This was a smart romance that tweaks the genre. There is a feminist theme, but not what a 21st century woman (especially readers unfamiliar with history) probably expects. In an era where women were property, asserting oneself as the heroine does in this novel, would have been exceptionally revolutionary.

A hero with mixed heritage would have also had a difficult time. Britain's state religion would have made life for a Muslim, especially one with ties to the upper class, exceptionally challenging. There was really no other avenue for the hero, if one tries to hew to any historical accuracy, and I thought the subject was handled with realism, rather than the cartoon-style revisionism currently in vogue.

Wonderful, sensual sex scenes and an exciting peroration make for an all-around exceptional book.

5 stars

Notorious is by one of my favorite historical romance authors, Minerva Spencer, so the fact that I didn't like this story is crushing for me.

I can't tell you how excited I was to read Notorious. I am a big fan of her "Outcasts" series (and I highly recommend reading Dangerous before starting this story because it acts as a prequel for Notorious), and I couldn't wait to read Gabriel's story. However, this book suffered the double whammy of lacking momentum and having zero communication between the main characters.

I struggled to like Drucilla, even from the start. She is snippy with Gabriel and expects him to read her mind when she gives no clues as to how she is feeling. Time and time again, opportunities to communicate pass her by without her engaging in them, and Gabriel was barely any better. There was so much sniping back and forth, and it wasn't much fun to read about. I also didn't enjoy the personality changes towards the end of the story. What about Drucilla's extreme feminism?

I also felt conflicted about how Gabriel's background was portrayed. I love that we got a non-white MC and there was discussion about his background, but I think the story felt biased towards his British, Caucasian side. There was an undertone of something there that I didn't enjoy.

Looking forward to the next book in the series, which I have a feeling I'll enjoy more. I know Minerva Spencer has it in her to wow me, as she has done time and time again, but this book wasn't it for me.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I adore the cover art for this book. The story is just fantastic Drusilla and Eva are the best of characters. Their wit is unparalleled. Gabriel has a hard time trying to keep up with them once they start arguing with him. The story deals with so many topics that were unconventional for the time but does it in such a way that is both outrageous and totally hilarious. I found myself laughing and alternately rolling my eyes at something one of the characters would say or do. The entire story is an absolute delight from start to finish and I can’t wait to see what antics Eva gets up to in the next in the series.

That was my first Minerva Spencer book and trust me it won't be my last. I really enjoyed the plot, the characters and the atmosphere of the book. I know that from other reviews that there are characters in this book that are part of previous series. Even though I haven't anything else from the author, I didn't feel that I'm missing something. She makes feel this need to read more of her books in order to meet and learn more about these characters.
Dru and Gabriel are amazing together. I can't think of a better couple in England 1800. Their chemistry is undeniable and their characters just compliment each other.
I just liked this story and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

I have been provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Once I read the synopsis for this book I grew excited. The promise of a feminist female character in a historical romance who finds a partner who can respect her views and banter with her sounded all too great. I was not let down. The author did a great job of setting the historical aspect of this book without smothering it with over detailed scenes and overtly English stereotypes. In fact, I was even more excited when it was revealed that the male protagonist was not an Englishman in origin, his actual familial and cultural background was a great surprise twist to the story.

The female protag, Drusilla, was well educated and a woman of immense needs, although she did not shove it into the faces of others. In fact, Dru's charitable nature and stony appearance pushes many suitors away from her. I particularly enjoyed the development of Gabriel's character, especially when it came to Drusilla. The dramatic and mysterious aspects of the story were well created and did not feel out of place when they occurred, the author did a fantastic job of sprinkling context clue throughout the story without them being obvious to the reader (these a quite annoying, what's a good twist if you can see it coming from a mile away?)

Eva's character fascinated me, it was hard to get a real grasp on her, was she as oblivious as people close to her assumed? I believe that there are many secrets and hidden aspects to her that she does not reveal to the world. The ending of the story left me aching to read the next in the series, Eva's own story! How promising.

Overall I really enjoyed this story (if you couldn't tell) and I would recommend this story to those not very familiar to historical romances as I feel that it really opens the door to the sub-genre.

FIVE STARS!!

I am new to Minerva Spencer and absolutely LOVED this book! Drusilla is my spirit animal. I adored her and cheered for her! Loved Gabe too, most of the time. LOL. Can't wait to read the next in the series and in the meantime will have to check out some of Spencer's other works.

