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.

This was a fun and quick read. The characters were fun and the plot was well-paced. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

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.

I loved this book!! Historical fiction and romantic comedy books are some of my favorite books to read, so when I saw this combination of the two, I just knew I had to read this. And like I expected, I really did like it. I loved the characters, and I really think the main ones helped drive this plot along. I maybe would have liked to get more in depth with some of the side characters, but overall I did like them. I loved the turns and twist throughout this book, with romcom books there’s usually not a level of suspense like this one had, and I think this will really set this apart from others. I just kept reading in order to find out what would be uncovered and if secrets could be kept, and it made for a really nice reading experience. I was just slightly disappointed with how the ending happened, I didn’t necessarily dislike anything about how everything was revealed, but it really just wasn’t what I expected. I still did like the ending though, I enjoyed the happy ending of Minerva and Hugh a lot. Their chemistry throughout the book really held up, and I didn’t find it fading throughout, which I do see often. Their relationship was just very well written/executed and I truly wouldn’t have changed much about it.


I’m also really looking forward to the rest of the series, and seeing how the sister’s stories will play out, especially because of the hints that were already given in this book.

Minerva is a hardworking young women who is responsible for two younger sisters and in desperate need of a change in luck. Hugh is a spoiled earl who has fabricated a fiancee to placate his overly involved mother, who lives in America. Their attempts to keep the charade going during her unexpected visit to England are full of comedy and close calls. Their house of cards is never far from crumbling, and as they continue to improvise they realize they have genuine feelings for one another.

I honestly loved ALL the characters in this book! Each one brought something special to the unraveling of this fabricated engagement. It was a true treat to read and I definitely recommend picking it up when its released on November 9th. I can't wait for the rest of the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my electronic advanced copy of this book.

For reader's looking for a light, fun regency era Rom Com, "Never Fall for your Fiancée" did not fail to deliver on its promised premise. While certainly outrageous in many instances from the likelihood of Hugh happening on someone with the exact name as his made-up bride-to-be at the precise moment his mother was about to find out about his two year ruse to the actress they hire to play the Meriwell sister's mother, it exactly that outrageousness that made the story entertaining and charming to read to read, even while you knew exactly how it would turn out in the end (and Giles himself, when he made his appearances, never failed to point it out at every opportune moment). The Shakespeare "All's Well that Ends Well" reference at the end of the novel certainly felt fitting to me as the entire thing truly did remind me of a story you would see mounted on stage with all its chaos that, of course gets tied up neatly by the end of the book with no harm, no foul.

While at times a bit cliché (not that there is anything wrong with a bit of cliché), Virginia Heath wrote a clever, fun romance that I think fans of this genre will enjoy.

The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, even from across the other side of the ocean. So Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep his mother’s matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his complicated, convoluted but convenient ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman, who might just be the miracle he needs.

Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. Work as a woodcut engraver is few and far between, and the Merriwell sisters are nearly penniless. So when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that while the scheme sounds ludicrous, the offer is too good to pass up.

As hilarity and miscommunication ensue while everyone tries to keep their tangled stories straight, Hugh and Minerva’s fake engagement starts to turn into a real romance. But can they trust each other when their relationship started with a lie?

A very cute and funny book. The characters are funny together and the secondary characters are interesting too. :) They have great chemistry. Enjoyed a lot.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC.

Never Fall for Your Fiancee tells the story of Minerva, a poor woman who cares for her two younger sisters, and Hugh, a wealth nobleman who feels stuck under his father's ignoble shadow. Hugh has been lying to his mother via letters about his fake fiancee, Minerva, who doesn't exist; when he learns his mother is coming for a visit and stumbles upon a real-life Minerva, he pays her to pose as his fiancee for a few weeks. As you can imagine, hilarity (and love) ensues.

The first 40% of this book was really promising. The characters were interesting, the repartee was pretty good, and I enjoyed the predictable but fun plot twists. Unfortunately, the story quickly devolved into insta-love/insta lust. It had the makings of a good romance but quickly become a bodice ripper with little real content.

Super cute! This was a fun Regency romance with a flawed, but good hero and a strong woman main character. It's similar to other recently published Regency books that I've enjoyed.

Never fall for your fiancé

I enjoyed this book but I’m a sucker for any romance serious that involves sisters. I will definitely keep an eye out for the next two sister books. Both main characters are extremely likable so it was very easy to root for them to get together. Lots of silly hijinks and confusion as our main characters found their way to happiness. I will definitely recommend this to my friends and family. It will make an excellent beach read.

Such a cute romcom novel! I devoured this book in a matter of hours!
The characters you couldn't help but just love them!
I'm.so excited to see this is a series and can't wait to see the next book!
Thank You NetGalley. St. Martin's Griffin and Author for this ebook copy!

Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath is a wonderful, witty, sassy, and entertaining historical fiction romance novel that I truly enjoyed.

This book is the first in a new series: The Merriwell Sisters. I loved everything about this book.

Hugh Standish and Minerva Merriwell are brought together through an agreement and a “fake” engagement, but through this process...opposites attract and the relationship becomes real. Business in this circumstance turns to pleasure. I enjoyed seeing the “relationship” develop. The chemistry, wit, banter, and interplay between the two main characters made for fast, engaging, and immersive reading. The dialogue was awesome and spot on.

This is going to be an excellent series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next with the second sibling.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and St. Martin’s Press for this awesome arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.