Disjointed language, implausible scenarios and incorrect terminology plague this novel, which has a rock solid premise but is awkwardly fleshed out. An earl named Hugh hires an impoverished woodcut artist, Minerva, to come and live at his lavish estate (with her two sisters tagging along) and pretend to be his fiancee whom he has invented to stop his mother from nagging him about getting married. There are heavy Pygmalion/My Fair Lady overtones as Minerva and her sisters need a makeover and to learn to use the correct forks, and that's only the first "My Fair Lady" plotline. The sassy butler is the only decent character, and he provides some of the real humor, as does the playboy BFF of the earl, who is a dead ringer for Rupert Everett in "The Importance of Being Earnest." The most humorous character is supposed to be the actress who is hired to play the mother/chaperone, who turns out to be a drunk, but she only manages to be annoying.

True love does not, as one would expect, run smooth. There is much melodramatic tension about who will discover the truth and whether Hugh and Minerva will give into temptation and have sex. Hugh has convinced himself that he has "bad blood" which will cause him to be unfaithful to his wife, no matter who she is, and every time his attraction to Minerva heats up, the reader is treated to a bunch of lame, tedious lamentations about his "bad blood" all over again. "Curse this bad blood," quoth the earl. The earl cannot simply be a classist and repent at the end, like Mr. Darcy. The author throws in every imaginable detail to make the earl a saint by modern standards, including the fact that he constructs old folks' homes on his estate at his own expense.

If you have read the undisputed masters of this brand of British fiction, such as Georgette Heyer and D. E. Stevenson, you will quickly spot this as a poorly researched, poorly written imitation of the real thing. Two stars, one extra for flashes of actual humor.

Virginia Heath’s “Never Fall for your Fiancée” is nothing short of an absolute pleasure to read. Hugh and Minerva, brought together only because Minerva’s name matches that of the fake fiancée Hugh has contrived to appease his meddling mother’s matchmaking designs, have an eclectic chemistry.
While the fake relationship trope can sometimes lead to utterly absurd and unrealistic situations, Heath creates a genius plot in which the main characters organically fall in love through their own choices, not necessarily in being forced to perform in front of others. While Heath does have to throw in some logs to fuel the flames of their façade, she ultimately allows her characters to connect in quieter moments, which I found much more attractive than forced kisses and insincere acts of affection.
This book is the first installment of the Merriwell Sisters series, which is perfect for two reasons:
1) Heath really took the time to develop the side characters, anticipating their appearance in further novels
2) I get to read more of this wonderful woman’s writing in the future
Many, many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this humorous historical romance of Hugh, an earl, who needs to find a fake fiancée before his mother visits. He's been lying to her for years to stop her constant matchmaking, but she's currently on a ship to England from America and he can't stop her. Hugh manages to find an impoverished gentlewoman, Minerva, and hires her. Hugh has been quite the convoluted storyteller so Minerva a lot to remember. I read this in one sitting because I loved the cast of characters and humor. Recommended.

This was such a sweet novel. I liked that it was set in a different time and the quandary was different than usual. The characters are witty, with clever banter. I thought this was a really fun read!

I received an ARC through netgalley.

This book was adorable, it took a bit for me to become interested in it but once the book got going it had my attention. It very much reminded me of the viscount who loved me by julia quinn. It was probably because they were both smart asses and he had a weird thing that he though because of his father but I was a fan.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

This was an ok read. I didn't love it but it was nice.

This is a fun regency romance. Overall it's a fluffy and entertaining read. I was annoyed with Hugh's very weak reasoning as to why he didn't want to get married (this of course is neatly wrapped up at the end) and I got a bit tired of the theatrics.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, has spent the last few years dodging the matchmaking schemes of his mother by pretending utter devotion to the fiancee he made up. But when his mother announces that she is on a ship headed for London to visit her son and his lovely future wife, Hugh must find a woman to continue the ruse. Minerva Merriwell fits the bill perfectly - she has the right name, she is beautiful and clever, and most importantly, she is desperate to make some money...desperate enough to go along with this crazy scheme.

I love a good fake relationship romance, and I love a clever historical romance, so I was very excited to read this one. Unfortunately, the story just fell short for me. It was like *so close* to being everything I wanted, but just not quite there. Hugh and Minerva's relationship lacked chemistry and the swoony angst of the will-they-won't-they tension of a fake relationship. And Hugh himself felt very...cowardly. I just couldn't get behind a guy who lied for so long to his mother and was categorically incapable of having an honest conversation with anyone!

