Never Wager with a Wallflower

These last couple of years, I’ve been loving Virginia Heath‘s Merriwell Sisters series. Following Never Fall for Your Fiancée and Never Rescue a Rogue, the trilogy now ends with the youngest sister in Never Wager with a Wallflower. With just as much wit and heart as the first two, this final installment is equally fun and a sweet way to close the series.

Special thanks to the publicists at St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Summary

Venus and Galahad haven’t gotten along well since they first met four years ago, and they’ve never tried showing each other their good side. Unbeknownst to her, they’re now about to become neighbors. Galahad just bought the building next door to the orphanage where she volunteers; he plans to turn his new buildings into a gaming hell. He hopes they can at least be cordial neighbors, so he sets about repairing their relationship. But little secrets along the way are bound to blow up in his face. Will their hearts be able to recover? Or will they finally realize they’re a match made in heaven, despite their apparent differences?

Review

Ever since I read Never Rescue a Rogue last year, I’ve been eager to see how Venus Merriwell and Galahad Sinclair’s love story would play out. Their “meet-cute” was pretty unconventional! And indeed, when Never Wager with a Wallflower begins four years later, they’re not exactly close, despite their family connections. Vee thinks Galahad is simple-minded and always up to no good; Gal thinks Venus is standoffish and best to be avoided. When Galahad buys some buildings to start his new gaming hell business, not realizing it’s next door to the orphanage where Venus volunteers, he decides it’s high-time he gets onto Vee’s good side. 

Up until now, Vee has been unlucky in love and with men in general. It started with her no-good father, and since coming of age, her pursuit of a husband has been futile. She’s burdened with a name and figure that attract the wrong kind of men; she’s also not a great judge of character. So when Galahad suddenly starts being nice and charming, she’s suspicious at first, but ready to be let down. And with his little secret, it will have major repercussions on their newly improved relationship. 

Gal has grown used to holding his cards close (pun very much intended with this book’s plot). He’s the kind of guy who only shows people what he wants them to see, and he’s a social chameleon ready to adapt to any situation. Depending on the context, Gal will play up his American accent, show off his business savvy and quick wit, or play dumb altogether. You never know which version you’ll get. Does that mean you can never trust Galahad or that he’s a bad person? He has a tragic backstory, though it takes a while to find out all the details. But over the course of the novel, we start to see glimpses of Gal’s true character: his kindness, understanding, and heroism, especially with the orphans that Vee cares for. 

This book isn’t quite as light as the first two were, but it is still a lot of fun. One recurring theme is Gal and Vee going up against each other in card games. They’re both expert players, but who’s better? Stay tuned for the answer to that… and bit of a strip game. 

As always, the supporting cast of characters is a riot. The first two books’ couples are here in their full glory, complete with growing families. Hugh’s mother, Olivia, is also up to her usual habit of playing matchmaker. And similar to the previous books, this one also tackles working class issues and highlights characters without title or money. With my own background, that always strikes close to my heart.

Final Thoughts

The full Merriwell Sisters has been a delight, and Never Wager with a Wallflower is a lovely way to close the series. Vee and Gal are just as cute as the first two couples, and I loved seeing their romance unfold in the midst of business development, troublesome orphans, and meddling family members. Virginia Heath’s writing is sweet and pulls the reader in, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the near future.

Get the Book

You can buy Never Wager with a Wallflower here – it’s available as a paperback and ebook.

Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath
Series	Merriwell Sisters (#3)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Romance
Setting	England
Number of Pages	320
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	November 7, 2023

Official Summary

Never Wager with a Wallflower is the third and final delightful installment in Virginia Heath’s Merriwell Sisters Regency rom-com series.

Miss Venus Merriwell has been waiting for her prince to come since the tender age of fourteen. She wants a man who is a selfless academic like her, and free from all the wretched vices her gambler father enjoyed far too much before he left the Merriwell sisters practically destitute. Unfortunately, after a slew of romantic disappointments, there is still no sign of that prince at twenty-three and the only one true love of her life is the bursting-at-the-seams orphanage in Covent Garden that she works tirelessly for. An orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door.

For Galahad Sinclair, gambling isn’t just his life, it’s in his blood. He grew up and learned the trade at his grandfather’s knee in a tavern on the far away banks of the Hudson in New York. But when fate took all that away and dragged him across the sea to London, it made sense to set up shop here. He’s spent five years making a success out of his gaming hall in the sleazy docks of the East End. Enough that he can finally afford to buy the pleasure palace of his dreams—and where better than in the capital’s sinful heart, Covent Garden? The only fly in his ointment is the perfect building he’s just bought to put it in also happens to be right next door to the orphanage run by his cousin’s wife’s youngest sister. A pious, disapproving and unsettling siren he has avoided like the plague since she flattened him five years ago.

While Venus and Galahad lock horns over practically everything, and while her malevolent orphans do their darndest to sabotage his lifelong dream, can either of them take the ultimate gamble—and learn to love thy neighbor?