Notorious

Rebels of the Ton Series, Book 1

By: Minerva Spencer

Narrated by: Heather Wilds

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Contains mature themes.

©2020 Minerva Spencer (P)2020 Tantor

slow start, great finish

slow start, great finish, can't wait to read more in the series. Heather Wilds is a great narrator.

Long wait for Minerva's books on the Audible shelf

I'm so glad Minerva Spencer's books can be found on Audible now. I have one more author I'm waiting on and my life will be complete.

Notorious follows Mia's son Gabriel (Jibril) with the Sultan (read the Outcasts series for context) into manhood and finding his one true love, Drusilla. As a daughter of the merchant class, the ton didn't make it easy for Dru's come out but she found that her longtime friendship with Gabriel's step sister Eva, made the routes and soirees bearable with one exception - Dru was crushing on her best friend's older, finer than sin, brother and felt insecure about her looks when compared to the available diamonds of the first water (perfectly understandable). What made matters worse is Dru has the tendency to take her frustrations of unrequited love out on Gabriel in the most churlish and childish way (the book tried to sell it as witt but I'm not buying it, the simple truth is she had too much competition and didn't know how to get a man's attention). Gabriel and Dru lives take an unexpected turn, expedited by an enemy and the story takes off from there.

Honestly, it's a good series and I'm going to read them all because I'm vested in the characters. The cliff hanger at the end is divine and sets readers up for the next adventure (keep in mind, I read these on Kindle already). However, if I weren't vested, I'd not spend a singe additional credit. Sue Duerden should have been reading this book. Period. I like Heather Wilds (she's narrated other stories I've enjoyed) but for this book? It's questionable. She singlehandedly made the first half of this book drier than white linens hanging outside on the clothesline under direct sunshine. Like, this reading needed, no, it deserved, more in a narrator and Duerden would have been a better choice.

All that being said, it's an OK read. Infamous is up next and actually comes out this Tuesday, which is why I'm catching up on the available Audible readings now. I have not read Infamous, so I'll be hearing it first before I read it and who knows, maybe that will influence my opinion of Wilds' reading to change for the better. Should you decide to spend the credit, just enjoy it as a great story.

Notorious by Minerva Spencer

Notorious by Minerva Spencer
1st in the Rebels of the Ton series. Historical romance. May be a spin-off of a different series.
Drusilla Clara thinks of herself as an independent woman and has no intention of marrying. But society demands and a compromising situation has her getting married to rake Gabriel Marlington. The two must reconcile their differing life styles and beliefs to have a happy and successful marriage union.

I hate when issues could simply be resolved if the hero and heroine just talked to each other. Most of this book had them at odds and taking to someone other than the spouse. I also had a problem with the double standards but realize it may have been historically accurate which is sad. Old fashioned but explicit sex scenes including the “Little death”.
Cliffhanger situation although the couple has mainly resolved their differences.

The audio version was what saved this book for me. It was well done with emotions well performed as well as variations on voices.

Not for me

This seems like a well written story, the narrator is wonderful. But I dnf'd it, because the set up of the heroine in love with the hero, forced to marry, and her being so outwardly hostile to him gave me such vicarious embarrassment and anxiety. no thanks.

Repetitive Narrator

The story’s fine but the narrator read every sentence the exact same way. It feels like every phrase has the EXACT same inflection and it’s incredibly monotonous.

weak female lead

This book was highly annoying. I didn't make it past the first few chapters. If you like a female lead that can't speak up or stand up for herself, and I'm guessing likes to be in high stress situations because she doesn't open her mouth, this book might be for you. Otherwise steer clear.

All talk and no action

So boring. Ugh I couldn’t get past chapter 8 -And we were only on day 3 in the book!

Arguably one of the worst readings I’ve heard

Every sentence was read with inflection. Every. Single. One. Only made it to chapters. Could not use the audiobook to finish this one.