Reviews

Never Rescue A Rogue by Virginia Heath

maddieandherbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

3.5 stars, rounded up

i enjoyed this book! virginia heath’s writing style is very easy to read. much like the first book in this series, i liked the speed of the plot and the tropes used; also much similar to book one, i found that the characters were a bit flat, and the dialogue felt somewhat juvenile at some points. regardless of this, i really liked this book! i loved diana and giles (especially diana, she was one of my favourites in ‘never fall for your fiancee’ as well), and it was nice to see more of vee in this book (though her character seemed quite inconsistent from how she was portrayed in the first book). over all, i liked this book; it was an easy read, and if you enjoyed the first book, you’ll almost certainly like this one as well :) (it also has gotten me super excited for vee's book!!)

knmed's review

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medium-paced

4.5

mccosgrove's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

iridian28's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

amlibera's review against another edition

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4.0

Probably 3.75 rounded up - the word to describe this historical romance is rollicking, there's a lot of haring across the country, skulking in bushes, confronting ne'er do wells of all sorts. A strong heroine with a real skill set as a reporter and a charming and intelligent hero.

niamhsbookshelf's review against another edition

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4.0

ugh yes yes yes yes yes even better than the first

amberreadsalot's review against another edition

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4.0

I was happy to receive a complimentary ARC of this book from the publisher and author (the opinions herein are completely my own) because I read the first book in the Merriwell Sisters series and very much enjoyed it. I enjoyed this one, the second entry in the series, as well. I love a strong heroine who doesn't apologize for her own intelligence, even as she does her best to (somewhat) conform to the various expectations placed upon her. Even more, I love a hero who appreciates that quality in the heroine essentially from the start. Giles and Diana worked so well together. Giles knew Diana's strengths and was largely unafraid to lean on them for assistance in dealing with "The Dirty Secret." Diana knew the risks of revealing her own secrets but did not hesitate to use all her skills to assist Giles.

I did feel that the ending did not wrap up all loose threads, but the HEA is there. I would imagine, given the foreshadowing for the next book in the series, that those remaining threads will be tied off there. I don't necessarily think, however, that one would need to read either of the other books in the series to appreciate this one. Solid 4 stars.

skan's review

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

nats_bookventures's review against another edition

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4.0

I wanted to thank netgalley, St. Martins press and Virginia Heath for this advanced copy of Never Rescue a Rogue. I came across this book while scrolling through netgalley and both the cover & synopsis caught my eye. Here are some of my thoughts.

I admit I’ve put this book off for way too long as it was sitting on my netgalley shelf for what felt like ages. I am now kicking myself in the head for putting it off for so long. I enjoyed reading Diana & Giles’s story from enemies to lovers . Diana was a headstrong woman who had a passion for rescuing people as well as calling out criminals. She didn’t have the best role model in her father , so she swore she would never marry. Everyone around her was convinced that her and Giles were destined to be together, but she fought it until she couldn’t do so any longer.

Giles is harboring this dirty secret while also battling his own conflicting feelings towards Diana. He is a fun , sarcastic character who has a soft side despite what people believe. When his father ends up dead , he becomes more scared than ever that his secret will be revealed and it will ruin everything. He is trying to fight to keep his secret while also waging his own internal war about his true feelings for Diana.

I enjoyed their banter as well as their chemistry and it was evident from their first ever interaction. It didn’t take me long to get hooked into the book and it seemed to fly by. This is my first book by this author and I am wanting to read her first one Never Fall for Your Fiancé . I hope that I get to see Vee’s story eventually. I rated this book 4 stars and if this review has you intrigued, then keep your eyes out for its release date on November 8th,2022.

esdeecarlson's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5 stars

The sequel to Virginia Heath’s charming Never Fall For Your Fiancee doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor, but is still a perfectly enjoyable installment in the series. My main issue with the book is that, while I like Diana fine (I didn’t care for her much in the previous book, so I love getting to know and like her in this title) I didn’t love Giles as her love interest.

In the previous book, Giles was introduced as an indolent aristocrat, very much modeled after Algernon from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. In this title we are promised to see hidden depths to him… but to me, these ‘hidden depths’ strain credulity. From the beginning, Giles posits that he acts the rogue in order to punish his father for being a tyrant. Giles, on the other hand, has great sympathy for the servants and tenant farmers, and plans to treat them much better after his father’s death. This too-noble-for-this-world, only-rebelling-to-stick-it-to-the-evil-aristocrat, man-of-the-people schtick is just a little too precious for me. I think he needed to be given a moment where he’s called out on not being the shining martyr he seems to think he is, taken down a peg by Diana. Instead, Diana spends the book helping him in his quest to ensure his tenant farmers don’t end up under the thumb of another tyrant.

Diana is a badass. She works secretly as an investigative reporter exposing men who use their power and position to exploit those weaker than themselves, a dangerous job that nonetheless she is handling with great skill and care. Giles’ reaction to finding out about her job is so disappointing. If he had reacted with ‘I should have known because this is amazing and so are you, but wow now that I know I’m scared for you,’ I would have understood and liked him. Instead his response is ‘What were you thinking being so stupid?’ I hate it. And he spends the rest of the novel being overprotective of her while simultaneously needing her assistance for his every problem.

On the good side: There’s an amazing side character, Giles’ butler Dalton. At first I was annoyed when Giles assigned Dalton to protect Diana, but Dalton ends up being Diana’s assistant more than Giles’ employee, is totally on Diana’s side, and is just a great time overall. Additionally, when Giles gets his head out of his ass, he and Diana have great sexual chemistry. The mystery plot is fun to follow (even if the solution is a little too obvious) and the writing is extremely readable.

I think I’m so disappointed by this novel because I know that Virginia Heath can do the ‘rogue who’s secretly got a heart of gold’ trope really well. I LOVED How to Woo a Wallflower from her, which had exactly that kind of hero. But Giles didn’t do it for me; I didn’t feel like he was rogue enough or hero enough. He just didn’t do enough of his own accord. But as every other part of the book is delightful, I would still recommend it as a lighthearted, quip-filled, cozy-feelings read.

[A copy of this title was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. However, I failed to read it in time for publication and instead read a copy from my local library.]