Regency Rakes Who Refuse Reform

Love and Other Scandals — Caroline Linden

A spinster turns scandal into currency, then falls for the rake determined to unmask her. Joan Bennet is twenty-six, broke, and unmarriageable by Regency standards — so she writes 50 Ways to Sin, a scandalous advice book that becomes the talk of London. The problem: Lord Tristan Burke, a charming wastrel with too much time on his hands, decides exposing the anonymous author is his new hobby. Linden writes rakes who are genuinely inconvenient — Tristan's not cruel, but he's self-absorbed enough to ruin Joan's livelihood without thinking twice. The slow-burn tension comes from watching him realise he's the villain in someone else's story. Explore our current copy of Love and Other Scandals. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

After the Kiss: The Notorious Gentleman — Suzanne Enoch

A widow who's done her duty meets a rake who's never done his — and neither budges until the final act. Sullivan Waring is the platonic ideal of a Regency scoundrel: titled, bored, and utterly uninterested in respectability. Lady Isabel Chalsey is a widow who married for duty once and has zero intention of repeating the experience. Enoch's genius is that Sullivan doesn't reform because Isabel scolds him into goodness — he reforms because she's funnier, sharper, and more interesting than the debutantes he usually ignores. The banter here is acid-sharp, and the grovelling (when it finally arrives) is spectacular. This is Book 1 of the Notorious Gentlemen series, which treats rakish behaviour as a character flaw to be worked through, not a sexy personality trait. Explore our current copy of After the Kiss. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

Some Like It Scot — Suzanne Enoch

A Scottish laird who won't marry versus an English miss who won't either — stalemate, then chaos. Munro MacLawry has watched three brothers fall into matrimonial traps and he's not having it. Enter an English family who thinks a nice society bride will civilise him. Enoch writes Highland rakes as a specific breed: less "charming London wastrel" and more "will literally fight you in a field." Munro's resistance to marriage isn't philosophical — it's visceral, rooted in watching his clan lose autonomy to English influence. The heroine refuses to be a civilising project, which is the only reason this works. As of June 2026, Enoch's MacLawry Highlanders series remains one of the sharper takes on the Scottish historical subgenre, because her heroes earn their happy endings through actual character growth, not just a kilt and a brogue. Explore our current copy of Some Like It Scot. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

To Sin With a Scoundrel — Cara Elliott

A bluestocking scientist decides to test a rake's legendary prowess — for research purposes, obviously. Lady Ciara Sheffield is a chemist whose latest experiment has literally exploded, and she needs a test subject for her next theory. Enter the Marquess of Haddan, a notorious rake with a reputation for wickedness and zero interest in bluestockings. Elliott's hook is that Ciara approaches seduction like a scientific hypothesis: controlled conditions, measurable outcomes, reproducible results. Haddan's not used to being treated like a lab specimen, and the power dynamic shifts fast. The appeal here is watching a rake realise he's been out-manoeuvred by someone smarter, and that his usual charm offensive is useless against a woman who's already catalogued his techniques. This is Book 1 of the Circle of Sin series. Explore our current copy of To Sin With a Scoundrel. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

Lord Dashwood Missed Out — Tessa Dare

An earl who's pined for a decade while maintaining his wastrel reputation — then finally makes his move. George Travers, Earl of Ashbury, has been in love with Elinor Browning since she was his sister's bookish best friend. She's now widowed, brilliant, and still thinks of him as the charming rake who flirts with everyone. Dare's novellas are deceptively structured — they look light, but the emotional stakes are brutal. George has spent years hiding his intelligence and his feelings behind a facade of careless charm, and watching him drop the mask is the entire point. The grovelling-to-word-count ratio here is off the charts. This is a 100-page masterclass in pining, miscommunication, and why the "secretly serious rake" trope works when the author knows what they're doing. Explore our current copy of Lord Dashwood Missed Out. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

These five historicals prove that the rake only works as a romantic hero when the author makes him earn it — through self-awareness, grovelling, and the slow realisation that seduction isn't the same as intimacy. Linden, Enoch, Elliott, and Dare write scoundrels who resist reform until the final act, which is exactly why the payoff lands. Shop all Romance books at Patina Paperbacks →