This book was a solid story using the 'fake fiancee' story line. We have Hugh, an earl, who has been putting off his mother about him getting married for years and he finally made up a fiancee. He is 32 and his mother is practically demanding grandchildren. He meets Minerva, who shares the name of his fake fiancee', when she is trying to collect fees for her services from a cheapskate. He helps her collect the funds, and offers her a position as fake fiancee over the Christmas holiday, when his mother is coming back to England. Minerva is the oldest of 3 girls who are all named after ancient Goddesses. She is 24 years old, her younger sisters are 22 and 17. They are all trying to provide for themselves as best they can, but they were the children of a gentleman and do not have many skills. She takes Hugh up on his offer and drags herself and her sisters to his estate.
I must say that I have seen this theme before and sometimes it is a direct fail. But not this book. It does tend to ramble because Hugh is certain his father was a rake and he is afraid to break any future wife's heart. He is in angst about this, but it tempered by the humorous entanglements he keeps getting himself into. This book deals with lots of character development and thank goodness Minerva is such a strong woman to put up with him. The only thing i was missing was that after reading this book while Hugh worked his way through his mistaken thoughts about his dad, when he realized what had happen, the story just ended. Bam. I really wanted a wedding and some closure. So while I highly recommend reading for content and style, I am only giving 4.5 stars. But definitely read this book.

I recently started getting into historical romance and this book is now one of my favorites. It had me trying to contain myself from laughing in the middle of class and smiling so hard my face hurt.

I thoroughly enjoyed binge reading this book. Not only is it witty but it’s enough of a trope that is written well for me to truly become obsessed with the relationship it builds throughout. I love the two main characters and the turmoil they are put through. Would recommend for any Bridgerton fans out there looking for a quick fun read!

Love fake dating? And historical romance? Then, you should read “Never Fall For at our Fiancée”!

Hugh had ‘invented’ a fiancée named Minerva to appease his matchmaking mama who lives abroad. Unfortunately for him, his mama is returning home which means he need to find his Minerva asap. And, what good luck High has! He find his Minerva when he goes to rescue a damsel in distress. Minerva Merriwell needs money and if she poses as Hugh’s fake fiancée, she’ll get a lot of it. This is how a fake engagement between Hugh and Minerva start and slowly blossom into love. But, can they ever fully trust each other?

It’s rare to find the fake dating/engagement trope in historical romances and this was done very well. I absolutely loved the exchanges between Hugh and his butler(or was it is his valet?), and also his family. The ending was satisfying and overall, i would definitely recommend you read this book!

This had everything I wanted in a regency RomCom:
👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻 Fake dating
🥳House party
😂Funny side characters and scenes
💪🏻Strong independent heroine
🦸🏻‍♂️A handsome misguided hero
❤️Trying their hardest not to fall in love
💃🏼🕺🏻A waltz scene
🐴Poor Marigold the horse 😂
💁🏻‍♀️ A well meaning mother 😅
👨🏼‍🦳A sassy butler
💋Sneaking kisses

This is a new author to me and it won’t be my last. Virginia’s writing sucked me into the book and I couldn’t put it down. It was fairly predictable but enjoyable. The characters had depth to them. Their personalities suited each other and made falling for each other really seamless.

Hugh decides the best way to get his mother off his back about marrying is too spin lies so big for 2 years to his mother he practically made a real person, named Minerva, and that they were engaged but one thing after another prolonged the wedding. His mother said it’s now time to get married and is on her way to visit. No one would have been able to pretend to be that person - plus that made up person was too perfect. Men 😂

Hugh believes hiring someone to pretend to be his fiancée is the best solution and then they’ll have an argument or she runs away. That way his mother never knew he lied to her and all will be set to rights. It’s destiny that he comes across a lady in distress and she’s named Minerva! 😂 You can already see there’s lots of things that can go wrong at this house party😂

Content: 1 intimate scene/open door

This book comes out in Nov. Thank you to the publisher St. Martin’s press and Net Galley for the e-arc copy. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

“So what’s it to be, my love? A wedding followed by a life of nonsense with all of these escaped lunatics or the blissful quiet of a life of delirious exile on a beach in Italy?”

