Title: Never Fall for Your Fiancée (Merrill Sisters #1)

Author: Virginia Heath

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin 2021

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; Romanceopoly - The Cobbles (Historical romance with a rake)

Spice Rating: 4

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, even from across the other side of the ocean. So Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep his mother’s matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his complicated, convoluted but convenient ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman, who might just be the miracle he needs.

Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. Work as a woodcut engraver is few and far between, and the Merriwell sisters are nearly penniless. So when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that while the scheme sounds ludicrous, the offer is too good to pass up.

Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course nothing goes according to his meticulous plan. As hilarity and miscommunication ensue while everyone tries to keep their tangled stories straight, Hugh and Minerva’s fake engagement starts to turn into a real romance. But can they trust each other when their relationship started with a lie?

A bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for a good historical romp with lots of banter. Instead, I got a book that mostly bored me. The two main characters don’t show enough sparkle or wit early on. (Seriously the best friend and sister steal every scene they are in. Guess I should just read the sequel…) The conversations all the characters had seemed to repeat themselves over and over again. I was just pretty bored overall. The big trope of fake fiancee felt very forced and not fun. I just didn’t really enjoy reading this one.

Merriwell Sisters

• #1 Never Fall for Your Fiancée

• #2 Never Rescue a Rogue

Next up on the TBR pile: