How to Woo a Wallflower is delightful.

Throwback Thursday Review 

I reviewed How to Woo a Wallflower  August 21, 2022 on Goodreads and various vendors but I forgot to post it here. What can I say, I found this review in drafts and it deserves to be published. It's a terrific book. 

He could have any deb

Except his best friend’s sister…

Jasper, the Earl of Beaufort, hasn’t seen Lady Harriet Fitzroy since her serious riding accident. She has grown into a kind, spirited woman, whose sinful smile plays havoc with his jaded emotions! Hattie’s family disapprove of Jasper’s rakish past, but when she risks her reputation to help him, the least he can do is pull her from the wallflower chairs and out of the shadows…

I really loved this book by Virginia Heath. How to Woo a Wallflower has great characters, an interesting setting and enough obstacles on the way to happily ever after to make this an entertaining read.

How to Woo a Wallflower expertly explores the outsider status the main characters find themselves in. Jasper, the Earl of Beaufort is disapproved of by polite society because he is a self made man and as the owner of a gaming club has a past laced with scandalous rumors. In his world another scandal threatens to erupt and he is not looking for love when he runs into Hattie his friends younger sister. Hattie is a wallflower because a horseback riding injury has left her with a limp. She has always taken a shine to Lord Jasper, but has no expectations of him. Hattie ends up helping Jasper with his scandal out of the kindness of her heart and in return he helps her discover freedom within her wallflower status. I love how the characters friendship developed into a delightful love story.

If you like your regency romance with with humor, kindness and heart then How to Woo a Wallflower by Virginia Heath is the book for you.

Reviewed by Gayle 

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
#Entertaining #Happily Ever After #Romantic #Witty #Wonderful characters

Review of Rook

 Available Now!

This standalone adventure set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series brims with humor, heart, and—of course—a hefty dose of supernatural mayhem.
 
Abigail Rook never intended to be the mortal bridge between the human and supernatural world. But now, the power of the Sight–and all the chaos that comes with seeing the essential truth of everything, every human, fairy, werewolf, enchanted slip of paper, and municipal building, at all times–is hers alone. With this overwhelming new gift, she should be able to solve crimes and help New Fiddleham, New England find calm in its supernatural chaos. 
The only problem? She has no idea what she’s doing.
 
And New Fiddleham isn't waiting for Abigail to be ready. Local witches and other magical beings are going missing, as tensions between human and supernatural residents curdle into a hatred that could tear the city apart. Abigail's fiance, Charlie, works alongside her to unravel the magical disappearances, but as a shapeshifter, he's under threat as well. Then Abigail's parents appear, ready to take her back to England and marry her off to someone she's never met. Abigail has no choice but to follow her Sight, her instincts, and any clues she can find to track a culprit who is trying destroy everything she holds dear.

Rook by William Ritter | Algonquin Young Readers  | Hachette | 

Aug 22, 2023

The Entertaining World of New Fiddleham

I will never get tired of William Ritter's vision of the magical world of R. F. Jackaby and Abigail Rook. William Ritter’s magical way with words and world building is very compelling and his masterful story telling keeps me wanting more. Never have I been so relieved to get a follow-up book to a series. Rook was an instant pre-order for me. The description states that it can standalone, but I would recommend reading the Jackaby series first for a richer experience. Rook is a fast-paced dive into the consequences that unfolded in The Dire King. The books centers on Abigail Rook former assistant to R. F. Jackaby. Despite Abigail’s new abilities and her changing role in the household, she must solve a mystery in New Fiddleham. Abigail must put aside her personal issues and move forward with the support and sometimes dubious assistance of a menagerie of characters found in The Jackaby series. Nicola Barber's wonderful voice delivers a multilayered performance as the varied inhabitants of New Fiddleham, and the experience is like listening to a full cast recording. Rook is a magical book. Three generations in my household have read and loved all The Jackaby stories and Rook is a welcome addition to the series. Step through the portal, my friend, a magical world awaits. #wonderful characters 

#great world building #entertaining #witty #fantasy adventure #original #action packed

Reviewed by Gayle

Purchased at Audible

Review of Never Wager with a Wallflower

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Never Wager with a Wallflower is the third and final delightful installment in Virginia Heath's Merriwell Sisters Regency rom-com series.

Miss Venus Merriwell has been waiting for her prince to come since the tender age of fourteen. She wants a man who is a selfless academic like her, and free from all the wretched vices her gambler father enjoyed far too much before he left the Merriwell sisters practically destitute. Unfortunately, after a slew of romantic disappointments, there is still no sign of that prince at twenty-three and the only one true love of her life is the bursting-at-the-seams orphanage in Covent Garden that she works tirelessly for. An orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door.

For Galahad Sinclair, gambling isn’t just his life, it’s in his blood. He grew up and learned the trade at his grandfather’s knee in a tavern on the far away banks of the Hudson in New York. But when fate took all that away and dragged him across the sea to London, it made sense to set up shop here. He’s spent five years making a success out of his gaming hall in the sleazy docks of the East End. Enough that he can finally afford to buy the pleasure palace of his dreams—and where better than in the capital’s sinful heart, Covent Garden? The only fly in his ointment is the perfect building he’s just bought to put it in also happens to be right next door to the orphanage run by his cousin’s wife’s youngest sister. A pious, disapproving and unsettling siren he has avoided like the plague since she flattened him five years ago.

While Venus and Galahad lock horns over practically everything, and while her malevolent orphans do their darndest to sabotage his lifelong dream, can either of them take the ultimate gamble—and learn to love thy neighbor?

Imprint Publisher

St. Martin's Griffin

ISBN

9781250787804

Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath is a wonderful conclusion to The Merriwell Sisters series. Venus Merriwell, the youngest sister, meets her match in Galahad Sinclair. Once again Virginia Heath has ended another series with a fabulous book. Never Wager with a Wallflower is everything that I have come to expect from Virginia Heath and so much more. A believable romance, witty dialogue, situational challenges and heart touching moments made Never Wager with a Wallflower my favorite book in the series, though all were fabulous.

I will admit I had real concerns about the likability of both of the main characters coming into the book. They meet in a dramatic way in Never Rescue a Rogue, book 2 of the series. The youngest Merriwell Sister, Venus, was a little petulant in books 1 & 2 as befitted the youngest sister and I had a hard time picturing how she would turn out as the heroine of her own book. Both Venus and her hero turned out to be just perfect. I loved the interactions between Venus and Galahad. They share troubled childhoods and their path to happily-ever-after is strewn with troublesome but well meaning relatives and friends. It was great to see the characters returning from previous books and was such an entertaining read. Some of my favorite things about this book were Galahad's interactions with Venus and her orphans. The attraction between the hero and heroine was believable and the ultimate conclusion was satisfying.

Virginia Heath always delivers memorable characters, enjoyable dialogue and entertaining situations. Highly recommend The Merriwell Sisters series to fans of happily-ever-after. 

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
#Romantic #Wonderfulcharacters #Entertaining #HappilyEverAfter #historicalromance #Witty

Reviewed by Gayle

ARC provided by St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin via Netgalley

Gayle's review of Never Rescue of Rogue (Book 2)