Rebels of the Ton: Book 1
Release Date: November 24, 2020
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.
*Review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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 a while 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.
