The Rogue and the Rival (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: aston house, absolute scoundrel, Lady Palmerston, Maya Rodale, Lady Katherine (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If Lord Phillip were not in pain, he’d consider himself lucky to be in a hospital full of women, albeit nuns. His reputation has preceded him, but as he stays on, his thoughts of novitiate Angela Palmerston grow nobler—as her thoughts of him become less than holy…

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042522452X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425224526
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #478,889 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved...Loved...Loved...the first half, December 1, 2008

By	R. Phillips (MS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed by Wild on Books!, November 23, 2008

By	Natalie S "ns65" (Nashville) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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***

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A kiss is not just a kiss..., November 14, 2008

By	B. from Boston "Bernadette E." (Boston) - See all my reviews

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!)