book totally saved this series for me and has encouraged me to pick up the last installment out in March 2011 called The Perfect Scandal. It is not the most spectacularly written book I have ever read but the characters are strong and likable and the story left me with a smile on my face.

Reviewed by: Danielle