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.

I'm not a huge historical romance fan, but I really liked one that i read recently so I thought I would give the genre another chance. I felt like I could have used a terms sheet for some of the vocabulary she used. I also thought there was a lot of fluff, Especially in the beginning. I found Gabriel and his irritation towards Drusilla's forward thinking ideals to be extremely irritating. He knew what he was getting into, she made it very clear, so I don't know why he would be so angry at her for asking questions and having expectations of him. The excitement didn't really get there until the last 25% If we could have condensed the book down a bit and focused more on the last quarter of the book I think this would have been much more interesting.

Notorious is the first book in the Rebels of the Ton series, centering around strong-willed wallflower, Drusilla, and foreign born scoundrel Gabriel.

This is a forced marriage, slow burn romance. Dru eschewed the convention of marriage, yet was secretly harboring feelings for her best friend's brother for over five years. Gabriel is an outsider to the ton (born in Oran, grew up the son of a sultan with a harem of wives), but just scandalous enough that people want to be in his acquaintance because of their love of drama.

Cute and very pretty cover. From the blurb I was expected a fun Regency romp. This book goes much deeper than I thought, and I really enjoyed it.

There were very sweet and tender moments between Dru and Gabe as they got to know and trust each other. Their lack of communication was a big factor in the slow burn of gaining trust, but there was a BIG reason why Gabe held so many secrets and Dru was afraid to show her feelings.

There was a lot of tell in this book. Gabe's backstory and how he is trying to fit in to the English life, but still yearns for some of the ways from his country was so interesting. We could have had an entire book made up of that and the war he fought with his home country and his brother, and the woman left behind. I won't say anymore, for spoilers, but there were definitely some unique aspects to this romance.

Gabe's relationship with his mistresses was one I haven't read in an HR before, and I really wish, as a reader, that we were given a scene between the mistresses and Dru. That would have been an incredible meeting between three intelligent and strong willed women.

I'm especially interested in Eva's story. She's Gabe's step sister/Dru's best friend. Her tale left this book with a big cliffhanger!

So if you like a packed story, with lots of moving parts, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. My opinion was freely given.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!!

While it starts off as a traditional virginal wallflower historical romance, it quickly morphs into something much more compelling. Stalked by a man who seems to hate him for no reason, Jibril, aka Gabriel, is quickly forced into marriage with a young woman who has given him nothing but grief for 5 years. She is a less than traditional Virginal English Rose. He, however, is a Muslim son of a sultan with a 5 year old child by his brother’s wife and has been rampantly sexually active since his early teens. Steam ensues as do plot twists galore and misunderstandings. There is nothing traditional in this novel which explores xenophobia and prejudice in addition to the many ways secrets and misconceptions imperil relationships. Riveting reading from start to finish. Can’t wait for the next novel in this series. #Notorious #NetGalley

Notorious, has cost me some sleep because I refused to put it down until the end. The book had me totally engaged from beginning to end. At first I was so engrossed about when Gabriel and Drusilla were just going to stop bickering and kiss. I think at any other time this would have annoyed me to death, but I loved their banter. Then it got interesting with the drama so I had to read until finished it. Overall I really liked this book. The steamy scenes were very steamy and even though I despise cliffhangers, then one was so shocking and hilarious, it made me anxious to read the next book. I have so many questions about Eva now. Lol

I really liked this book in the beginning. It was wonderful. But as the story went on, there ended up being too much information about side characters and it distracted from the main story.

I’m always a sucker for a good “16 Candles” story—i.e. the sassy but plain girl lands the handsome rogue—so I was immediately pulled in by the synopsis and utterly thrilled that the first several chapters played out just as I imagined and hoped they would.
Unfortunately, this book suffers from too much unnecessary information about secondary characters and their backstories that go on and on, page after page, bogging down the story completely before returning to the present timeline.
There were also several “deleted scenes” moments that were rather bothersome. By which I mean, there was a set up for what could have resulted in some interesting and impactful scenes in the story but instead we only get the lead up to the moment and then nothing, beyond a cliff-notes explanation sometimes several chapters later.
On the plus side, while Drusilla’s shrewish behavior to mask her insecurities does start to wear a bit thin after awhile and more than once you might want to cosh Gabriel over the head for acting like an overbearing dunce, at the heart of it you always feel the connection between these two that keeps you rooting for their happy ending.
All in all, this book took a little work and patience to finish and while you can appreciate the author’s dedication to telling the broader scope of the story, sometimes less is more. With more actual time spent allowing the reader to experience the moments that drew the couple closer vs. simply referencing them to explain how it happened and this would have been an amazing story.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Drusilla Clare is full of opinions about why a woman shouldn't marry. But that doesn't stop the rush of desire she feels each time her best friend's brother, notorious rake Gabriel Marlington, crosses her path. So imagine her dismay when she finds herself in the clutches of a scoundrel, only to be rescued by Gabriel himself. And when Gabriel's heartless—and heart-pounding—proposal comes, it's enough to make Dru's formidable resolve crumble...

