I was so excited to be back in Lindsay Lovise's world of governess spies! I loved her debut, Never Blow a Kiss, and Never Gamble Your Heart was just as good if not better imho!

We meet our FMC, gentlelady turned governess, Frankie Turner, in Never Blow a Kiss. After her sister goes missing, Frankie, a gifted mathematician, agrees to work for The Dove, the mysterious woman running the governess spy network, in exchange for her help in locating Frankie's sister. During her investigation, she discovers that many gently bred young ladies of a more radical mind are being married off to old, lecherous, and v conservative men. Gross. The only connection, the men are all members of Jasper Jones' gambling hell. Luckily for Frankie, Jasper Jones has just taken custody of his 15 year old niece, Cecelia, and needs a governess. Sparks fly between the bespectacled, socially awkward, mathematician and the stern, finance minded, gambler.

I really liked Frankie. I was intrigued by her in the last book and very pleased that Never Gamble Your Heart was focused on her story. She's brilliant at maths but because she wears spectacles and stumbles over social conventions she's been told she'll never make a match and desires to write mathematical papers for the rest of her days. Seeing her growth throughout the book was wonderful. She starts to revel in her newfound confidence, as bolstered by Jasper and Cece, and leans into her personality instead of hiding behind it.

Jasper Jones is a rake of the highest order... or is he? Spoiler: the man is down bad for Frankie practically from first meeting, though the arrogance of the man? Off the charts for the first bit, but he's very quickly humbled by our mathematician and his scheming niece. Which brings me to my favorite character, Cecelia. At first, I found Jasper's niece to be an annoying little piece of the puzzle, but she very quickly became a favorite with her scheming and plotting to marry Jasper off so she can have a moment's peace! I imagine this to be v relatable for anyone who has been a 15 year old girl in the care of her grumpy uncle during the 19th century. She had some absolute bangers here, and I wouldn't be upset to see a story about her once she's debuted and looking for love herself. Hint, hint.

Slight spoiler: When Jasper confesses his love to Frankie she basically says, "thanks but no" and it's absolutely iconic. Girl panics and says peace out. To be fair, there's a lot going on such as murder at a house party, so really, Jasper, why would you chose this moment? It's still a gorgeous declaration and I loved it. I said he was gonna fall first and hard and he very much did.

If you enjoy comedic histroms with a side plot of mystery, pick up this series!

Thanks to Forever Publishing for the complimentary arc. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun historical romance that blended in the perfect balance of the mystery subplot.

I have a soft spot for MMC who is rich but not hereditary titled in historical romance this can be a hard match to find, but Jasper is everything and more. While his morals are greyer than the ton would like, he is still the fierce protector and has his own moral compass that makes him the perfect scoundrel. I loved reading his POVs as much as Frankie, and seeing the two of them from the other's perspective was often nothing short of hilarious. I was kicking my feet in joy every time and loved their banter filled interactions. Both characters are older and have the heft of baggage and experience that I think always adds more interest to the story. In this case, I extra adored that the FMC, Frankie, is autistic which I found very apparent from the first page of her POV and I felt was done well - balancing the intrinsic nature that it is to Frankie's character without making her one note or a caricature. She has layers, special interests, flaws, and virtues that all work together to make her a character I was happy to follow and root for.

The inclusion of Cecelia, Jasper's niece and ward, added an extra layer of entertainment. She is a menace and a half, but it was fun to see the chaos that she was bringing and not know how it would all implode for Jasper and Frankie to handle. She at many times felt like she was embodiment of every reader who is frustrated with the main couple and plot.

You gotta love a romance that features a math whiz! Frankie is looking for her sister and she's taken a Job working as the governess to Celia, niece of Jasper who just happens to own a gambling hall that Frankie suspects might be key to her hunt. What starts one way turns another when Frankie and Jasper find themselves sparring verbally (o the banter!). This is fun, I liked the characters and the plot zips along. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

Frankie Turner is trying to find her little sister. She has gone missing. She has become a governess for Jasper Jones' niece. The dove has requested she look into the rakes books. He owns a gambling hall and they need to find out if he is involved with the dowry plot.

I really loved this book. Historical romance, mystery and spice. The narration was fantastic with two points of views of Frankie & Jasper. The writing hooked me right away and I had to finish the book immediately. I can't wait to see what else the author writes.

All I can say for the second historical book by Lindsay is applause, applause. Loving that Frankie is so into mathematics and very good at it. Women rock! Let’s not forget Jasper. He is no slouch and honest to goodness I actually fell in love with him even though he warns us in the beginning not to. These two are fire on the page. The banter is witty, the intrigue is edge of your seat and the reveal is huge. For being such a new author, Lindsay knows how to enrapture us and pull us into her world.

