Notorious: A Thrilling Historical Regency Romance Saga

Minerva Spencer

Nov 2020 · Rebels of the Ton Book 1 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

A PopSugar Best New Romance of November
A She Reads Fall Historical Romance Pick
A Bookclubz Recommended Read
 
“Unique characters and emotional depth...a winner. Spencer gives you all the feels!”
—Sabrina Jeffries

“Brilliantly crafted…an irresistible cocktail of smart characterization, sophisticated sensuality, and sharp wit.”
—Booklist STARRED REVIEW
 
“Sparkling…impossible not to love.”
—Popsugar

Fans of Evie Dunmore, Sarah MacLean, and Eloisa James will delight in this innovative, empowering, and sexy story from acclaimed author Minerva Spencer. Join the Rebels of the Ton as they subvert Regency norms and expectations…and manage to find true love along the way.

The cure for a willful wife . . .
 
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 . . .
 
. . . is a smitten husband.
 
She’s sharp-tongued, exasperating—and due to one careless moment—about to become his wife. Still, something about Drusilla has Gabriel intrigued. First there’s the delicious flush of her skin every time she delivers a barb—and then the surprisingly sensual feel of her in his arms. Gabriel even finds himself challenged by her unusual philosophies. And when he discovers a clandestine rival for Dru’s affection, his temperature flares even hotter. But the real threat to their happiness is one neither of the newlyweds sees coming. If they’re to save their future—and their very lives—they’ll need to trust in each other and their growing love.
 
“Packed full of fiery exchanges and passionate embraces, this is for those who prefer their Regencies on the scandalous side.”
—Library Journal
 
“Strong, complex, and believable.”
—Publishers Weekly

Ratings and reviews

Drusilla has been helplessly in love with her best friend Eva’s half-brother Gabriel for five years. But since he is a notorious rake and unbelievably handsome while she is more ordinary, she hides her feelings. She hides them so well that Gabriel thinks she dislikes him. But when Gabriel’s enemy Lord Visel places Drusilla in a compromising position the only way to silence the gossip is for Gabriel and Drusilla to marry, despite Gabriel courting the beautiful Miss Kittredge and Drusilla following the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft who opposed marriage. The young couple face numerous obstacles, including Gabe’s mistresses, Lord Visel, Eva, one of Drusilla’s admirers and their own feelings. This was a fast-paced, sexy historical romance. My only criticism would be that some situations were set up and then nothing happened, I can tell from the teaser for the next book in the series that there is a reason for at least one of these but it was a bit disconcerting. There is a lot of backstory, which I now see is because Gabriel’s mother had her own book Dangerous, however it was easy to read this as a stand-alone and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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

I really enjoyed this story. I found the characters really likable, and the plot engaging. If you are looking for a slow burn, enemies to lovers, historical romance with a bit of scandal, I think this is the perfect book for you. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the development of Drusilla and Gabriel's relationship. Their relationship had very real moments where they stepped on each other's toes and needed to take steps back to figure out what would be best for them. I feel that their story and the way their relationship grew was very believable. They had a lot of sweet moments as well as rocky moments. They both made mistakes and grew with each other over the course of the story. I look forward to the next book in this series and seeing how these characters continue to grow with each other and seeing how their story continues. *received a free copy of this book through bookish first and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review*

About the author

Minerva Spencer was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She has lived in Canada, the US, Europe, Africa, and Mexico. After receiving her M.A. in Latin American History from The University of Houston she taught American History for five years before going to law school. She was a prosecutor and labor lawyer before purchasing a bed and breakfast in Taos, NM, where she lives with her husband and dozens of rescue animals.