Nothing like a good enemies to lovers story and at the start of this book there certainly wasn’t any love lost between Venus and Galahad. They seemed as similar as an orphanage and a gambling den. However as they got to know each other slowly the picking on each other turned into heartfelt conversation. It took awhile for this story to grip me but I enjoyed the final installment of this series and may have had my heart stolen by a pair of orphaned brothers.

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

4.5 Stars

Never Wager with a Wallflower is the conclusion to the Merriwell Sisters series. I couldn't wait to see Venus and Gal paired up. We get some of their initial interaction in the previous book and it really set the tone for their enemies to lovers story.

Venus was a hopeless romantic until her unfortunate dealings with Lord Argyle in the previous book. She decides to spend her time teaching at the orphanage and finding a book-minded partner to make her match. The American, Galahad Sinclair, has a plan. He can't call himself a true success until he has heaps of money and purchasing a block of buildings in Covent Garden is how he will get there. Unfortunately, the building located next to the future site of his gambling den is Venus's filled to the brim with children orphanage. Gal sets out to try and woo Vee into a friendship and get her to sell her building to him and move the orphanage out to the country. Sparks fly when they go from enemies to friends to lovers and back to enemies.

This was a very fitting conclusion to the series. This book could be read as a stand alone but things will make a lot more sense if you read all three books in the series. I loved Vee and Gal's banter throughout the book. Her teenage orphan's and their pranks had me cackling. It was nice catching up with the rest of the Merriwell clan and Vee's diary entry's at the beginning of each chapter was such a nice touch. I loved this series and it will definitely be one that I go back and read again.

This book is for you if you like: enemies to lovers, found family, jammy slippers and pigeon pranks, bluestocking heroine, American hero, wagers, gaming clubs, and big old brains.

Thank you to NetGalley, Virginia Heath, and St Martin's Press for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #merriwellsisters #virginiaheath #neverwagerwithawallflower #stmartinspress

This was a great ending for the Merriwell Sisters. I’ve been looking forward to Vee’s story since the first book and this didn’t disappoint. The story structure and organization was great and the characters felt layered, maybe because we’ve got to know them over several books more than just all the development happening in this one story. My only complaint is that towards the end things felt a little rushed and there were holes that could have been filled with a couple extra chapters or some restructuring. Overall, it was a really fun read and one I’m looking forward to chatting with others about!

And Virginia Heath has done it again! I loved this last installment in this series. Venus was a character who had been mostly relegated to the background in past books (or was given the teenage angst characterization) so it was so fun to see her mature and get her own story now!

I'm sad this series is over but look forward to future books from Virginia Heath!

While I hadn’t read the other two in the series, this book was still able to be read and understood! It started off somewhat slow but picked up quickly. It reads as a good enemies to lovers. There are some typos in the book and omitted words that can trio you up when reading but they are easy enough to spot and move on from.

Thank you NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review! This book was such a cute easy to read romance. It started off a bit slow but picked up and made you fall for the characters.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC, received in exchange for an unbiased review.

This books was DARLING. The relationship between Venus and Sinclair is so fun, and the tension as they move towards love was excellent. We know the secrets, we want to shake Sinclair for being so dumb (like all wonderful romance heroes), but there's so much sympathy for him. He is such a wonderfully complicated man, trying so hard to be better, and struggling to let anyone in. And Venus is a delight, so confident and sure of herself in almost everything, but so worn down by men not seeing her. And Sinclair does, and is it any wonder she falls hard? I've loved this series and this book was an excellent wrap up.

I loved this book. Who else would be a match for Venus but Galahad. Name is destiny after all.
Vee has no trust left for men. She’s going to marry a boring man who mostly ignored her and run her orphanage. No surprises. No overwhelming feelings.
Gal is on the cusp of opening his club. He’s found the perfect place and has secured it. He didn’t realize it was next door to Vee’s orphanage. He also didn’t know she was expecting to get one of his buildings to expand.
These two are delicious. They play games. They have no time for one another. One doesn’t tell the truth. The other refuses to see another side.
This was a great finish to this series.

This book was really cute considering I was in a feel-good romance kind of mood! It did start out a little slow, but once it picked up I didn’t want to put it down! It was funny and charming.

