Negligent Chaperones Series by Maya Rodale / Historical Romance Book Series

The Heir and the Spare by Maya Rodale (2007)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 1 of the Negligent Chaperones series. Twin brothers Phillip and Devon hate each other and Devon has always gotten the worst treatment from his ducal father as the second son. After fighting in a duel in place of the heir, Devon flees England for many years and his asshole brother tells everyone he’s dead. Back in England to attend to his dying father, he catches a falling Emilia as she clumsily trips over herself at a ball. They share a kiss in the library before he needs to run off. However, everyone believes Devon to be his brother, the horrible scoundrel Phillip and warns Emilia away from him. Phillip needs to marry an heiress and sets his sights on Emilia; she accepts the courtship but is confused by his demeanor and the distinct lack of sparks when she’s with him. These people are just in a confusing mess, Emilia has a meddlesome chaperone, Devon is totally insecure about his own worth, and Phillip is a gross snake. And there’s a secret building up to be revealed by the duke’s butler, so we have that to look forward to. It was still a fun story and it’s helpful to see how awful Phillip is before we get to his book next.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.

The Rogue and the Rival by Maya Rodale (2008)

Historical romance. Regency-era England. Book 2 of the Negligent Chaperones series. After the events of Book 1, Philip had left the country for awhile, and somehow ended up back injured and unconscious in at an abbey. He’s being tended to by Angela, a soon-to-be sister who’s been stalling on taking her vows. We learn that Philip was chased down by thugs who he owed money to and Angela was ruined by a man like Philip (but not Philip), charming and rakish and an absolutely scoundrel. These two grow closer, somehow Philip learns how to have feelings and empathy, and Angela remembers that she likes the attentions of men. However, we see an eight month time-jump in the middle of the book, so that’s never a good sign for an easy happily ever after. The second half of the book finds us all back in London and navigating the social waters there. Somehow, we see a pretty believable rake reformation here with Philip, even though it was mostly driven by his desire for Angela.

Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby.