In the past, the two books I've read by Minerva Spencer have played with some standard Regency tropes and put a twist on them that I really enjoyed. I was hoping for something similar in this book, specifically, the author's twist on the "marriage of convenience" trope, as well as the "spinster bluestocking who falls for a rake" trope. Both were present in the book, but both were presented in a typical Regency romance fashion, no twist or spin involved.

Gabriel, the hero, and Drusilla, the heroine, are known to each other through Drusilla's friendship with Gabriel's stepsister. Their relationship is quite antagonistic, mainly because Drusilla has always had a crush on Gabriel, but knows that she's beneath his notice and would never catch his interest, therefore, she tends to lash out at him whenever she sees him. Unfortunately for both of them, they are caught up in the machinations of a young lord who has an unexplained grudge against Gabriel and are manipulated into a seemingly compromising position, thus necessitating that they get married to save her reputation.

In general, I always enjoy a good MOC plot and did so again in this book, but there was a barrier to fully enjoying it, and that was Drusilla. For far too long into the book, she was acerbic, bitter, and antagonistic with Gabriel, lashing out like an immature child just because she hated that she had a crush on him. Gabriel was understandably confused by her antagonism. His life was thrown into disarray as a result of their marriage, just as hers was, but she never met him even a quarter of the way, let alone halfway until pretty far into the book. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the nonconventional aspects of the plot, Gabriel, and the supporting characters. The next book looks like it's going to be a redemption plot for the lord who was trying to ruin Gabriel. His story definitely intrigued me, so I will be interested in reading that book.

I always love a sharp tongued bluestocking falls in love with a rogue story, and Notorious is Drusilla and Gabriel’s love story. Both are outsiders for different reasons and when circumstances force them to marry, Dru and Gabriel realize that their similarities and mutual attractions may be foundations for something more than a forced marriage. The writing is sensual but fleshed out plot-wise, and Notorious will satisfy the consummate regency romance lover,

I have not read this author before, so I wanted to try one of her books to determine if I want to add her to my list of authors to look for. Basically, the h has been in love with the H since an exposure to him in her teenage years. He is her best friend's stepbrother, so she "hides" her feelings. The H has always considered her just the stepsister's best friend -- and plain and unappealing due to her acting superior around him, didn't begin to consider her a potential love interest or wife. Circumstances, as usual, conspire to put her in danger of having her reputation destroyed and, of course, H marries h to protect her name. I usually like that trope, but I found one thing about this book was almost beyond suspension of disbelief. The H is what would probably have been called a "half-caste," He is the son of an English marchioness, but his father was a Sultan so of Arabic ethnicity. He is accepted everywhere because of his mother. I find this unlikely in England at the time of this book -- she would have been shunned for having been married to a sultan (even and maybe particularly if she was forced) and the offspring of same would also have been ostracized. Nevertheless, we spend the major part of the book in H's and h's marriage of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, misconstrued activities, and awkward physical encounters. I will give credit to the author for one circumstance: Finally, the H and h DO properly communicate about their issues and that allows them to resolve most of their issues. However, as usual there are outside forces conspiring against them, which they overcome in time to have their (temporary) Happily Ever After (temporary because the finale sets up the story for the next book in the series, and I don't have a problem with that). I could recommend this book to people looking for the marriage-of-convenience storyline. It is well written and if you can get past the MCs' constant self-doubt, worrying about his/her own feelings, etc., etc.--I skimmed a lot of that to get to the story, which did interest me, I can recommend this book. I'm not sure I will read the next book. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I provide this review voluntarily.

Notorious by Minerva Spencer was my introduction to her work. Spencer is a great writer and I look forward to reading more of her novels. The set up for this book is super fun. Drusilla Clare is a wealthy, wallflower on the outskirts of society. Thankfully, she has a best friend, Eva, to attend balls with. Dru has been secretly pining for Eva’s brother, Gabriel.

If there weren’t super steamy scenes I would say this books into has all the potential of being a can’t put down YA novel!

Up until half way through the book, the story is very dense with background information of the first and secondary characters. There are these flashback scenes with a lot of dialogue within present day scenes. I was often playing catch up.

At the half way mark it picks up and smooths out. I couldn’t put the book down after the half way mark. We have a marriage of convo eve/rescue. I love that Gabriel is a main character who isn’t white with a super interesting back story. It is action packed with some mystery, nefarious deeds and blooming emotions.

