⭐⭐⭐⭐ Was I hooked by that book? Yes. Munro Notley must put his best foot forward in this entertaining second chance romance.

Munro Notley told himself he need only survive twenty-one days in London, then his niece would be married, and he could disappear again. He’d been wandering Europe for years now, ever since Beatrice Haddington Barnet rejected his offer of marriage and wed his best friend instead. Now Notley’s brother, the viscount, has demanded his attendance at the family wedding, and Notley just wants to survive the social whirl without acknowledging her. It’s a brilliant plan, until Beatrice, now widowed, is standing before him and Notley makes a drunken confession he can’t take back. Beatrice will not trust a man so easily this time. If he wants her, Notley will have to pass not one, but five tests. For each challenge he passes, she’s offering a tantalizing reward. But Notley will not have an easy time of it. Beatrice’s wicked tests will prove once and for all whether Notley’s sobriquet as Mr. Notorious is well-deserved or whether he’s reformed his rakish ways.

Mr. Notorious and the Nefarious November is the eleventh book in The Rake Review series, one book for each month of the year written by different authors. And reminiscent of Bridgerton, it comes complete with its own scandal sheet, The Rake Review, penned by the Brazen Belle. Mr. November in our calendar of rakes is Mr. Munro Notley.

As always, I enjoyed the author’s writing style, with plenty of witty banter and well-developed characters (even for a novella). I really liked Munro. His feelings for Beatrice were very clear from the start, as were his reasons for leaving. And this time, Beatrice threw him just enough crumbs to keep him from running again. He was funny and honest and very determined to win Beatrice back.

Beatrice was a little less likable. Her “tests” for Munro felt slightly vindictive at times and she was definitely expecting him to fail. Part of me felt that Munro deserved better. Beatrice’s motivation was to see if she could trust him again after her dismal marriage experience, but Munro was also burned by the whole situation.

All that being said, this was a delightful story with plenty of deliciously charged moments between Munro and Beatrice. I can highly recommend this if you like steamy historical romance. It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end of this charming series.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Were you hooked by that book? Let me know in the comments below.

Genre: Historical Romance
Published: November 1, 2024
Sensuality Rating: Warm
Series: Book 11 in The Rake Review
Other books in the series: Jilted in January, The Fake February Rake, Mad Duke March, It’s Raining Rakes in April, One Fine May, The Scot Who Made June Hot, A Scandal in July, An Heiress for August, Seducing September’s Scoundrel, The Hunt for Mr. October
Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Reformed Rake, Wicked Wager, Forced Proximity