Notorious by Minerva Spencer is the first book in a new series called Rebels of the Ton. I like this author because her characters are interesting. In this particular novel, Drucilla was prickly, determined and opinionated. She has made it her mission to not marry and spend her money helping others. However being found in a compromising situation may just change her world.

Gabriel Marlington is a rake, but everytime Drucilla sees him she realizes her feelings for him are strong. Unfortunately Drucilla sees him quite a bit since he is brothers with her best friend. Gabriel finds Drucilla difficult and is not interested in her at all until he ends up rushing in to help her. Now he understands his decision he must make, marry Drucilla and find a way to make their marriage work. He realizes that there is a chance that they could rub along together quite well.

However, not everything is as easy and open as it seems. There are other forces at work, people that need her money. Then there is the fact that she is so skittish. Gabriel and Drucilla have their hands full. Notorious by Minerva Spencer is a fun read in a new series.

Minerva Spence can definitely write a book that pulls you in from page one. This one was a delightful escape into the world of the Regency ton.

I had high hopes for this book and it just fell flat for me. Maybe due to the fact that I was in a little bit of a reading slump but I picked this book up multiple times and just couldn’t get into it. I have to give this book 1 out of 5 stars.

Unbeknownst to Gabriel Marlington, Drusilla Clare has loved him since the first time that they met. Yet Gabriel has only seen her as the best friend of his sister and her ability to berate him for his notoriously wicked lifestyle, is all that he is aware of. When an unfortunate incident forces them to marry, Gabriel and Drusilla struggle to make the marriage work. As they spend more time together, they begin to see a future. Yet with Gabriel’s past impacting on their future, it seems that this will not be a smooth journey to happiness.
‘Notorious’ follows on from the book ‘Dangerous’ (Book 1 from The Outcasts series) which I loved. Whilst this book is a standalone book, with sufficient connections made to explain Gabriel’s life in Oman to London, it would be remiss to not seek out Gabriel’s mother’s story in ‘Dangerous’. Drusilla’s insecurities are well detailed in this romance and at times, threaten to derail the story. The passage of time and the gradual build-up to the romance is well paced. Yet, I must admit to feeling some frustration with Drusilla, particularly when opportunities to bridge the gap between her and Gabriel, are evident. Gabriel is definitely the character of interest in this story, with his different perspective on relationships, with former mistresses and his mother. I felt that his story was definitely well delivered, and I wished that the conversations with Drusilla and Gabriel regarding his past, might have been further explored. I also enjoyed Gabriel’s relationship with his mother and stepfather as it gave greater complexity to Gabriel’s perspective. I enjoyed this story but did feel that the concluding chapters were slightly anticlimactic.
A great read!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting premise enjoyed getting to know the characters and I utterly adored the cover and the silhouette. i look forward to more of spencers work.

I've read a few books from this author and really enjoyed most of them. This was a bit harder for me. The second part of the book is a lot better. The sex scenes are really good and you absolutely can see the conection between the main characters. What I didn't like was Druscilla. She is supposed to be a modern woman with liberal views, but she is really judgmental and cold. Gabriel is not an easy hero, but he is always respectful with her. I didn't feel comfortable with the way she treated him at first, but maybe it's just me.
Everyone should absolutely read this one and form your own opinion about it.

Notorious was my first read by Minerva Spencer. It started out with real promise, but I soon realized that there were big character and plot issues that I couldn't get over. In the beginning chapters I was really enjoying the banter between the two characters and how the heroine's secret, unrequited love was hidden behind her animosity. She is an outspoken feminist who isn't ashamed of her belief system, but sadly, deep down, she has poor self-esteem that causes her to act irrationally. The hero initially seemed like the unattainable "golden boy" rake who valiantly saves the reputation of his sister's best friend and falls for her after marriage. Unfortunately, Gabriel would be a tough pill to swallow even as I neared the end of the book. All of the initial excitement I felt drained slowly away until I struggled to find genuine romance to savor between these two characters.

