Never Wager with a Wallflower (The Merriwell Sisters, #3)
Virginia Heath
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?
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0 03.5 stars
I thought this book was quite good but not great. I have found Vee aka Venus to be quite judgmental of her older sisters throughout this series. Of course, that is because she was younger and her sisters both did what they could to protect her. What I did love about this story was seeing the growth Vee goes through to realize she was naïve and shouldn’t have judged her sisters’ actions so harshly in the past.
Vee and Gal have never understood why they don’t get along, but they just rub each other the wrong way. They have their surface reasons they tell themselves for the animosity, but it’s a romance book so we know it’s because they are trying to deny their attraction. They have some fun banter, but Vee may have matured when it comes to her sisters and others in the world, but she will always jump to the worst conclusion when it comes to Gal.
This ended up being a “big secret” book, and you know that’s not my thing. It started as unintentional and when the reveal came I thought Vee’s reaction was over the top. I knew Gal’s intentions were never sinister and he had the best of intentions when it came to Vee and the orphanage. But I also knew Vee would not take it well when she learned the truth and it made reading this story tense for me. I don’t enjoy that unless I’m purposely reading a thriller or suspense; I go in knowing there will be tension. It wasn’t terrible because of the nature of the secret, but it still kept me from sinking into the story.
There are some wonderful things about this story. All of Gal’s interactions with the orphans gave me a soft spot for him. And when Gal and Vee finally have their first kiss, I absolutely adore their reactions. Priceless!
Overall, this is an enjoyable series. There are ups and downs, but in the end, I’m glad I read these books.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely*
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