ARC gratefully received from Netgalley. Please note this did not impact my review.

Well Notorious is the beginning of a new series by Minerva Spencer. I swear this author can do no wrong whilst delivering a historical romance that today’s reader can understand and relate to.
This book surfaces the powerless position of women and the judgement of those women and also those from a different race, background or religion. No don’t get me wrong, these are lightly handled as is the area of “madness” and mental health though I am sure this is in the lead up to book 2.
This book can be enjoyed as a simple marriage of need/honor historical romance but it is really so much more. I can see that some might see the heroine (Drusilla) as snappy and argumentative but to be honest as a reader in 2020 I think we would expect a bit of pushback from are female leads and I think her behavior fit with the time. The heroine has insight into their behavior and the reason why.
Now the hero....oh Gabriel (Jabril) he was a long cool drink of water on a hot day! And when they came together they were scorching.
For fans of Minerva Spencer there is a link to her The Outcast series. Do you have to read the other series before this book? No but I just don’t know why you wouldn’t want too 🙃

Review posted on Goodreads

Loved this one! It had fun things, serious things, twists and turns, and the perfect amount of swoon! I could bask in that cover for all eternity as well! Dru wasn’t very confident in herself which I could totally relate! But as the book progressed, we learn more about her and see her growth! And Gabe was totally on fire!

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Regency-era romance, and Notorious was a fun dip back in the waters. This is my first Minerva Spencer book, and I enjoyed her writing. This book's plot was not much different from the books I remember; a wallflower and a dashing rake must marry against their wishes but become attracted to each other during their marriage. The witty banter between the two main characters, Drusilla and Gabriel, was full of humor and sexual tension and kept the story moving along at a good pace. As expected, there is certain drama in the story that tries to tear the couple apart, but this pair fight to work out their differences. Both are strong-willed, Drusilla in particular, and must overcome their tendencies to withdraw.

In my opinion, the book is well-written, but I outgrew this type of story many years ago. As such, It is hard for me to rate, but I gave it three stars. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

In the first book of her new regency romance series, Rebels of the Ton, critically acclaimed author Minerva Spencer combines fan-favorite tropes into a fantastic love story. Notorious shows just what can happen when a rake and wallflower are forced to wed.

This novel started off a bit slow and I wasn’t a big fan of the way Drusilla and Gabriel were acting towards one another; however, once the plot starts moving along it becomes such a binge worthy book! Drusilla and Gabriel’s romance is steamy and lovable. This book also showed a different type of regency-era protagonist by having Gabriel be from Oman. I’ve never read a regency romance where one of the main characters wasn’t 100% British so I loved seeing a different kind of protagonist get showcased!

Spencer makes sure to add in all of the tropes romance readers love: enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, forced marriage, wallflower and rake, and more! All of these tropes weirdly work well together and keep the plot interesting.

Speaking of the plot, the events of the novel take an action-packed turn towards the end and will have readers flipping the pages to see what will happen next. And with a cliffhanger at the end of the book, I don’t know how I’m supposed to wait until the next book comes out in June!

Overall, I definitely recommend you check this book out when it’s released on November 24th! It’s witty, steamy, dramatic, and just an all-around fabulous regency romance!

*I received an ARC from Kensington Books via Bookish First in exchange for my honest opinion.

it was a well writen book i enjoy it
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. Great characters and romance. I finished it in one night, and immediately started to read Spencer's other novels.

I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book when I saw it. I'm not usually a big historical fiction fan, but the plot sounded interesting so I gave it a go. I love reading books that have a strong lead character that is a little rebellious in their ways. I enjoyed the characters in this book and loved the banter back and forth between Drusilla and Gabriel. I liked that Gabriel wasn't the typical white male lead that you tend to find in historical romance novels, and I enjoyed learning about his past. That character development was something that I found Drusilla lacked and was hoping for more from her. Also about 75% of her problems in life could probably be solved if she learned how to open up and communicate better. I think my favorite character in this book was Eva, Drusilla's best friend. I can't wait to see where her story goes when the next book comes out!

The ARC for this novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I reviewed a copy of this book via NetGalley. This is no way affected my views.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but had to DNF it after 62%. Notorious follows Drusilla Clare who has been in love with her best friend, Eva’s, step brother for the last five years. Gabriel Marlington is a sort of outsider to the ton. The son of the current Marchioness of Exley, he spent his youth as one of the Sultan of Oran’s favourite sons, expecting to take over after his death, and have a harem full of women at his disposal. After a coup left him fleeing his homeland, he arrives in England and is embraced by his English family members, but not London as a whole. When Drusilla is compromised by one of Gabriel’s main enemies, Gabriel and Drusilla are forced to marry, but will Gabriel give up his agreement with his two mistresses, and tell Drusilla about his love child?

