Often when I read historical romance, I’m looking for something with a strong sense of place and time, and at least a little bit of realism. However, every now and again, some fun wallpapery fluff hits the spot as well. And if you’re in the mood for a fluffier historical, The Scandal in Kissing an Heir is a fun read.

So, why is kissing an heir scandalous? Well, the heir in question is Daniel Neville, heir to the Marquess of Wolvington. Mr. Neville has frittered away his time with gambling, causing scandals and generally proving an embarrassment to his uncle, the Marquess. The Marquess warns Daniel to knock off the frat boy antics (in Regency-ish speak, of course) and to settle down with a nice, respectable lady. Soon after, Daniel finds himself at the Duke of Kingsborough’s ball.

At the ball, most respectable folk avoid Daniel but he does find himself intrigued by a mysterious young lady in a moderately scandalous scarlet dress. And so he meets Lady Rebecca. We learn pretty quickly that Lady Rebecca has been declared mad by her aunt and uncle and that she has spent the past two years imprisoned in their home. The reasons for all of this aren’t quite clear, but at this point, the story flows along well enough that I suspect many readers will be willing to just roll with it.

As it turns out, Rebecca came to the ball secretly after sneaking out of the house. Her aunt and uncle essentially want to sell her off to the highest bidder, and since the bidders are both old and of rather unsavory character (at least in one case), Rebecca wants a chance to find suitors of her own. Daniel and Rebecca share some good conversation before an incident at the ball leads to Rebecca’s discovery and reimprisonment. Touched by Rebecca’s plight, Daniel decides that he wants to win her hand and save her from her fate.

The whole story has a bit of a fairytale feel to it, and that’s actually a good thing. While some Regency era mores work their way into the story, and we have the customary talk of things like Gretna Green and special licenses, the characters do sometimes sound quite modern. However, when you’re working with a story featuring a disgraced hero bent on proving himself and winning the hand of his fair lady, it all works in a way. Considering that Daniel has ex-mistresses coming out of the woodwork all over London and we see him earning his keep by gambling, he really does come off as something of a rogue. However, we also get to see him trying to redeem himself and to prove himself worthy of Rebecca, and that makes him quite likable.

And I found Rebecca an engaging heroine as well. She’s one of the few heroines I’ve encountered who can be best friends with her maid and not make me roll my eyes over it. The absolute control her guardians have over her life felt true to what I know of the law of the time, and that went a long way toward making her somewhat desperate grasps at friendship feel credible instead of outlandish. And while Rebecca and Daniel do crazy things (like running off to marry when they barely know each other), somehow their story flowed well and felt more like fun adventure and less like TSTL antics.

However, even as the reader gets caught up in the story, it’s hard to miss some of the things that just don’t quite work. First of all, there are the loose ends that never get tied up. For instance, near the beginning of the book, there’s a shooting – don’t count on ever knowing who did it or why. And then there’s the climax of the story. Reading this book as something fun and wallpapery still doesn’t give it a pass for a resolution that’s waay over the top. Even so, this novel is primarily fun and sweet and for that, I can recommend it.

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