I'm not a huge historical romance fan, but I really liked one that i read recently so I thought I would give the genre another chance. I felt like I could have used a terms sheet for some of the vocabulary she used. I also thought there was a lot of fluff, Especially in the beginning. I found Gabriel and his irritation towards Drusilla's forward thinking ideals to be extremely irritating. He knew what he was getting into, she made it very clear, so I don't know why he would be so angry at her for asking questions and having expectations of him. The excitement didn't really get there until the last 25% If we could have condensed the book down a bit and focused more on the last quarter of the book I think this would have been much more interesting.

Notorious is the first book in the Rebels of the Ton series, centering around strong-willed wallflower, Drusilla, and foreign born scoundrel Gabriel.

This is a forced marriage, slow burn romance. Dru eschewed the convention of marriage, yet was secretly harboring feelings for her best friend's brother for over five years. Gabriel is an outsider to the ton (born in Oran, grew up the son of a sultan with a harem of wives), but just scandalous enough that people want to be in his acquaintance because of their love of drama.

Cute and very pretty cover. From the blurb I was expected a fun Regency romp. This book goes much deeper than I thought, and I really enjoyed it.

There were very sweet and tender moments between Dru and Gabe as they got to know and trust each other. Their lack of communication was a big factor in the slow burn of gaining trust, but there was a BIG reason why Gabe held so many secrets and Dru was afraid to show her feelings.

There was a lot of tell in this book. Gabe's backstory and how he is trying to fit in to the English life, but still yearns for some of the ways from his country was so interesting. We could have had an entire book made up of that and the war he fought with his home country and his brother, and the woman left behind. I won't say anymore, for spoilers, but there were definitely some unique aspects to this romance.

Gabe's relationship with his mistresses was one I haven't read in an HR before, and I really wish, as a reader, that we were given a scene between the mistresses and Dru. That would have been an incredible meeting between three intelligent and strong willed women.

I'm especially interested in Eva's story. She's Gabe's step sister/Dru's best friend. Her tale left this book with a big cliffhanger!

So if you like a packed story, with lots of moving parts, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. My opinion was freely given.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!!

While it starts off as a traditional virginal wallflower historical romance, it quickly morphs into something much more compelling. Stalked by a man who seems to hate him for no reason, Jibril, aka Gabriel, is quickly forced into marriage with a young woman who has given him nothing but grief for 5 years. She is a less than traditional Virginal English Rose. He, however, is a Muslim son of a sultan with a 5 year old child by his brother’s wife and has been rampantly sexually active since his early teens. Steam ensues as do plot twists galore and misunderstandings. There is nothing traditional in this novel which explores xenophobia and prejudice in addition to the many ways secrets and misconceptions imperil relationships. Riveting reading from start to finish. Can’t wait for the next novel in this series. #Notorious #NetGalley

Notorious, has cost me some sleep because I refused to put it down until the end. The book had me totally engaged from beginning to end. At first I was so engrossed about when Gabriel and Drusilla were just going to stop bickering and kiss. I think at any other time this would have annoyed me to death, but I loved their banter. Then it got interesting with the drama so I had to read until finished it. Overall I really liked this book. The steamy scenes were very steamy and even though I despise cliffhangers, then one was so shocking and hilarious, it made me anxious to read the next book. I have so many questions about Eva now. Lol

I really liked this book in the beginning. It was wonderful. But as the story went on, there ended up being too much information about side characters and it distracted from the main story.

I’m always a sucker for a good “16 Candles” story—i.e. the sassy but plain girl lands the handsome rogue—so I was immediately pulled in by the synopsis and utterly thrilled that the first several chapters played out just as I imagined and hoped they would.
Unfortunately, this book suffers from too much unnecessary information about secondary characters and their backstories that go on and on, page after page, bogging down the story completely before returning to the present timeline.
There were also several “deleted scenes” moments that were rather bothersome. By which I mean, there was a set up for what could have resulted in some interesting and impactful scenes in the story but instead we only get the lead up to the moment and then nothing, beyond a cliff-notes explanation sometimes several chapters later.
On the plus side, while Drusilla’s shrewish behavior to mask her insecurities does start to wear a bit thin after awhile and more than once you might want to cosh Gabriel over the head for acting like an overbearing dunce, at the heart of it you always feel the connection between these two that keeps you rooting for their happy ending.
All in all, this book took a little work and patience to finish and while you can appreciate the author’s dedication to telling the broader scope of the story, sometimes less is more. With more actual time spent allowing the reader to experience the moments that drew the couple closer vs. simply referencing them to explain how it happened and this would have been an amazing story.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Drusilla Clare is full of opinions about why a woman shouldn't marry. But that doesn't stop the rush of desire she feels each time her best friend's brother, notorious rake Gabriel Marlington, crosses her path. So imagine her dismay when she finds herself in the clutches of a scoundrel, only to be rescued by Gabriel himself. And when Gabriel's heartless—and heart-pounding—proposal comes, it's enough to make Dru's formidable resolve crumble...

