Virginia Heath

Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virgina Heath
3rd and final book in the Merriwell Sisters series. Historical romance, romantic comedy. Can be read as a stand-alone but couples from the prior books do appear in this book.
Venus Merriwell has been writing in her diary about her future prince since she was fourteen. By the age of 23 and after several disappointing potential suitors, she focuses her time and energy on an orphanage in Covent Garden. It’s overcrowded, the roof is leaking and badly in need of repairs and funding. She has her eye on the building next door.
Galahad Sinclair has been scrimping and saving for the perfect building where he can build the ultimate gambling hall. He’s found the perfect block with only one major downfall. The orphanage next door is run by his cousin’s wife’s younger sister and he’s been avoiding her since she flattened him five years ago. Maybe he should rethink his approach to her and see if he can buy her out of that building.

A handsome foreigner (from New York!) who is sympathetic to the rambunctious orphans? Venus doesn’t recognize this man though they’ve been forced to eat around the same table for years! Has she misjudged him or is he simply playing her for some unscrupulous purpose?

A joy to read as these two deal with their lives, dreams and learn more about each other, being secretly attracted. The dialog is fun and the addition of the rest of her family and the orphan boys and their antics ramp up the delightful storyline.
I will go back and read the prior two books in this series. They feel like I’d enjoy them as much as this.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.… (més)

Fun book. Although I haven't (yet) read the first two books in the series, therefore missing some of the history of Venus and Galahad, there was enough information provided that I could understand their pasts.

Vee is a romantic at heart, but after years of relationship disappointments, she has given up on looking for love. She no longer trusts her heart or her judgment and has set her sights on a nobleman who is as much of an academic as she is. Unfortunately, he is also boring, judgmental, and oblivious to her interest, and no one in her family believes they belong together. Vee's happiest times are spent working at the Covent Garden orphanage she helps run. It is also very overcrowded and needs more space - such as the empty building next door - if only she had the funds to purchase it.

Galahad is the American-born cousin of Vee's brother-in-law, Giles. He owns a gambling den near the London docks and is looking to add a second location. When he hears of the perfect building in Covent Garden, he rushes to secure ownership of it. He then discovers that it is next door to Vee's orphanage and realizes that for the sake of family harmony, he needs to mend fences with her.

The story opens with a prologue that describes the first meeting between Vee and Gal and sets the tone for their relationship over the past five years - chilly at best and antagonistic at worst. As the daughter of a gambler who deserted his family, Vee has definite opinions about gamblers and doesn't hesitate to share them. They do their best to avoid each other when possible and keep their distance when it is not.

I enjoyed watching the relationship between Vee and Gal develop. Their antagonism is overt, but underneath are sparks of attraction that neither will admit. They are, however, blazingly apparent to others. When Gal acquires the rest of the orphanage building, he decides to "make nice" with Vee and try to get on her good side before she finds out about his purchase. It's understandable but also slightly underhanded and has the likelihood of coming back to bite him in the future.
Vee isn't sure what to think when Gal stops being such a pain and turns on the charm. She doesn't trust him, but it doesn't take long before he begins to win her over.

There are some hilarious scenes between the two as they spend time together. One is the first card game they play against each other. Vee is undefeated in the family, Gal is a professional gambler, and the tension between them is palpable. Their second game, after she finds out about his purchase, is a lesson in distracting the other player, and Vee is masterful. There are other times when the banter between the two had me laughing out loud and wondering when they would see the light about their feelings for each other.

However, both have serious insecurities that they keep locked behind sturdy walls. Both lost their mothers at a young age, and both have fathers who are morally bankrupt. Vee's issues make her very judgmental toward Gal and make it difficult for her to trust him. After the loss of his mother and grandfather, Gal keeps his heart locked up and doesn't allow himself to get close to anyone. The more time they spend together, the more Gal and Vee begin to see past those walls and realize that their initial impressions of each other were inaccurate. But it still takes a near tragedy for the last bits of wall to crumble and for them to admit their feelings for each other. I loved the ending.

Some of the best scenes in the book involve Vee, Gal, and Vee's orphans. I loved Vee's devotion to them and desire to give them the best possible future. I enjoyed her surprise at how Gal connected with her three most troublesome boys. Gal won my heart by understanding what drove their actions and his practical methods of helping her with them. At the same time, the boys were very protective of Vee, and their desire to help her with the building issue created some memorable moments. I especially enjoyed the scene with the pigeons and its aftermath. There was also a heartwarming scene involving the three boys and their proposed apprenticeship at Gal's business.