My notes:

Gabriel and Drusilla have a series of misunderstandings in communication, which is eventually cleared up. This novel was confusing. I kept on getting lost in who was who. For example, was Fatima his sister or his mistress? That question is answered at the near end of the story. The women characters are more fully developed than the male characters are in this story.

I liked the sartorial descriptions of what the characters were wearing.

I received a free Advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

When I read the synopsis I was really excited to read this book. It looked like a smart, funny, sexy book about a marriage of convenience in the Regency era. But I was left disappointed.

The first few chapters were full of witty banter and teasing. It was a promising start, but the characters really didn’t build off that tension. Their consistent arguing and lack of communication just seemed immature. Both stated that they were willing to make their makeshift union work, but then neither would put in any real effort. Now they did manage to have some good sexual chemistry but other than that their relationship fell flat with me.

There were also some weird lapses in time. I didn’t fully understand what was happening, when it was happening, or how we got there. The transitions were confusing to say the least.

Now all that being said, it definitely had its moments that kept me engaged. It was a light, easy read and that kept entertained.

I am highly surprised here! This is my first title by this author and it will not be the last.

My expectations were not so high because according to my appreciation everything has already been done in this genre, but this was a surprise. The writing and pacing were good, the characters were entertaining and likeables, the plot kept me hooked the entire time. I just wish we could have seen a little more of the romance between Dru and Gabriel, some more tender and cute moments between them, although the banter was at its point.

I love a good enemies to lovers story! Drusilla is just what you want in a leading lady though it did take me a while to warm up to Gabriel.
An entertaining read with surprising levels of depth.

*review will be posted to blog and social media on release date

This was super spicy and really interesting. It was such a nice walk into that era when i feel like there are times that this time era can really seem almost too far in the past where you can't relate but Minerva Spencer did a good job bridging that gap.

Exciting beginning to what promises to be a great series. An uncomfortable marriage of convenience becomes less uncomfortable and more than convenient when this unconventional hero and heroine come together. I love regencies that draw an accurate picture of how cosmopolitan the times were. Minerva Spencer's wonderful story does it in spades. Oh and did I mention the sex is wonderfully hot?
Thank you Minerva. I'm already hungry for book two.

Gahhh! I don’t even know where to begin from because this was one of my anticipated ones, but this just turned out be just okay like I was expecting way more. I love a good enemies to lovers or hate to love storyline but if it is developed well and the characters actually have a passionate angsty relationship which unfortunately this story didn’t. But because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean others won’t like it so.

3.75/5 stars

This book was really good and interesting! I could not put it down and wanted to know how the story continues. I gave it a 3.75 out of 5 stars because I really did enjoy the plot and the characters. They were very refreshing and seeing the relationships between all the characters kept me engaged in the book. One thing that I didn't enjoy is that there are times when events happened in the book with no foreshadowing. Also some relationships went from nothing to being in love with each other within the span of a few pages. Overall the plot and the characters in this book were good but I just wish the author developed the relationships more and added a little more foreshadowing! This book was a quick and fun read that I would recommend for someone who wants a cute historical romance book and I will definitely be waiting to see how the story continues in the second book!

So I became a fan when I read Barbarous, and since I really enjoyed it, I read the rest. Now I feel that you should atleast read Dangerous, because those characters are in this book. So we meet Drucilla whom has had a crush on her besties brother forever, since she first laid eyes on him. He however does not like her and with good reason since she is snotty towards him. An enemy of Gabriel sets out to cause him harm, and Gabriel falls into his plan and ends up having to marry Drucilla. Now they eventually worked things out, but I wished that Drucilla was stronger with him as his wife, he embarassed her multiple times, with ex mistresses, ex-girlfriends (or who thought was his girlfriend) and he never really stepped in when they were trying to humiliate her, yes she held her own, but still. And as much as I did enjoy, there would have been no way that these two could have continued to be part of the ton with this arrangment. Now I am waiting for the next book, what has Eva gotten herself involved in?