Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Never Wager with a Wallflower

I thought this book was quite good but not great. I have found Vee aka Venus to be quite judgmental of her older sisters throughout this series. Of course, that is because she was younger and her sisters both did what they could to protect her. What I did love about this story was seeing the growth Vee goes through to realize she was naïve and shouldn’t have judged her sisters’ actions so harshly in the past.

Vee and Gal have never understood why they don’t get along, but they just rub each other the wrong way. They have their surface reasons they tell themselves for the animosity, but it’s a romance book so we know it’s because they are trying to deny their attraction. They have some fun banter, but Vee may have matured when it comes to her sisters and others in the world, but she will always jump to the worst conclusion when it comes to Gal.

This ended up being a “big secret” book, and you know that’s not my thing. It started as unintentional and when the reveal came I thought Vee’s reaction was over the top. I knew Gal’s intentions were never sinister and he had the best of intentions when it came to Vee and the orphanage. But I also knew Vee would not take it well when she learned the truth and it made reading this story tense for me. I don’t enjoy that unless I’m purposely reading a thriller or suspense; I go in knowing there will be tension. It wasn’t terrible because of the nature of the secret, but it still kept me from sinking into the story.

There are some wonderful things about this story. All of Gal’s interactions with the orphans gave me a soft spot for him. And when Gal and Vee finally have their first kiss, I absolutely adore their reactions. Priceless!

Overall, this is an enjoyable series. There are ups and downs, but in the end, I’m glad I read these books.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely*

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adventurous funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“Oh, I have a pair. The definitive pair, in fact. A pair that cannot be beaten… you… and me.”

A five star book with a one star heroine.

This was such a strange experience. There is so much to love here. I especially adored the hero, Galahad. However, I really had some major problems with the heroine, Vee. More on this later. First of all, the many good things.

It was so fun to get back into this series, and I was a little sad to see it end. I am still enamored with the whole family! The callbacks to the first two books through the journal entries was a nice touch. When Diana goes into labor I laughed out loud. And the new characters are a lot of fun- especially Muldoon, Billy, and the Claypoles.

Galahad is a deep man with a sweet heart. He has trauma that is discussed beautifully, and it was so refreshing to see a character become stronger in spite of his past. He is kind, generous, and gallant. The way he sees the potential in the orphans is really endearing. And no matter what Vee does he is devoted to her!

But then we get to Venus. I am shocked more people aren’t annoyed with her. About halfway through the book Vee asks of herself, “How on earth could a person as clever and as intuitive as she was have missed something so staggeringly obvious?” And that’s kind of how I felt about her the whole book. Her reaction to the main conflict of the book is incredibly overblown. She has absolutely no empathy or consideration for others’ feelings, including her supposed “soulmate”, who’s dream she does not give two moments thought to until the last chapter. At times she is just plain cruel to Gal, and the only resolution for that is that she thinks at one point, ‘Oh I probably shouldn’t have played with his feelings like that,’ for all of two seconds. She confides in a child that she knows is prone to pranks and then is surprised when there are consequences. She strings along her other suitor (who is pompous and annoying, but still a person with feelings that she gives literally no thought to). She’s harsh with the woman who has helped to raise her, and there is never any catharsis. Her past does not make up for any of this, especially because (unlike Galahad) she never moves past her problems to grow into a better person. And she leaves books open on the chair arms!

The writing was great, the ending was sweet, I loved the last few chapters and the declaration, but I honestly have to take 2 complete stars off for Vee and the majorly problematic things she did.

Star Rating: 3/5 (solely for Gal!)

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, casino owner

CW: Death, violence, poverty, toxic relationship, abusive parent

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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