A solid 3.75 stars

*Thanks NetGalley for the ARC*

I was drawn by the cover and blurb and this was a very pleasant surprise indeed. First of all, although the POVs were from both leads, I genuinely feel this was more a Gabriel aka Jibril! (more on that later) story. We got a lot of his background, more on his family and I honestly just felt I knew him more. Drsuilla came across as an independent assured woman of means who secretly had always been very drawn to Gabe and because she felt she had no chances, bickered with him instead. These 2 had very strong personalities and tended to always clash with each other until the Book fates brought them together.

How they came together is a book staple but i really appreciated that Gabe did not do a woe beside me routine before doing what he must. It would have been even greater fun seeing how their marriage of convenience evolved into long lasting affection if there had been just a little more communication. I understand that Drusilla was insecure due to circumstances and all she knew (or thought she did) about Gabe but there were indeed frustrating turns when she just refused to talk!

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the friendships it showed and Gabriel's mom was an utter delight! I would have loved to know how she got to her present place in this book and felt it was glossed over, but a little research indicates that she is in earlier books that I will now look for. I sincerely feel this was the first period romance I read that the Hero was a Muslim and it was a delight especially because the author did not make a big deal of it at all. It fit in so well. She wrote about his place of birth and palace intricacies with an assured hand that I really appreciated and I genuinely delighted in that. It truly did not feel like inclusion just for the sake of it. I also enjoyed the LGBTQ representation and how it was portrayed.

This was a very easy read and I honestly did not put it down once I started. It has a whole lot of plot going on with the mistresses, and duels and past palace stuff but all in all was a great read. ( )

DNF ( )

Drusilla, an enormously wealthy debutante whose father was a merchant, has been in love with Gabriel Marlington from the first day she met him, five years ago, but she hides her feelings with barbed, witty repartee. Gabriel is the step-brother of Drusilla's best friend from school, Eva de Courcy. He is the son of a Berber sultan and a duke's daughter who was captured by corsairs and sold into his father's harem. The problem with Gabriel is that it's far too easy to forget that he's the son of a sultan, because he's not clearly distinguishable from the usual perfect Regency hero.

Gabriel is being pursued by a mad earl, a returned soldier with a tragic background. Drusilla is also at risk because of her connection to Gabriel and because of her wealth. She runs a charitable foundation, so she spends time in seedy parts of London with questionable people.

An entertaining read, but there are too many sex scenes and Gabriel, while an engaging hero, isn't believable. ( )

I enjoy this book immensely, I'm a sucker for a loathe to love story. Battle of wits, marriage of convenience, failure to communicate, egos getting the way of love, this checked every box. I cannot wait to read about what happens to Eva in the next installment. ( )

Good fun and well-written without a boring minute. Onto Outrageous (Rebels of the Ton, #2)! ( )