I was so happy when I got the opportunity to read this book being that I LOVED the first one. I always liked Diana, she is so headstrong and she is a no nonsense type of woman and very independent, I love that! And I knew when her book came along her I would love it, especially with Giles involved. Giles is the fun and wild one and Hugh’s best friend, he’s a family friend and the words they use for each other? It was too funny to read. I truly enjoyed this book. But of course, this book is MORE than just the romance, Giles has a huge family secret that can ruin his reputation, and Diana is also keeping a little secret of her own. I loved how effortless it was for them to fall in love, and how they worked together, I just love these characters, I can’t wait for the next book already. Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath is the second book in The Merriwell Sisters series. I haven’t read book one, but this novel stands well on its own. It’s set in 1826, so just after the Regency period, but it reads the same as a Regency Romance.

Miss Diana Merriwell is a commoner who works incognito as a gossip columnist and investigative reporter. She’s the middle daughter (of three) of a criminal, and her difficult upbringing has made her strong and independent. Her older sister recently married an earl, thrusting Diana into a new social circle. She adapts to it easily and is pleased that it affords her ready access to the subjects of her gossip column.

One of these subjects is Giles Sinclair, son of a duke. Giles has a very big problem. Four years earlier, he learned from the dying duchess that he is actually illegitimate. So he is not heir to the dukedom. This is terrible, because Giles has always wanted to eventually right the wrongs of his father. The current duke is a penny-pinching, cruel man who neglects his estates and tenants. Giles and his father have never gotten along because Giles is good to the core, even if he pretends to be a reprobate to irritate the duke.

Giles intends to one day set things to right in the dukedom, but knows that if his father’s secret comes out, the actual heir, his uncle, will inherit. And this man is even more morally bankrupt than Giles’ father.

At the novel’s opening. Giles learns that something or someone is threatening to reveal the duke’s secret. Then, abruptly, Giles’ father dies and Giles inherits. He’s in a quandary. He’s a little afraid he’ll go to jail for impersonating a duke, but he’s mostly afraid of his uncle inheriting and causing more harm to innocents.

The only one he trusts to go to for help is Diana. The two have known each other for a while and they enjoy verbally sparring. They pretend to dislike each other, but deep down what they feel is attraction. However, Diana refuses to entertain the notion that she cares for Giles because her life lessons have taught her that men are not to be trusted. Giles recognizes that he’s attracted to Diana, but he refuses to woo and marry anyone since he knows he’s not the peer of the realm he must pretend to be.

The two embark on a quest to discover the truth and maybe break the law to continue hiding it, all for the greater good. On the way, they fall ever more deeply in love.

This is a quick, entertaining romance in the enemies-to-lovers trope, or maybe frenemies-to-lovers is a better description. The dialogue contains some jarring modernisms, and Diana’s journalistic fact-finding adventures are glaringly lacking in credibility, but it remains a fun love story with two likeable protagonists.

This is fun and fast paced historical romance with two characters with witty dialog and full backstories. Both Giles and Diane are great and I enjoyed getting to know them both (especially their secrets).

My problem is mostly that I just read Heartbreaker by Sarah MacLean and it has a very similar plot and I just liked that one better. If I hadn't read the other book first I think I wouldn't have any notes, but instead I was a little let down that it wasn't one notch better and it felt a little to angsty in comparison.

I love a good historical romance and this one did NOT disappoint! For some reason I thought I had read the first in the Merriwell sisters series, but I was mistaken. Despite that, I had no trouble picking up on the characters and immediately requested the first from the library. Diana is truly one of my favorite characters from a HR novel that I've read in a long time. She was funny, headstrong, and whip smart, but she also was flawed. The characters felt human and yet comical in that larger-than-life way you'd want from a rom-com novel.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the historical romance world.
I wasn't sure how the plot was going to wrap up but it was so satisfying, I was so happy for Giles and Diana. If the little hints I was picking up on towards the end are true, I can't wait for Vee's book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Will the truth strip him from more than his sire’s legacy…

I remember while reading the first book not being entranced by Diana, she was the suspicious one, not always shown under the best light compared to her mother hen of an older sister.
Yet here, I loved her, the dynamic of her relationship with Giles is sweet and amusing.
So for readers who are new to this series, there is no need to read the first book (outside wanting to learn more about Minerva and Hugh’s courtship) to appreciate this one.

