ARC Review: Never Wager with a Wallflower (The Merriwell Sisters #3) by Virginia Heath
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Author: Virginia Heath
Published November 7th 2023 by St. Martin's Griffin
Goodreads Synopsis
The third and final delightful installment in the Merriwell Sister's Regency rom-com series.
Miss Venus Merriwell has been waiting for her prince to come since the tender age of fourteen. She wants a man who is selfless, academic like her, and free from all the wretched vices her gambler father enjoyed far too much before he left the Merriwell sisters practically destitute. Unfortunately, after a slew of romantic disappointments, there is still no sign of that prince at twenty-three and the only one true love of her life is the bursting-at-the-seams orphanage in Covent Garden that she works tirelessly for. An orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door.
For Galahad Sinclair, gambling isn’t just his life, it’s in his blood. He grew up and learned the trade at his grandfather’s knee in a tavern on the far away banks of the Hudson in New York. But when fate took all that away and dragged him across the sea to London, it made sense to set up shop here. He’s spent five years making a success out of his gaming hell in the sleazy docks of the East End. Enough that he can finally afford to buy the pleasure palace of his dreams—and where better than in the capital’s sinful heart, Covent Garden? The only fly in his ointment is the perfect building he’s just bought to put it in also happens to be right next door to the orphanage run by his cousin’s wife’s youngest sister. A pious, disapproving and unsettling siren he has avoided like the plague since she flattened him five years ago…
While Venus and Galahad lock horns over practically everything, and while her malevolent orphans do their darndest to sabotage his lifelong dream, can either of them take the ultimate gamble—and learn to love thy neighbor?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
After her sisters found love with their husbands, Miss Venus Merriwell knows that people are waiting to see her wed. But she's now 23, and though she's waiting nearly a decade for her prince, she's seen disappointment and disappointment, and knows she wants someone nothing like her gambler father. So when the only man to ever catch her eye, American Galahad Sinclair, spends most of his time at his gaming hell, she knows they can't be together. But as he's a cousin to her brother-in-law, they're in company too much for her liking, and she can't convince her heart that he's worth the risk.
I knew when we met Vee and Gal in the previous books that the chemistry between them was going to be special, and by god it was! Both of them thought the other was too stuck up or a risk taker for them to like, but that was just the outside persona that many saw. Because they were so often together, especially when the issue of ownership of the property next door to the orphanage came up, they were able to see what was under the walls they had put up, and be true with each other. I loved the heartfelt moments between them, where they really opened up about their past, and how it had affected them. They may have had bad first impressions of each other, but Vee and Gal were able to start over again, and working together proved they were worth fighting for. Both grew so much, and the inclusion of the orphan boys in particular, showed the hidden sides that they needed to see. A wonderful conclusion to the series, and I'm so happy we got to see all of the Merriwell sisters get the happy ending they deserved!
Dates Read:
March 19-21, 2023
Rating
4 Stars
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