This final story in the Merriwell sisters series has been great fun. Venus is stubborn and determined to find the perfect husband just like her sisters did. She wants someone who loves her for her mind and not her glorious body. Galahad is an American living in London. He is a tenacious businessman. The story is filled with often witty and hilarious dialogue as Gal and Vee trade barbs. The children in the story add delightful character to the plot. Readers will thoroughly enjoy getting to know what drives the characters as they turn the pages. This is a wonderful way to conclude the series.

Venus Merriwell has been dreaming of true love her whole life. Even through a multitude of trials, she has counted on future love and happiness, especially after watching her two older sisters find their matches. However, her luck with love hasn't prospered, so she has focused her energies on the needy orphanage in Covent Gardens. Galahad Sinclair has been working his entire life for a secure income to call his own, and he has finally purchased property to house his new gambling business. The only drawback of the new residence is the orphanage next door, or rather, the woman who runs it, and her inevitable reaction when she learns of the enterprise about to move in. Gal and Venus are distant relations by marriage and have only ever butted heads. But Gal is certain that if he can win over Vee, his business will have a chance at success.

I have really enjoyed the two prior books in this series, and I have been looking forward to Vee's story! Yet, I found her determination to hate Gal a little repetitive, and the blame placed upon him for situations out of his control a little unfair. I enjoyed Gal's character, and certainly was rooting for him (and their relationship) throughout the story. While I read the two previous stories I couldn't exactly remember his role in the second book without a refresher, and though it can be read as a standalone, the second book in the series does provide some background on Galahad's history. I loved the setting and focus on the orphanage, and would have been fine with even more gambling in this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Audio, St. Martin's Press, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Never Wager with a Wallflower is book 3 in the series but can be read as a stand-alone novel. If you are curious about the various family members in the book, reading books 1 and 2 will satisfy that curiosity.

Venus Merriwell and Galahad Sinclair met in the first book of The Merriwell Sisters Series. Since that meeting, they have maintained a tolerated but avoid if all possible relationship that is complicated by their family's connections resulting in regular family dinners and attendance at Society events.

Galahad, Gal, is an attractive, affable but secretive owner of The Den, a place for drinking and gambling. He is a Yank and is always attempting to meet the expectations of the English world. He is a self-made man with a head for making money. I like my heroes with brains, brawn and a good heart and Gal has it all plus more. I was rooting for him the entire book even when he stuck his foot in his mouth!

Venus or Vee, as she prefers, is still a sanctimonious, dramatic, fairy tale dreamer. She is not the easiest of the sisters to like but at least Vee's character has remained consistent throughout the books. I do like her intelligence or big brain as Gal calls it, and her dedication to the orphanage and the many children. The terrible trio of tween boys and their hijinks provide Vee with deeper glimpses of the man beneath Gal’s social face. I did enjoy the diary entries as they gave the reader a better understanding of why she held on to anger and revealed some of the reasons for her reactions.

This is a slow burn romance with witty barbs, misunderstandings, frustrations and finally self-discoveries that lead to Gal and Vee finally uncovering their denied feelings towards each other. I was delighted with the ending but said that I have to say goodbye to the many characters I have come to know in The Merriwell Sisters. I will continue to look forward to more books from Virginia Heath

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of Never Wager with a Wallflower and voluntary and based on my own reading experience.

4.5 stars. This third book in the series puts Venus up against Galahad. This is an enemies to lovers Regency romcom.

I love it when authors take female characters of this time frame and make them smart and spunky. Virginia Heath does it perfectly! Venus is willing to go up against Gal in anything from card games to buying property to romance and love. Their banter is so fun and really brought me into the story. I'm so sad that the series is over.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

An enemies to lovers story. Galahad is my favorite hero of this series; dynamic, flawed yet likable. The scene where Galahad and Venus are found out is one of the funniest I've ever read.

Never Wager with a Wallflower is Virginia Heath‘s final story in her Merriwell Sisters Regency rom-com series. It’s an enemies-to-lovers historical romance that’s not historically accurate. It features characters from previous stories but can easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone.