Venus dreams of a prince who will love her more than anything else. She is just about to give up and marry an older gentleman with whom she has no true feelings. Enter Galahad who owns gambling houses and draws her attention. There is more fighting between the two of them until he finally shows his true self. The orphanage is most important to Venus and when she watches how well Galahad seems to understand the children, she is hooked. The sexual tension between Venus and Galahad adds a lot of humor. Galahad’s ability to work with the toughest of the boys makes the book a great one. Wonderful characters!

Amazing conclusion to this triology, definitely fun and entertaining, love regency novels and this one was no less. Thanks NetGalley to allowing me to read this amazing story.

Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this third and final book in the Merriwell Sisters trilogy, though not as much as the first two. Galahad Sinclair is finally ready to open his own gambling hall, but unfortunately, he must deal with the orphanage next door. Or rather, the woman who runs the orphanage, Miss Venus Merriwell.
What worked:
1. Venus and Galahad make a cute couple, though I didn’t believe they were ever really enemies.
2. I loved hearing about the characters from the first two novels.
3. Vee was a character who clearly cared about helping others, but she was also a romantic at heart.
4. Gal was certainly motivated to succeed after the horrible way his father treated him, but he also cares deeply about Vee. I loved this element.

What didn’t:
1. Vee’s anger at Gal was a little ridiculous. I seemed as if she were manufacturing reasons to be angry at him.
2. I didn’t feel as invested in their story as I did in the secondary characters.

The final story in the Merriwell Sisters series features. the youngest, Venus. Despite wanting to find a partner, Venus has had bad luck with her matches. She spends most of her time managing an orphanage. Galahad Sinclair has been a friend for years and he and Venus enjoy arguing with each other. But underneath it all, they both are attracted to each other which both admit to, but don’t act on. There is minor conflict about Galahad buying a building next door to the orphanage for a gambling den, but overall the whole book was Venus and Galahad sparring verbally and denying their feelings. It got old after a while. Finally, when the book was almost over, they got together and admit what everyone else around them could see. They marry and have kids in the epilogue. A nice end to the series.

What a conclusion to a trilogy that I have been following since the beginning! Of all three books, this one was definitely my favourite. Much like Diana’s book, the story was more of an enemies to lovers and that is by far my favourite trope - so major brownie points from the get-go! While I found the last two books had more of a Bridgerton-esque storyline I found this one stood on its own a bit more and it was majorly to its benefit.
Vee was an amazing MC and I loved all the things we found out about her. In her sisters books she more so comes off as the somewhat annoying and protective little sister, but she really comes out as her own, fully adult woman in this story. Her and Gal’s relationship is so great. They are more so frenemies at the start but they really work through their differences, their pasts, and their feelings to come together as a really strong couple. I found the ending a bit rushed and I wished we did get to see more of them together as a couple.
The epilogue of this book really draws the trilogy together and I’m so happy I got to be a part of reading these book before they were published.

A huge thank you to St.Martin’s Publishing Group for the ARC via NetGalley! All opinions are my own!

Virginia Heath's Never Wager with a Wallflower, the final installment in The Merriwell Sisters trilogy, is a charming Regency romance that follows the enemies-to-lovers shenanigans between Venus (Vee) and Galahad (Gal). The couple's central conflict involves the property next door to the orphanage where Vee has long invested her time and energy, and the novel's most genuinely chuckle-worthy scenes result from the interference of two clever and mischievous orphans.

Having not read the first two books, I cannot speak to how this one fits into and wraps up the series. What I can say is that, as a standalone, it was enjoyable. I specifically enjoyed the banter between Vee and Gal, that Gal pursued their truce without ever crossing the line from opportunistic to objectionable, and how fully the two ultimately accepted each other--flaws, scandals, and all. I also thought including teenage Vee's diary entries was a fun and effective way to prime the reader for each chapter's conflict or epiphany.

My biggest criticism is that considering the Regency setting, there is no way that Vee would have been permitted so much access to Gal in the novel's two post-accident scenes, particularly the last one. I get it: it had to be staged that way to move the plot forward and lead to the one steamy scene, but still. There's a difference between suspending belief and ignoring the restrictions of the setting, and this one pretty solidly came down on the wrong side of that line.

