Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath Series: The Merriwell Sisters #2
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on November 8, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
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Virginia Heath’s Never Rescue a Rogue, the next book in the Merriwell Sisters series, is filled with whip-smart banter, swoony romance, hilarious mishaps, and twisty reveals that will make you gasp and laugh in delight.
Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle. But they do have one thing in common—the secrets they can’t risk escaping.
When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son's birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that the two of them insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. Soon, the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line...
I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This was the second in a series it worked well for a standalone. The unlikely pairing of a ducal heir and a scoundrel’s daughter who now works clandestinely for a newspaper starts off teetering on the edge of enemies to lovers, although its apparent to everyone around them (except the MCs) that their bickering really is love.
Or it could be, if Giles’ family secrets would stop getting in the way.
The end was magnificently rompish, and the road there had lots of amusing twists and turns. A bit of mystery, action, and comedy along with romance and even though some of the subject maybe lists towards forlorn and dark, generally I found it to be angst-lite.
The book races at a fast clip, and was easy to pick up after a few days off. Would be enemies to lovers dissolves into reluctant friendship and flirtation, as the pair work together to try and solve Giles’ impending problems. When the villain makes themselves known, MCs must make some decidedly unconventional choices in order to best them at their game.
I didn’t think the mystery was that hard to figure out, except for maybe the last little twist which I think might be a set up for the next book in the series.
Sex is on the page, but lightly, as is violence and mature subject matter.
I found this to be a charming read with a lot to appeal to a broad spectrum of Regency Readers, and will be definitely on the hunt for the first and next book in this series.