However, I really enjoyed Minerva's sister Diana and Hugh's best friend, who I think are going to feature in book 2 of this series. While I didn't love this story, I do think the writing is fun and I would continue reading the series!

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martin's, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my review.

This is my first book by this author and I had laugh out loud moments. The Earl needs to have a way to convince his mother that he is engaged and a way to break the engagement. So he comes up with a fiancé which is where fun really starts. Its a historical comedy with a bit of steam. The side characters are a great addition. I will continue to read the next in the series.
Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher.

I’m not naturally a fan of romance novels. But this was quite the enjoyable romp. Minerva is a strong willed and determined character. I love a strong female character and Hugh makes for a lovable lead man. Through a delightful series of events they try to pull off a scheme. I still had a few questions I wanted answered but overall was a fun and enjoyable read!

Never Fall for Your Finacee by Virginia Heath is about an earl, Hugh, that hires a fake fiancée, Minerva, to get his mother off his back and to stop her matchmaking. I thought the concept of the book was good but it seemed very wordy. I found myself skipping large chunks to move a little quicker through the plot. I didn’t really connect with Minerva or her sisters but I do think the characters were well thought out and had growth throughout.

I LOVED Heath’s novel. So much so that I devoured her amazingness in practically one sitting. Some of the regency rom-coms can feel trite or too cheesy- but Never Fall For Your Fiancé was perfection. I loved the minor characters as much as the protagonists and that’s no easy feat. Hugh and Minerva are flawed, complex, but irresistible and their chemistry seeps off the page! I’m impatient, so it was a bit of a slow burn at times, but sooooo worth it!

The fake dating trope is one of my favorites and this book does it perfectly.

Hugh is such a genuinely nice and funny romantic interest, I loved him so much. Inventing a fake engagement to keep his mother off his back was bad enough, but then keeping it up for 2 full years, AND instead of admitting it when his mother came to visit he decides to hire a woman to play his fake fiancee? Absolutely amazing. He's such a gentleman too, he is well aware that he owes Minerva and he showers her and her sisters with gowns and jewels on top of what he's paying for their acting.

Minerva is a strong woman, there is no doubt about that, and Hugh appreciates her for who she is. She became the sole guardian of her two younger sisters at only 19, and she worked to keep them afloat. Hugh stepping in to help ease some of her burdens and make sure that she's okay was just so sweet.

It is in no way historically accurate so if that is your hangup you won't enjoy it. Between the smartmouthed staff, open acknowledgment of bastards and mistresses, and the general acceptingness of marrying across class lines it felt more like an alternate universe than a regency-era romance.

Overall, I really liked this and it's a quick and easy romance with a lot of loveable characters.

I was intrigued by the premise of a fake engagement period romance and this one did not fail me. This was an enjoyable read, with engaging main characters, good supporting characters, layers of story telling and definite smoldering mutual attraction/pining. Entertaining and fun.

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

You’ll understand why this definition stuck with me when you’re reading the book! It is sooo irresistibly tempting! I adore fake engagement premise and sizzling attraction between couple can explode entire regency era!

The storyline is simple and intriguing: Hugh Standish is charming, flirting gentleman who has commitment issues, thinking he inherited his father’s philanderer tendencies. But his mother Olive who lives in the overseas with her husband Jeremy is so adamant to see his happily ever after. So making her mother happy he created a fake fiancé named Minerva reminds us of household appliances brand name ( I’m kidding it’s the name of Roman goddess of wisdom) and elaborated his story with so many interesting details ( like the girl suffers from consumption which could be fatal disease at those ages, she sings like an angel, a competent horse rider and he saved her from carriage accident like a quiet brilliant knight in shining armor)

But when his mother insists to visit to England to meet with her soon to be daughter in law, he thinks he’s in real trouble. He has to find a woman ASAP to act like his fiancée and the universe answers his prayers quickly. He bumps into a talented artist, creating woodcuts, needing to be paid for her services. He solves her problem by confronting the man who rejects to pay her with his negotiation skills, saving the damsel in distress!

Guess what! This tough, outstanding, witty damsel named Minerva and she takes care of her two sisters alone at her young age. He sees this as a sign and offers her to be his fake fiancée with handsome compensation.
She cannot reject this offer because she and her sisters are so close to live at streets and starving to death. Her weasel father left them penniless five years ago. So poor girls are on their own to survive!