23-year-old Venus Merriwell had a rough childhood because her gambler father left her and her older sisters destitute. She is currently on her fourth season but she considers herself a wallflower after her last romantic partner cheated on her. Currently she is pursuing a pretentious intellectual windbag that doesn’t even notice her physical beauty; he just wants someone to listen to him pontificate. Venus spends her days teaching at the Covent Garden Orphanage, trying to wrangle rowdy children and raise funds to continue their mission. She also does her best to avoid her brother-in-law’s scoundrel half-American cousin, Galahad.

Galahad Sinclair was raised by his grandfather in his New York tavern, The Four-Leaf Clover. Then five years ago he came to London and created a successful gaming hall in the sleazy docks of the East End. Now he’s ready to build the gaming hall of his dreams in a nicer area, Covent Garden, to attract an upscale clientele. He buys the perfect building only to learn that it’s located next door to the orphanage where Venus teaches. He’s still avoiding her since she flattened him five years earlier when he was doing some undercover work.

Venus and Galahad disagree over everything, but their friends and family can feel their chemistry and encourage their romance. Galahad does give her good advice for managing the incorrigible twins at the orphanage, but the kids still do their best to destroy his building. They wager each other in card games and eventually fall in love.

While not historically accurate in terms of speech and women’s freedom, the Merriwell Sisters series is fun to read. The characters are engaging and have interesting jobs and the reader can’t help but root for them to find their happily-ever-after. The plot in Never Wager with a Wallflower is well-paced and I had a hard time putting it down. My favorite part was young Venus’ diary entries at the beginning of each chapter. The side characters, particularly the twins, added extra humor to the story. I’m sorry for this series to end!

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This story took me forever to get into. I read one of the others in this series and liked it, but I didn't enjoy this one as much.
The one I read before seemed a lot more comical and silly, and the characters had a ton of chemistry and tension with each other. This one didn’t feel as good. They felt more like friends than love interests. This one just wasn't for me this time around.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Spicy Regency Romance
Spice Level: High (bawdy language and full sex scenes but not until about the last 10%)
Readability: It's the 3rd in the series but stands on its own so long as you don't mind spoilers for the other characters from previous books.

Miss Venus is a voluptuous beauty with a sharp mind—appropriate since she's also a card sharp. She's sassy and devoted to her orphans. And she's tired of men who only see her as a sex object.

Gal—Galahad Sinclair—is also jaded from getting used by others. He's a taciturn American bloke who now lives in England and is on the edge of fulfilling his financial dreams.

But then the two collide in a new way and see each other with fresh eyes.

It's super fun. The language is coarse and there are bawdy comments. So if you thought this was a sweet and funny romance, that's not this. I thought it was enjoyable, though I had to ignore the crude portions.

Happy reading!

2.5 stars.

The vibes:
- historical
- Enemies to lovers
- 3rd book in a series/can be standalone

My thoughts:

For starters- the first two books in this series were some of my favorites. I loved Minerva and Diana. I’ve always felt a bit put off with Venus in the first two books but did see her growing up and coming around in book 2. Coming into book 3- I had high hopes that I’d see a whole new side of Venus now that she is all grown up.
Unfortunately- I struggled to support (or like) Venus for most of the book. She was just difficult to like in a lot of moments.

The first two books in this series have a different tone to them. The first two feel humorous and silly (in the best way possible) with so much chemistry and tension. This one didn’t feel the same way for me - which I largely place on Venus during the conflict.

While I didn’t love this third book like I did the first two in the series, this author remains a favorite for me because I know the writing style is overall great for my tastes.

Releases November 7, 2023.

Thank you so much to Virginia Heath, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.



*note- posted on bookbub, Instagram, goodreads, and barnes and noble. Links provided. Will be posted on Amazon after release date when Amazon allows me to.

What a wonderful slow burn, historical romance! Gal and Venus have a great tumultuous relationship full of miscommunications, prejudices, and a whole lot of feelings that keeps their relationship hooking.

Gal keeps a decent amount of secrets with reason from Venus and she has to work out whether or not those are dealbreakers or if she should protect her feelings with someone safer. I loved how this all played out, specifically the games between Gal and Venus, they made this whole book!