I started this just this morning, and have been forcing myself through it until I got to chapter 16 - roughly 62% into my eARC - and just decided enough was enough. I didn’t like any of the characters; Drusilla was a feminist, but seemed to give up all her ideals after sleeping with Gabriel, and Gabriel only cared about sex and women, and was extremely misogynistic. He seemed too hung up on her ex-fiancée, his mistresses, and the belle of the ton, and neigh on hated Drusilla. After a petty fight, too, Eva - who is supposedly Drusilla’s best friend - shuns her and acts like a petulant child.

Apparently, looking at other reviews, this book sort of follows another of Spencer’s, about Gabriel’s mother, so they could be some backstory I’ve missed. All in all, a truly disappointing read.

I made the grave mistake of starting this book at 9pm. By 2am, I had finally finished, but I don’t regret it for a moment. The hero was a young man new to England at the end of the author’s previous series, and now that he’s had time to live his life outside of being a sultan’s son in North Africa, it’s time for Gabriel to find love. But he’s a tricky character and not always easy to root for. He comes with an excessive amount of baggage but is fortunately able to deal with it. The heroine has baggage, too, but hers is of the much lighter “I’m not pretty enough” vein, and therefore feels somewhat shallow. But what makes this story so wonderful is watching them both fall in love. It is not instantaneous. He doesn’t much like her, and she thinks she’s been in love with him for years (merely infatuation). So seeing them take the time to learn each other and come together in understanding is beautiful. Plus the sexy scenes are HOT.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF at chapter 10.

Unfortunately, I wasn't connecting with the characters or plot in any way. There was an imbalance between dialogue and narration, which I suppose was meant to encourage a witty rapport between Drusilla and Gabriel. But it was often too over-written to be crackling or snappy and only served to further disengage my attention.

I'm giving it a neutral 3 stars, although I don't feel comfortable giving it any sort of rating when I didn't actually finish it.

When the ton find Drusilla Clare and her best friend's brother, Gabriel Marlington, in an awkward position as he saves her from scoundrel Earl Visel, they are forced into marriage to save both their reputations. Though Drusilla has been in love with Gabriel since they met, she's an avid believer in Mary Wollstonecraft's ideals of marriage, deciding to never submit to any man's will, especially not one who has several mistresses. Will they learn to be happy in their marriage? Or will a heinous plot end them before they can even try?

Maybe this is because I've never read a Minerva Spencer book before, but this was NOT the cozy romance that I was expecting it to be. Instead, I was met with a more complicated than anticipated plot and main characters who don't always do the swoon-worthy thing (@Gabriel). The synopsis is misleading in implying that Gabriel has feelings for Drusilla before their marriage. Let me just say: he does NOT. And when reading this, it was a huge let-down for me to realize that our male lead was hardly interested in our female lead, instead being much more focused on his own sexual exploits.

However, I found beauty in the fact that this book doesn't have main characters who immediately swoon for one another. Instead of a tale of miscommunications and does-(s)he-or-doesn't-(s)he-like-me story lines, Spencer gives her reader a true falling-in-love story where her characters get to know each other and grow together. Furthermore, while it was at times hard to keep up with the side-plot brewing between Gabriel and Earl Visel, I was pleasantly surprised to find more depth to this book than I had expected.

I can't wait to see where Spencer takes us next with Rebels of the Ton #2: Outrageous!

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the Fourth in the Rebels of the Ton series, Caught in a compromising situation, Drucilla Clare is compelled to marry Gabriel Marlington, whom she has secretly loved for years. Marriage, kidnappings, Gabriel's mysterious past and an uncontrollable younger sister makes this an interesting fast paced read that will appeal to many Regency fans. Readers who dislike steamy love scenes beware. While the previous books probably fill in the various characters back stories, this can be enjoyed without reading them first. A strong lead in sets the plot for the next in the series, Outrageous. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A fun historical romance! I found the characters to be enjoyable memorable. A great read if you are looking for something lighter. Highly recommend!

I received an ARC of this through Net Galley. Falling in love with your best friends brother, is a theme that I have read before and enjoyed. I enjoyed this book as well. The main character's acerbic nature added an interesting dynamic between the main two characters initially. It was interesting to read about a character from another culture who then came in to moving in high society circles.

