Regency Rakes Who Refuse to Reform

The Devil Wears Kilts — Suzanne Enoch

Quick Verdict: A Highland laird who despises England crashes London society — and finds the one Englishwoman who won't tolerate his nonsense. Ranulf MacLawry is allergic to England: its manners, its ballrooms, its cravats. He's built to rule Scottish mountains, not navigate drawing rooms. But when family duty drags him south, he collides with Charlotte Hanover, an English rose with a spine of steel who sees straight through his scowling routine. Enoch writes physical attraction like a fistfight — all heat and friction and bodies that communicate faster than mouths. The kilt stays on. The restraint does not. Explore our current copy of The Devil Wears Kilts or browse more Romance books at Patina.

A Duke but No Gentleman — Alexandra Hawkins

Quick Verdict: A duke nicknamed "Frost" meets a widow with secrets — and discovers restraint has its limits. Rowan Mordare earned his title through ice-cold control and a code of honor that keeps everyone at safe distance. Enter Lady Kildar, a widow whose past is murky and whose presence unsettles his carefully constructed walls. Hawkins writes rakes who've weaponised reputation — men who use scandal as armor until someone slips under it. The tension here is all in what isn't said, the glances held too long, the propriety cracking at the seams. As of June 2026, Patina's romance collection includes multiple Hawkins titles, all stocked in well-loved mass-market editions. Explore our current copy of A Duke but No Gentleman or browse more Romance books at Patina.

London's Last True Scoundrel — Christina Brooke

Quick Verdict: The Marquis of Steyne has thoroughly destroyed his reputation — now he's gambling everything to rebuild it for the one woman who won't forgive him. Brooke specialises in rogues who've earned their notoriety honestly. Steyne is a rake not because it's fashionable but because restraint bores him — until it costs him the woman he wants. This is the first in the Ministry of Marriage series, where a secret society of aristocrats meddles in love matches with varying degrees of success. Brooke's dialogue crackles; her ballroom scenes drip with social warfare. If you like your rakes genuinely dangerous and your heroines armed with wit sharper than any blade, this delivers. Explore our current copy of London's Last True Scoundrel or browse more Romance books at Patina.

All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess — Alexandra Hawkins

Quick Verdict: One afternoon, two people who shouldn't, and a reputation that shatters — Hawkins at her most deliciously reckless. The Lords of Vice series is Hawkins' masterwork: seven aristocratic scoundrels whose reputations are currency and whose downfalls are inevitable. The Marquess of Norgrave is charming, dangerous, and allegedly unavailable — the kind of man mothers warn daughters about for good reason. Then there's Lady Juliet, who has secrets of her own and one afternoon where propriety becomes optional. The tension builds like summer heat before a storm. Hawkins doesn't rush the fall; she makes you wait for it. Explore our current copy of All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess or browse more Romance books at Patina.

How to Forget a Duke — Vivienne Lorret

Quick Verdict: A heroine cursed with perfect memory meets a duke desperate to forget — opposite afflictions, same emotional wreckage. Jacinda Bourne remembers everything — every slight, every kindness, every moment she'd rather bury. The Duke of Rydstrom needs to forget — his past is too heavy to carry. Lorret plays with the "opposite problems, same solution" dynamic, where two people who shouldn't work on paper somehow heal each other's wounds in practice. The emotional stakes here run higher than the typical rake-gets-reformed arc; both protagonists are damaged in ways that make vulnerability terrifying. It's slower, richer, and rewards patience. Explore our current copy of How to Forget a Duke or browse more Romance books at Patina.

The Handbook to Handling His Lordship — Suzanne Enoch

Quick Verdict: A desperate lady, a rake-turned-lord, and one season to marry well or lose everything — Enoch writes high-stakes romance with genuine bite. Lady Emily Portsman has one London season to save her family estate, which means landing a title with money. Nathaniel Stokes, the newly minted Lord Westfall, is not that man — he's a rogue who stumbled into a peerage and has no interest in reforming. But proximity does dangerous things to resolve, and Enoch knows how to twist the marriage-of-convenience trope until it bleeds real feeling. The banter here is sharp enough to draw blood; the chemistry runs hotter than propriety allows. Explore our current copy of The Handbook to Handling His Lordship or browse more Romance books at Patina.

The Greatest Lover Ever — Christina Brooke

Quick Verdict: A rake who's sworn off marriage walks into a house party determined to catch him — restraint never stood a chance. Brooke's heroes specialise in self-imposed exile from the marriage mart, which makes them irresistible targets for heroines with plans. This is Regency romance as blood sport: witty banter as foreplay, house parties as battlegrounds, and desire that won't be denied no matter how many rules say otherwise. The "greatest lover" in the title isn't hyperbole — Brooke writes physicality with confidence rare in the genre, where attraction is tactile and urgent and slightly reckless. If you like your historical romance unapologetically sexy, this delivers. Explore our current copy of The Greatest Lover Ever or browse more Romance books at Patina. These are rakes who don't reform easily — they crack, they resist, they fall against their better judgment. Which is exactly what makes the fall worth reading. Shop all Romance books at Patina Paperbacks →

Where can I buy secondhand Regency romance books in Australia?

Patina Paperbacks ships preloved historical romance Australia-wide from Sydney, with free shipping over $29. The romance collection rotates frequently — most titles are mass-market paperbacks in good-to-very-good condition, complete with the foxing and creased spines that come with a well-loved life. If you're hunting specific authors like Suzanne Enoch or Alexandra Hawkins, check the site regularly; stock changes weekly.

What's the difference between a rake and a rogue in Regency romance?

Honestly, the terms overlap more than they diverge. "Rake" traditionally implies a libertine focused on seduction and scandal; "rogue" suggests someone who operates outside societal rules more broadly — think gambling debts, duels, or family dishonor. In practice, most Regency heroes wear both labels interchangeably. Authors like Christina Brooke and Alexandra Hawkins use "scoundrel" as the umbrella term for men whose reputations precede them and whose reform requires the right woman with enough spine to survive the chaos.

Are Suzanne Enoch's Scottish romances connected or standalone?

Enoch's Scandalous Highlanders series (which includes The Devil Wears Kilts) follows the MacLawry siblings, so you'll see recurring characters and overlapping timelines across books. But each novel stands alone — you won't be lost if you pick up book two without reading book one. The family dynamic adds richness if you read in order, but the romances themselves are self-contained, which makes them ideal for secondhand collecting where you grab what's available when it's available.

What makes Alexandra Hawkins' Lords of Vice series worth reading?

The Lords of Vice novels center seven aristocratic friends whose reputations are spectacularly ruined — by choice, mostly. Each book tackles one lord's downfall-via-love, but the series works because Hawkins writes genuine friendship and loyalty beneath the scandal. These men protect each other even when society shuns them, which gives the emotional stakes real weight. If you like interconnected series where secondary characters get their own arcs later, this delivers that in spades.

Do these books have open-door or closed-door romance scenes?

Most of the titles in this round-up lean toward open-door — meaning the bedroom scenes are on the page, not fade-to-black. Christina Brooke writes heat with confidence; Suzanne Enoch balances steam with emotional buildup. If you prefer closed-door historical romance, check individual book descriptions or sample pages before committing. Patina's romance stock includes both styles, so filtering by author or series helps narrow the field based on your preference.