Eva marries Gabriel with mixed feelings. Although she's been secretly crushing over the man for some time, marriage was not something she ever dreamed of. She can't help but feel nervous and scared that she'll be spending a lifetime with someone who could never love her while she secretly pines away for them. It's worse than never having them, right? I did like that idea. But Eva's secret feelings and her poor opinion of herself led her to be waspish and secretive more than I would have liked. Lack of honesty and communication was the main barrier in their union, making them their own worst enemies. I'm not really a fan of drama/conflict caused by non-communication, so this was a problem for me.

Gabriel was even worse when it came to communication which is really saying something. The hero had a huge secret that he was keeping from his wife. This is not by any means something that should be brushed aside when it's discovered, but that's exactly what happened by both main characters (to my disgust.) Without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say that his behavior in hiding it showed that he didn't see her as his equal. The fact that the heroine is supposed to be a "feminist" and doesn't bat an eye over his demands and edicts when the truth is revealed shows how weak she truly is. I honestly could not understand her meek compliance in the situation she found herself in. Don't even get me started about his TWO former mistresses that are shoved in her face that she is just supposed to accept will remain in his life when in fact, he forbade her from seeing her own male FRIEND. Rules for thee, and not for me?

I gave this 2.5 stars because I really did enjoy a portion of the beginning of the book, so for that alone I couldn't quite dismiss the story. I did like the author's writing style which was simple and easy to engage with. However, I did feel a little lost about the hero's history which apparently began in her Outcast series. Towards the end of the book, the reader is given a detailed explanation, but typically this is something that we're given as an introduction. It shouldn't be assumed that we've all read the other series that the hero's family is featured in-I'm sure there were other people out there who were reading Ms. Spencer for the first time and needed that essential information to get a clearer picture of the hero. I ended the book with a fairly poor opinion of both the hero and heroine, so I'm sad to say that this romance wasn't very successful for me. Perhaps others will feel differently-I urge you to give it a chance if the synopsis sounds like something you would truly enjoy.

Drusilla Clare was the daughter of a very rich merchant. Her father had died and left her very rich . Her money was handled by the trustees. Eva de Courtney was her best and only friend. They were always together. She was a petite woman and Dru was a little taller. She was also a little heavier. Eva was gorgeous and worried she would go nuts like her mother. She was also Gabriel's sister. Gabriel Marlimgton was sought after women just bout everywhere. He was tall, well built, had green eyes and black hair with a sullen auburn tone. He is the son of the former sultan of Oran, no titles but he had great connections. His Grandfather was a duke and his mother's husband was a Marquess. Dru found him very interesting. She disliked herself and thought while she was not ugly, she was handsome with definite thoughts on women's rights. She was also opinated, outspoken and loved Mary Wollstonecraft's. Wollstonecraft believed in taking lovers, had children without being married, and tried to kill herself when she was left alone. Then he asked her to marry him. Oh yes, there is a duel and his two mistress living in the same house and they are actress,
Ther is a lot of misunderstandings and it does get a little complicated. The story is fast moving and there always seems to be something happening. The characters are touchy but kind and gentle. They just battle along through a lot of the book.It is unbelievable what they believe of each other. A truly great novel.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This is quite an unusual historical romance. The heroine, Drusilla, is an orphaned and very wealthy merchant's daughter who has fewer suitors than her fortune would normally command due to her intelligence and sharp tongue. The hero, Gabriel, is the unusual half of the couple - his mother is the daughter of a Duke (and now married to a Marquess) but his father was a sultan in the Middle East. As a result, Gabriel has both exotic looks and and very irregular antecedents. Drusilla and Gabriel are caught in what looks like a compromising position (but actually wasn't) and are forced to marry. The book is about how they come to know each other once they are wed and find their way to their happy ever after ending. This book starts slow but has a satisfying ending if you stick with it.