My notes:

Gabriel and Drusilla have a series of misunderstandings in communication, which is eventually cleared up. This novel was confusing. I kept on getting lost in who was who. For example, was Fatima his sister or his mistress? That question is answered at the near end of the story. The women characters are more fully developed than the male characters are in this story.

I liked the sartorial descriptions of what the characters were wearing.

I received a free Advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

When I read the synopsis I was really excited to read this book. It looked like a smart, funny, sexy book about a marriage of convenience in the Regency era. But I was left disappointed.

The first few chapters were full of witty banter and teasing. It was a promising start, but the characters really didn’t build off that tension. Their consistent arguing and lack of communication just seemed immature. Both stated that they were willing to make their makeshift union work, but then neither would put in any real effort. Now they did manage to have some good sexual chemistry but other than that their relationship fell flat with me.

There were also some weird lapses in time. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, when it was happening, or how we got there. The transitions were confusing to say the least.

Now all that being said, it definitely had its moments that kept me engaged. It was a light, easy read and that kept entertained.

I am highly surprised here! This is my first title by this author and it will not be the last.

My expectations were not so high because according to my appreciation everything has already been done in this genre, but this was a surprise. The writing and pacing were good, the characters were entertaining and likeables, the plot kept me hooked the entire time. I just wish we could have seen a little more of the romance between Dru and Gabriel, some more tender and cute moments between them, although the banter was at its point.

I love a good enemies to lovers story! Drusilla is just what you want in a leading lady though it did take me a while to warm up to Gabriel.
An entertaining read with surprising levels of depth.

*review will be posted to blog and social media on release date

This was super spicy and really interesting. It was such a nice walk into that era when i feel like there are times that this time era can really seem almost too far in the past where you can't relate but Minerva Spencer did a good job bridging that gap.

Exciting beginning to what promises to be a great series. An uncomfortable marriage of convenience becomes less uncomfortable and more than convenient when this unconventional hero and heroine come together. I love regencies that draw an accurate picture of how cosmopolitan the times were. Minerva Spencer's wonderful story does it in spades. Oh and did I mention the sex is wonderfully hot?
Thank you Minerva. I'm already hungry for book two.

Gahhh! I don’t even know where to begin from because this was one of my anticipated ones, but this just turned out be just okay like I was expecting way more. I love a good enemies to lovers or hate to love storyline but if it is developed well and the characters actually have a passionate angsty relationship which unfortunately this story didn’t. But because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean others won’t like it so.

So I became a fan when I read Barbarous, and since I really enjoyed it, I read the rest. Now I feel that you should atleast read Dangerous, because those characters are in this book. So we meet Drucilla whom has had a crush on her besties brother forever, since she first laid eyes on him. He however does not like her and with good reason since she is snotty towards him. An enemy of Gabriel sets out to cause him harm, and Gabriel falls into his plan and ends up having to marry Drucilla. Now they eventually worked things out, but I wished that Drucilla was stronger with him as his wife, he embarassed her multiple times, with ex mistresses, ex-girlfriends (or who thought was his girlfriend) and he never really stepped in when they were trying to humiliate her, yes she held her own, but still. And as much as I did enjoy, there would have been no way that these two could have continued to be part of the ton with this arrangment. Now I am waiting for the next book, what has Eva gotten herself involved in?

Notorious by Minerva Spencer is the first novel in the Rebels of the Ton series. This is a historical romance novel full of wit, humor, intelligence. We see two characters Drusilla Clare and Gabriel Marlington tied together is a not so conviencing marriage.

Drusilla Clare is a strong headed, having her own opinions kinda lady who meets Gabriel and cannot stop herself from driving towards him. She finds herself drawn towards her best friend Eva's brother since the time she first saw him. Drusilla is a very sharp-tongued, exasperating woman who has her own views on marriage which does not match with the society's views of that time.

Gabriel Marlington, brother of Eva is a charming, rich yet hedonistic male who cannot stop himself but always thinks of women as lower than males. Gabriel even finds himself challenged by her unusual philosophies. But Gabriel still is very much intrigued by her intelligence and charming appearance.

