I would give this book 1.5 stars out of 5. I read the first book in this series and didn't really like it but I decided to give the series and the author another chance and was severely disappointed. Both main characters were annoying and acted childish for a majority of the story. Also, the plot was boring and there wasn't enough character development. I also disliked the writing style of the book. Though I enjoyed the ending, overall the book wasn't that great.

I’m not a fan of this series. I don’t think I’ll continue with it. The characters just continue to annoy me. I wanted to like this one better too

If you’re a reader of my reviews you might well be aware of how much I enjoyed the first book in Spencer’s newest series Rebels of the Ton and Outrageous, the second book in the series was no different. I was excited to see what the beautiful Eva de Courtney had in store of the terrible but handsome Godric Fleming, Earl of Visel and I was not disappointed.

Though I enjoyed the first book more than this second one, bc to me, no one can Gabriel Marlingtons place in my bookish heart but I did enjoy it none the less. It seems trouble continuously found its way into Eva’s plans and Eva into Lord Visels future.

I thought the characters were likeable and the adventures daring. Eve is a force to be reckoned with and Visel, along with everyone else intent on shoving eve into the perfect little mold learned just how forceful she could be. I also loved seeing the change in Godric throughout the story… I mean, it’s the tried and true bad guy is really just dealing with a tragic past and doesn’t want to allow anyone close to him but finds his cold dead heart warmed by the … dare I say it, crazy, beauty but why mess with perfection… I’m a sucker for a bad guy is really a good guy/redemption trope. Now, let’s get to the best side character yet, Andrew Lowell and his impressive attire.. I mean, weapon….er…. first impression. This character had me going, he is perfect and should never change. He brought the perfect amount of humor and sincerity to the book and I will forever want to wrap him up and keep him safe… from himself.

Will I continue to recommend this series to others? Absolutely!
Will I continue to read the series as it comes out? You betcha!
Will Spencer come up with someone to usurp Gabriel Marlington’s number one spot? Doubtful…but bring it on!

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
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Outrageous by Minerva Spencer picks up right after the cliffhanger ending of Notorious. Eva finds that after a scandalous kidnapping a man, she might not be ready to suffer the consequences of this hasty decision. Godric Fleming has sworn to never love again, and Eva doesn’t want to be married.
This is high flying adventuress romp, that you will receive wiped lash with its fast past shenanigans. The romance was spot on, and I liked how each character struggled.
All in all was an enjoyable reading experience. The characters were dynamic, even though some of antics became a little to much. I enjoyed the premise and how the author narration flawed effortlessly through out the book,
I will continue on reading the next book in series.

My favorite book in the series so far! I love Eva and the fact that she doesn't just sit back and follow society's rules. She was one of my favorite supporting characters in Notorious and I was super excited that she got her own book. I loved all the back and forth between her and Godric. He wasn't my favorite in the first book, but he quickly had me rooting for him in Outrageous. I loved getting to know more of his backstory. I would love to read more following these two characters and how their lives evolve past this book. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series!

I have to admit, I wanted to read this book mostly because I was curious about how Visel would be redeemed for his behavior from the first book. I mean, how do you redeem an attempted rapist, kidnapper, and murderer? Normally, the answer is no. So, my expectation going in was - this dude's either got to have a really good reason for his actions- or - he better just be cray cray. I really liked Eva in the first book. She was strong and complicated in a way that Drusilla never really was.

Now, I'm not nitpicking at historical tropes (all the ways Eva is controlled) but something that really bothers me is when a character's personality is completely altered by a relationship. I don't mean that their opinions change but their whole character changes. Eva was a badass in book one. She was sneaking around London, dressed liked a man and spying, and I loved when she kidnapped Visel because it was just so awesome. But this book just starts with all the flaws in her plan and it makes her seem juvenile - like she's in the midst of some sort of rebellious teenage tantrum. The constant reminder of the age gap and Visel continually referring to her as a child, "barely out of the school room," doesn't help. Everything that was cool about her is just minimized, and the irony is it's exactly the gaslighting that Lady Exley was warning Eva about.

The blurb made it seem like Eva and Visel were going to have some swashbuckling adventures or at least some interesting hijinks on their way to Gretna Green (which is not even where they're going) but instead we just get bad weather, Visel talking to himself, and Eva acting like a whiny baby who needs external validation instead of a kidnapping badass- not including the weird threeway robbery scene that was like a bad parody of Flypaper (sidenote: if you haven't seen this movie, go watch it. It's awesome). Seriously. She wants his permission and approval for everything.

