Customer Reviews

The Rogue and the Rival (Negligent Chaperone, Book 2)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I began reading this book, I thought this was going to be the first true 5-star I've read in a while. The hero and heroine were introduced so well, but above all, the romance was so perfectly developed. The author took the time to allow the hero and heroine to get to know one another (and themselves) and to truly fall in love. Their thoughts were intelligent and clever and I was absolutely impressed.

And then came their separation...and it just seemed like a bit of a different book for me then because the heroine seemed different. I think it was because of the conflict that was put in there. The heroine frustrated me and I didn't understand why she didn't understand that the hero had been trying to protect her and had no choice in what happened. I wanted to knock her on the head a couple of times. As the story progressed, I thought, "Why don't you just get a leash and jerk this guy around a little more so he can prove himself to you?" Thank goodness we saw the hero find his spine again and remain a lovable character at the same time.

I also wasn't sure that the development of Lord Frost's character was consistent...I think he should have been evil and disturbed or confused and heartbroken, but not a combination because in my mind it just didn't seem to fit - that could very well be a point, however, that is perceived quite differently by others.

Also, the way everything with the women turned out was almost too convenient. The hero had changed, the reader understood that, and if he actually, truly used a girl in the past, I think the reader would forgive him.

In spite of my annoyances, this was a very good book and a worthwhile read. I read the predecessor to this book and I believe this author is very talented and I will definitely continue reading her stories.

This 2nd romance of Ms. Rodale's is a remarkable followup to The Heir and the Spare. This book kept me intrigued and constantly wondering what could possibly happen next. Everytime you settle into the story a gripping turn occurs. I have read other romances and none draw you in as the story and writing style of Ms. Rodale's.

This is the book all Girlfriends need to share with each other and pass to a friend with a nice bottle of wine!

Phillip Kensington, Marquis of Huntley, is a womanizer and a wastrel. He drinks too much, he gambles too often, and he breaks women's hearts. The ultimate rogue, he has never had to own up to his behavior until now. Having gambled to the point that he has no money whatsoever to pay his debts, he is on the run from his creditors. Injured by a gunshot wound from the people chasing him, he wakes up in a barren, severe room at Stanbrook Abbey. Not sure where he is or why, Phillip is brazen to the point of rudeness when his nurse finally shows up. Once he gets a good look at her, however, Phillip begins to imagine all sorts of risqué things. Angela, his nurse, is having none of it. The more Philip pushes the more she pulls away or at least tries to. Phillip is anything if not persistent and the couple fall in love and plan to be married.

Angela Sullivan has spent six years at Stanbrook Abbey and even planned on taking her vows there. For six years she has prayed and repented and wished for forgiveness for ruining her family with her indiscretion with a lord of the ton. When Lord Huntley is injured and Angela is assigned the task of caring for him, she refuses to allow her heart to really see the man inside his impudent outer shell. Falling in love with him happens almost instantaneously and Phillip asks her to marry him. She accepts but no sooner does that happen then Phillip disappears without a trace and Angela is once again heartbroken. Refusing to take her vows, she travels to London to become employed. There she sees the first man that broke her heart. When Phillip returns, will Angela still love him or will the man who ruined her, now a widower, resume their relationship where it ended?

Phillip was the ultimate degenerate bad boy. Borderline alcoholic, he gambles and cats around with women just because he can. Never having to own up to anything in his life, Phillip is used to being the rake and his older twin the good guy. Or rather, he is becoming used to it ever since the truth about his birth order was finally told. My heart went out to him because underneath his bluster and blunder and bad manners was a man yearning for love.

Angela was no different. She was an unwilling victim of society and its rules and its cruelties. She gave her heart to a man, not her husband, and when he found out that her dowry was not as big as he thought, he remembered he was betrothed to someone else. Because of this, Angela spent six years paying for her mistakes and embarrassment to her family. Wanting nothing more than forgiveness, she doesn't know who to forgive herself. She knows her desire to be a wife and mother is more than she can hope for but she does.

THE ROGUE AND THE RIVAL is the second installment of Maya Rodale's Negligent Chaperone series. It is a regency historical romance set in the English countryside. Perfectly written and freshly engaging, I am happy to report that THE ROGUE AND THE RIVAL took me away to a time where someone's reputation was everything. I anxiously watched and waited for Phillip to decide that Angela was not worth falling in love with and am happy to admit that he did not waver in his feelings for her. He loved her and he was willing to fight for her.

A fresh and charming novel, THE ROGUE AND THE RIVAL is a worthy sequel to the first series installment, The Heir and the Spare. Readers will be delighted and thoroughly enchanted by the `bad boy gone good' and the woman he falls in love with. I know I was.

***Natalie S. for Wild on Books***

I loved the transformation Philip made from a careless rake to a wonderful, caring person. What Angela went through was horrible and totally unfair. But she was given a second chance. And I really liked the way their relationship developed. I found the part when he was peeling potatoes soooo funny, but also so touching. And then the way he had to leave. And in a way, I can understand it that she didn't trust him enough, but anyway... couldn't she just wait a bit? And listen to his explanation? It's all right if the heroine doesn't forgive everything the hero does right away, but what she made him do was simply too much. Especially the part when they had to visit all the women he 'ruined'. I would prefer it if the story centered on them and not on all the other women. Well, but the beginning and the first part of the book were wonderful. And I'm looking forward to reading some more books by this author.