The couple goes through a lot of obstacles the entire time, like Gabriel's past mistresses, Lord Visel and also Eva for that matter. Then their's Samir, who we reveal the truth about quite later on in the story. There are few events in the book which occur but are not explained properly.

I liked how the plot has been narrated and the twists and turns at very point and time in the story. I absolutely enjoyed seeing how their marriage progresses across the story as well as their own individual character development. It was full of emotions and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come.
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Thank You to Kensington Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Full review at All About Romance to appear closer to the release date. I will update with the link.

I was excited to start Notorious after I realized the novel was linked to Ms. Spencer's earlier Outcast series (which I enjoyed), but that excitement quickly faded once this story - and this marriage of convenience - gets underway.

Drusilla, our heroine, is deeply in lust with her best friends brother and wishes he would notice her. This, despite the fact that he has a reputation as a ladies man and is notoriously - and happily - involved in a three- way relationship with a pair of bisexual women deeply in love with each other, and the fact that most of their interactions are marked by animosity and teasing (of the insulting variety), AND Drusilla claims she doesn't ever want to marry. But besides all those things (huh?), she wants him.

Meanwhile, Gabriel has never paid any attention to Drusilla, is quite content with his mistresses and their arrangement, and is "sort of" dating another young woman of the ton. Kitty? He finds himself rescuing Drusilla after she's nearly raped by a madman and when they get caught alone in the aftermath, he's forced to offer for her. The set-up is clunky and obvious from the moment Drusilla leaves the ballroom to the contrived manner in which Gabriel finds and rescues her and afterwards, when they get caught. I COULD SPOT THE DASTARDLY PLOT FROM A MILE AWAY, and although Drusilla is nearly raped by a near stranger, it isn't the last time she finds herself in a dangerous situation with a man because of poor planning and just plain carelessness with her person. I digress.

Anyway, these two are forced to marry and lust saves the day. For real.

Since this is a marriage of convenience plot, I assume the author heaped on the unnecessary character details to prove how very unlikely it would be for these two to wind up together and find happily ever after in their fake marriage. Unfortunately, she did too great of a job at it! I was skeptical of these two from the start, and nothing - except their sexual chemistry (which appears out of nowhere) - about their relationship convinced me they were meant to be.

Gabriel hates giving up his mistresses, while Drusilla is thrilled she snagged the man of her dreams despite her objections to marriage (ahem). She's happy, but still treats Gabriel like she hates him, and the two of them bicker and fight over every stupid thing in their lives because neither of them is willing to be honest with the other about...ANYTHING! They have odd friends/siblings/moms who make everything about the relationship harder and stranger (no one wants sex advice from their mom), and super amazing sex is the glue that keeps them sticking together. I mean, Gabriel is some sort of Casanova in the sack and Drusilla, brainy Drusilla, is a quick study in bedroom too. FRIENDS! COME ON. It's almost impossible to understand why Gabriel is attracted to Drusilla - she's mean, dismissive, and secretive, or to believe Drusilla would so easily settle into a role she swore never to play. She's against marriage! Oh, and there's a villain - sorry two, and neither of them do much more than complicate an already overdone mess of a story.

I had high hopes for this one, but I can't and won't be recommending it.

This is my first Minerva Spencer book, and, for the most part, I enjoyed it and will be looking for more of her books!

I super wanted to love this because of the awesome premise, but the writing style is just not clicking. Wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished and rated it lowly. DNF.

I wanted to like this book but I found it kept surprising me unpleasantly. The first chapter was great. The banter! I liked the heroine quite a bit, but at times she was frustratingly reserved to the point of not talking to the hero about things that would have been natural to discuss. We spent a lot of time in their heads avoiding each other and not enough action. The sex scenes were lovely but seemed somewhat arbitrarily placed and the first one especially did not feel earned. The hero spent more time being lovely to his two mistresses in the first 40% of the book than thinking much at all about the heroine. I think this was supposed to show him as a good kind of harem keeper as opposed to his father (who was an Algerian sultan) but that rubbed me the wrong way as did descriptions of the hero as "exotic."

There was a lot of telling of scenes in past tense that would have been better to have experienced in real time and not skipped over. There was a general lack of action, then an arbitrary dramatic event involving danger to a minor at 90% as a part of a villain subplot that honestly did nothing for the book.

Others may enjoy this book. Overall, the writing itself at times was quite good, but the story was not executed well, had some problematic elements, and the plot went off the rails. I would have DNF'd but I pushed through in order to write a valid review. I thank the publisher for allowing me to read and review.