Also, the transition of them from enemies to lovers rests completely on their physical attraction for each other. There is no emotional growth or actual mutual respect- Visel just thinks she's childish, and Eva just thinks he's handsome and oh so chivalrous because he cuts her hair. It's supposed to be the "forced proximity breeds intimacy" trope except the intimacy is only physical. They're both thinking about how much they hate each other while they're making out but are powerless in the face of hormones. Dude, Visel is 36. He can't use hormones as an excuse. I really don't like the whole "when he kisses me, I am powerless to stop him" trope. We can multitask, and Eva has good reason to be angry with him. She gave that up too easily.

Where is all her curiosity from the first book? She legit dressed like a man and wasted her time following this lunatic around while he made plans to kill her brother and kidnap her best friend and now she has no questions? She doesn't care why or what insanity led him to do that? It just makes no sense. They're really flat as characters the second the lust enters the picture.

I picked this book up because I loved Eva in the first one and was curious about Visel's motives, but now I dislike Eva and find Visel condescending which may even be worse than him just being ignorant and cruel. Lord Byer deserved better. The book just reduces Eva to childish- immature, impulsive, stubborn, and rebellious. I'm disappointed because Eva was interesting in previous book but less so now but I'm falling into the trap of thinking Lady Exley might be interesting. I can't decide if I should read her book when the last two books I've read in this series have been so flat.

3 stars

A fun road trip adventure story with lots of danger & a slow burn romance. There is plenty of humor, but that doesn’t overshadow the emotional depth of the MCs’ character arcs. If the plot was more realistic this would be 4 stars.

[What I liked:]

•The prose & dialogue are well written. No particularly quotable lines, but still the story is smooth & easy to read.

•This is a nice slow burn story. There is a bit of insta-lust, but it builds up along with the deepening relationship between Eva & Godric.

•While kinda unrealistic in plot, this is a very fun story I did enjoy reading! Andrew & James made great sidekicks. There is lots of banter, & comic relief.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Godric starts out as sexist and mean. He treats Eva like a child, & threatens her with physical violence if he doesn’t obey her. But pretty quickly he starts admiring her, & softens up a lot, & by the end treats her as an equal. But his extremely nasty behavior at the beginning I didn’t like at all.

•The whole premise, with multiple kidnappings, is completely unrealistic. As is the hefty number of tragedies Godric has suffered. As is the extreme hatred of some war veterans against a lenient superior officer, simply because of normal casualties of war.

CW: kidnapping, drugging, physical violence

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either. The age gap was tough at times to endear myself to, as a reader, and the characters themselves really weren't that likable. Not that I need to like every character I ever read, in fact I often love books with characters that are awful, but usually they are awful and endearing. The fact that these characters weren't endearing made it difficult to enjoy their romance.

Thank you netgalley for the advance readers copy.

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you.

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

I beginning to believe Minerva Spencer can't possible write a book I don't love from page 1. Our fearless heroine Eva has gotten wind of Godric's evil plan to kidnap her sister-in-law, and beats him to it by kidnapping him instead. Now they find themselves in a compromising situation, after being on the road alone for days, t hey must marry. Oddly, as time passes and they get to know each other, they start to find the idea not so awful. This book has a feisty heroine and. a misunderstood villain turned hero, who finds redemption in her arms.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.*

We could have had it alllllllllllll.....

Man, I was so excited for this book. After the cliffhanger in Notorious, I was sure that Eva and Godric were going to take me for a ride, and they did. And it was outrageous, as the title suggests. Godric had caused us quite a few issues in the last novel and Eva decided to step in to help her best friend and her step-brother to avoid trouble. Which lands Godric Fleming in her carriage being whisked away for London.

The thing that Eva didn't think through is that kidnapping a man to save her family from harm may be bold and daring, but there are still going to be consequences. NO One is going to believe that she did the kidnaping and to save both of their reputations, Godric and Eva will need to turn this carriage towards Scotland and Gretna Green. What starts as a kidnapping will need to end in nuptials. Even if that both hate each other so much.

But the more time they spend together, the deeper they grudgingly fall. Even though Eva doesn't want to be married. Even if Godric has sworn to never love again. Yup, we have a tragic, burdened war hero with baggage a mile wide.

So, what went right and what went wrong for me.

What went right:
This was a great Hate to Love. With reasoning on both sides for the dislike. I loved that motivations were clear and it didn't feel made up.

I liked that Eva knew a bit about her sexuality while still being a virgin. That is the BEST when it is in a Historical Romance. There were some dynamite sex scenes, as I have come to love of this author.

There was a ton of high jinx and adventure going on. You could not guess what was going to happen next.

I liked the look at family madness in this time period and the worry Eva honestly had about her hair-brained tendencies might means he was actually mentally ill at times. That was a fair concern for the practices of the day.

