Hugh, the Earl of Fareham has been lying to his mom for years. In his letters to her, he has been describing a wonderful fiancé named Minerva. When his mom comes from America to visit, he panics, wondering how he’s going to keep the story going. Luckily he collides with a beautiful woman named Minerva who agrees to pretend to be his fiancé for a fee. She’s been struggling to support her sisters since her mom died and her dad walked out, so this money is exactly what she needs to keep them going. But of course nothing goes to plan and there is just one miscommunication after another, meanwhile an attraction starts to build between High and Minerva.

I’m not much of a historical romance reader, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this one! The situations that kept coming up were hilarious as were the 1800s insults. The secondary characters really made this book and added so much humor to the story. This was such a fun one and I’m already excited for the next book in the series!

Thanks to NetGalley and SMP Romance for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Just from the title, you know exactly what is going to happen. The hero, Hugh Standish, is going to fall for the woman he’s hired to play his fake fiance. Minerva Merriwell and her sisters were admirable characters, but Hugh was just as dumb as his best friend tells him he is. He couldn’t bear to tell his mother to stop matchmaking for him so he makes up an elaborate lie about being engaged to a fictional woman and carries on with the fiction for two years. It’s just plain dumb. So I could never enjoy him for a hero because he seemed both weak and stupid. And he’s convinced that he is genetically predisposed to cheat on his wife because of his father and grandfather’s behavior. But he never discussed his misconceptions about his father with his mother. Once again, a plotline revolves around people not having a conversation to talk about major decisions that they’re making. I just found his behavior to be irritating so I couldn’t enjoy the book.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

About 25% through, the plot was just too contrived, the characters too predictable and the conflict hardly felt real. I skipped to the end and didn't see that anything had improved. I just couldn’t make myself spend any more time on it.

When I say I cackled while reading this book, I cackled HARD. Oh my. This book , its plot and its characters are so ridiculous in the best way that I could not stop giggling or snickering or laughing. Then somewhere along the way, Hugh and Minerva became absolutely swoon-worthy. I began to route for them, their relationship and their sham. When it all come falling down, Virginia Heath made sure it came down spectacularly. Well done, Virginia. Well done.

Thank you SMP Romance and Netgalley for the advance copy!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for providing this eARC for review.

Minerva Merriwell grew up as the daughter of a self-proclaimed gentleman—a man who skipped out on her and her two younger sisters when she was just nineteen. As the eldest, she works to make ends meet which is how she meets Hugh Standish, the Earl of Fareham. Hugh has spent his life trying to become unmarriageable because he says that Standish men make terrible husbands. When his mother decides to return to England for a visit, Hugh suddenly must procure his imaginary fiancée of two years. When he runs into Minerva Merriwell, he realizes she could stand in for his fictional Minerva and concocts a convoluted plan to pass Minerva’s family off as his mysterious future wife.

This was a light read full of over-the-top humor but also a bit awkward to get through. The absurdity and family drama were enjoyable but the characters and anachronism peppered throughout the dialogue distracted me from the plot. The characters also seemed to continue in the same patterns until another character brings them out of it rather than them doing it themselves. This was partly tied to the central conflict, which stems back to Hugh’s vehement belief that he will never be a good husband because of who he was born. It seemed like the main conflict had the potential for more substance.

This one wasn’t for me, but if you like reads that balance unrealistically extreme romance schemes with quiet moments between characters and don’t mind anachronisms in your historical romance, you might enjoy this one.

Never Fall For Your Fiancée releases on November 9th.

Never Fall for Your Fiancée is a light, fun, read that was a pleasure to read. Overall, I loved this book and cannot wait to see what happens next with Minerva and Hugh. Definitely looking forward to more in this series.

I am a contemporary romance reader to a fault. I know what works for me and am skilled at selecting books I'm certain I'll enjoy. I knowingly took a risk with this story and it paid off. Huge!

It took me a bit of time to get into the writing style. But once the story started flowing, I was hooked. The chemistry between Hugh and Minerva jumped off the page. Even the shortest of glances or smallest of touches could be felt though Heath's writing. I loved the cast of characters (please write a story for Giles) and the banter between them. I'll be looking for more from this author in the future.

This was my first book by Virginia Heath and I was pleasantly surprised. This historical rom/com was a fun and delightful read.

our main characters are Hugh a handsome, single wealthy gentleman who doesn't really want to marry. To keep his mother happy he crates a fake fiancee. But when she decided to come to meet her future daughter in law things get complicated.

In comes Minerva Merriwell A young woman trying to survive and care for sisters. When Hugh offers her a deal she can't refuse things get even more complicated.

I really enjoy this fun book. It was light-hearted and a delight. The characters were well developed and the storyline flowed smoothly. To be honest I could even picture this story coming to life in a made-for-TV movie it would be a great Hallmark movie. I am excited to read the next installment.

I was very sad when this book ended! I wanted more. I had to take a couple days off reading to regroup. This was one of the best regency romance I have read. It was original and loaded with humor. A must read! Book provided by NetGalley.

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Publishing. This book is setting in 1825 over in Europe. You will meet Hugh a man who thinks he can't believe what he thinks is a family curse and tries to do best that he can. Giles is funny loving and is a player and has secrets that I can't wait to learn about. Minerva is she real or make believe! The Merriwell sisters each have their own personality and ideas about what should ot shouldn't be doing. Payne sees all and knows all and it a character. Is a lie still a lie if it is done to protect someone? Can a lie become a truth? Do we really know someone or just what we want to believe. All these questions and some many more will be answered. You will laugh and cry and become angry but in the end life is how it is supposed to be. This book is for a mature reader but can be read anywhere.