The epilogue was terrific, and I enjoyed seeing the three couples a few years into the future.

#netgalley… (més)

Excellent!

What can go wrong with hiring a lady to play as your fiancé when your mother (who is determined to see you married) is coming for a visit? Hugh Standish, the Earl of Fareham, is about to find out. Hugh hires a young lady named Minerva to act as his fiancé, but little do either of them know that their fake engagement will start to feel real.

I really enjoy reading the "fake engagement turns to real love" trope and regency era novels. The characters felt real and relatable. However, I adored the butler, Payne. His name suits him greatly as he is at times a pain to his master with his sassy and often insubordinate ways, yet was still appreciated by the Earl and his mother. He doesn't hold back on telling Hugh precisely what he thinks, he has a dry sense of humor, and yet he supports Hugh and Minerva throughout the story.

I found this book to be humorous and fun, and often found myself laughing out loud. A great start to a series of novels following the Merriwell sisters.


… (més)

This final book in the Merriwell Sisters trilogy was a hit – and a miss – for me. I loved the epilogue where we caught up with all of the couples five years later to see how they were doing and what had been going on in their lives. That was a definite HIT. Another HIT in all of this author’s books is the wit and humor – and while this book seemed to have a lot less of that than there usually is, there was enough to bring a smile – and even a giggle on occasion. So, what then is the miss? Venus! I just did not like her. I really disliked her in the first book of the series, but in the second book, I still didn’t like her too well, but I thought there was hope for her. That just didn’t happen for me. Throughout all of the books Venus has been very judgmental and very self-centered and that was certainly true in this book as well.

Venus (Vee) Merriwell and Galahad (Gal) Sinclair have known and disliked each other for four years. They first met when Venus tackled him with the intent to do as much bodily injury as she could – read the second book in the series if you want to know more about that. Galahad Sinclair is Giles Sinclair’s cousin – and Giles is married to Venus’s sister Diana. Since that first meeting, they have either avoided each other totally or they have sniped at each other through whatever time they were forced to be in closer proximity. Is it a case of protesting too much?

Galahad has long wanted to build a club in the area of Covent Garden – a decent club where he could have both ladies and gentlemen attend. He has worked his fingers to the bone, scrimped, and saved until he finally has enough saved to buy a location and renovate it. Now, he just needs to find the perfect location – and miraculously, he does. Then, he learns it is right next door to the orphanage at which Venus teaches. OOPS! When Venus learns about it – she is livid – because she thought that building was going to be left to the orphanage. OOPS!

For me, watching them work through to their HEA was a bit of a painful process. Venus was always looking for the worst in everyone – especially Galahad. She looked down her nose and judged him guilty of anything and everything whether he was or not. She was also very self-centered. She thought nothing at all of thinking Galahad should just give up his dream and hand over his building to the orphanage even though he had done absolutely nothing wrong in acquiring it – and had paid good money for it. She thought that because he played cards well, he was a gambler (he wasn’t). She thought that because he wanted to open a club it would be one of those dissolute, disreputable places like the ones she and her sisters had to drag their father from after he’d gambled away the rent money. So, anyway, I just couldn’t get myself to like her or to care whether she got a HEA or not. I really liked Galahad, but he annoyed me as well. He was just too perfect. He never got mad or raised his voice even when the most heinous things happened to him. Also, he was always apologizing to Venus – I mean for everything – all the time!

I am glad to have read the book and to have seen the happy futures for all of the Merriwell sisters, but I wouldn’t read this one a second time. If you have read the other books in the series, don’t skip this one, because it wraps up the series and gives you a glimpse into their futures. One thing it doesn’t do is provide a final resolution to the Merriwell’s father. I know that has nothing to do with them and their accomplishments and that they don’t care – but – I just never like loose ends and he’s a loose end. I would like to have learned that he was captured by Pygmies and covered with honey and then hung upside down over a red ant bed OR maybe he tried to fleece the wrong woman and she captured him and locked him up in her dungeon and used him for a plaything. 😊

Anyway – if you have read the other books in the series, don’t miss this one. I have scanned over some of the other reviews for this book and none seem to mention a dislike for Venus, so perhaps it is just me and you’ll love her. My dislike for Venus has nothing to do with the author’s writing abilities – to me, she is just an unlikable, needy character. Hopefully, you will love Venus.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (més)