Rogues Break Rules: Regency Scoundrels

A Rogue by Any Other Name — Sarah MacLean

Quick Verdict: MacLean's revenge plot crackles with rage and card-sharp precision — this is not your apologetic reformed rake.

Michael Lawler was an earl at nineteen; by twenty, he'd lost title and estates in a rigged game of whist. A decade later, he runs London's most ruthless gambling hell and he's ready to take back what's his — starting with a marriage of blackmail to the childhood friend who inherited his land. MacLean writes rogues who own their damage. The First Rule of Scoundrels series (four books, 2012–2014) pivots on men who built empires in London's gaming underworld; this opener sets the template. The mass market paperback format shows foxing on the edges — that's normal for a 2012 Avon release stored in Sydney humidity. Explore our current copy of A Rogue by Any Other Name. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

Twice Tempted by a Rogue — Tessa Dare

Quick Verdict: Dare's broke, scarred viscount rebuilds a village one stone at a time — the redemption arc earns every beat.

Rhys St. Maur returned from war with a facial scar, empty pockets, and a plan to reclaim the Devonshire village he abandoned as a boy. The local innkeeper, Meredith Maddox, refuses to sell — she remembers the reckless boy who left, not the man trying to atone. Dare (Stud Club trilogy, 2010–2011) writes physical labour as foreplay; Rhys rebuilding the village square is more erotic than a ballroom waltz. The paperback's creased spine suggests this copy made multiple trips through someone's beach bag. That's the marker of a comfort reread. Explore our current copy of Twice Tempted by a Rogue. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

All Night with a Rogue — Alexandra Hawkins

Quick Verdict: Hawkins's Lords of Vice deliver titled debauchery with zero moral hand-wringing — this is scandal as sport.

A gentleman of the ton with a reputation for ruining innocents. A sheltered young woman who's never broken a rule. One stolen night at a masquerade that upends both their futures. Hawkins launched the Lords of Vice series (seven books, 2010–2013) with this deliberate inversion of the reformed-rake trope — these men aren't looking for redemption; they're looking for the next thrill. The series follows a circle of aristocratic scoundrels through gambling hells, brothels, and ballrooms with equal enthusiasm. Our copy shows minimal wear; the pages still crack when you open to chapter one. Explore our current copy of All Night with a Rogue. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

Till Dawn with the Devil — Alexandra Hawkins

Quick Verdict: Hawkins escalates the Lords of Vice stakes — this rogue gambles with lives, not just reputations.

Reign Hawksley is the reckless gambler Duke Vanewright has been warned to avoid. When she arrives at his estate demanding sanctuary, he knows the scandal will destroy them both — and lets her in anyway. This is the fifth Lords of Vice novel (2011), and Hawkins has abandoned any pretense of reformation by now. Vanewright's a duke; Reign's a disaster. The collision is inevitable and messy. The mass market format fits in a coat pocket, which is how most of these were originally read — on Tube commutes, lunch breaks, stolen hours. The yellowed pages are a feature, not a flaw. Explore our current copy of Till Dawn with the Devil. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

Rogue Steals a Bride — Amelia Grey

Quick Verdict: Grey's wedding-crasher duke is pure chaos — the abduction scene alone justifies the shelf space.

Gretchen Hawk is walking down the aisle toward a man she doesn't love when Matson Brentwood, the Rogue Duke, crashes the ceremony and spirits her away. He needs a fake fiancée to dodge his own unwanted betrothal; she needs an escape route. The negotiation happens at a gallop. Grey (Rogues' Dynasty series, 2012–2014) writes tactical abductions like heist films — every beat is choreographed, every risk calculated. Our mass market copy has a creased cover and a broken spine; it's been read hard. That's the sign of a book that delivered. Explore our current copy of Rogue Steals a Bride. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

The Reluctant Rake — Jane Ashford

Quick Verdict: Ashford flips the script — her rake's reluctant because the reputation's unearned, not because he's reformed.

A proper English lady. A man with a scandalous reputation he never actually earned. When a misunderstanding threatens her future, she turns to the one man society says she should avoid. Ashford (writing since 1979) built a career on interrogating Regency archetypes; this 2000 mass market release asks what happens when the whispers are wrong. The rake who isn't. The lady who sees through the gossip. It's a quieter seduction than MacLean or Dare, but the emotional stakes land just as hard. The foxing on our copy's pages is heavy — Sydney's humidity accelerates that process — but the text is clean. Explore our current copy of The Reluctant Rake. Browse more Romance books at Patina.

These six rogues span three decades of historical romance — from Ashford's skeptical realism to MacLean's revenge-fueled intensity. The through-line: men who refuse easy redemption, and the women smart enough to see past (or straight through) the scandal. As of April 2026, Patina's Romance shelves hold rotating stock of Regency rogues, rakes, and scoundrels in preloved condition — mass market paperbacks with foxed pages, creased spines, and the weight of a thousand ballroom scenes. Shop all Romance books at Patina Paperbacks →