Disclosure - I received a digital Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book is one of the most enjoyable I've read in quite some time! I don't normally read romances, and I read historical romances even less. I loved the small excerpt I got to read courtesy of BookishFirst, so I requested this as soon as it went up on Netgalley. Thankfully I got accepted, because I loved reading this!

Blurb
Drusilla has been in love with her best friend's brother, Gabriel for years. But, instead of embracing her feelings, she hides them with a thorny exterior. During a frightfully boring ball, he saves her from a scoundrel, but compromises her reputation. In order to save themselves from society's scathing words, Gabriel proposes. Neither of them is thrilled, but hate soon gives way to love.

I never put this book down, not because of the plot, but because of the romance. I know that most of us readers love a good enemies-to-lovers romance, and this is one of the best I read. The banter between Drusilla and Gabriel was top notch, I couldn't stop laughing. Plus, their romance was steamy as could be. Their transition from enemies-to-lovers felt natural, not rushed like it can be.

Although I've shelved this as historical fiction, the historical aspect was pretty much nonexistent. Sure, the social standards were there, and they wore all the fancy ball gowns, but that was about it. We don't get to see much of the time's politics or current events, but I'm not complaining! I loved the setting of this, it allowed for so much more angst and cuteness.

Even though I don't love historical fiction, I really loved this. I can definitely see myself rereading this over and over again, I liked it that much. Drusilla and Gabriel have made their way int0 some of my favorite couples, they were just so cute! If you're a fan of historical romance, this will be right up your alley!

Thanks to Netgalley and Minerva Spencer for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Notorious by Minerva Spencer is the first book in her new series, Rebels of the Ton; this book concerns one of the children from her first series now grown up. Drusilla Clare has had a crush on her best friend's older step-brother Gabriel Marlington since she first met him. Aware that he couldn’t possibly be interested in her, she protects her heart by sparing with him at every opportunity so that no one will know how she truly feels. When she’s caught in a compromising position, Gabriel proposes and what starts as a marriage of necessity grows to become something more. When I asked to read this book, I somewhat naively assumed that problems with racial stereotypes feeding Islamophobia that were pointed out in her first book would be, if not addressed, remedied. I don’t think they were and so cannot recommend this book. Steam Level: Medium Publishing Date: November 24, 2020. #NetGalley #Notorious #MinervaSpenceer #KensingtonBooks #HistoricalRomance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The tagline for this book is "the cure for a willful wife is a smitten husband." Well, guess what? Maybe the hero should have given up his *two* mistresses. No thanks. This was a DNF.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am a fan of Minerva Spencer and this book did not disappoint.
Drucilla is a wallflower. She believes in the writings of Mary wollstonecraft that women should not have to marry but she has also been in love with her best friends brother Gabriel since she met him 5 years ago.
Gabriel fascinates all women who meet him with his aristocratic connections and his upbringing as the son of the sultan of oran.
When Dru and Gabriel are forced into a marriage there relationship is tense with a lot of secrets and misunderstandings.
While Dru made sense and her behavior was logical she did irritate me. The same with Gabriel. But I liked how they eventually opened up to one another and started communicating.
I feel like visel who started the whole thing and his conflict with Gabriel didn't get enough attention and i disliked Eva's behavior as well. I do want to read their story which is the next book in the series because I feel like their is important info that was left out in this book.
Overall I liked this book.

First, I would like to say a big thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Dru is suffering through the Season with her best friend Eva. Both wallflowers, they are desperate for a break from the ballroom and slip off (unchaperoned of course). When Eva goes to check on their chaperone, a nefarious "gentleman" accosts Dru. Gabriel, Eva's half brother with a mysterious background, steps in to save the day - only for the ton to find Gabe and Dru in a compromising position.

Per customs, Gabe and Dru are forced to marry despite their apparent dislike of each other. Will they find love, or will Gabe's secrets and background tear them apart?