Never Wager with a Wallflower is book 3 in The Merriwell Sisters series by Virginia Heath and y’all if you haven’t read this Regency rom-com series you’re seriously missing out!
Heath writes the absolute best historical romance strand this one was an absolute blast!
This was super cute and quite hilarious.
I love Venus and Galahad together. Their chemistry was just amazing.
I even adored the side characters!
They were fun, witty and the banter was spot on.
The plot, writing, pacing, setting, and characters made for a really great story.
Never Wager with a Wallflower was such a fun romantic comedy with a refreshing historical setting.
Reading Virginia Heath’s novels always brings a smile to my face and warms my heart. I loved the series.
Rom-Com readers and Historical Fiction lovers will find this read delectable and simply irresistible.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

I love, love, love Never Wager with a Wallflower! This book is the third in the Merriwell Sisters series, and I have loved each one. To be honest, I was not really excited for Venus, or Vee to her loved ones' story. I didn't like her in the first book, but I love Virginia Heath's writing so I was still excited for another Virginia Heath book.
Vee is several years older, and over her annoying whiny phase from book's past. She's grown up, educated, knows a little more of the world-- and over her feckless father. Vee has found her love, and that is an orphanage. She wants to grow the orphanage, and she thinks she's found the perfect property.
Galahad, our hero, is the cousin of Vee's brother-in-law Giles. Vee and Galahad met years ago, but she was not impressed. Galahad is also looking for a building--to build a gaming hell. Guess where he has found the perfect building?
Virginia Heath's writing is some of my favorite, and her dialogue between characters is my absolute favorite. It is snappy, witty, hilarious, and her use of adjectives is absolutely fabulous. Virginia Heath's characters are also simply out-of-this-world funny. Whether it be irascible butlers or cheeky orphans, the characters are the best! I love getting to see Giles and Diana and Hugh and Minerva again-- as well as their adopted mother figure, Hugh's mother! The banter between all the characters is fantastic. I just loved this book, and the whole series is one of my favorites and I highly recommend Never Wager with a Wallflower!!!

It took me a while to get into this story.

I like the promise of what this story could have given, but in the end, it kind of fell flat (for me).

I liked the entensity with which Vee disliked Gal, I liked the way they came around to kinda sorta being friend.

But for all the potential the story had, nothing really happened. And (for me) that was a real let down.

But others are going to absolutely love it.

This Book is the last in the Merriwell Sisters Series, and the youngest sister, Venus, is the main female character. Due to her unhappy childhood, Venus has made mistakes in her relationships with potential husbands and has turned to satisfying herself by participating in running an orphanage. Galahad Sinclair, also, has an unhappy past that he is trying to escape by fulfilling his dreams of success and fortune. The two butt heads over a building that is pivotal to their accomplishing their goals, and fate forces them to work together and learn about trust.

I received an ARC for free, but I gave my honest opinion voluntarily.

What a fun story Virginia Heath is at it again. This time it is Venus’s turn to find love. Yet with a name like Venus how many people are going to take her seriously? Yes, there is a goddess of love with the same name yet love seems to allude poor Virginia. Maybe it is because she longs for love so much, or the fact that she wears glasses and cares about those around her. Who knows but love doesn’t seem to be in the cards, till a chance encounter with a nemesis, Galahad, leads her to question her opinion of the gentleman. When an old benefactor dies and doesn’t leave the orphanage, that Virginia helps out at, the building she promised and Virginia finds it was sold to Galahad instead and he has been hiding the fact he owns it from her can she reconcile the person she thought she was starting to see, or is he really a rouge hiding all his cards.
This is quite fun story. It is fast paced and I love that you get to see a bit of both sides. Galahad is a fun character that while not perfect shines off the page and makes the reader root for him. Their love story is a perfect compliment to the first two books. I can’t wait to recommend this book real soon.
Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Loved this book! Virginia Heath never disappoints and I’m always excited to see new books from her, especially in this series.

I'm not a big fan of historical romances, but this blurb caught my attention and I loved it, it has all the elements to keep you entertained from beginning to end and despite being part of a series it can be read as a standalone.

