Twin Peril Signet Regency Romance Horror Book Review

I’ve been waiting for this one, after seeing identical twins Deborah and Diana in action in A Rake’s Redemption.


It would be easy to say that Deborah is the good twin and Diana the evil twin, but it’s not that simple. When I was a child, I always thought it would be wonderful to have a twin sister—definitely better than having a little brother! But while the Woodhurst twins did enjoy the closeness, they’ve also suffered for it. Diana feels like she’s always being compared negatively with Deborah, so she refuses to compete on the same level, and turns to manipulation and subterfuge to get what she wants—she’s a practical young woman, though her practicality is slanted by bitterness that Deborah is the favorite. Ironically, she’s trapped, because being one of a set of beautiful twins is her claim to fame, and when Deborah starts asserting her individuality, Diana feels further betrayed.


Deborah, on the other hand, is tired of being considered one of an indistinguishable pair. Every suitor she’s had has been interested in “one of the Woodhurst twins,” not in her specifically. Thus her criteria for a suitor she’ll accept: he has to be able to tell the twins apart.


Which makes her the perfect match for Michael Winslow, the Duke of Fairfax. Fairfax is being pressured by his grandmother to marry and establish his nursery, and has helpfully provided him with a list of suitable candidates. However, Michael, though he hesitates to admit to wanting something as unmanly as a love match, does want to marry someone who wants to marry Michael Winslow, not the Duke of Fairfax.


The story starts at New Year’s, when the Woodhurst family members traditionally evaluate what they’ve accomplished over the past year and set goals for the coming year. Diana confides to Deborah that she intends to snare a wealthy, titled husband—regardless of her feelings for him or his for her. After all, she can always have affairs if she doesn’t like the man. She also has a list of candidates, and Fairfax, as the highest ranking, is at the top of it.


It’s no coincidence that both Diana and the dowager duchess have lists of suitable mates—they both subscribe to the view at the time of marriage as more a political merger than a love match.


Looking back, I’ve commented more on Diana than on the heroine, Deborah—that’s because Diana is the main thing that’s keeping Deborah and Fairfax apart. Without her plotting and scheming, they’d have had a much easier time of it, I’m sure.


I enjoyed watching these two realize they’d fallen in love with each other, and work to be together despite Diana’s efforts. The ending in particular was a lot of fun, with overlapping plots from both sides.


Speaking of overlapping plots—the timeline of Twin Peril overlaps that of A Rake’s Redemption, which is fascinating. I’m tempted to re-read them both together. One of these days, when I have time.


In the epilogue, it hints that Diana has learned her lesson, but no details are given. Dare I hope this means she’ll get her own story? I’m always interested in a good redemption story.