This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
Dangerous is the first book in the "Outcasts" series and this is book that I have been wanting to read forever! I actually bought this in print a long time ago, when it first came out but never really read it. And when Jenn @ The Book Refuge, has raved about this author. I have seen quite a few mixed reviews though so I was pretty nervous to read this author. However, I have to say having read this one, it is as good as some people say and I was really hooked into this one. I do wish more newer historical's were written like this because then I would read more historical romance if they were written in the manner in which this one was written. So, if you love historical romance, and want to delve into it a bit more, than I actually recommend this one.

Summary
Euphemia was sold into a Harem when she was a teenager and now she has managed to escape but when she returns to England, her father is determined to just marry her off as he doesn't want her to "shame" the family with her wild blunt ways. But Mia is determined now that the Sultan is dead, to go back to her son but in order to do that, she will need to marry first. Adam de Courtney, has a scandal attached to his name and isn't accept in many of the Ton's circles. He is a single father with three daughters and no heir. So Mia and Adam come up with a pact for a marriage of convenience. At first while these two grow together, and Mia is having a harder time keeping the truth from Adam, but when it matters most will she be able to share everything about her past or keep that locked away...

My Outlook
I really enjoyed this book, now its not a perfect book, It didn't quite make it to the five star read as some of the pacing in the first half was a bit off for me. But the story itself and the characters were so wonderful and I was behind them all the way. I really enjoyed Mia, even knowing how she was going to deceive the hero, I understood where she was coming from. She is a mother protecting her son. I didn't really understand why she wanted to return to that life so much though, that was a bit odd. Because it was much more dangerous than England, England was just a different type of life that she wasn't used to. But hey if you want actual daggers in your back over verbal ones....whatever floats your boat haha But I did like that the author did do a take on the corsair slave trade (where thousands upon thousands were sold down the barbary coast and taken from western countries like the UK and Europe) and I felt like she handled it really well.

The second half of the story is where it really just kicked in gear though. Once I got to about 60% I couldn't put it down. First I loved the sensual bedtime with this couple, this author really knows how to write a sex scene that is sensual and in a way that I haven't seen in a historical in a long time. But also I really loved the way our couple interacts with each other. I do wish there had been a bit more focus on the kids and Mia's relationship with them, there was hardly any focus on that and I would have enjoyed seeing that aspect more fleshed out. They were just in the background and you knew that she was helping these girls, but never saw hardly anything on how she helped them haha The third act conflict was FANTASTIC! I actually loved it. It just got me so excited in seeing how it was developed and built in the last 1/3 of the story.

You can bet this won't be the last time I pick up this author and very excited to read this world that Minerva Spencer has created!!!!

Overall View
I found Dangerous to be a thrilling historical adventure, that was well built, intricately developed and with some powerful smexy times to appeal to any romance reader!

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 4
World Building: 4
Cover: 5
Hero: 4
Heroine: 3.5
Steam: 5
Heart & Feels: 4
Ending: 5
Overall View: 4.25 ( )

Some parts were just straight up silly, and the wrap-up felt very rushed And why have the epilogue from the viewpoint of one of their children, who is kind of flailing in their own life, and who isn't that close with the hero apparently, and thinks the main couple's sex life (that they even have one) is gross? The child was a minor character, why does their opinion even merit, much less have the final say? It seemed like a very weird choice! . But, this is my first book from this author and I look forward to reading more. The heroine was a bit overly feisty I think (seems like every redheaded female is written that way), but the main couple had chemistry and I enjoyed the wide vocabulary used. There was a lot going on, and I would have edited out some of the drama, personally, but overall I enjoyed this book. Also, it set up the heroes of the next two books well which I like. ( )

DNF-16%

*** I Feel it is important to edit this review in light of more information and discussion around the topic. I will just point you to my friend's Blackjack's review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2422177055.
Honestly, Blackjack's review primed me going in and by the first few chapters I was too worried to continue. Given the Islamophobia today, I don't want to support anything that may reinforce negative stereotypes of Muslims, people from the Middle East, or anyone of color. I'm a mood reader, and I reserve the right to feel like this isn't the time (regardless historical accuracy) to see characters from these regions treated as one-dimensional. All my friends have loved this book with few exceptions. I think it's probably really good, however, my tolerance is balanced on something the size of thumb tack, and just as instable.

_____Original review
Honestly, It’s not hitting its stride for me, other than some good chemistry. unfortunately based on what I see now and where it sounds like this is going after reviewing what my friends list says, I’m not here for it. I’ve got Milan, Duran, and Thomas backlists!

Euphemia Marlington considered poisoning the Duke of Carlisle!

Great start to a new serious with a seriously dangerous, uncanny hero and a wonderfully outrageous heroine. But what can you expect from a woman whose spent seventeen years in a harem just surviving.
Euphemia Marlington's return to the bosom of her family was uncomfortable for all. Mia's father, the Duke of Carlisle cannot wait to have her taken off his hands. Marriage to anyone, even a rumored wife murderer such as Adam de Courtney, the Marquess of Exley, was an option.
Mia has her own objectives that the idea of marriage will fit into. What she didn't expect was to find her husband all that she could want. Likewise, Adam did not expect to become enamored with a fascinating wife, freed from the shackles of polite society by her experiences. Steamy moments ensue.
There are faint echoes of Léonie and Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, from Heyer's 'These Old Shades' resonating in places. Particularly when opponents underestimate the whiplike strength and disdainful airs of Adam. Or the way Mia entrances Adam, her ability to curl up into his heart.
Spencer has a wonderful turn of phrase. I particularly liked her description of when Mia first sees Adam entering the ballroom, "The man merely raised his quizzing glass and surveyed the room as a hawk might sweep a field for rodents."
Fascinating!

A Kensington ARC via NetGalley ( )

Dangerous by Minerva Spencer
The Outcasts #1

What fun this book was! I love reading new-to-me authors that create wonderful stories and make me want to read more books of theirs when I finish. This was just such a book :)

Euphemia “Mia” Marlington is a woman with a past…a past not many of us would have survived. I admired her not only for her ability to survive but also because she is a splendid person who is warm and generous and knows more about life and what she wants than most. I loved her openness and wisdom and her ability to be forthright without being forward…well…perhaps a bit forward.

Adam de Courtney, Marquess of Exley was complex and intriguing and a brilliant match for Mia. He was closed off in many ways due to his past and yet that past was, when revealed, not one that should have wreaked the havoc on his life that it did. I liked him and I liked him with Mia even more than I liked either of them alone.

This story has wonderful supporting characters that I would love to see in stories of their own. I found the hero and heroine to be people I would love to meet and get to know. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the ballroom to the bedroom and whether on land or sea. What a delight this book was to read as it took me back in time to reading one of my father’s books, The Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini, even though that book had a male who became a slave instead of a female.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing – Zebra Press – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )