Never Rescue a Rogue (The Merriwell Sisters #2) by Virginia Heath
Genre: Historical fiction, Regency romance, Regency Rom-com
Read: 3rd November 2022
Published: 8th November 2022
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The second book in the Merriwell Sisters series - another hilarious, sparkling historical romantic comedy from Virginia Heath, filled with whip-smart banter, swoony romance, hilarious mishaps, and twisty reveals that will make you gasp and laugh in delight.
A hilarious, sparkling historical romantic comedy, with an irresistible family at its heart, perfect for fans of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton and Martha Waters.
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Why on earth would she want to kiss him when he vexed her so?
Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that they are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that it is animosity, not attraction, that fuels their barbed exchanges. Anyway, Diana loves her freedom too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily wedded to his bachelor lifestyle.
After Giles' curmudgeonly father, the Duke of Harpenden, unexpectedly turns up his toes, it's only a matter of time before the circumstances of his only son's birth are revealed. With the threat of blackmail hanging over him, Giles must uncover the truth, or he and all those who depend on him will be ruined.
As Giles and Diana dive into his family's past, the attraction that they insisted wasn't there proves impossible to ignore. It seems that the future of the Sinclair estate isn't the only thing on the line . . .
EXCERPT:
Throughout it all, Diana remained rigid with mortification. Her entire head, and as much of her body as she could squeeze under it, were now covered by her shawl in the forlorn hope it might, miraculously, render her invisible if she wished for it hard enough.
It didn't work.
"So..." Giles nudged her with his elbow, the same second the coast was clear. "If we ignore the glaring fact that we would have been spared the abhorrent ordeal if you had listened to me in the first place, and that I told you so at least three times and was ignore, the obvious question that now begs to be asked, Diana, is - did you at least manage to hear anything useful?"
In the absence of the prayed-for thunderbolt, she whacked him over his irritating head with her reticule.
"Insufferable, incorrigible, and irritating in the extreme!"
"But right!" he said, still laughing at her. "You have to concede that."
She snarled, wanting to strangle him until his smug, amused, annoyingly handsome face turned purple but settling for another thwack with her flimsy embroidered silk reticule instead.
"Be in no doubt, Giles Sinclair, as you congratulate yourself for being right for the first time in your entire useless life, that I haven't missed you at all!"
As his hysterical laughter finally let rip, and with as much dignity as she could muster despite her face being on fire and her bodily urges all over the place, she stormed off down the lawn.
MY THOUGHTS:
Oh, what a delight NEVER RESCUE A ROGUE is! I simply HAD to include that excerpt above as it had me peeing myself laughing when read in context with what the two of them had just witnessed. Bearing in mind that women didn't know of such things until after they were married whilst men were privy to all sorts, this truly was one of the most funniest scenes in the entire book! As a rule, rom-coms are not my thing but I do love a good regency romance and with the hilarity thrown in makes for some delightful, as well as amusing, reading. I read the first in the Merriwell Sisters series "Never Fall For Your Fiancee" and was utterly delighted by the hilarity and contretemps that were highly entertaining. At that time, I didn't know it was a series but I'm so glad it is.
While the first book followed the eldest of the Merriwell sisters, Minerva, and her escapades with the equally delightful Hugh, Lord Fareham, NEVER RESCUE A ROGUE tells the tales of the next in line, Diana, and her crusading capers with the charming and terribly scandalous Giles Sinclair, the next Duke of Harpenden.
However, Diana and Giles only tolerate each other for the sake of others, never missing a chance to snipe and spar with one another with alliteration and all types of grammatical words. Diana has sworn off ever being tied to a man, valuing her independence and freedom, whilst Giles is a scoundrel who lives to rile up his father, the Duke of Harpenden, particularly with what he affectionately calls his "Reprobates Ball" in which everyone but everyone gets entirely sloshed and lets their inhibitions go and somehow finds themselves the subject of the gossip columns in the following days.
When Diana discloses some information she thought Giles ought to know, he is beside himself with anger that his father would go to such lengths as to see him wed when he prefers his bachelor lifestyle. But when Giles storms into his sire's house the following morning, it seems his father has a further surprise for him. And who should Giles wish to confide this new-found information in as soon as it is revealed to him? None other than his sparring partner, Diana.
But it seems his father has yet another surprise in store for Giles by suddenly dying in his sleep, leaving the hapless Giles as his heir, the next Duke of Harpenden. But it seems the circumstances surrounding Giles' birth are in question and the threat of him losing everything hanging over his head, turns the once upon a time scoundrel to pull up his bootstraps and undo every arduous aspect of his father's reign of terror over the Shropshire estate and his tenants. But can he straighten the mess his father left behind before it's too late?
Confiding in Diana, the pair of them team up to dive into Giles' family's past and expose every skeleton rattling around in Harpenden Hall and beyond to uncover the truth before he and all those who depend upon him are ruined. And all the while, Diana and Giles foolishly try to deny their attraction to one another. It seems everyone else knows that they belong together...except them!
I simply adored this fun and entertaining journey into the regency era under the guise of Heath's pen. It is filled with amusing anecdotes, alliteration and barbed exchanges that would make your toes curl. But oh, what a pure delightful read it is! I loved the first one but this one had me laughing out loud at times.
I have to say, without a doubt, Dalton was my favourite character...even if he is a hapless servant, he is nobody's fool. The exchanges between him and Giles, which dripped with sarcasm, were amusing to say the least as he was the one who knew his master best, after all. Second only to those between Giles and Diana...though I have to say, I think even Dalton could come out on top on occasion. And I knew what he was up to with that Gretna Green suggestion...and no one saw it coming! Good one, Dalton! Vee is also a delight and I look forward to her being in the spotlight in the next book because she can give as good as she gets.
You don't need to read the first book to enjoy this one but it helps. Hugh's family are still front and centre in this tale but not so much as they featured in the first book, because that was Minerva's and his story to tell. However, his mother and stepfather have "adopted" Diana and Vee so try their best to look out for the younger two Merriwell sisters.
Quite honestly, this is a genre I never thought I would venture into but Heath expertly weaves an amusing tale wrought with hilarity and a little bit of romance as well as some scintillating scandal, turning NEVER RESCUE A ROGUE into a delightfully easy and entertaining read from start to finish. And had it not been for real life getting in the way, I would have devoured it much quicker.
And absolute belter of a read. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction, particularly the regency era.
I would like to thank #VirginiaHeath, #Netgalley, #EternalBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #NeverRescueARogue in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Unashamedly addicted to happily ever afters and terminally cheerful, Virginia cannot wait to launch NEVER FALL FOR YOUR FIANCEE, the first book in her upcoming Merriwell Sisters trilogy for St Martin's Press loose into the world.
When she isn't furiously writing romance fuelled on far too much English tea, she likes to travel to far flung places, shop for things she doesn't need and drag her long suffering husband and her devoted Labrador Trevor on long walks around her native London.
And in case you were wondering, two Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations and twenty-one books later, it still takes Virginia forever to fall asleep.
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