Merridew Sisters Books In Order

Publication Order of The Merridew Sisters Books

The Merridew Sisters is a novel series by celebrated author Anne Gracie who writes romantic fiction in a heartwarming, fun way that has endeared her to her readers. The author, whose parents were both teachers, also became a teacher majoring in English and counseling. She is also well-traveled thanks to her parents’ jobs and her love for traveling which has seen her backpack around the world going to countries such as New Zealand, Greece, Spain, Indonesia among others. After working in her vocation for some time, Gracie was bitten by the writing bug, and so far, she is five times RITA finalist while her books have won awards in Australia and the USA. She was also voted “Favorite Australian Romance Author” in 2016. Gracie’s leading page-turner was the Merridew Sisters series that will keep any romantic book lover glued to their book until they have seen the last sister happy and settled.

The Merridew Sister series by Ann Gracie narrates the story of five sisters who are robbed of their parents in a tragic death and have to live with a brutal grandfather, Lord Dereham. Not only does the ever-angry and bitter Lord Dereham beat his grandchildren, but he also isolates them from society as well. Eger to get away from this madness, the five sisters escapes to London to lie with their granduncle Oswald. The plan is to join the London society and get married with all hopes being on second born daughter, Charity, who is the most beautiful sister. Oswald will, however, have none of it and insists that Prudence Merridew comes out first. The series follows the lives of the other sisters in a romantic, humorous manner that will melt the hardest of hearts.

The first novel in The Merridew Sisters series, The Perfect Rake was published in 2005. The series was written in a span of two years with the first two book published in 2005, while the third and the fourth were published in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

The Perfect Rake (2005)

The Perfect Rake was released in 2005 and revolves around the life of Prudence Merridew, a young woman who has to become a parent early in life after the death of her parents. Being the heroine of the book, she hatches a plan where they can all escape from a brutal grandfather to London where she can help them get married.

Overlooking her looks which were plain, her granduncle Oswald insists she has to come out first. All the other four sisters were gorgeous, and it was only natural to Prudence that they would be the first to get suitors. Well, life does not always follow the best-laid plans, and she has to appease her granduncle by concocting a fake engagement to the Duke of Dinstable who was a hermit. The plan, however, hits a snag when through humorous errors and a mistaken identity she instead ends up with the cousin of the Duke, the stunningly handsome and rakish Lord Gideon Carradice. The following is a highly entertaining sequence of events with Lord Carradice trying to make the plain Prudence fall for him after realizing he is smitten with her intriguing and amusing character. In his quest to getting Prudence and also deal with these unexpected feelings, Carradice also has to deal with the unpleasant, yet necessary task of trying to win Prudence from her real fiancé Philip Otterbury. Given her role in ensuring that her family is safe from her grandfather, Prudence is a courageous heroine who’s witty and imaginative character will make you stop reading just to laugh. Coupled with the dashing Lord, they make for an interesting storyline that most people cannot stop raving about in their reviews

The Perfect Waltz (2005)

Times are better for the Merridew sisters and the days of blatant abuse are way behind them now. The Perfect Waltz is about Hope Merridew who is now enjoying the life of luxury thanks to her grand uncle Oswald and two elder sisters who got the best matches. As she dances from one ball to another, she encounters the enigmatic and dark Sebastian Reyne who harbors troubled family histories.

Reyne, who is courting another woman, catches the eye of beautiful and enchanting Hope, a fact that dismays her appointed chaperone. Unlike in the Perfect Rake, that has Lord Gideon trying to convince Prudence to love him; in this book, it is Hope who attempts to net the Reyne who is also trying to correct the wrongs in his family. The back stories in the book and the heroine who is not only packaged as beautiful but as intelligent as well will make it difficult to put down. The fact that Hope has to win him from his girlfriend makes it more intriguing as well. The initially uninterested Reyne is one day jolted from his unassuming ways when they dance with Hope in the Perfect Waltz. Will she make him stay? That is everybody’s question.

The Perfect Stranger (2006)

Faith, the Heroine in The Perfect Stranger, thinks that she has met her soul mate in Felix Vladimir, a talented violinist. The two elope to France but unfortunately for the beautiful lady, her beloved is already married and to her horror just courted to win a laid bet. Dejected, she decides to go back home with her pride in tatters. To add salt to injury, she soon finds herself destitute and without much money. Her luck, however, turns for the better when Waterloo Veteran Nicholas Blacklock rescues her from louts as and eventually from her shame by offering to marry her out of convenience. She agrees, but then they get to know each other deeply, and his wife of convenience starts to stir feelings that have since been buried such as love, laughter and not even his dark and day secret seems to be succeeding in keeping her away.

The Perfect Kiss (2007)

After three years with no luck for marital bliss in sight, Grace Merridew wants to travel and see the pyramids of Egypt and visit the marble ruins of ancient Greece. Before she leaves, she offers to help broke Melly Pettifer escape impending nuptials to Dominic Wolfe who cannot get his family’s vast estate until he marries. The Wolfes have a bad reputation, and The Perfect Kiss Heroine is determined to rescue her friend only to find herself pursued in the process. She did not expect this given her history with love encounters. However, when she accompanies Melly and her father to the Wolfe Castle as a chaperone, she finds herself seriously attracted to her friend’s fiancée and could he be reciprocating her feelings? The book is a very satisfying end to the Merridew Sisters series.