Venus and Gals are perfect for each other, I love them, the chemistry between them is palpable through the pages, and the slow burn is deliciously addictive, but both characters have a painful past and that affects their relationship. I loved the way the author tells the story, it is packed with tension and great banter, it had me devouring the pages,

This is a great and cute story, with complex characters, and an addictive plot, definitely read it if you are a fan of enemies to lovers, slow burn, historical romance, banter and spicy.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of the book.
All opinions are my own.

3.5 ***
Tropes: Forced proximity, Enemies to Lovers, Slow burn, He falls First (well accepts it)

A fitting finale to bid goodbye to the Merriwell sisters. This can be read as a stand alone although I feel you will enjoy it more if you read the trilogy. Vee, or Venus, is now fully grown and finding her place in the world. As she supports a local orphanage, her "place" is put directly next door to her nemesis, Galahad or "Gal." Of course, no one can trigger her ire quite like this man. And, as it so often does, he does not fit into her ideal future at all. Due to family and the misadventures of a few orphans Venus and Gal are frequently thrown together. The pigeons and the inevitable fallout had me chuckling to myself. Overall a sweet and surprisingly touching book. although if you are looking for spice, this book is more like pepper than ghost pepper. While I enjoyed reading the book it is not one that I would reread, hence the 3 .5 stars. I really enjoyed the character of Galahad as he became more fleshed out than his brief introduction in the other book. Honestly, I struggled with Venus. Knowing her backstory she seemed a bit sanctimonious. She was quick to judge but required the benefit of the doubt for herself. As the novel progresses, she becomes easier to tolerate. Finally, the epilogue is a great way to wrap the Merriwell sisters' stories and say goodbye to the family.

The last sister...

This is Venus "Vee's" turn. She is now 23, she met Gallahad when she was 18. Its five years of kind of knowing each other. Gallahad is not someone Vee sees herself with. He is a gambler. Her father left their family destitute with his gambling. No thank you. She works tirelessly for the hideous orphans she cares for. Gallahad buys the building Vee was going to expand her orphanage next do to. He wants to open his gambling den of vice. The orhpans are horrid. There's pidgeons. I'll leave it at that. Gallahad has a lot of issues and insecuritites. While they are different. Vee and Gallahad do have a lot in common. Talk about a fun, long, slow, enemies to more.
Recommend.
4.5

3.5 stars rounded up. The bar was set so high in the first two books of this series that inevitably it would be hard for this one to compete. This is a very slow burn romance with lower heat (and tension) than the first two stories, but it felt appropriate for Vee and Gal's romance.

With the benefit of a 4-year flash forward from book 2, Vee is now grown up (22) and already disillusioned by the marriage market after several potential suitors make indecent proposals but won't consider marriage. Gal, who we met in the last book, is also grown and pursuing his multi-step business plan to open a high-class gambling hall in London. The conflict arises when it turns out that the property he just purchased -- slightly under the table, but still technically legal -- is directly next to the orphanage that Vee helps run, and was originally promised to the charity upon the prior owner's passing. Vee and Gal both have major trust issues due to the traumas of their fathers abandoning them when they were young and turning up again later only to prove that their greed outweighed any feelings for their children. This leads them both to expect the worst from each other instead of giving each other the benefit of the doubt. Although their attraction to each other is obvious to everyone around them, neither one is willing to let down their guards or trust the other enough to consider the possibility that their match is right in front of them.

The main factor lowering my rating on this is that Vee and Gal feel like different characters from who we met previously. Gal, in particular, who we did not really get to know in book 2 (at least not the real version of him), feels much older than his character's age. It was a little hard to reconcile these characters with the versions I had in mind before, but viewing them outside the context of the past books, they are very likeable. The excerpts from Vee's journal entries at the start of each chapter showing the progression from her immature and slightly bratty self in book 1 to the jaded and guarded person she becomes in book 3 was a nice touch to fill in the gaps.

Overall, I'm sad to see this series finish but the whole cast of characters is given a wonderful send off. I can't wait to read what's next from Virginia Heath!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!