This was an enjoyable book, but I think I was hoping for a little more from the characters. I know it’s what fits the times but the you’re my property I hold the whip in this marriage shtick doesn’t do it for me and made the male love interest unappealing to me. It would have been better if his character had been developing and at least working towards redemption but alas I was disappointed. And Drusilla is painted as a modern woman who eschews marriage and all societal norms but folds frequently and meets all expectations. I liked the character of Eva a lot and am excited to read that story when it comes out. Eva and Drusilla are young, eligible, and basically shunned women, but they are attending various events of the Season. Eva’s brother Gabriel has escorted them to a ball much to Drusilla’s chagrin. Drusilla has long had a crush not he wild and free Gabriel but knows he would never choose her over the countless women throwing themselves at him. Drusilla is taking a quiet moment alone int he conservatory when a young lord comes in and attacks her. Desperate to prevent her reputation from being in tatters Gabriel proposes and they are quickly wed. The story was interesting enough and it did keep my attention. The writing was pretty good, I just wanted the characters to have a bit more development and growth.

This was a typical convenient marriage Regency romance plot with some different overlays. The hero is the son of an English aristocratic woman, the daughter of a duke, and an Arab sultan. Nowhere is this history explained. And somehow, she’s returned to England and married now to a marquess. Maybe this was all cleared up in an earlier book, but this is supposed to be the first in the series. Add in that the hero, Gabriel, had to flee his home country after his older brother overthrew him in a coup and now has become a somewhat typical English gentleman albeit one with two mistresses and a son from a relationship in his home country.

And none of that is the main plotline of the book. That story concerns his forced marriage to Drucilla, a reform-minded woman with whom he’s caught in a compromising situation. OF course, they’re really going to fall in love while they have to surmount plots against them.

It was an interesting read, but I would have liked more clarification about the back story of Gabriel and his mother.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This book had all the elements of one I normally love! I certainly enjoyed certain elements, like the hero thinking the heroine hates him, but that is just her way of hiding the fact that she has secretly loved him for years. But overall, I had a hard time staying truly engaged because the visits to his prior mistresses just made the set-up too odd. While the heroes having had mistresses is certainly a standard part of many romance novels, reading about the hero making out with one the day before his wedding, or visiting them and talking to them about the important stuff in his life, just felt like it jarred the narrative and made it hard to stay on board.

I really enjoyed Notorious. It was a bit sexier than I expected but the characters are the true strength of the story. After finishing I was able to find the book preceding Notorious about the parents story. I'm looking forward to the next book.

This book has me hooked from the first chapter I ended up staying up until 1 am reading it and I am normally in bed by 9:30. I have never read a book by this author before any I don’t normally read historical romances much anymore but I do believe I will be trying to find past books by this author and definitely the rest of this series. The world building was very good and I love all of the characters and can’t wait to find out more about them In the coming books. I love a story with strong women and this book definitely has them. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Drusilla and Gabriel have known each other through Dru's friendship with Gabriel's step-sister. Their attraction is masked by outward dislike and sarcastic barbs. Through a misfortunate event Dru and Gabriel are forced to wed. Romance ensues.
I really enjoyed taking the journey with them.
Wonderfully written story and characters. I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you Minerva Spencer, Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF at 40% for me.

I really tried to finish this book but I struggled with multiple aspects.

A POC character being written by a non POC author. A major character arc dealing with him being a POC and feeling like an outsider. Issues of slavery in his home country, including how women were treated and not truly dealing with them. Veiled hints about his poor views about women. Little was said about how he changed his name to be accepted.

I'll be honest i did not like the male MC in this one. While he seemed redeeming when he stepped up to marry the female MC, there was no hidden attraction moments. He was more concerned about his mistresses and how she was wealthier than him. It was too mysoginistic for me. Where there are so many historical romances today that are grappling with feminism and having male MC who maybe need education, this was frustrating to read. The choices almost seemed to go for shock value rather than dealing with the implications of the choices. His own mother was a slave, and he seems to not deal with that or gloss over it.

I could not keep going once he kept making not so veiled hints of his place at the head of the marriage and linking it to slavery.

Notorious by Minerva Spencer is about Drusilla and her best friends step brother Gabriel. Drusilla is smart, witty, and a very opinionated wallflower who doesn't plan on marrying but finds herself entangled in a scandal with Gabriel so they marry. This story was very intricate, enthralling, and at some times heartbreaking. I really loved this book. It was my first from Minerva Spencer and definitely won't be my last. I can't wait for Eva's book!!!