What went wrong:
Eva was just SO bull headed, like she was giving me whiplash with it sometimes.

There was too much kidnapping and being help at gun point. No spoilers but I counted this happening about 5 times. It was so excessive. I was rolling my eyes by the end.

And finally.... the last 20% of conflict was painfully predictable... Like, WHAT HAPPENED? This book had me on my toes and I was here for all of it... Then it got predictable to a painful degree. Its like the voices in Godric and Eva's heads (yes they have voices in their heads), decided to follow the most cliché way to end this story. Its where it all fell apart for me. I went from enjoying the heck out of this story to cringing and hate-reading the last bit.

I will still be around for book 3, cause the next characters have me interested, but... this one wasn't my favorite by any means. Which just made me sad.

3/5 stars.

Godric Fleming has one goal in life - Destroy Gabriel Marlington. His plans are not morally correct but before he can carry them out, he is kidnapped by Gabriel’s sister, Eva De Courtney. Unfortunately, Godric has reason and strategy on his side and the kidnapper becomes the kidnaped and then a wife-to-be.

I did not read the first book in the series and I did not feel clueless since details required for this story were explained early on in this story.

I was unsure how to rate this book because I loved the first 75% of the book but felt the last quarter was hurried and not satisfying enough. This book has so many things which I loved - Strong characters, engaging and solid writing, with hilarious events scattered throughout. So it was frustrating to see all this tied together in a hurried way. And Godric’s pining was only in narration and he hardly groveled for his mistakes.

Godric’s and Eva’s interactions are hilarious and adorable and you could see why and when they were falling for each other. But it all kind of unraveled into a haphazard way towards the end. Godric also did not have any redemption arc after being an absolute villain which Eva has clearly forgotten and his change from wanting to destroy Gabriel to giving up his plans seemed oddly unrealistic and very sudden.

Although it was a very entertaining read, I could not overlook the loopholes.

I need to fan myself off after reading this. A swoony, steamy historical fiction with spunk that was utterly, outrageously fun!

So, I absolutely adored this. Eva was headstrong but not just because she had an attitude but because she actually had things she cared about. I loved that she wasn't totally anti-conventional just to be contentious, but was willing to sorta appease tradition if it also worked for her. She was 1816 femenism in a delightful way. Never putty in a mans hands, Eva was inspirational. She had fire, she had passions and she had determination. She had control of self but also knew when to let loose. Eva and Godric were just soooooo so good for each other. I could keep reading their story all day.

And a completely crucila shout out to her stepmamma, Mia. I cannot tell you how many young women today need someone like Mia in their lives, to explain their bodies and pleasure and how sex should work for you as well as for the man. She was definitely 1816 femenism too in the healthiest of ways.

I don't think I've read anything by Minerva Spencer before, but this won't be my last.

After watching Bridgerton on Netflix, I developed an insatiable craving for Regency-Era romance. This satisfied that craving. In Outrageous, the scandalously forward and independent Lady Eva kidnaps Lord Visel in order to protect her brother, Lord Visel's sworn enemy. They loathe each other from the start which means that, per the laws of the universe, they obviously fell in love.

Although I did not find Outrageous to be a particularly deep or insightful book, it was an enjoyable romance with the sort of satisfyingly steamy scenes you'd expect from the genre. Based on other reviews of the book I've seen, however, I am quite glad I never touched the rest of the series before reading. In Outrageous, Lord Visel is portrayed as a misunderstood villain haunted by war and a tragic past, and that makes him fairly sympathetic and easier to forgive for his fairly significant failings. The common consensus on Visel based on the previous book, however, was much darker which led many to find his transformation unbelievable and his character unforgivable.

TL;DR Outrageous will satisfy your Regency romance craving as long as you're not looking for a very intense plot or deep characters.

Basic Blurb - Eva kidnaps Lord Visel so he won't kidnap her sister-in-law. Shortly after that - during their flight on the north road - the tables are turned and he takes over Throughout the first part of the book they fight their slow burn attraction, but it overwhelms them eventually. There are many obstacles to their journey in the first half - sort of a comedy of errors, for lack of a better expression and there's lots of entertainment for the reader. Godric has had a very tragic past that is slowly revealed as the story unfolds which explains his actions in the last book and his actions in this one. Eva disappeared mysteriously during "Notorious" and I was wondering what happened; so I was pleased to have my questions answered.

Once I started this book I really didn't want to put it down, but it's long and I had to sleep. 🙂 It's well written, the romance scenes are beautifully handled and are sensual and steamy. The historical details are good but Eva is a pretty modern version of an 1816 heroine. (Feisty, independent, willful, etc). Visel was the bad guy in the previous story and here, he's the hero. The back story is full of adventure, drama, angst and romance and I really enjoyed it. This book does stand alone in my opinion.