Thank you Forever Pub and Hachette Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored Never Blow a Kiss Last year so I was ecstatic to get my hands on Never Gamble Your Heart! I did a mix of audio and ebook and highly recommend both.

I just love the premise of this series- governess spies plus romance! Frankie is relatively new to being a governess. She’s trying to help earn money for her family after a few failed seasons. She takes on a new assignment from the Dove (who I really hope gets her own book!) Frankie becomes the governess to Celia, the niece of London’s most notorious hell owner. They believe Jasper might be connected to heiresses being put into compromising situations and then forced into marriage. Jasper knows immediately that Frankie isn’t a normal governess.

As Frankie attempts to uncover the truth she gets to know Frankie and his niece. This had a little bit of build up, but then I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t put it down! Frankie and Jasper get closer to each other as they attempt to find the ringleader. I loved Frankie and how smart she was. Frankie and Jasper had such a great connection and I really enjoyed how feelings blossomed there. I cannot wait for more books in this series!

Entertaining story, wonderful chemistry between Frankie and Jasper. I enjoyed their journey to love.

Delightful. This is the second in the Secret Society of Governess Spies series and I love the premise. The Dove, runs an employment agency for Governesses and she trains them as spies. She uses them and her network of servants to help gather information about corrupt or unscrupulous aristocrat’s. Feeding the information to the right authorities. I assume eventually we will get her story.

This book focuses on Frances “Frankie” Turner who goes to work for Jasper Jones. He needs a governess for his 15 year old niece after the death of her father. The Dove is interested in learning if he has any connection to what she calls the dowry thieves. Aristocratic men have been compromising wealthy young women forcing marriage. All of them are members of Jasper’s very prosperous gaming club. Frankie in return wants The Dove’s help to find her missing younger sister.

Frances is brilliant at math and uses her skills in everything from gambling with Jasper to helping solve a murder. She didn’t get the Dove’s training so she does make mistakes as she isn’t a skilled governess. But her bumbling adds to her allure. Jasper goes from being annoyed to being charmed with Frankie. He also goes from hard core businessman to thoughtful uncle and reformed rake. And I love that he falls first.

Frankie seems neurodivergent, although it would not be called that in Victorian England. She has trouble reading social cues, understanding sarcasm, and is unflinchingly honest. And you can’t help but feel for her after being raised to believe she must hide her true self. The niece also adds to the story. She is impulsive and asks blunt questions. But you want her happiness as well.

The mystery was well thought out and I love that it didn’t interfere with the romance. This can easily be read as a stand alone adventure but I am going to seek out the previous book, Never Blow a Kiss (Jan 2024). (4.5 Stars)

I just love this series Lindsay Lovise has created. Although you could easily read this book before the first book, Never Blow a Kiss, I do feel like you'll lose some of Frankie's backstory and the backstory of the Dove's organization if you don't read it first. I loved a STEM heroine who doesn't give a crap about what society thinks of her. She is the perfect partner for Jasper who feels the same way about society and ends up worshiping the ground she walks on.

If you're hoping for a steamy romance, this won't fit the bill, but I do think it has as a good mix of romance and mystery. That's why I love these books so much. I also loved Jasper's mischievous teenage niece, Cecilia.

I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out in 2026. Readers also get a peak of who the next governess spy will be too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

Rating: 3.5

Thank you to Forever & Hachette Audio for the review copies!

Never Gamble Your Heart centers around the mystery of the “Dowry Thieves” - conservative men of the ton are marrying young, radical, rich debutantes after being found in a compromising position. The one thing all the men have in common? They are all members of Jasper Jones’ exclusive gambling den. Frankie Turner is part of an elite group of governess who have been secretly trained by The Dove to spy on the ton - and she is tasked with infiltrating Jasper’s house and discovering who is behind these marriages.

I was hooked by their meet cute - everyone is afraid of Jasper, who maintains a sinister aura, except for brash, bespeckled Frankie. He immediately tells her one of the rules of working for him is not to fall in love with him, which she laughs at, but we all know how a romance plot goes, right? I loved how they were seemingly opposites, but also kind of not? Jasper grew up outside of the ton, but his wealth has brought him into society. Frankie grew up as part of the ton, but their impoverished status has made her an outsider. But both are incredibly brilliant, and I just loved how they played against each other.

Besides the romance, the star of the show for me was Jasper’s niece, Cecilia, who Frankie is hired to instruct. Cecilia is obsessed with finding Jasper a wife, and like honestly gives Andarna from Fourth Wing vibes? She added some much needed humor to keep this plot from going completely dark.

The mystery itself seemed to really give our lovers something to do to bring them together, and while it was central to the plot, I would say this leans more romance than mystery. If you like cozy mysteries with a heavy romance plot, I think you’ll really like this!