I loved the characters and story enough that I’m very excited to read the next novel to see what Eva was up to in disguise!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the Arc in exchange for a review. #netgalley #notorious #minervaspencer #kensington

I read this ARC in for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

A new author to me, I thoroughly enjoyed this
Great characters and well written story

Really looking forward to reading more of this author - a great discovery for me

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A slow burn enemies to lovers set in the genre of historical fiction? The excerpt seemed to good to be true! Unfortunately, it was.

This book had so much potential, and the excerpt I read drew me in immediately. Unfortunately, the actual book felt as if it were not fleshed out. The witty and snappy banter in the beginning chapters died down almost immediately afterwards, as proclaimed feminist Drusilla with no plans for marriage quickly transforms into a lovesick, anxious, shy Drusilla who loves being bossed around by her new husband.

My main complaint with this book is that it felt like not enough research was put into Gabriel’s character. Drusilla calls him out at one point in the book for having alcohol as it’s against Islamic beliefs. He says sometimes people bend the rules. She then proceeds to feed him ham in the next chapter, and at the next breakfast, he is casually eating pork as well. A quick Google search confirmed this made no sense. At one point in the book, if I read correctly, he is even accidentally called Gideon, and I spent ten minutes trying to figure out who “Gideon” was.

My main compliment to this book is that there were both noticeable and somewhat subtle subplots to set up the sequel.

I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a quick, ‘sexy’ read who don’t care about authenticity or in depth character development. I would not recommend this to anyone who hates alpha males/controlling behavior.

Outcasts and rebels!

An interesting plot dealing with the offspring from the Outcast series. Jibril or rather Gabriel Marlington as the son of the former Sultan of Oran, and Euphemia, the Marchioness of Exley, adds spice and adventure. Gabriel's step sister Eva's best friend Drusilla Clare has loved him forever in a silent suffering way, although Dru is anything but silent. An adherent of Mary Wolstenholme and an heiress, Dru funds houses for poor women and children and sees her future mapped out as an eccentric feminist(my term) doing good works. That is until her hand is forced into a marriage of convenience with Gabriel to avoid a scandal.
This (it seems) at the unwitting instigation of the mysterious Lord Visel, a new face in town, who seemingly harbors a focused intent and animus towards Gabriel. All very puzzling.
There's quite a few avenues of interest and various twists. At heart Gabriel is a character with two cultural divides encompassing his personality. The formative years of the Jibril persona of course looms large being the deposed sultan's heir, and all that entailed even at sixteen. To the ton Gabriel is an unpredictable creature, a somewhat barbarous, if not down right exotic, swoon worthy enigma. Druscilla gives him a run for his money being an articulate open thinker who gives as good as she gets and often surprises Jibril (Gabriel).
(We first met Jibril in 'Dangerous', the story of his mother Mia and Lord Exley--which I loved. Actually in my search to reinvestigate this group of people I took a trip down memory lane and reread the Outcast series. I find Gabriel's story not quite as gripping as that of his mother and her reluctant associates. Ha! However I really enjoyed Druscilla.)
I must admit there's a plethora of bedroom scenes which for me often overwhelmed the storyline. But then maybe that is the point as this is all about the marriage of convenience trope with some fascinating undercurrents.
How the two develop their relationship to one of trust and compatibility is an occasionally arduous journey ending on a note foretelling the next book in the series.

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

3 stars = Good/solid/fine

I liked Drusilla and Gabriel well enough at the start, but I wanted a bigger story to surround their relationship. We had that by the second half, but that meant the first half felt like something was missing. Also, I loved Lady Eva, but she disappeared in the second half of the book. I am sure that is part of the set up for the sequel, but I really felt her absence in the story when she moved to the background.

The banter between the two main characters quickly shifted to mistrust and awful communication which made for decent conflict for the story until the outside forces became a larger factor. I think as a matter of personal preference, I like my romances to have more conflict from outside the couple rather than interpersonal conflict between them.

This was enjoyable. I might pick up the second book to find out what is going on with Eva after the ending of this one. (Language, sex, LGBTQ+)

2.5 stars rounded up.

There are lots of familiar tropes here, like forced marriage, young women with proto-feminist ideals, crushing on a friend's (step/half) brother, villainous scheming in the ton, kidnapping, etc. It could still have worked here if the main characters were more likable. Drusilla sometimes seems playful but mostly just harshly sarcastic, and she talks a good game about reading Mary Wollstonecraft, but then pretty much just folds into a surrendered wife and (step)mother. She and Gabriel never communicate well. Gabriel is all over the place even more, from promiscuous and selfish one moment, to proud and honor-bound the next, to cold and chauvinist so fast it makes your head spin.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

No matter where you come from in life, if you aren't part of the socially acceptable Ton, then you are not welcome. Drusilla Clare comes from money by way of her merchant father. Gabriel Marlington comes from a mixed background. If it weren't for his grandfather who is a Duke, he would be personna non grata.. Drusilla and Eva, Gabe's half-sister, are always getting into something. This time there are consequences. Trust will need to be earned. The banter between the two of them is off the charts. Love will lead the way. In the end, family is everything. Those you were born into, those that you marry into and those friends who become family.