Just how far is one handsome Earl willing to go to keep his matchmaking mother at bay? At least as far as hiring a fake fiancée to stay at his country estate when said meddling matriarch boards a ship for England. What {or who} could possibly knock down this precarious house of cards first? The absentee best friend? The drunk opera singer posing as his future mother-in-law? A disgruntled sister or two? You know what they say, best laid plans and all that… Excellent.

I admit, I was not totally prepared for this book and I think it was all the better for it. Hugh is a delightfully foolish man. I’m quite sure if he had thought this ludicrous, yet lucrative deal through one bit, he would have just come clean to his mother, but I am so glad he did not. I loved the pining between Minerva and Hugh, and all the hilarious hijinks of the side characters. This was a great novel to open up Virginia’s new series and I’m already looking forward to her future books.

Pub Date: November 9th, 2021
Trope: Fake Fiancé
Steam Level: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥/5

Thank you to @VirginiaHeathWrites @StMartinsPress & @NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

“I am going to need the words, Minerva. The actual words.”

Thanks to Ms. Heath and St. Martin’s Press for making this e-arc available in advance of publication. This is a light and charming romance novel with some creative elements in the “pretend to be lovers and then fall in love” trope. There’s much humor as our hero and heroine, along with her cranky sisters and a tipsy actress who pretends to be their mother, dig themselves ever deeper into their ruse. Don’t spend too much time examining how any of these down-at-heel young women can pretend to be upper-class maidens worthy of an aristocratic marriage. Just enjoy the farcical banter and hijinks, and the quick acceptance from our hero’s family . . . which is heartwarming if certainly not true to what we’d expect of the time period. This is a fun read for your holiday season.

This is such a fun book. Hugh invents a fiancee to prevent his mother from matchmaking. But she calls his bluff by traveling to Hugh to meet his imaginary fiancee, Minerva. Just as Hugh despairs of what to do, he meets a woman who is actually named Minerva. Let the fake engagement begin!

I love the secondary characters, particularly her sister Diana (whose book I hope is the next in the series), his best friend Giles, and his mother and stepfather. The banter and tricks are such fun. And his butler Payne may be the best butler I have read about.

This book is such a comedy of errors. I previously tended to classify my romances as historical or rom-coms. This is very definitely both. I laughed and enjoyed myself so much.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this delightful historical romance. This book was hilarious at times , causing me to giggle, especially with the butler Payne and the actress. These two characters added so much humour, especially with the era it was set in, as a butler would never speak to the Lord of the Manor like that. The other characters were lovely although Vee was a bit of a whiner.

The author took this cast of flawed characters and developed a delightful romance that may have been predictable but was fun and easy to read. I didn’t want to put the book down and I must say I have never read a historical romance with humour like this. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. This is the perfect book to read on a trip or when you just need a reason to smile.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the arc.

Never Fall for Your Fiancee is as refreshing as a fruit sorbet on a hot afternoon!
While the fake fiancee trope and plot were predictable to romance readers, the characters of this story were truly delightful.... as were their antics (think 3 Stooges).

I do hope for further adventures from this bunch!

“Sometimes, you have to embrace the fickle finger of fate and accept the what-ifs to let the cards fall where they may. We cannot predict the future and, more often than not, we cannot direct it either. In which case, why fight it?”

This book is the first installment in the Merrywell Sisters series and was such a funny and lighthearted read, everything somehow worked perfectly. I really liked the pacing and the writing. The author did such a great job. The chemistry between Minerva and Hugh was everything and they were both really interesting characters individually too. But the romance was incredible and endearing, I absolutely loved it.

I can't wait to read the next installments and about Minerva's sisters!!

