Title: Never Fall for Your Fiancée Series: Merriwell Sisters #1
Author: Virginia Heath
Published: November 9, 2021
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 368
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads: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.
Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course, nothing goes according to his meticulous plan. 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?
Virginia Heath’s trade paperback debut, Never Fall for Your Fiancée is…silly. Ridiculous. Over-the-top, full-steam-ahead farce from page 1 to The End. This book is the unholy offspring of Tessa Dare at her most twee and Julia Quinn at her most fluffy. In places, the story grows so nonsensical that you almost have to wonder if the author is writing not a “romcom” but a parody. (Almost.)
Yet with all that being said, I rather enjoyed Never Fall for Your Fiancée. It’s a goofy book that takes neither itself nor anything too seriously, and I think as long as the reader follows suit and doesn’t interrogate certain…ahem…”conflicts” very deeply, it could prove an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon or two.
With the understanding that I did enjoy this novel, that I found it to be a fun read, I really do have to talk about the set-up of the plot. Because it’s a lot. Basically, Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, has decided that he has Cursed Genes. Due to this genetic inheritance, he is psychologically incapable of romantic fidelity. So: he must remain single forever rather than traumatize a poor wife by his inevitable transgressions! (Duh.) Problem is, Hugh’s mother, the dowager countess, really wants some grandbabies. And in order to avoid her machinations, Hugh decides to invent a consumptive gentlewoman with whom he’s heels-over-head in love. This goes well. So well that Hugh keeps up the charade for two entire years, writing his mother about his all-consuming love for “Miss Minerva”—who does not exist. Hugh’s mother is no fool, so she announces a surprise visit to Hugh’s estate in Hampshire, and now Hugh has to scramble madly in order to find a suitable woman to be his Minerva.
Lucky for Hugh, he literally collides with said woman on the street—and her name is even Minerva. What a coinkydink.
I mean… this is a stupid plot. It’s stupid for a variety of reasons: (1) the hero convincing himself that he’s “incapable” of monogamy based on zero evidence; (2) the hero inventing a fake fiancée; (3) the hero keeping up the pretense of the fake fiancée for two entire years; (4) the hero plucking a random woman off the street and bringing her (and her unruly siblings) home in order to impersonate said fake fiancée. This is 100% the kind of book you cannot apply any critical thinking skills toward, else the entire sham falls apart after one pointed question.
Never Fall for Your Fiancée has one saving grace, which is the fact that it both understands and embraces how foolish it is. Sometimes, you encounter light-hearted, comedic novels that take themselves so seriously that they stop being funny. Here, Virginia Heath presents the myriad absurdities in her story with a wink and a nod, and so you feel that the author is both in on the joke and also in control of the antics. This book is very intentionally ridiculous, which made me at least feel better about…all the nonsense.
I should also add I’ve read Heath’s category historicals before, and I would like to give her credit for massively improving the technical quality of her writing. My biggest fear going into this book was simply that the author’s prose would be horrible. Never fear! That was not the case. Sadly, however, this does tend to confirm my suspicions that Harlequin’s category romances are not edited very well, since it is clear that Heath herself isn’t entirely to blame for the deficiency of her prior books’ writing style. A shame, although I understand that the category romance business model is focused more on quick, reliable output at a high volume than on good quality, well-polished individual stories.
Anyways. I liked Never Fall for Your Fiancée. It’s not a love story with a lot of depth or complexity, but I think it does successfully achieve the author’s two main goals: silliness and hilarity. This is a fun read that doesn’t require your brain to do a lot of heavy lifting. Virginia Heath has a light touch and a keen eye for finding the humor in the absurd, and overall, I think she did very well. I would have loved it more if the comedy hadn’t been draped on top of such a nonsensical conflict (“I’m incapable of monogamy, therefore I must remain single!!!” is really stupid), but that’s okay. I’ll be interested to see if the next books in the series will remain ridiculous-yet-enjoyable, or if they devolve into such utter inanity that they stop being fun.