I very much enjoyed this story. The plot was driven by two well developed characters who were forced to marry by circumstances. Gabriel and Drucilla clashed often and had misunderstanding but these were grounded in their personalities and cultural differences and did not seem artificial or prolonged by the author for a page count. Indeed, Gabriel and Drucilla made an attempt to talk and clear up hurt feelings and misunderstandings; they did not sulk forever.

There was definitely chemistry between these two but I loved most how their relationship developed into something strong based on time spent with each other and their son. The end had an intriguing lead-in to the next book but did not affect the happing ending for the couple; no cliffhanger here. I had never read this author before but I'm up for some more.

I was provided with a copy of the ARC by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

"Notorious" by Minerva Spencer
I read the description of this Regency story and couldn't wait to dive into Drusilla & Gabriel's world. And, what a wonderful sojourn it was. I was so enjoying myself I was not ready for the story to end. Yes there are some spicy scenes, just in case you have an aversion to them, but you can skip them if you wish. Because you really don't want to miss this light but intense, fun but suspense-filled story. Of course, this is just my honest opinion. Happy Reading ! !

note: I requested and received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley with request I post my honest review.

ARC provided by NetGalley

This historical romance starts off as an enemies to lovers (sort of), marriage of (not so much) convenience but turns into so much more. Drusilla Clare is in love with Gabriel Marlington, but she hides her feelings because she believes she’ll never have a chance with him, especially with the rumors that are spread. The first fifteen or so chapters take place within three/four days of each other, which helps establish the characters and their feelings on themselves, and the others around them. It was nice to read the two characters thoughts on each other before their marriage and during it as they learn to live with one another.

There are loads of twists and turns in the story that I had not expected. All of these definitely keeps you wrapped in and wondering what could possibly happen next.

One of my qualms with this story tho is that there seems to be a lot of loose threads by the end, but I hope most will wrap up within the second book (which I hadn’t known will soon exist until I reached the end of this one) so that makes more sense to leave those threads hanging than I’d originally assumed. Another thing is that because I liked the slowness of the first fifteen or so chapters, the fast pace in which the last ten took took me by surprise. I would have enjoyed reading more on Drusilla and Gabriel’s bond and love forming more instead of it sort of feeling like it came out of nowhere.

That being said, the last line really sucked me in to wanting to read the sequel. I love Eva and I can’t wait to see what she gets up to in the next one with the Visel!

So. I kinda hated Drusilla at first, who is so sharp tongued and almost bitter every time she comes into contact with Gabriel. Gabriel annoyed me a lot in the beginning too, and I felt like way too much time was spent on his past sexual exploits. This is a recurring theme throughout most of the book. BUT! As the story went along and these two found their way to living with the situation they found themselves in, I grew to enjoy it more, even with a few super awkward/frustrating interactions. I liked the glimpses into Oran too.

Our main character, Drusilla is passionate about her resolve in helping women stay out of the hands of scoundrels! However, to her own dismay she falls into the one mans hands she thought
was a rogue, Gabriel!

I first was attracted to the book Cover because it was absolutely fantastic! Then when I seen it was an author I had read before I was even more looking forward to reading this book. However, I was a little bit confused with the overall book. I didn’t dislike the premise of the book, but the flow and development of the characters seemed to be disjointed. I was dismayed with trying to figure out who was who and what was the relationship between each person. I hadn’t read the previous book that would have introduced a couple of the characters and that would have given me more insight into the family dynamics. The plot twists seemed to portray more on the secondary characters. and I wanted to see more from the primary characters. There was so many opportunities for the author, but she didn’t expound, but I still will look forward to the second one!

I still enjoyed the book, but I don’t think I would recommend it as a stand-alone.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

I liked Notorious but felt as if I was missing some backstory. Apparently, there's a book featuring the hero's mother which seems like it would explain a bit more about his background. As for Gabriel, I didn't quite get with him, it seems like there was too much going on with him, there were so many tropes in his characterisation. Grandson of a Duke, stepson of a Marquess, exiled son of a Sultan, intelligent, arrogant rake. All by the tender age of 24. On the other hand, I really liked Drusilla, she was intelligent, witty and empathetic. I liked the plot even if the twists were a tad predictable for my taste. The lack of communication between Gabriel and Drusilla got a tad frustrating at times. I really wish we got to see more of Gabe's sister, I felt at times she outshined Gabe and Dru, she seemed to have a lot more depth than both of them at times so I'm really looking forward to the next novel.