🎧 I read the whole book with my eyes and then was given the ALC, so I reread parts of it to see what the narrators were like. I love that it has dual narration, and both narrators are equally engaging. Since I read the whole book before listening, I felt that I wanted Jasper to be a little less “upper crust” (since I pictured him as an adult Kaz Brekker), and I wanted a little more gravel to his voice. I doubt I would have noticed this if I had just listened to the audiobook though, and I would still recommend this as an audio!

This is the second book in the series, and can be read as a standalone as it has it’s own mystery that is not connected to the first book. You do see a cameo of the Book 1 characters, and Frankie showed up a bit in the first book as well.

I am LOVING this series and cannot wait for book 3, the little glimpse we got in the epilogue wasn’t enough!

I love this author and her writing. Her books are light, but have intense characters. And they are in the periphery of the ton.

Freddie almost seemed like she was on the spectrum. She's brilliant and so lovable.. Jasper was amazing, also very smart he crawled his way up to become a very successful business man.

Their love story was well written, there were some secrets, but it's all released when it needs to and the FMC asks for help, which is so refreshing.

#netgalley #NeverGambleyourHeart

I would give this book a million stars if I could. I love the way Lovise writes super smart heroines who are fearless. Frankie Turner is a governess, but she’s more than just a governess. She is secretly staying at the house of Jasper Jones because she’s trying to solve a mystery. It’s a bit of a complicated plot involving Frankie’s missing sister Fidelia, and Frankie’s promise to find information about the gaming hell that Jasper owns in exchange for help in finding her sister. From the get-go, Jasper is suspicious of Frankie, but he has to admit that she makes his niece Cecilia very happy. Though Jasper has a reputation for being a cold-hearted rake, he has a secret soft side. He cares a great deal for his niece, and also protects fiercely anyone he cares for. Frankie and Jasper immediately argue with each other, and their banter is very funny. I love that Jasper never takes for granted how intelligent Frankie is, and there are points in the book when he stands up for her and asks for her opinion that are very swoony. The plot really keeps this book moving along, and the steamy scenes are a delight. Can’t wait for the next book in this series.

DNF at 20%. I had mixed feelings about book one, and found myself feeling very similarly trying to get into this one. The FMC is fine, but aspects of the MMC remind me of what turned me off a lot of histrom. And the exposition dump for the mystery element early on was a lot, only to have it just not really feel relevant?

When her sister disappears, impoverished Frankie uncovers a conspiracy linked to enigmatic Jasper’s gambling hell. Their collaboration to find Frankie’s sister leads to danger—and unexpected romance.

I loved Frankie and Jasper. The enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract romance between them is sweet and spicy. They’re perfectly suited to each other.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I absolutely adored this book. The banter. The sexy mathematics. The flummoxed man. A woman spying. Even the precocious ward of the MMC.
It’s hard to find a book that is able to have a great story with sparkling banter and a take who is knocked of kilter by a woman that comes out of nowhere.
I love that he raised his standing through hardworking and blackmail. He is very happy being a charming scoundrel. Which makes it all the more satisfying when he falls first.
I loved book 1 as well and cannot wait for more by this author. .

Frankie’s little sister goes missing and she has no idea where to start looking, but thankfully the “Dove” does. Frankie starts to realizes that a lot of marriages have been happening between women who are considered to be troublemakers and men who don’t deserve them and who need an infusion of cash. These marriages are all connected to the membership at Rockford’s which is a gambling place owned by Jasper Jones. Frankie becomes Jasper’s nieces governess and Jasper starts to suspect Frankie is involved in something fishy when she starts snooping around his house. Jasper eventually learns of Frankies secretive doings and wants to help her and throughout that he slowly starts to fall in love with her.

I loved everything about this story! The tension between Jasper and Frankie was so fun to keep up with and their slow-ish burn romance was so sweet. I also loved Jasper’s niece, Cecelia and how rebellious she was. She also wanted to be the matchmaker. The overall discovery of who was behind the marriages that made no sense was fun and of course, Frankie was right about her sister being involved. Overall, this was a great read!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise is a third person multi-POV Regency romance. Son of a fishmonger turned gambling hall owner Jasper Jones has recently become the guardian of his fifteen-year-old niece Cecelia and needs a governess to help with her education. Frankie Turner is sent to fill the role, but her actual mission is to investigate whether or not Jasper is involved with a group known as the Dowry Thieves.

Frankie is fairly Autistic-coded—she’s brilliant with mathematics, is disturbingly honest, doesn’t see a point in lying, and she has a hard time accepting when people tell her something she believes to be true about herself (namely that she is attractive). Frankie also has a complicated relationship with her mother, who has a history of nitpicking all of Frankie’s mistakes and telling Frankie that no man will want her because she’s too smart and too honest. My heart broke for Frankie every time we saw the impact of her mother’s emotional abuse and how Frankie took those words to heart.

