I enjoyed this historical romance story with the two main characters that were Miss Ivy and Mr. Sebastian de Silva. And also the rest of the characters to.

Miss Ivy owns a gambling den. Miss Ivy has a hard life so far. Two year ago something happened to her and her sister that changed their lives.

Mr. Sebastian De Silva has received some bad news. He must give up the dukedom to his cousin. He not happy about this and decides go out on his own and find a job.

This story had not much action or adventure but the was quite a bit of drama within. I thought it was quite sad that he lost his place as a duke.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

Never Kiss a Duke (Hazards of Dukes #1). By Megan Frampton. 2020. Avon (ARC eBook).

Mr. Sebastian de Silva, former Duke of Hasford, has had a pretty big shock. A revelation about the circumstances of his birth has removed him from London’s high society and landed into a job at a gambling hall. Fortunately, the hall’s proprietress, Miss Ivy, is a bright spot in his day.

Never Kiss a Duke did not turn out to be my favorite Frampton book, but it’s a nice read for a gentle romance. There were enjoyable siblings and best friends that will probably flush out the series. But in the end, there just seemed to have some potential left on the table, especially Sebastian’s journey in discovering himself.

This was my first historical romance by Megan Frampton and I enjoyed it. It seems I am hearing her name more and more when it comes to currently writing historical authors. I look forward to perusing her backlog and reading more.

I love the premise, but was less there in the execution. Ivy is bad-ass, but I just didn't feel the chemistry between her and Sebastian. Also, Sebastian's attitude really grated on my nerves and I had trouble liking him as a person or as a potential love interest for Ivy. The story also felt fairly repetitive and like it lacked direction, but it was an enjoyable meander. This book was just okay - nothing I will need to reread, but I'll definitely still check out the next book in the series.

Sebastian and Ivy's story is enticingly sensual! What a read! I enjoyed the engaging plot, mysterious charactery and the sensualness of the characters dialogue when they were around each other. This is everything a romance novel should and more. I truly enjoyed Never Kiss a Duke and I'm looking forward to reading more from Megan Frampton! I highly recommend reading this book!

Tons of potential as the main characters, Sebastian de Silva, the former Duke of Hasford, and gambling establishment owner, Miss Ivy, are two people making their new way in life after losing their position in Society. The drawback was the ease of which they accepted their lot and the lack on angst that stemmed from their mild-manneredness. Given their background I was hoping for more of a fighting spirit out of them. The story wrapped up well and I am looking forward to the next books in the series.

Sebastian, Duke of Hasford, has a title, wealth, privilege, and plenty of rakish charm. Until he discovers the only thing that truly belongs to him is his charm. An accident of birth has turned him into plain Mr. de Silva. Now, Sebastian is flummoxed as to what to do with his life—until he stumbles into a gambling den owned by Miss Ivy, a most fascinating young lady, who hires him on the spot. Working with a boss has never seemed so enticing. Two years ago, Ivy gambled everything that was precious to her—and won. Now the owner of London’s most intriguing gambling house, Ivy is competent, assured, and measured. Until she meets Mr. de Silva, who stirs feelings she didn’t realize she had. Can she keep her composure around her newest employee? They vow to keep their partnership strictly business, but just one kiss makes them realize that with each passing day—and night—there’s nothing as tempting as what is forbidden…
This was a decent read. The premise was a little different than I’ve read most recently, which was exciting for me. I liked both main characters. I enjoyed the story. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Sebastian learns he’s not really a Duke. Ivy changes her life on the turn of a card and opens a gambling club. Both must learn to change their expectations for their lives and decide what they really want for the future. It’s just that getting to that decision wasn’t very engaging. As I read the end I had a logic question. It said Ivy had made enough money to buy a home by the sea for her and her sister like she planned. To read and drink tea for the rest of her life if she so chose. Why then did Ivy and Sebastian have to borrow the money for a home? Also, Sebastian went to an estate for two months and learned to grow turnips until he had the epiphany he was willing to have a wife wealthier than himself. Ok. Ivy kept running the club by herself. What is it he was going to do? The story just ended. What did I miss?