“Never Fall for Your Fiancee” is a first time read by Virginia Heath, new author to this reader. I thought this story was well-written and enjoyed the characters. Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham and Minerva Merriwell pretends an engagement that would benefit both parties and one to keep Hugh’s mother at bay as she is on the hunt to find him a wife. This was a delightful historical rom-com that I totally enjoyed. I thought Hugh was charming person but one who didn’t think he was deserving of love. Then there is Minerva, who is eager to please and is selfless when she thinks of her sisters. As with any historical romances, I look forward to a bit of steamy in relationship building and although this one had a little over half, the chemistry made up for it. I do like tropes that involve “fake engagements/fake fiancees”. The humor and cast of characters made this book a sweet and delightful read. Recommend the read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC for my fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the rom-com element of this book! It surprised me since I was expecting a regency romance, but I loved it all the same since I'm a sucker for rom-coms. Hugh was super snarky which I enjoyed, and I loved their witty banter.

I wish there was more steamy scenes, but I did like the slow-burn and build up - it heightened the anticipation. Fake engagement/marriage trope is one of my favorite tropes to read, and this book did not let me down!

I was disappointed with this title. Fake relationship is my favourite romance trope, by a long shot. However a big pet peeve of mine is when there is no actual conceivable reason for the characters not to be together, except for them saying “we can’t”…. That was certainly the case with Hugh and Minerva. Class was touched on a little, but not directly addressed until the last two chapters. The character were also quite one dimensional, each only having one main character trait. That goes for the main cast too! I did enjoy a couple moments, but unfortunately a disappointment overall.

This was like Pride and Prejudice if Pride and Prejudice were a forced proximity, fake fiancée trope.

Future Earl and committed to bachelorhood, Hugh, creates a fake fiancée to appease his matchmaking mother who is living over seas. After two years of spinning lies, Hugh’s mother decides to come back to England to meet this mystery fiancée once and for all. In a chance meeting, Hugh runs into Minerva in the street. With what seems like fate, as his fake fiancée’s name is Minerva, he offers to pay her to stand in as said fake fiancée to both get his mother off his back and help Minerva’s financial woes. Thus, all chaos ensues.

It is hysterical, it is heartwarming, it is witty, it has all of the makings for the perfect period drama romantic comedy.

Cute Regency fake dating trope, HEA, what more could you ask for in a historical romance?

In this book, our hero Hugh has created a fake fiance in order to get his matchmaking mother to leave him the heck alone and stop meddling in his life. Enter Minerva.Not only were these two great fun together, but the family members and friends that surrounded them were just laugh out loud, funny and so enjoyable to follow.

While I don't always enjoy when miscommunication is used as a major plot disruption in these books, I felt this one did it fairly well. And so my complaints are minimal. It was just a great fun romp, and one that I think anyone who enjoys the typical fake dating tropes would really get behind.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

This was a light and funny read with a bit of steamy romance that was written very tasteful. I liked this book and would recommend it to my friends. Only bad thing is now I have to wait for #2 In this series😊

What a wonderful and funny farce. When Hugh finds a woman to act as his fiancée to stop his mother's matchmaking and stay away from the alter, but all hell breaks loose and Hugh gets more then he is paying for. The story reminds me a little of "Pride and Prejudice," with a tiny injection of Shakespeare. Definitely a great light summer read. If you like Amelia Gray or Victoria Alexander than you definitely love this story.

#neverfallforyourfiancee #netgalley

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I love Rom-Com's and this one did not disappoint. I loved the storyline and the premise of the story. Very highly recommend!

Rating: 4/5

Thank you NetGalley+ the publishing company for the advanced reading copy of this cozy historical romance!

I honestly was very on the fence about this novel. In this story we follow the “fake” engagement of Hugh and Minerva.
Hugh has created a fake fiancée in attempt to get his determined matchmaking mother to back off. So he hires Minerva to play that matchmaker and hires her and her sisters to create this illusion for his visiting mother.

Now don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this story but I just felt the beginning took a little too long to get the story or ball if you will rolling. I thought it was a cute fast paced romance that gave great banter and an adorable romance between the two main characters. I do think the romance was a little quick paced but it did give me a look into what the future book could be? (Giles & Diana PLEASE)

I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it for anyone that wants a funny light hearted historical romance with a guaranteed HEA.