Jasper and Frankie’s relationship is not a slowburn but it isn’t instalove either. It takes a minute for them to start being attracted to each other: Jasper because Frankie very quickly concerns him with her limited experience as a governess followed by her teaching Cecilia how to count cards and Frankie because she thinks he might be part of the Dowry Thieves. It doesn’t take a long time for their attraction to start to build, but it does take a while for them to say ‘I love you.’ I liked how Frankie and Jasper are clearly matched in terms of intelligence and in their moral backbones but also have fairly different backgrounds.

Cecelia is a major character and is the one who kickstarts the plot, though she’s not one of the three POVs. She convinces Frankie to convince Jasper to let her attend a house party with others her age only for it to evolve into the party of the year in Jasper’s house. She then proceeds to scheme to set Jasper up with a young woman and later to set him up with Frankie. I loved how Cecelia is the matchmaker of the narrative and so much of her motivation is her wanting her uncle to be happy but her naivety leads her to make some questionable decisions.

Content warning for attempted sexual assault

I would recommend this to fans of Regency romance who neither want instalove nor a slowburn and readers of romance who like fish out of water narratives where the two main leads are outsiders in high society

Never Gamble Your Heart was fantastic! It has an exciting mystery as well as a sweeping romance,

Frankie and Jasper were utter perfection! I absolutely loved them. The romance is a bit hate to love but they have to work together in order to find Frankie's missing sister. I enjoyed their banter and they had great chemistry. Plus when Jasper starts to fall, he is simply in awe of Frankie which I love to see in a MMC. I found their romance to be very entertaining. This has some steamy moments but they do not overshadow the love story.

The plot is well developed and kept me interested.

A wonderful sequel! Can't wait for the next book.

4.5 stars! This is the second book in The Secret Society of Governess Spies, and it was a complete delight. Jasper and Frankie were wonderful characters, both separately and together; I so enjoyed reading their story. The supporting characters were wonderful. I am so excited for Ivy’s book and am really hoping we get a book for The Dove (which I suspect we will) and for Cecelia. I know it doesn’t make sense for Cecelia to be part of this series as she will not be a governess, but I’m really hoping that when this writer creates her next series, Cecilia will be the main character in one of the books! Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC via NetGalley.

I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I almost DNF'd it twice by 40%, and then I admit to skimming the last 35% so it almost ended up being a DNF after all. I've decided to round up my 2.5 stars to 3 stars, though, because this may definitely be one of those reads where it just didn't strike me at the right time, or I'm being overly picky because I'm a hardcore historical romance reader and I've read so many of them it's hard not to compare.

What I liked:
• The premise that there is a school for governesses who double as spies -- so, so fun
• Jasper Jones, our all-green-flag hero, and former wharf rat who built the London's biggest gambling hell, and is now richer than Croesus
• Neurodivergent-coded FMC Frankie Turner, who is sort of a Victorian-era Maria Von Trapp, minus the singing and the Nazis

What didn't work for me:
• The massive information dump over the first two chapters
• The Dowry Thieves plus the disappearance of Frankie's sister is a lot of melodrama to swallow, especially because neither of these things have anything to do with the romance itself
• The degree of artistic license needed to make the plot work. Although Jasper is well-known to operate a gaming "hell" versus a pseudo-respectable gaming "club", and he makes no secret of his disdain for his ton clientele, he is invited to a *Duke's* house party during the Season, along with his 15-year-old orphaned niece (a commoner) who isn't yet out, and her governess? (The Duke isn't even a gambler.)
• Frankie is the great-granddaughter of a baron, and her father is a member of the gentry, not the aristocracy. But her mother also gets an invite to the *Duke's* highly exclusive house party, just because Frankie is going?
• Insta-love is always an iffy, but it really doesn't make sense here
• Jasper, highly intelligent and clever, is worried sick over his inability to rein in his orphaned niece's behavior - thus, Frankie - but then he agrees to let her plan a "soiree" with no oversight and is shocked that things go sideways?
• Frankie is an intriguing character, but I couldn't get over how emotionally immature she is. Yes, she is a neurodivergent young woman who has issues with social cues, and reading and processing emotions of others. But why is she herself operating at an emotional maturity level of sixteen? And making so many silly mistakes even with her spying? Especially because she is supposed to be very intelligent. It is this part of the story that really got in the way of me believing that Jasper, who is written well as a grown up mature adult, would give her the time of day.
• There are a lot of characters that don't have a role in bringing Frankie and Jasper together, or have any impact on Jasper and Frankie's growth as individuals and as a partnership. In this, the romance arc is short changed.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.