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

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*

If you like the following romance tropes, you might enjoy this book: - Best friend's brother - Ugly duckling - Enemies to lovers - Compromised / forced to marry Minerva Spencer is an extremely able Regency romance author. She tends to write highly developed plots and characters, rather than characters that grow organically. Her books are exciting and addictive (as in, I read this 3-book series in one day, staying up until 4 a.m. to finish).This book is a good romp with a fast-paced plot. It took a while for me to warm up to the hero and heroine. Spencer is brilliant at redeeming unlikable characters, and she did so in this book. CW: - The half-Arab, half-English hero is described as having auburn hair and green eyes. - The feminist heroine is continually called a girl, despite being twenty-one years old. - Ableist language: "lamely" to mean "weakly"; "leper" to mean "outcast".

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.

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.