Overall, Never Wager with a Wallflower is a light and satisfying opposites-attract romance with solid character development. I will definitely recommend it through Readers' Advisory, even if I never gush over it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really wanted to like this book because I've always been a sucker for a good historical romance, but I just couldn't get into this at all.

I had a hard time connecting with the main characters. Venus and Galahad are both so full of themselves, each thinking they are better than the other and at some points I even started to think they thought themselves better than everyone else in the world.

I probably should have DFN'ed the book... Because I honestly regret pushing myself to finish it.

Sorry, just not for me... But it might be someone else's cup-of-tea!

Never Wager with a Wallflower is the third book of Virginia Heath’s Merriwell Sisters trilogy but can be read as a standalone. The main plot involves Venus/Vee Merriwell and Galahad/Gal Merriwell who are known to each other because Vee’s sister married Gal’s brother. Although they don’t particularly care for one another, largely based on their own misconceptions, they develop an attraction that blooms into something more early in the book. The pacing is a bit uneven, the typical third act break up takes place closer to the beginning of act two which bogs down the romance somewhat and in the process lost some of my interest. However, the last part of the novel is much more emotional and romantic. The epilogue is great for fans of the series as it ties up the stories of all three sisters and brings the series to a satisfying conclusion.

There was lots to enjoy in this enemies-to-lovers romance even if it didn’t quite measure up to the two previous books in the series. I particularly enjoyed the comedic scenes which were done exceptionally well, although I would’ve preferred more of them. There is a terrific scene with pigeons, orphans, a broken stew pot and a derriere that requires stitches. There’s some good witty banter and excellent character development, as well as time spent with characters we’ve met in the previous books in the series. I particularly liked the way Heath uses Vee’s diary at the start of each chapter, cleverly foreshadowing upcoming events and providing some background to Vee’s character. Heath’s writing is exceptional, as always, and she makes use of some great symbolism and metaphors for readers who like to dig a little deeper. The symbolism of the three buildings at the heart of the main conflict was my favourite.

Overall, an enjoyable read, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a book that’s well written, part rom-com, and part character driven fiction (definitely a must-read for fans of the first two books).

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for a voluntary and honest review.

If Virginia Heath writes it, I will read it. This was such a fun conclusion to the Merriwell sister's stories! I am forever and always pushing this series on readers. Fun, flirty, and so well written!

I had been so looking forward to this last series of the Merriwell Sisters as the pious Venus Merriwell was going to be attached to Galahad Sinclair!

It’s been five years since the tragedy of Galahad being flattened by Venus and they have tried their best to steer clear of one another however on the day Galahad gains the perfect buildings for his forthcoming business, he coincidentally comes across the self-righteous Venus whom happens to work in the orphanage adjacent to his buildings. Oh I was so excited to find out what they will become of!

I had never laughed so hard over the book for quite some time and Virginia Heath’s book did it to me. I was so engrossed and touched by the caring albeit found family, especially their wager over the cards game between Venus and Galahad, the untamed orphanage kids who have become tameable particularly after the most hilarious incident to make Galahad’s place in chaos, and the regular spar between Venus and Galahad.

This is such a fabulous romance-comedy, well-drawn and moving read. I couldn’t compare each story of Merriwell Sisters as they all are the best. This last Merriwell Sisters series has perfectly completed it.

OVERALL: 3⭐️
STORY: 3⭐️
STORYTELLING: 2.5⭐️
CHARACTERS: 3.5⭐️

Summary:
Miss Venus Merriwell, longing for love, and Galahad Sinclair, a former gambler and family acquaintance, find themselves as neighbors in Covent Garden. While Venus is dedicated to the orphanage she works for, Galahad aims to establish his dream "pleasure palace." As their conflicting paths intersect, they must navigate challenges and take a chance on love.

Personal note:

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced readers copy. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Venus and Galahad. However, my main critique is that the third person omniscient narrator tended to be lengthy in their internal monologues, and I believe it could have been more engaging if told in first person. Additionally, there was a significant amount of telling rather than showing, which diminished the nuanced characterization and slightly affected the overall execution of the story for me.

I gave three stars because I love romance, and especially regency romance as of late.