I wanted to love this more, I really did. The set up of the novel in the first chapter particularly started out really great. I enjoyed the easy banter between Gabe and Dru but the rest of the book was a big mess of miscommunication and anger from Gabe that I got annoyed super fast. If they had just communicated with each other instead of Gabe running off and Dru staying silent after every argument then half of the book wouldn’t have been necessary. I’m also not sure if I enjoyed the “not sure if this is my bastard son or my brother’s son” part of the story and “my mistresses will need to be a part of his life”. If I was Dru I would have been furious. Her sudden acceptance of it threw me off. Just wish this went a different way.

This was my first Minerva Spencer book and I absolutely loved it! Drusilla our strong-headed and intelligent female lead has been attracted to her best friend Eva's brother Gabriel for five years but she's held in her feelings because he is a well-known rake. Their future is set into place when Gabriel's enemy Lord Visel, puts Drusilla in a rather scandalous position, and he must marry her to save her reputation.

Something I appreciated was the pace of the story. An issue I have with HR (at least the ones I end up selecting) is that it's so long-winded in terms of its writing and very slow-burn which isn't something I enjoy but Spencer nails it, giving us a fast-paced, very sexy, and sensual historical romance.

Drusilla is our loveable clever and sharp-tongued heroine. A character with life and wit that I very much liked. I wished the elements of feminism were explored more but I felt that this novel was different than others, in terms of her charity work to better the lives of women and children, rather than a feminist who likes to fight with the man (like most feminist approaches to historical romances). At first, Gabriel really annoyed me. I mean his sexual history was very over the top and fetishized in my opinion, (the perfect male fantasy threesome with two lesbian lovers) but I think he got a lot better. I loved that he was a mixed-race character because diversity is so necessary for books and we got to see glimpses of his homeland and his identity struggles. Overall, I loved their relationship. I'm a sucker for the whole "I've loved and pined for you for years" and I loved his loyalty to her.

There is no debate that this cover is absolutely beautiful. It is something that had me drawn to the book instantly but the book doesn't stop there, Minerva Spencer writes an engaging romance about feminism, religion, and cultural differences. I highly recommend this for those who are looking for something different and special in a historical romance novel. I couldn't put the book down! I'm very excited for the next installment in this series.

Drusilla Clare has been in love with her best friend's brother, Gabriel Marlington, for a while. The only problem is that they are always at odds. When a scoundrel compromises her, Drusilla is surprised when Gabriel steps in to save her reputation. Suddenly, Drusilla finds herself married, to Gabriel, of all people.

Gabriel wasn't ready for marriage, and certainly not to Drusilla. Still, he means to try his best to make it work. Gabriel gives up his mistresses easily enough, but he has one more thing to do, introduce Drusilla to his son. It could change everything.

I have been awaiting Gabriel's (Jibril's) story for what seems like forever, and it did not disappoint. NOTORIOUS is an adventure, for sure. Gabriel's unconventional upbringing leads to some very interesting choices in his life. I very much enjoyed how he gave it all up to be with Drusilla. They were the perfect match. I give NOTORIOUS 3.5 stars.

Initial review:
Historical romances are not my usual choice for me, partly because I find it hard to stay engaged with historical language if the pacing slogs even a bit. This one gets right into a well-paced, interesting, story from the start. The one thing that leaves me unsure is that already in the first few chapters, the hero's background seems complex and confusing, and I wonder whether this becomes more clear or more muddled as the story develops.

Full review to come.

This had all the charm you’d expect from Minerva Spencer. I adored the Hero. The Heroine was good....but something stopped me from fully loving her. I think it was that I felt if she would have just TALKED then much of the conflict between the two of them could move on to another hurdle before reaching the full HEA. I love drama between my protagonists, but don’t like when miscommunication is the device used to stall the HEA. Still, Spencer knows her way around storytelling, so while I didn’t love this one, I still enjoyed it.

DNF at 18%.

Normally I love a Regency romance plotline where an accident forces two people into marriage to avoid ruin, because it allows them the space to get to know each other outside the Marriage Mart, but this was let down for me by the two leads having exactly zero chemistry or likeability. Drusilla is shrewish and inconstant - she's deeply in lust with Gabriel, but also hates him - and I hated the author's focus on how unattractive she was. Gabriel is irredeemably awful to me in his attitude to women, and I sincerely disliked how this was pinned on his Middle Eastern upbringing while fetishing his 'exotic' looks - this felt like it belonged in an 80s bodice ripper, not a romance in 2020. The two leads spend their only interactions before their marriage needling each other, and not in a flirty, banterous way, but in a way that felt to me like genuine dislike. I just didn't have any interest in watching the two of them fight any longer.

Also, this book is set in 1817, so pretty as that cover is, it makes absolutely no sense as bustles like that were a much later fashion.