Diana is determined to make way to the sun, even if it is in the shadow, she is more than the copy editor she lets “everyone” believe her to be. She is a righter of injustice, a dust’s digger and skeleton’s hunter. She searches among the worst of the ton to reveal the cheater or abuser of the weaker, all because her trust in the male side of humankind has been chattered by her feckless and shameless of a sire, a man ready to sell his blood to settle his debts without a backward thought.
Giles is the opposite of what he lets society believes. His outrageous parties have only one purpose, to chock his frosty sire. When he hardly drinks and really cares of those who have not the same power than him. As he knows he lives his present life on borrowed time, he has assured himself his pecuniary avenir, but what of his name.
His future becomes even more unsure when he inherits much earlier than he assumed his father’s title. From there he has only one purpose assure the best possible outcome for those depending of the dukedom.
Yet when threats appear to come true, he knows of only one person to sort of the truth, the torn in his backside, the woman who haunts his dreams and the one he can confide his darkest secrets.

Opposite to the first book, Diana’s relatives are more a faire-valoir and appear only here and here along the narrative, not really except for the younger Merriwell sister part of the investigation nor its resolution.
4.5 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 onscreen lovemaking scene

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher and the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

This book is absolutely for fans of Brigerton. Although, I have not read the previous book in the series, I was able to follow along with the Merriwells. I am a sucker for friends/enemeies to lovers and this book served it well. The added bit of mystery with Giles thrown in there, really added to the story. I also loved the found family of it all. To say the least, I willbe reading the previous book and following the series for what comes next.
I received this ARC from NetGalley and reviewed it voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book was just not for me. The writing, plot and characters were fine, I just wasn’t connected to any of them. It’s not a bad book, just not for me.

This book is absolutely for fans of Evie Dunmore or Bridgerton. It definitely lives up to its predecessor in that it had everything we loved about the first one thrown in but still uniquely its own. I loved the bit of mystery thrown in there. I also loved the found family of it all. Add Never Rescue a Rogue to your TBR now to scratch that Bridgerton itch!

This is a delightful frenemies-to-lovers romance between a newly-inherited duke and his BFF's younger sister-in-law. Giles is one of those feckless-rakes-on-the-outside, charity-do-gooder on the inside HR heroes. Proof?

1. He hosts lavish parties to piss of his dad the duke, but he pays for them using his own money earned on the stock market. His allowance is donated in-full to charities. (Also he rarely even drinks alcohol.)

2. He wants to inherit, but not because he wants his dad to die. No, he just wants to put right all of the depredations caused by an absentee landlord.

3. He falls so hard for Diana that he hasn't even considered another woman since they met.

Virginia Heath takes a simple premise and pulls it off perfectly. Giles has a secret! But don't worry, he tells Diana PDQ. Diana is a newshound! But don't worry, she'd never capitalize on her friends' private lives.

We liked the first book in the series, but we LOVED this one. Highly recommended!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Another fun entry in the Merriwell sisters series! This one follows Giles and Diana who we met first met in the first one as their relationship evolves from a bantery friendship to one of love.

I always enjoy a good banter between leads and really enjoyed reading their interactions together and thought they suited each other really well. Though I wish we could have had a little more on the romance front as I think it leaned "just" a bit more on readers being invested in them from their introduction from the first book than it should have.

In addition to the romance we also have a mystery plot line in this one surrounding Giles trying to crack the mystery of his mother and I really liked that aspect of the story. It reminded me a little bit of how much I loved It's In His Kiss by Julia Quinn which also follows two friends who are investigating a mystery and fall in love in the progress.

The side characters in this were also great. Give me a Dalton in every historical romance from now on please! I loved any scene with him on page.

I am also glad to say my opinion of Vee, the third sister, improved a lot in this one. I found her insufferable in the first book and was really hoping she would turn it around after that one because I'm assuming her book will be the next one in the series!

The Merriwell Sisters are back in Never Rescue a Rogue! In book #2, we get Gile and Diana's love story.

This novel served-up my preferred romance trope, enemies to lovers. Never Rescue a Rogue was everything I so enjoy in this trope from its witty banter to sexual tension fighting to burst from the pages. Gile emanates a smolder no lady can deny until he meets Diana. The thorns and bristle around her heart begin to fall away as she sees Gile as a more complex, humble man rather than a rogue.

Their love story is full of secrets, schemes and adventure. I absolutely love this series, and look forward to book #3. Thank you St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy.

Giles and Diana were set up as verbal sparring partners in the first book in the Merriwell sisters’ series, and in Never Rescue a Rogue, they get their starring turn. He uses his charm to cover up the insecurities underneath, she uses her brilliant mind to keep everyone (but especially men) at a distance, and together they’re an explosion of wit and fireworks. When his father dies, Giles needs Diana’s skill as an intrepid (if secret) investigative journalist to discover if he’s the true heir to the dukedom before his cruel uncle lays claim to the fortune.