The first book in a new series, Notorious is an engaging story full of interesting characters, revenge, secrets, surprises, and humor. Caught in a compromising situation, probably a setup, Gabriel Marington, a handsome rogue, and Drusilla Clare, a feisty Bluestocking and his sister’s best friend, are forced to marry. This is an interesting and engaging story. There are some misunderstandings Dru and Gabe have to work through, a plot for misguided revenge, and another to steal Dru. The chemistry between them is hot. Both villains are taken care of; one meets his end, and the other is missing. Where is Visel, and what is Eva up to? A good read. I recommend it.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Drusilla Clare is fine with her wallflower status since marriage goes against her principles, but she can’t help her love for her best friend’s brother, Gabriel Marlington. She’s longed for him ever since they first met, but their open animosity is such that no one would ever suspect her true feelings. but when she’s caught alone with a scoundrel and finds her reputation ruined, it’s Gabriel who saves her with a businesslike offer of marriage Drusilla cannot bring herself to refuse.

Gabriel is less than thrilled at being forced into an unwanted marriage with the waspish Drusilla, but he does find himself unwittingly attracted to her. He’s surprised by her responsiveness to him and willingness to challenge his views and when a rival seems to vie for her attentions, Gabriel is even more shocked at his jealousy and possessiveness. Just as Dru and Gabe begin to find a rhythm together, their newfound accord is threatened by an unexpected danger, putting their lives at risk along with their fledgling love.

I’ve got some very mixed feelings about this book. At first, I really didn’t care for it and found both Drusilla and Gabriel to be unlikable in their own ways. She was too hateful and holier than thou, but at times Gabriel completely deserved it with his high-handedness and other woman drama. I’m happy Gabe at least never really cheated, as that would’ve been a dealbreaker for me, but he did have an on-page other woman scene and I didn’t care for that, although it did rather fit his character. Dru’s sharpness might’ve been a defense mechanism, but it got old fast for me, as did Gabe’s constantly telling her how things would be. I thought this would make her a more sympathetic character for me, but she’s so hateful even when he’s trying to extend the olive branch that I just couldn’t like her. These two somehow only communicated or worked well together in bed and I think that cheapened their relationship some. I would’ve liked to see more on page communication between them to make them more believable together. These two each made me want to shake them with their many false starts and failures at simple, basic communication, but I started to like them together when Dru began gaining some confidence and they finally started exhibiting some mature communication. The action near the end was enough to keep me engrossed, although it did end a bit abruptly. I wound up enjoying these two together but without really liking either of them. I found this book improved for me greatly after about the halfway point and I started enjoying the characters more. Now I’m interested to continue the series and find out what’s going on with Eva.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

What happens when a resolute feminist wallflower is forced to marry a man she has secretly loved for the sake of appearances?

Drusilla Clare has no delusions that she will marry. She is headstrong and full of scandalous opinions in line with her radical group revering the works of Mary Wollstonecraft and knows such thoughts make her less than desirable on the marriage mart. While she does have these radical notions about women's rights she can't help but be all aflutter any time she is near her best friend's half-brother, Gabriel Marlington. Dru verbally engages and berates Gabe at all times, in an effort to hide her probably very unwanted and completely inconvenient feelings lest she is found out.

Gabriel Marlington is infamous amongst the ton. He is the son of the late Sultan of Oran and a notorious rake. His grandfather is a Duke and his stepfather is a Marquess, so his standing amongst the ton is definitely elevated. Beyond his status, he is notorious for have not one but two mistresses who are both well-known actresses and they live and erm... love... together. Then, one night his well-constructed and easy life is upended when he saves Dru from the clutches of a man who has been after Gabriel for months. Now, to save Dru's honor and to keep his sister in good standing in the marriage mart Gabriel must marry a girl who he is quite sure hates him and everything he represents.