(Please note - There is a 17 year age difference between Godric and Eva which didn't bother me, although It was mentioned so many times by the author, that it made me feel a feel a tad uncomfortable - and that shouldn't have been the case. I also saw that some ARC readers didn't like the age difference. When I started reading romance in the 70's, those ages were the norm for the H/h in romances, both contemporary and historical. I would also like to mention that there was no legal age for consuming alcohol in the UK until the late 1880's and even now, that age is 18. Back then, wine drinking was the norm, especially for the upper class)

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to the next one in the series. So I give it 4.5 stars for pure entertainment and drama. My thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in return for my opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

I thought this book was really good! Normally I’m not a fan of alternating POVs but this actually helped the plot move. The slow burn relationship was very well written and the dialogue between the characters was well done. I thought it wasn’t necessary to have so many supporting characters that didn’t necessarily add to the plot but it did not deter from the main plot of the novel.

When Eva discovers a plot to kidnap her best friend, she decides to kidnap the kidnapper. But now she and Lord Visel are trapped in a carriage together, and Eva’s reputation may be ruined. When Lord Visel insists that they must marry, he shows Eva a sensitive interior underneath his brutish, bullying exterior. But he doesn’t think he’s capable of loving again.

This Regency romance takes place mostly in inns and carriages instead of balls and mansions. I didn’t like Eva and Lord Visel quite as much as I liked Drusilla and Gabriel from the first book in this series. I think it’s because of the way Lord Visel used to mock Eva and planned violence. Still, it was an interesting read with some good twists and turns. And the chemistry was fiery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Outrageous it is for a 19 year old chit to kidnap a 36 year old war veteran with a fifteen year history of military service. Equally outrageous are the coincidences that occur on their stormy ride toward Scotland with multiple meetings with implausibly honorable highwaymen, yet flashes of growing fascination spark the travelers toward a happily ever after that is delayed by a few months and an additional kidnapping. A fun romp from start to finish.

Eva de Courtney overhears Godric Fleming, Lord Visel, planning with his cousin to kidnap her sister-in-law (and BFF) Drusilla and ruin her. Being an impulsive sort of girl Eva determines to kidnap Godric to foil his plans. Unfortunately, whilst Eva is stunning beautiful it is of the china doll variety and Godric quickly overpowers her when he wakes from being hit over the head.

Eva's personality belies her appearance. She might look like a little doll but she hates Balls and dresses, preferring to spend time in the stables and watching mills (boxing matches to you and I). Indeed, her dream is to open her own stud farm and breed horses. She also swears like a stable-boy!

Godric lost his entire family to an attack by pirates while he was at war fighting Napoleon. It also sent him slightly mad with grief, determined never to love anyone ever again because he couldn't bear the pain of losing them. Nevertheless he knows that what he planned to do was wrong, and Eva's actions mean that the only honourable thing to do is to marry her, if he doesn't strangle her from frustration first.

This feels to me like a modern interpretation of a raunchy Georgette Heyer (no greater compliment can I give), a feisty heroine dressed in boys clothes, a broken-down carriage, shenanigans (OMG I loved the ostler who gravely says this feels like shenanigans and the master told him to report shenanigans to the mayor!), a succession of inns, each worse than the last, and kidnappings galore.

This was fun, fast-paced and funny. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed that this book had a Regency setting, but without the usual trappings of ballrooms and house calls, etc. It occurs entirely outside of the ton's world, despite the main characters' roles in society.

I called this book a series of unfortunate events because truly, from the ill-conceived kidnapping plot Eva conceives to the carriage accident to their kidnapping by highwaymen, it's a miracle any is alive at the end. Still, it's fun, sexy and adventurous.

I did not read the first book in the series, so I was disengaged from Godric Fleming’s role. Still, he was a typical dark hero, haunted by the ghosts of his past and determined never to get married or have children as a result, and of course, following his honour, decides to marry Eva to save their reputations.

Eva, on the other hand, felt wholly unique to me. She is a farm girl who will get dirty and wants to breed her horses and wear breeches and is talented at what she does. I loved her ferocity and spirit.

There is a large age gap between the pair, but it's not strange for the genre; even Austen’s Emma and Mr. Knightley let had a 16 year age gap. It was familiar and didn't feel odd to me. Godric struggles with the age gap because he's been a military man for 20 years and is a widower, but I found it typical.

I did wish as could dive more into their family histories. Their past trauma is not explored much, but it shapes both of them, and I wanted the author to flesh that out more. I would have also liked an epilogue that further in the future rather than the same day as the last chapter but from another character's perspective.