***3 Stars***

I’ve started, stopped, written, re-written this review a few times since finishing the book and I can never seem to find the right words to convey how I felt about it, so we’re going to do it the quick and dirty way.

Overall, I liked it. It gave me total Victorian era pride and prejudice vibes when it came to class, gender and everything in between. I found Drusilla and Gabriel quite interesting considering that both were outsiders when it came to the Ton, just in different ways, but then came that feeling of needing more. The first simply comes from Drusilla and Gabriel themselves and their journey to their HEA. While I liked them together, I felt like they spent so much time apart that I never got to truly see them fall for each other, and when they finally did, it felt rushed. The other is that there were quite a few moments that I wished we had experienced with the characters instead of being told about after the fact. There was one in particular that I felt was a true moment for Drusilla to shine and we didn’t get to experience it and it was a let down.

I don’t read a lot of historical romance nowadays, but this one peaked my interest in many ways ~ the cover, the title, even the first sentence of the blurb ~ so I am disappointed that I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped I would. This isn’t to say that you won’t enjoy it, because it has some pretty great moments, but it didn’t give me the feels like I had hoped it would.

~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

Notorious by Minerva Spencer
Rebels of the Ton #1

At first, I must admit I was not immediately taken with Drusilla and Gabriel’s story but gradually I was drawn in. Both the main characters tended to make matters worse rather than better every time they interacted with one another. I felt they were both young, at 21 and 24, to be in the position they were but also acting younger than their years…at lest in some ways. But, as I mentioned, I did begin to understand them both, warm to them and hope they would start communicating, sort through their feelings, and find a way to move forward together.

I also thought about the culture, times, my own marriage to an Arab over forty years ago, the movies The Wind and the Lion and Ben Hur, and the book The Sea Hawk. I went on to think about what it would have been like if I had been the slave who mothered Gabriel and that also put a different spin on the story. I spent some time before writing this review and found that Oran is a place in Algeria, that there were Barbary Wars and one of those wars took place a bit like was mentioned in this book, and that whites from Europe were frequently captured and sold as slaves by the Barbary pirates…over centuries. So, the story is based in fact and that makes it another positive mark in my book.

Drusilla and Gabriel would never have made a match together if circumstances had not been such that it was necessitated. They probably would have limped along together living separate lives and begetting children as many in the Ton did if their relationship had not grown and matured. The fact that these two finally were able to come together as a united couple took a great deal of compromise on both of their parts and I admire them for it although I wish they had not had to be unkind and hurtful to one another before that took place. And yet, it seemed real and part of the story even when I wanted to shake one or the other of them, sit them down and give them a talking to. I think the main thing I would have told them would be to open up, speak the truth, share, care and not hide what they were thinking and feeling due to fear of…whatever they were afraid of.

I am curious to find out what will happen in the next book and though Eva doesn’t seem to end up with the man who loves her it should be an interesting read. Characters I want to hear more about are Eva, Godric, Godric’s missing sister, and Byer

Did I like this book? Yes…I came to like it well
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

This book is a delicious guilty pleasure.

When Drusilla Clark finds herself unchaperoned and alone at a party, a ruthless man tries to take advantage of her. She’s rescued by her best friend’s brother, a rogue named Gabriel, who she loves to trade insults with. When Gabriel proposes to save her reputation, Drusilla has a secret. This may be a marriage of convenience for him, but she’s secretly been in love with him for years.

The chemistry between the two main characters rages like a wildfire. These two are great together as they try to work through misunderstandings and a plot to split them up. It's fun to watch Drusilla go from sharp-tongued wallflower to someone's lover. And the book manages to come to a very surprising ending.

I highly recommend reading this when you want a steamy Regency romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book.

I received a copy of this book for an honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Overall I enjoyed this title but there were a few things that lowered my rating. First, this book took me a while to get into; once it captured my attention I couldn't put it down. Second, although this is listed as the first title in the series, it seems to work best if you've read Ms. Spencer's debut novel Dangerous. The events of Dangerous are referenced throughout the book, but often seem incompletely detailed in this book. Finally, Gabriel's life before England and its impact on him aren't explored as in depth as I wanted.