Frampton's tale of a duke turned regular businessman meeting the proprietress of a gambling hell has some steamy scenes, but the two protagonists' relationship is shallowly developed and the premise feels thin and unrealistic.

Review originally published at Romancing Romances.

2.5*

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

First of all, don’t do like me. I read two historical romances all about gambling places/casinos in a row, and it did not help.

I believe this was my first book by Megan Frampton, but having heard good things, I expected a great book. And I almost got. Almost.

This book is… soft. Not in an “oh no, there’s no sexy times” way (on the contrary), but it just didn’t deliver.

I cared more about the side characters, than the main ones.

Ivy had a great premise, a lady who had a gambling house, who wagered to save herself and her sister, she seemed like she had all that was required for a great character. And that is true for the first half of the book. After that her character just changed in a way that didn’t make sense to me. Yes, we can be confident and still have times when we have self-doubt, and our self-love isn’t as high as it normally is, but is just felt like she Ivy was a completely different person.

For our former duke, Sebastian de Silva, everything seemed to simple. He lost all he had ever known, yet, he gets a job immediately and that pretty much makes the story flow in a way that does not allow him to discover himself, and when at the end he decides to actually do that we get, what? Two pages where nothing happens even if he spent two months thinking and getting to actually know himself and his feelings? It lacked depth.

Ana Maria (Sebastian’s sister), Nash (Sebastian’s best friend), and Octavia (Ivy’s sister) seemed way more interesting than our hero and heroine.

The writing was good, it just wasn’t compelling to me. But I am curious about the next couple in the series so, I might have better luck with the next book.

I liked and disliked this book at the same time. Ivy was an interesting character bit the plot got me a bit bored towards the end. Otherwise, I recommend this book to read when you don't have anything to read and want a light story.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Sebastian (Seb) Dutton, the Duke of Hasford, has just learned that he is illegitimate and, thus, is no longer a Duke. He is simply Mr. Sebastian de Silva. His cousin, Thaddeus (Thad), the Earl of Kempthorne, is also a solicitor and he will be the new Duke of Hasford. Thad is just as stunned and Seb is. It turns out that Seb’s mother had lied about something that left her marriage a sham and illegal. Seb is mostly concerned about his half sister, Ana Maria, and hopes Thad will see that she is well cared for.

Seb’s good friend, Nash, the Duke of Malvern, drops by and insists that Seb accompany him out for the evening. Seb, Thad, and Nash have been close friends all of their lives.

Seb and Nash arrive at Miss Ivy’s, a successful gambling house in London. Ivy was born a lady but after she defied her father and refused to marry a man he had chosen for her, she had to work her way up to finally owning her own gambling house. She wants the best for her younger sister, Octavia, who gets bored just doing needlework. She wants to work as a dealer but Ivy is adamant that she will not.

When Seb saves Ivy from a robber, she offers him a job. He is quite happy to accept as he has a number of ideas on how to improve the gambling house.

Soon, Seb and Ivy are attracted to one another but an incident where he is humiliated by a guest, makes him realize that he is simply her employee.

I have read so very many of Megan Frampton’s books and have loved them all. However, I just didn’t like the character chemistry in this story. The plot was a turnoff and I’m sorry to say that I just did not care for this book at all. However, I know that she is a very talented author and I’m sure her next novels will be better.

Copy provided by NetGalley and Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.

First in the Hazards of Dukes series! I'm hooked and will definitely check out the second! "They vow to keep their partnership strictly business, but just one kiss makes them realize that with each passing day—and night—there’s nothing as tempting as what is forbidden…" I was happy to have them skip past "strictly business!"

I love a steamy, historical romance and Ms. Frampton delivered this and more.

I enjoyed her characters and hope to see them again in future Duke stories!