One thing Minerva and Hugh don’t count is since they bump each other, the sparks are already starting to fly around them. The attraction is undeniable! Chemistry is blasting!

Hugh also has no idea Minerva will be accompanied with her two sisters: bold, intimidating, brass Diana already hates his guts, acting like man-hater as young Vee is too shy, having deep trouble to adjust in her role play, throwing tantrums. She might ruin their pretending game!

Hugh’s brazen, man-whore friend Giles advises him to send the young sister back and warns him losing his authority because he is affected by Minerva’s charms.

Hugh’s attempt to talk with Minerva results with a big fight which makes things more complicated. Now Minerva wants to leave the place but surprise, surprise...Olivia decided to arrive earlier and she’s already at home! She already meets with girl’s mom. Okay! I’m correcting: she meets with the actress who is playing the girl’s mom! So they should continue their farce ! And Giles’ sudden work related disappearance makes things more complicated!

Now Hugh is trapped in his house with his mother, the fiancée who is seething after their argument and two unreliable sisters with over exaggerating actress a.k.a their fake mother! And did I tell you that fake mother can turn into more eccentric character when she drinks too much!

This book is truly entertaining! I liked the chemistry and connection of Minerva and Hugh!
I loved supporting characters. Payne as a sweet pain in the arse was my favorite one!

Only thing bothered me was ending which was too rushed! And Hugh’s obsession about inheriting dysfunctional relationship patterns from his father was a illogical. Why he thinks he cannot be capable to form a lifetime long relationship?

I’m still rounding up 4.5 stars to 5 because I had truly great time during my read! It was unputdownable, engaging, stimulating, feel good romance I highly recommend!

I hope we get the sequel we need sooner ( probably it will be Giles and Diana’s story: enemies to lovers premise already intrigued me ! )

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley for allowing me to read an early review copy of this book.

I. Loved. This. Book! Loved it. Loved everything about it! This is exactly what I look for in a historical romance and it had it in spades. The only thing I wish is that it was a little more steamy cause I’m a sucker for some steamy scenes but it was a perfect historical romance. Minerva and Hugh are perfect together and I know the other books in this series will probably be the other sisters but I could read about these two for days! I thought the plot was so well paced, things happened quickly enough that I never felt anything dragging and even the secondary characters were so likeable I looked forward to seeing them on the page. (Olivia, I’m looking at you girl. Diana, you too!)
Seriously, if you love cheesy Victorian romance, check this one out. It’s so cute, and such a great story. I loved it so much.

I was excited to receive an ARC of this book, the cover and plot really sucked me in. I did find some things likable about this book. Hugh was funny, Minerva had a good heart but, honestly I just found the book slow. I felt as if the story could have been told in half the length. This is the first book I have read by the author and I will definitely search out another to see if it was just this particular story that did not work for me.

This was a lovely regency romance filled with humor, the fake fiancee trope and so many lies that naturally things got out of hand quickly. Minerva is a hardworking young woman working to take care of her younger sisters after her father abandons them. Hugh is an earl who is convinced he is doomed to repeat his father, and his grandfather's mistakes and never be faithful to a woman so he chooses to be a rake, except his mom pushes marriage on him to the point where he created a fake fiancee with the name Minerva. You can see where this goes... This book had a lot of funny moments, cringe inducing moments and lovely moments. I wish they had explained the deal in more depth in the beginning instead of going from them meeting to them having discusses the deal off page between chapters apparently. But that is my only criticism, I loved all the crazy characters in this book and this was a nice change of pace from contemporary romance and other regency novels.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. I forgave it its many many anachronisms (of language, of attitudes, Payne's role etc) because it was such a romp. It took a while to get started, but after that there were many amusing scenes: Minerva's 'mother' getting drunk and revealing she was an actress, Minerva being bad at riding a horse, any scene with Giles in it...

However, I found Diana and Vee extremely annoying. Hugh's motive for never getting married was ludicrous (as was the way it was resolved). His behaviour towards Minerva lacked respect, and I was disappointed in him.

I enjoyed this Regency era romantic comedy. The premise is original, and I loved the banter between the two MCs. There is some language that is repetitive (Giles’s “old boy”). Some sections of prose description are a little long, which made it feel like the climax came too close to the end. As a whole, I really liked it and would recommend it to fans of Martha Waters and Dianne Freeman.