Heath is so good at creating supporting characters, some who are interesting, meddlesome, funny, and evil in turn. But Giles and Diana shine so brightly. There’s more to both of them than meets the eye, and it’s quite fun watching them discover each other’s secrets. Even when they’re throwing barbs at each other, using “idiot” and “harridan” basically as pet names, there’s an undeniable undercurrent of affection that everyone around them can see a mile away.

Both Giles and Diana want nothing more than for the other one to be safe and happy, loathe as they are to admit that out loud. And that fuels the journey as they work together to uncover whether his claim to the dukedom is legitimate or not. They bring opposite skills to the search, which makes them a perfect team, and the stakes feel appropriately high. Heath built up the tension so well that I felt it as a reader, and I worried for Giles until the very end.

My minor quibble is that Giles and Diana spend a lot of time overhearing the other protest that they could never love the other in sometimes hurtful ways. Even though I knew as a reader that it was a lie, I would have though Diana, hunter of truth, would have wanted to talk about that before admitting her love.

I think I can predict who will go toe to toe with the youngest Merriwell sister in the next book, and I can’t wait to dive into their story next.

This was a really fun historical romance. I really enjoyed the tension between our main characters, but I did feel like some of the plot points overshadowed the romance (I think that was my misinterpretation of the book). Overall, this was the perfect book for me to escape reality for a little while!

Ugh, this book seemed promisingly bonkers, but it felt like two different books smushed together: the “Duke’s bastard” plot and the romance. I loved the suspense around who Giles’ mother was, and his supposed illegitimacy and the threat of disinheritance. It would have been a fine book by itself. But then, you try to cram in the second of the Merriwell Sisters, Diana, and she really gets the short end of the stick, not being able to be as fleshed out as she was meant to.
It’s also one of those books where it was like, “no, I don’t like him” for waaaay too long…despite multiple kisses. It got to the point where I was convinced they didn’t belong together, so him professing love and her still being on the fence left me cold. I ended up bailing on reading chronologically at that point and skipping to the resolution to the mystery.

Diana Merriwell is secretly the local paper’s best undercover journalist. When Giles Sinclair discovers her secret, he asks her help uncovering the truth about his lineage, worried that his no-good uncle may have proof that Giles is his recently deceased father’s bastard. All that time together seeking the truth brings out deep feelings for each other. Will their snooping result in a happy ending or prison for them both?

A fun story that has some extra entertainment for those who read the previous book.

Never Rescue a Rogue is the second book in Virginia Heath’s Merriwell Sisters series. It is a historical romantic comedy, perfect for fans of Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series.

Set in 1826 England, Giles Sinclair detests his father, the Duke of Harpenden. Giles does everything he can to antagonize his father, playing the part of a ne’er-do-well. His best friend is married to Diana Merriwell’s sister, so they come in contact regularly. The sparks fly between them so much that everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together. Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle.

When Giles’ father unexpectedly dies, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of Giles’ birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana investigate his family’s past, the attraction between them becomes impossible to ignore.

Never Rescue a Rogue is a hilarious romance that takes liberties with historical accuracy (women’s roles and abilities). The characters are very engaging and I didn’t want to stop reading. I enjoyed the mystery of Giles’ parentage and especially the chemistry between Giles and Diana. I highly recommend Never Rescue a Rogue.

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

If you enjoy books filled with smart banter, humor, and plot twists that keep you chuckling then this book is for you. It is the second book to the Merriwell Sisters series so I’d recommend reading the first book before this one but that’s not required to still enjoy Never Rescue A Rogue.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Virginia Heath's Merriwell Sisters series MAY be my new favourite historical romance series, and I read a LOT of this genre. This book was an absolute delight from start to finish.

If you like:
- A+ banter
- mishaps that make you giggle
- meddling family members
- disdain for each other (but we all know you're actually in love)
then this is the book for you!

Just as good as the first book in the series, this was such a strong sequel to the first. I absolutely cannot WAIT for book 3! Something tells me Vee is up to something...

I loved Giles and Diana’s story and it was such a charming read. The plot was good and had many elements.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Never Rescue a Rogue is the second book in the Merriwell Sisters trilogy and tell the story of Diana and Giles. The two of them have spectacular chemistry and embark on an adventure together which had me on the edge of my seat all the way till the end of the book. I found this book thoroughly entertaining, funny and really well written. The characters were all great and added to the narrative, especially Giles’ butler Dalton. Even if you’ve not read the first book in the series, you can read this and follow it without any trouble and I can’t recommend it enough if you fancy an adventurous tale with wit and banter in spades.