This is my first book with Minerva Spencer. I thought I had read some of her books before, but they are on my TBR pile, so I was super excited to read Notorious. I am a HUGE fan of mixing up curmudgeonly old societal rules and feminists on the rise breaking out against society and making their own paths. Notorious, however, was not one of these books. I felt that we started off well with Dru's club and her works to help the impoverished and in using her wealth to create and support houses for women. Great, great start. I loved that we have a H who was a POC that came from a dissimilar background. BUT where we ended up was that all the characters were two-faced. Dru was all, I am FOR women's rights but the second she is caught in a scandal she bends to all societal whims. Moreover, she does that dreaded... I have so many things to say but (waaah, waaah) it all gets stuck in my throat... so she doesn't say anything to ever defend herself. Grrr... Then Gabriel is sooo evolved when it comes to relationships and how he thinks of and treats women but then he turns into a misogynistic prat. I felt like a ping pong sometimes from all the varied sweeps of dichotomous emotions and actions.

Also, there were a lot of places the author could have gone with the contradictions and differences of English versus Oran religions and principles. We were thrown into a lot of conflicting motivations and actions related to these differing worlds. The opportunity to give more of a clear line to Gabe's thoughts and motivations behinds some of his actions and why he chose one thing versus another. One minute he recognized English ways then in another he was railing about how that was not the way he was brought up. There was a commentary being evoked somewhere in there but most of it was lost in the chaos of the rest of it.

I had a hard time really feeling the chemistry between these two. The snippy, antagonistic conversations between them might have been a prelude to chemistry... but that never really worked its way out. Maybe this was an effort for an enemies-to-lovers or antagonism to firey chemistry but, no. They snipped at each other, lost their cool, said hurtful things and then stewed. Gabriel resorted to being a bully and Dru a shrew and then we sat there. And, just... the conversation about sheaths was just stupid! and pointless! because two chapters later Gabe completely proved what a liar he is. Why even put it there if he couldn't be called out later for it? Sorry. Sorry. I just would have loved Dru to stand up for herself a few times to his bullying when they really started at it.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the book but I have maybe unrealistic expectations when you have feminist characters in historical novels. I want certain things and I get easily frustrated by a lack of communication and follow-through. Probably 50% of my frustrations with the characters could have been easily resolved with just one or two conversations. I wanted the world for these characters but I felt hemmed in by so much unresolved conversations and feelings. I guess I wanted more closure? Maybe, I don't know.

Eva's story totally has me hooked. I am so dying to know what is going on with Godric's complete 180. Was he in a fugue state? On drugs? Suffering from PTSD? And what is Eva up to? I am absolutely looking forward to the next book, Outrageous.

<i>*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*</i>

This book was not my cup of tea for these reasons: a couple who simply could not communicate with each other outside the bed and whose relationship did not improve except suddenly towards the end of the book, too much external drama thrown in to make up for lack of resolution of internal tension, lots of backstory details and people which all did not jell together to form a cohesive story, power imbalance with the power all in his court, she is the one who needs to change significantly while he not much, committed threesomes, wife expected to house mistresses, wife expected to look after a kid who could be his or his brother's (the mother is his former wife), mother and son discussing their sex lives, and so on. This is a book whose premise had all the ingredients for an engrossing read, but whose execution did not deliver on that promise.

a really wonderful read! interesting and complex characters and a wonderful storyline. that will keep you turning the pages.

Title: Notorious
Author: Minerva Spencer

Warning: spoilers below.

Our heroine is Drusilla Clare, not a lady, but a wealthy merchants daughter. She is a wallflower and not interested in marriage as she does not see any benefit to it. That said, she has a secret tender for her best friend's step brother, Gabriel. (You see the typical "I love you, but I can't let you know this, so I'm going to be rude to you and annoy you at every turn." Sigh...)

Gabriel is an interesting hero. He is living in England and has English relatives, but he was born and raised in a very different setting, as the favored son of a sultan. When a power struggle erupts within his family, his mother (who is English) and he flee his homeland to England. He does not dislike Drusilla, but he is not secretly in love with her. He is the honorable type and tries to uphold his duty to his family as best he can.

Pros:
- An interesting storyline (that also leads into another book!): Dru and Gabe are cornered into marriage to save her reputation.
- Well written and thought out.
- Not your average hero. I get it, a sexy Duke with loads of money sounds dreamy, but it's wonderful to see heroes of a different background, and in this case, culture. It was interesting to learn about Gabe's life, even the parts that are frowned upon in today's Western culture. I would have liked to see more about him (but I am a reader who will read longer books if done well).
- Gabe's family dynamic was fun. I love reading about large families who are very close and don't follow the cold Society protocol of never showing emotion or seeming to care about one's family, aside from the possibility of causing a scandal.

