Totally barmy tale!

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Never Fall for Your Fiancée (Merriwell Sisters #1) by Virginia Heath    

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham embroils himself in a pastiche of falsities, up to his earlish neck and then some, when he spins a tall tale to his mother about the fiancée that he doesn’t have. Hugh works hard to stay away from his mother’s marriage plans for him. In desperation, he created his perfect fiancée, Minerva. He imbues Minerva with pathos, endurance, near death experiences, superb horse riding skills, kindness, beauty, a stellar young woman floating through life like a veritable angel. You name it, Hugh’s bestowed upon his perfect fiancée all the qualities to be desired in a gently bred young maid. 
When his mother decides to return to England to meet his delightful fiancée (now that said fiancée is recovered from consumption and out of mourning for her beloved father!) and to help plan the wedding, 
Hugh is in despair. As he ruefully muses, “The trouble with lies is they have a tendency, if not well managed, to catch a man out.” The opening is perfect and throws us directly into the path of Hugh’s troubles. Racking his brains for an idea, he happens upon a gently spoken, down at the heel young woman confronting an older man who’s reneged on paying her for printing blocks he’d employed her to make. What Hugh latches onto is that this young woman is named Minerva. Lightning bolt idea! A sign from the gods! This might be the perfect person to help him with his predicament. At this stage let me say Hugh is reminding me of a startlingly aristocratic, yet thoroughly inbred Afghan Hound, all looks and no sense.
Minerva comes with two sisters and somewhere is lurking a father of dubious ethics. That should be ok. But as you can guess the road to ruin is paved with good intentions and our idiotic High is well and truly down that road.
I loved Hugh’s trusty butler Payne! He’s brilliant! A figure to my mind, somewhat along the lines of Hobson the butler, in the movie Arthur!
A comic regency romantic romp that requires suspension of belief and a willingness to embrace some hefty frivolous nonsense.

A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley 
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

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