Gabriel and Drusilla are very likable and engaging characters. Gabriel is part English and only came to England in his late teens. He struggles to find a balance between the two cultures and the fact that he'll always be viewed by some as not English enough. Drusilla has been in love with Gabriel for years, but views herself as too plain to ever gain his attention as anything than his step-sister's friend. After events force their marriage, I enjoyed watching Drusilla begin to view herself through Gabriel's eyes. The romance between the two doesn't feel rushed as they get to really know each other. I'm looking forward to the next title featuring Gabriel's step-sister Eva.

2.5 Stars

So much potential for a great story, but I wasn’t impressed.

This is my first Minerva Spencer book, and I went in blind. Now, I do see… how not all enemies-to-lovers’ tropes are equal. This story had that trope and the whole best friends older brother thing going for it. There was plenty to love: diverse cast, dastardly villains, unconventional heroine, and even the marriage of convenience.

We have Drusilla Clare, daughter of a tradesman, who isn’t seeking a husband, as she’s determined to run her own life. When caught in a compromising position with a scoundrel, she’s rescued by none other than her best friends’ stepbrother, Gabriel Marlington. Of course, Gabriel offers for her. It’s the proper done thing.

Dru is attracted to our hero, has always wanted him, but of course, she can’t tell him this or she’ll become a ninny. This is where the story went a bit off the rails for me. Drusilla is ridiculous. She keeps all her feelings to herself, doesn’t have a single meaningful conversation with her husband of convenience till long past halfway in the book. She’s prone to flights of jealousy about her husbands rumored relations with other woman.

In the meantime, Gabriel becomes jealous when Dru engages in a clandestine meeting with a business partner, he stays friends with previous mistresses, and in also doesn’t bother getting to the point of the issues via conversation. There is plenty of outside conflict from the scoundrel who put Dru in the position that forced her into marriage, a side plot with possible son of Gabriel’s born out of wedlock and more.

Ultimately, the primary conflict for over fifty percent of the book hinges around the main characters not talking to each other about their true feelings, expectations, or life happenings. Their lies by omission or silence breed conflict and create faux drama. I call it faux because when the opportunity arises to do the right thing, say the right thing, neither of them take that route. The author bases this lack of talk on the characters internal makeup and fears, but once everything comes to a head and they finally decide to act like adults this faux drama disappears and the real conflict, brought on by the antagonist, takes shape.

I have found that I despise books where the only thing keeping the hero and heroine apart is their inability to discuss things with each other. I firmly believe that there can be conflict, still fed by internal and external sources, with communication still present, and that a person can still say all the right things and those things aren’t enough to keep another person happy.

Overall, I wanted to like this book. It had the makings of an interesting story with equally interesting backdrop, but I found the flaws between hero and heroine too much of a gulf for me to cross. I wanted to slap both of them most of the time and kept reading in the hopes it would change, soon versus than the later. Ultimately, by the time things changed I was too disappointed to wish the main characters well.

~ Landra

Notorious by Minerva Spencer is a great historical fiction/romance/mystery novel all wrapped up into one.

This book has a lot going on. An intricate plot with multiple subplots between a full character cast that kept me interested throughout.

This is the first in a new series: Rebels of the Ton. While it can easily be a first and stand-alone, it looks like some of the characters’ backstories are better described in parts of another book (Dangerous) from another series: The Outcasts. To fully appreciate the full history, I am definitely going to snatch up this book and read it as well.

I enjoyed the main characters: Dru and Gabrielle. They are both polarizing, interesting, complex, and emotional characters. Their personalities definitely attract one another and create chemistry and interesting material. I especially liked Eva and hope that a future installment can focus more on her. There is definitely plenty to work with.

This book is for anyone that enjoys historical fiction, romance, and great plots.
4/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.