Diana Meriwell is living her best life. Since her sister Minerva married into a wealthy family, she and her younger sister have had a safe place to live. No more struggling to survive their ne’er-do-well father and his shenanigans. She has a job at the newspaper, which she loves. Even though she is a mere woman, she can still be, as she puts it, ‘a nitpicking grammarian (or as her family all accuses her, a gossip columnist). Either way, she’s very happy in her independence and has no desire to change that.
Giles Sinclair is the son of a Duke. He’s just not the son of a Duchess. He learned this as his mother was dying, and he couldn’t forgive his father. But he could understand why his parents resented him his whole life, once he learned that. It all became clear. And all the work he had done, to try to undo the damage his father had done in so many lives, became that much more important to him. He wanted to the be the opposite of the man his father was. And he was succeeding at that. Until his father died.
Becoming the Duke of Harpenden, Giles is bequeathed the estate in Shropshire where he grew up, as well as significant riches. It’s more than enough for him to help out the tenants his father had been overcharging for years, to taking care of the repairs he had been neglecting, to offering retirement plans for the servants who had worked for his father so faithfully.
But Giles worries that someone out there knows the truth about him, and he can’t completely relax until he knows if there is another shoe that’s going to drop. So he turns to his best friend’s family, namely the sister of his best friend’s husband, Diana. He and Diana have been bickering for years, trading barbs and some minor flirtations. But now, he needs her for her intelligence, for the way she can dig out the truth. Although her beauty is not bad either. But since Giles doesn’t really know what he’s up against, as his secret could come out at any time, he needs her help right away.
Diana agrees, as underneath her crusty independence, she cares deeply for her family and friends. And she doesn’t want Giles to get hurt. So she agrees to help him figure out who his mother really is, despite the growing attraction she can’t seem to shake. But will their investigation put them in danger, or is she just in danger of losing her heart to a Duke?
Never Rescue a Rogue is Virginia Heath’s second Merriwell sister novel, and it is filled with smart repartee and a simmering sexiness. This continues the story of Never Fall for Your Fiancée, which told the story of Minerva. And while these are stand-alone novels, the fun and charm that Heath writes with will mean you will want to read more than just one.
I loved Never Rescue a Rogue. I thought that the characters of Diana and Giles are both smart and self-directed, independent and strong. They both had a lot of childhood adversity to overcome, and the way their stories come together is as good as any great movie romantic comedy. The fact that they both have secrets that could destroy their reputations keeps the energy high and the pages turning, and the delightful courtship that develops between them is both hot and heartwarming. I fell in love with both of these characters, and I think other romance readers will to.
Egalleys for Never Rescue a Rogue were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley, with many thanks.
