It seems that every time I read a humorous romance, I end up wincing instead of laughing. So many romances rely on clumsy characters and painful slapstick to create humor. Luckily, in A Little Scandal, Patricia Cabot avoids those devices. Her humor comes from her characters and their reactions to the world around them. For example, the scene where Kate accidentally sees Burke naked is a hoot.

Kate Mayhew used to be a part of society until her parents died under mysterious, and scandalous, circumstances. Now the best thing she can hope for is to be a governess – until the notorious Burke Traherne, Marquis of Wingate, hires her to be chaperone to his rebellious daughter Isabel.

With Kate’s help, Isabel becomes presentable and almost manageable. However, scandal threatens again when Isabel insists on seeing an unacceptable suitor. Meanwhile, Daniel Craven, a figure connected with her family’s scandal, emerges to frighten Kate. As if that weren’t enough, Kate and Burke find themselves drawn together.

Kate makes a formidable chaperone. Yet in other aspects of her life, she is often not as formidable. While an interesting heroine, she would have been more believable had she shared her past with Burke sooner. Also, her reaction to the creepy Daniel Craven doesn’t make sense when we learn of her suspicions. Burke starts out as an insufferable English lord. Humorously insufferable, of course. He’s bad-tempered and prone to throw things – he’s an alpha, but he’s a funny alpha. Through it all, what he really wants is a little peace and quiet.

Kate and Burke make a good couple. They have both been hurt by scandals, although they react in very different ways, and that makes them suited for each other. Now and then, Kate and Burke made assumptions about each other that created unnecessary conflict in their relationship. Their love scenes become frequent near the end – perhaps too frequent.

The secondary characters are actually individuals. Isabel could have been an insufferable young woman, and while she has moments of bratty behavior and makes silly decisions, she still manages to be likable. Kate’s friend, Freddy, could have come across as a spoiled silly young noble, but he has too much sense for that.

Patricia Cabot is one of those writers who can use viewpoint to great humorous advantage. With viewpoint and irony, she shows us the “errors” in each character’s point of view. For example, she shows different happenings from the viewpoints of Kate and Burke, and lets the disparity between their reactions light the spark of humor. Besides manipulating viewpoint, this author uses contrast and exaggeration to generate humor.

While I enjoyed this book, the story did slow near the end. Kate and Burke should have been heading toward a very important goal, but they kept stopping to sleep together. Though author Cabot writes good love scenes, their over-abundance here became tedious, especially when the goal Kate and Burke pursued was much more important than their own desires. Also, the addition of a mysterious subplot didn’t always blend well with the humorous tone of the novel. It didn’t help that the mystery really wasn’t a mystery. Despite all these flaws, this book is funny and sexy and romantic, and that’s what matters.

If you like deep books with detailed period details and emotional impact, this is not the book for you. If you like humorous romances, but prefer humor accented with a pratfall or two, you probably won’t enjoy this book, either. However, if you like witty, character-based humor, A Little Scandal could be just what you need as a stress-reducer.