Never Rescue a Rogue

August 1, 2022

Giles Sinclair, future Duke of Harpenden, has a secret about his parentage that is on the precipice of being exposed, and if he doesn't determine the truth, it will ruin lives. Diana Merriwell would be the ideal candidate to help, but Giles and Diana tend to do nothing but nettle each other, which has led their friends and family to assume some matchmaking is in order. Giles won't consider a relationship with anyone, however, given his uncertain future, and Diana is quite content on her own. Diana's skill in digging for information and exposing society's wrongs has led to her secret role as a journalist for the local paper. When she learns of Giles' secret, she knows she can help. As their time to solve the mystery ticks down, they will have to overcome meddling sisters, secret rendezvous, long-lost family members, and the growing suspicion their families' assumptions about their relationship may be correct. VERDICT Heath's engaging second book in the "Merriwell Sisters" series (following Never Fall for Your Fianc�e) flips the script and gives readers a lovable duke in distress who needs to be rescued by a smart and witty heroine.--Kellie Tilton

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2022
A lady journalist chases a story--and a duke. Diana Merriwell has a secret. No, it's not that she's a journalist; everyone knows that, and she has her family's support. It's that her career is a front for her undercover job as the Sentinel, an anonymous writer who unearths and exposes damaging gossip about prominent and problematic noblemen. Unfortunately, that job comes with conflicts of interest, and never is that truer than now, when the hottest story in London concerns her family friend Giles Sinclair, who is suddenly the Duke of Harpenden. He learned before his father's sudden death that he was actually a bastard and fears it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out and he's cast from society. When he accidentally stumbles across Diana's Sentinel secret, he admits his own secret to her, and she's pulled into his mission to repair the damage his ostensible father did before the truth comes out. She agrees to help even though it means she has to avoid the temptation of exposing him publicly--not to mention the long-simmering chemistry between them. The more they explore his family's history, the closer they become, especially after their lives are put in danger. It's not a shock when they finally do connect intimately and the book takes a welcome, steamy turn, balanced with their hunt for the truth about Harpenden. The second book in the Merriwell Sisters series combines romance and intrigue well and can be read as a stand-alone. Giles and Diana's banter is charming, and while it's hard to believe they don't understand why everyone in their families thinks they're secretly in love, they're so sweet that it's hard not to root for them anyway. A pleasant historical romance with a touch of mystery. A slow burn of a Regency that will please lovers of the subgenre.

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Starred review from September 5, 2022
A duke teams up with a journalist to protect his tenants from his scheming uncle in Heath’s infectious second Merriwell Sisters historical romance (after Never Fall for Your Fiancée). Roguish Giles Sinclair, heir to the Duke of Harpenden, learned years ago that his real mother was the duke’s mistress, making him illegitimate. When his father dies suddenly, Giles fears it’s only a matter of time before the truth gets out and the law comes calling to seize his dukedom and hand it over to his greedy, philandering uncle Gervais. Brilliant Diana Merriwell also has a secret: she’s The Sentinel, an anonymous reporter with a reputation for using her pen to uncover dangerous secrets. Though no one in Diana’s family knows her real role at the paper, Giles suspects the truth. The quarrelsome pair have been forced to tolerate each other ever since Giles’s best friend married Diana’s sister—and now Giles turns to Diana for help. As they work together to protect each other’s secrets, their witty bickering becomes more like foreplay and trust and loyalty grow. Still, the threat of Gervais and Diana’s distrust for men threaten their budding romance. It’s the perfect mix of romance and intrigue, and the formidable central couple is sure to win hearts. This is a gem.

Starred review from September 15, 2022
Heath is carving a name for herself in historical rom-coms. She follows the success of Never Fall for Your Fianc�e (2021) with a frenemies-to-lovers story of an illegitimate duke and a clandestine journalist. Diane Merriwell, the daughter of a criminal forger, is determined to never marry. Claiming to be a copyeditor at the London Tribune, she is actually the Sentinel, who sniffs out the illegal shenanigans of powerful people and brings them to justice through the power of her words. Gentle and kind, Giles Sinclair is the new duke of Harpenden, a hated title he associates with his late father, who always hated him. Giles had likewise been despised by his mother, who confessed on her deathbed that, in fact, he is the son of a fallen woman. He is distraught that his father perpetrated a fraud against the Crown by naming his illegitimate son his heir because, if exposed, Giles could find himself in shackles. He is determined to never marry and to protect the people dependent on the Shropshire estate. With clever twists and turns, Heath brilliantly shows how the redoubtable Diana, with her nose for ferreting out the truth, proves to be a stalwart companion in Giles' quest to uncover his past.

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