A rom-com with crazy antics, laughter, sadness and romance. Minerva and Hugh made for a fun couple but the cast of secondary characters made this a fun read. One of the better ones I’ve read in a while.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins for the arc.

This book is delightful. It is full of humor and the characters are entertaining. The male and female protagonist have good chemistry and make the reader care about their story.

“Nice”—an insultingly insipid word—and “excellent” come to mind after reading this. I must say, after reading two rom-coms that didn’t quite work for me, I was a bit reluctant to start this one. It turned out this one was very different, very funny—with downright farcical situations at times—and a great panoply of characters, very well drawn. The writing is great, too, and the novel sometimes reads like a burlesque play—and having grown up with French playwrights such as Feydeau, Labiche, or Molière, or Oscar Wilde to take an English reference, that was a bonus for me.
I no doubt will follow Virginia Heath, as I see Never Fall for Your Fiancée is the first installment of a new series, and definitely check her previous works.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this one. It turned out to be…fine. I wasn’t mad I’d read it, but I probably wouldn’t seek this author out again.

When your mother, who happens to be thousands of miles away across an ocean, will not let up in her matchmaking schemes, what do you do? You make up a fake fiancée, of course! That is what Hugh Standish, the Earl of Fareham does. One named Minerva, at that. For two years, he has happily avoided the matchmaking mother, until he receives her letter that she is on her way back to England.

What are the chances that you actually meet a Minerva? Not highly likely, but Hugh does just that, in a not so luxurious part of London. He becomes her Knight in Shining Armor, saving her from a despicable customer, and offers her a sum of money to play the main role in his lie. The meddling best friend ropes an actress in to play the mother to three women, because Minerva cannot leave her sisters to fend for themselves, and hilarity ensues.

It was a raucous ride following the ins and outs of each tale spun and spun over until you wonder if even the main characters can keep up! There's intrigue and secrets that are revealed, so you are never left with a dull moment in Virginia Heath's romantic comedy.

A very fun read that will have you chuckling all day long just thinking about it! I highly recommend this and look forward to reading more of her works.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Never Fall for Your Fiancee was a lot of fun to read, I laughed out loud on several occasions. Hugh is an Earl, with a mother that is overly concerned about getting him married. She lives in America, so she is far enough away to not know what is going on. To get her to quit scheming, Hugh creates a fake fiancee, named Minerva, and spends the next 2 years creating reasons why they cannot get married, and why mom can't come meet Minerva. Until mom decides to come for a surprise visit, and Hugh has no way of stopping her. His answer to this problem is to pay someone to pretend to be his fiancee. There are so many mishaps, and Hugh continues to weave more and more complicated lies.

I hope that this will be a series, and we get to read the stories of some of the other characters. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

Plot: Hugh’s mom wants nothing more than for him to marry the love of his life. But, she is a bit overbearing about it so when she moved to America, Hugh invented a fake fiancée named Minerva that he would write to his mom about. When Hugh’s mom is coming to visit, Hugh runs into a woman actually named Minerva and it seems like fate. He hires her to play his fiancée and Minerva, being truly desperate for funds to support herself and her sister, agrees.

This historical romance was a lot of fun! It didn’t stand out to me, but if you’re new to the genre this would be a fun one to start with.

One of my favorite parts of this novel was how much prep goes into the fake engagement. I often feel like in books the fake dating (etc.) has no prep work involved and the couple gets away with it for a while. Minerva and his sister’s get lessons and Minerva has to memorize a ton. Hugh even hires an actress to play the girls’ mother. It was a grand time.

I will say the last third of this novel dragged a bit for me and I would’ve liked everything to get wrapped up a bit quicker.

Never Fall for Your Fiancée was a delightful read. Witty, smart and fun. Virginia Heath always writes a diverting romance.

Rule number one when faking a relationship: never fall in love.

Never Fall for Your Fiancee is book #1 in the new Merriwell Sisters series but can be read as a standalone.

Hugh despaired of his mother's matchmaking and invented a fiancee to keep her out of his business.

When his mom decided to come all the way from America to meet his beloved, Hugh had no other option but to hire someone to impersonate her.

The plot was adorably absurd, and the characters were comic and entertaining, a trademark of Mrs. Heath.

My favorite character was the heroine's fake mother, a drunk diva to whom every audience was worthy of a spectacle.

Hugh was an emotional mess, but I could not help but like him.

The heroine, Minerva, was the sane counterpoint, always reasonable and lovely. At times, I thought she could have done better than Hugh, but they were adorable together, stronger because of their differences.

I'm looking forward to reading the story of Minerva's sisters and Hugh's friend Giles.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 11/09/2021*

I cannot recall the last time I had so much fun reading a historical romance! Hugh may be considered a rake but the last thing he wants to do is hurt his mother's feelings as he dodges her attempts to manipulate him into marriage, So he creates a fiancée out of thin air thinking that if she believes him on his way to happily settled she will leave him in peace. It works for a little while until Hugh suddenly receives word that she is on her way and wants to meet his betrothed. Hugh does the only thing he can think to do and hires Minerva to pretend to be fiancee to appease his mother until they can break the engagement keeping everyone happy. If only it were that simple.

I found this a joy to read from start to finish. Funny and charming and filled with memorable characters I loved watching good hearted Hugh and strong and capable Minerva discover what was actually real and was fake during their time together.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.