Angela Palmerston has been cloistered away in an abbey where she fled after she was ruined by the man she loved. In those six years, she has delayed taking her orders because she feels she is missing something. And then one night, a broken, bloody man comes to the abbey needing medical attention.

Lord Phillip is known as a Notorious Rake, a man who ruins women left and right, drinks himself to oblivion every night and gambles away every penny he finds. With Angela as his nurse, however, he learns that arrogance and petulance are not the best way to handle his affairs. There is a mutual attraction between them, but both their pasts get in the way.

As he tries to get better, both medically and personally, Angela finds herself feeling emotions and needs she thought had been destroyed. And neither one realizes that there is challenge to their relationship in the form of a rival.

The Rogue and The Rival is a story of their growing love. It was wonderful and fun to read. So many women dream of reforming the unreformable, and this is an excellent way to read that dream vicariously. While Angela's doubts get a bit tiring after awhile, the story still unfolds with unexpected twists and turns, and the relationship is still a great love story.

Niki Lee
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Lord Phillip Kensington wakes up in a strange, sparse room and doesn't know where he is or exactly how he got there. He remembers he was running from someone.

Angela Sullivan has only been at Stanbrook Abbey for six years, and she still has trouble controlling her thoughts, actions and desires. She can't even control her body's reaction to the handsome rogue she's helping nurse back to health. Her whole reason for being at the abbey in the first place is because she was ruined by just such a man. Her attraction to him puts her in a foul mood and reminds her of things she would rather forget. But she's the only woman in the abbey who has not yet taken her orders, so she must be the one to care for him. None of the others are supposed to be in the company of a man.

As Phillip and Angela spend more time together, the more their feelings for each other grow. But Phillip is visited once again by the danger he thought he had escaped, and he has to leave Angela suddenly and without explanation in order to protect her. Will she ever be able to forgive him? Is he even worthy of her forgiveness?

The Rogue and the Rival is the second book in the Negligent Chaperone series, and now I'm dying to go back and buy the first book. This was a truly delightful historical romance. Maya Rodale has penned a book that is utterly captivating, with engaging characters and spiced with just the right amount of humor. Phillip is a delicious hero, Angela is spirited and intelligent, and together they're unforgettable. This is definitely an author for your auto-buy list.

5 Kisses, 1 Pepper

~Lindy
Reviewer, TwoLips Reviews, LLC
www.TwoLipsReviews.com

It was such a pleasure to read a romance book that didn't just stick to the tired old conventions and actually developed proper characters and storyline. The two principal characters are fantastic and the abbey scenes are wonderful.

If I had to pick holes I would say that in the last few chapters I wanted Rodale to get on with it and get them to the altar already but that might just be my impatience talking.

The thing I like with these books is that it feels like I've come across the new Julia Quinn or Eloisa James and at the moment I have her all to myself. I have a feeling that it won't be long before Maya Rodale is up there with the best.

In 1816, Angela Palmerston was sent to the nearby abbey for causing a scandal that humiliates her family. Over the next six years she behaves with decorum and now plans to take her vows.

Lord Phillip's gambling addiction is out of control. He no longer can pay his debts. While traveling alone he is assaulted and left to die. Instead in severe pain he is brought to the abbey where Angela is assigned to heal him. As he recovers they fall in love. He proposes to her and she accepts. However soon afterward, Philip vanishes. Angela assumes he changed his mind. Despondent and no longer taking her vows, she travels to London to become an illustrator. Kidnapped, Phillip escapes his captivity and rushes to London to win back the hand of the woman he loves.

Maya Rodale provides her readers with a fascinating Regency romance starring two intriguing protagonists who refresh what would otherwise be typical sub-genre novel. The story line is filled with spins especially the key abduction of the hero. As with THE HEIR AND THE SPARE, what makes the tale fun to read is the lead couple who are both stunned and not ready for love.

Harriet Klausner

I loved her first bookThe Heir and the Spare (Negligent Chaperone Series) and this was another winner. This is story of Lord Phillip (Devon was his twin brother from 1st novel) and is a terrible man and rake. He wakes in a Abbey surrounded by nuns after being left for dead. Angela has not taken her vows and has been put in charge of caring for Phillip. This novel take the reader on so many emotional rides , I would become overhead is certain parts, angry and frustrated in other and sometime anxious that something bad was going to happen, and in the end it will leave you with a smile. Enjoy!

If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; Good With His Hands (Zebra Debut), Compromised (Berkley Sensation) , At the Bride Hunt Ball (Avon Romance) and As Luck Would Have It (Leisure Historical Romance).

When I turned the last page of The Heir and the Spare, I bid good riddance to Philip Kensington - he got what he had coming to him, vile and spiteful as he was. I was stunned to learn on mayarodale.com that he would return as a hero in The Rogue and the Rival! Maya Rodale delivered a brilliantly written and very clever story in which Philip not only redeemed himself, he proved most deserving of love. Like The Heir and the Spare, The Rogue and the Rival has intriguing, smart characters with exciting story twists and is even richer, more vivid and complex. Maya's description of what a man should know about how a woman should be kissed was so incredibly insightful, I read the passage to my husband and was rewarded with a lovely kiss of my own! (that would be page 77 readers.)

It was fun revisiting The Heir and the Spare characters, like Lady Palmerston, and finding the scattering of references to The Darcy Darlington novelette - well done! With winter on it's way, The Rogue and the Rival is the perfect complement to a rainy or snowy day with a soft, downy blanket and a nice cup of tea (English tea of course!)