Cons:
- I'm not a fan of our heroine's name and it was distracting. I get it, Drusilla is an English name, but every. single. time. I read it, I thought of Godzilla and it was annoying. I ended up just calling her Dru in my head, but it was still distracting.
- Can we stop with the "I'm in love with you but I can't possibly actually talk to you about my feelings, so instead I'm going to be a shrew and cause misunderstandings/problems"? I don't act this way in my relationships and am fatigued with it in literature. There was a lot going on in this plot (in a good way); I would have enjoyed seeing some emotional development earlier from Dru especially since Gabe was really trying to make the best of a crappy situation.
- More epilogue, please! (Or just another chapter or two?) I liked how the epilogue ties into Eva's story, but there felt like there were loose ends with Dru and Gabe that I wanted to have some resolution to. She tells him she is pregnant and there is a moment of excitement, but then nada. Samir comes into their lives to be kidnapped, but is rescued, but we don't hear or see him again?! (Side note: I am a reader who would read an extra 100 pages if they were thought out and well written, so don't be afraid to offer more content for those of us like me. We'd LOVE it!)

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I totally judge a book by its cover and love the colors and silhouette on this one. I enjoyed Drusilla's forward for the times beliefs in wanting to be an independent women and how she helped other women philanthropically. I would have loved to have seen what this looked liked (vs. just hearing about it). I found the romance between Gabriel and Drusilla to be slow, but this is not unexpected in a marriage of convenience (actually more of a forced marriage). I had a hard time with some of the scenes between Drusilla and Gabe when they were navigating their roles in their marriage. I know these patriarchal beliefs were typical of the time period, but I don't really like seeing it play out. I loved Gabriel's mother and his sister, Eva, is interesting! I was intrigued by the additional storylines and the bit of mystery. These kept me engaged and were part of why I kept turning the pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly disappointed in this one. I was hoping for some regency-style intrigue and coy looks and slow burn romance, but it really didn't deliver. The "intrigue" was in pretty much the last 20% of the book and most of the book focused on Dru & Gabriel's forced marriage. However, they both seemed to want it from the get go, so it wasn't even like it was a slow build up of how they came to love and respect one another.

I think my biggest problem with this book is that Druscilla is portrayed as this strong independent woman who had no intention of marrying since she was well off and then she marries a guy she's already head over heels for and he teaches her how to have sex. What. I'm all for women discovering and appreciating their sexuality, but there was even a part in here in which she said she'd preferred to think of herself as his whore (disclaimer - she was joking and I don't remember the exact wording) and that's just not sexual empowerment to me. I'm also not huge into smut and there was definitely a lot of it in here. I'm not docking points for that since it's nothing necessarily wrong with the book, but it's just not my personal preference.

As for the plot itself, it was kind of boring. Nothing really happened for a while and some stuff just seemed like it was thrown in there. I think I would have liked the story a whole lot more if it just focused on the dynamics of the their society and the connections and storylines involving Dru, Gabriel, Eva, Rowland, and Visel. It had the potential to be interesting but it just kept falling flat because there was really no follow through with the interesting parts. Instead, we focused on Gabriel's upbringing under a sultan and his expected lifestyle of having many concubines and his maybe/maybe not child.

The one person who saves this book is Eva. There is something really interesting about the character that leaves me wanting to know more. I feel like we just barely scratched the surface with her and that she has the potential to kick this series up a notch, but I doubt I'll read the next one.

This book was fun in places, but also a bit of a mess. While the chemistry between the hero and heroine was delicious, they really made poor communication into an art form. Anything that was important to either of them, they would avoid talking about at all costs until they had misunderstood each other as thoroughly as possible.

A secondary issue was the choices the author made to include or exclude scenes. There were so many times where the hero or heroine went off to do something interesting... and then the story cut to after that thing had happened, when it was mentioned briefly and that was it.

But my biggest concern was the portrayal of the hero, Gabriel. He is the illegitimate son of a sultan from Oran, and I have reservations about the way he was portrayed. On the one hand, the text explicitly notices the racism he experiences in England, and he expresses concern about how his biracial son will be received in society. On the other hand, he is referred to as 'exotic' and described as having 'almond-shaped, emerald orbs', which made me wince.

So yeah. I enjoyed the plot. Once the characters actually started communicating with each other, I quite enjoyed the romance. I would probably give Spencer's next book a try, because the premise looks hilarious. But I can't recommend this one.

Notorious is the first book in the Rebels of the Ton series by Minerva Spencer. A lovely historical romance full of drama, twists, and turns, and lots of romance. The characters are well-written and develop at a smooth, steady pace making it easy to get lost in.