I received an advanced reader copy, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Well the first Hazard of a Duke is when you find you are no longer one and that is where the hero Sebastian comes in! Since it is usually the opposite, I really enjoyed this twist and was anxious to see how he would handle the situation. Instead of just hanging out with the new Duke and his sister, he decides to take a job at a gaming house.
Ivy has had her own problems, like being gambled away by her father, a baron, but in her own twist won herself back. Yes, she gambled with the man that had won her. Then she opened her own gaming house and had been pretty successful.
After Sebastian's friend Nash takes him to Miss Ivy's, one thing leads to another and he ends up working for her.
A truly delightful story with several twist and turns and fun secondary characters I look forward to seeing again. I think this is a great start to this new series and cannot wait for the next one!

Never Kiss A Duke, by Megan Frampton, is available through booksellers on 1-28-20. Never Kiss is book 1 in Ms Frampton's new series, A Hazards of Dukes. The premise is a duke loses his title, thanks to his own mother. He meets the lovely owner of a gambling hell, who happens to have lost her place in society too. I like the plot idea but it never seemed to quite spark on all cylinders. Our hero & heroine are perfectly nice people but a little too nice. Where's the anger, angst, regret, lust for revenge? They both seem to accept their fate too soon. Friends and relatives stick by them, nice, but neither runs into people from their former life. There's no cut direct or much snide comments thrown their way. I'm glad Seb & Ivy got their HEA but the secondary characters interested me more. After all that, I will say that I'm waiting on book 2. The next couple has promise.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#MeganFrampton #NeverKissADuke #HazardsOfDukes #Netgalley #AvonBooks #HarperCollinsPublishers #historicalromance

I love when the heroine of a historical romance is something other than a young, naive virgin. In this book, the author introduces us to Ivy, the owner of a gaming hell. She hires Sebastian, a man who learns that he is no longer a duke and must now work for a living. Watching Sebastian navigate ‘normal’ life was interesting as were the side characters. A great read!

I enjoyed this book but will freely admit that it also left me a bit unsatisfied. I really liked Sebastian and Ivy. They were both interesting characters and I loved their chemistry. I loved the backstories on each of these characters. I have read a few other books with historical heroines similar to Ivy but not many, so there was a freshness to this character. As for Sebastian situation, I thought that was quite unique and I found it very intriguing. The writing was good but I do wish that there had been a more meaty story line. Honestly, things flowed along almost like a lazy river. It wasn't awful just a bit bland for my taste. Still, I liked this book well enough to want to read more books from this author and from this series in particular because there were some interesting secondary characters that I would love to get to know better.

Sebastian is at loose ends when he learns that his parents we not truly married and he is not the Duke of Hasford. The life of a duke is all he's ever known. But now is is just Mr. de Silva. His best friend takes him to a new gambling house where he is immediately intrigued by the owner. Although he doesn't make a good showing at their first meeting. When he goes back to apologize, he is offered a job. He learns to love what he is doing, but also starts falling for his boss...

Ivy took a gamble and saved herself from being claimed as winnings in a wager. She then took what she one and started her own gambling house. She is doing well for herself, but after talking with the former duke, realizes that he has many good ideas about how to make her business more successful. So even with nothing to recommend him, she offers Sebastian a job. If only they could keep things strictly business.

While Sebastian's family tries to bring him back to the life he has known, Ivy knows that she will never go back to that life. Does this budding romance stand a chance?

I loved Sebastian and Ivy's story!! It was interesting watching Sebastian navigate his new life and the struggles that went with it. I loved that Ivy made a life for herself after what her father had tried to do. It made her the perfect person to help Sebastian through his healing process. This was a great start to a new series and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!! While I imagine the rest of the series will include Sebastian's 2 best friends, I'm hoping that Ivy's sister gets her own story as well!!

When Sebastian loses his place in society he goes on a personal journey to discover who he is, and what he wants to become. Ivy, who also had to take charge of her life, becomes his inspiration. The story has some lovely characters such as Ivy’s sister and also Sebastian’s. With plotting from the siblings, and other well meaning relatives and friends, Sebastian discovers his true worth and place in life.