A charming Victorian romance, updated for modern values regarding women’s independence, but quite lovely, well-told, and eminently readable. I tore through it (even while taking notes!).

I read an ARC of this (Advanced Reading Copy) because I’m a bookseller and it’s one of my perks. You’ll see me making some references to confusing continuity I found — I am hoping this was found by the copyeditor and author, but the version I read had a thanks to the copyeditor in the back, and that means continuity errors may still occur in it. They didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the book, however, even though I was a copyeditor for decades for the major publishers and I have a magpie’s brain for this sort of stuff.

That said, the book entails a Victorian governess on her first job, which is also her first job for the Dove, a shadowy woman who helps women in need by using an organization she trains of young unmarried women to go into wealthy homes to solve problems, most likely mysteries. She is there to solve the mystery of the men without huge fortunes who are marrying well-endowed women and the women then disappear from society. Her sister is one of them and she’s determined to discover the ringleader of this group, as well as the men who are participating. Hijinks ensue, of course, and in this case a love match is formed, with a rake who owns the most infamous (and biggest) gambling hell in London.

I must note that the scandal and mystery of twenty (with one additional ringleader) lords who sit in the House of Lords and their votes, garnered by the ringleader marrying them off to richly dowried young women (who are also troublesome, apparently), becomes a problem with continuity in the ARC. Only the Dove knows the identity of the lords in question, and in fact she only knows they *are* lords, not their names. And yet a turning point in the mystery is that knowledge, complete with names, being known by the heroine and her fiance — without that information, the plot doesn’t work. I hope this is fixed before publication.

I highly recommend this book otherwise, and look forward to more in this series. I was alerted to this by a review in Publisher’s Weekly; their praise was certainly appropriate.

Forever (Grand Central Publishing), pub date Feb 4, 2025, 384pp, $17.99

What an exhilarating, comedic, fun ride this book is! This is a book full of witty banter and great characters. I didn’t want it to end, I wanted to spend more time with Frankie, Jasper, and Cecelia. If you like exasperated men, fast-paced plot, and interesting personalities, read this book.

Thoroughly enjoyable read with wonderful, witty exchanges plus a mystery that the network of governess spies is about to unravel. Both main characters have different childhood but share excellency in math and their chemistry is just adorable. Looking forward to the next governess who has martial arts skills!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

A Unique Regency Spy Romance: 4.5 stars

"Never Gamble Your Heart" by Lindsay Lovise is a delightful blend of espionage, romance, and wit. Despite being the second book in the "Secret Society of Governess Spies" series, it stands strong on its own and left me eager to read the first.

This novel feels like Gatsby’s long-lost niece stumbled into Regency-era London, complete with glittering high society and dangerous intrigue. Frankie, the protagonist, is a refreshingly unique governess who is undeniably neurodivergent. Her ability to see mathematical patterns and connections others miss—and her struggles with social cues—are traits I found deeply relatable and beautifully portrayed.

The story follows Frankie as she navigates her family’s financial turmoil, her younger sister’s mysterious disappearance, and her role in high-stakes spy missions. Frankie’s journey from being a social outlier to embracing her strengths is both heartfelt and empowering. Plus, there’s plenty of drama, romance, and clever characters to keep readers hooked.

Lovise has crafted an enthralling blend of historical romance and espionage with a heroine you can’t help but root for. Highly recommend for fans of clever, unconventional leads and Regency-era adventures!

A huge thank you to both NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and to the author herself for the advanced copy of this book! Review is completely my own thoughts and opinions.

The premise of this book is interesting and the story takes twists and turns that continued to maintain my interest. I particularly liked the part about the Doves. While the main plot was intriguing, I found myself enjoying the side plots and mystery more than the romance between the main characters. Overall a good book!

LINDSAY LOVISE I WOULD GO TO WAR FOR YOU. Never Gamble Your Heart is another gem in the crown of brilliant historical romance author Lindsay Lovise, and I can't stress enough how much I loved this one!

This book is a great second book in the Secret Society of Governess Spies series. In this series, brilliant and brave women work for a mysterious woman named “Dove” who runs a governess agency that is really a network of female spies on the ton. I love this premise, and the idea of intelligent women not willing to be kept in their place in society. In this book we get Frankie, a brilliant mathematician who is sent to be governess to Cecilia, the orphaned 15 year old niece of Jasper. Jasper runs the most successful gaming hell in town, and Dove is wondering if he is part of the scheme to trap rich women into marrying undesirable men. Frankie can’t resist helping when one of her friends gets trapped, and then her sister goes missing. As Frankie tries to get information out of Jasper, there are many mishaps due to her lack of training, and her neurodivergent coded nature. And the longer they spend together, the more they start to realize what they have been missing in life. I loved their relationship, character development, and the mystery of who was behind the dowry scheme. This was a great addition to the series, and I can’t wait to read the next book about Ivy, and hopefully a full book on Dove at some point. I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

Frankie was such a breath of fresh air for a leading lady - she is truly an original. I loved every time she took over a conversation with Jasper and put him out of sorts. She was a steamroller without even realizing it. The way in which she earns Cecilia cooperation/respect was also pretty humorous. I am never a huge fan of the governess-employer tropes, but since she was not really a governess I could get past that part of the story. Especially since the truth about her presence in his home comes out fairly early on. The mystery part of the story added an extra layer of excitement and had some pretty good twists and turns to keep my attention. Some of the ending was a little far-fetched but not so much that it ruined the story. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author.

A very smart governess changes Jaspers life. As he helps her to solve a problem, he ends up changing hers as well! Romance and mystery

I really liked this book! I think it has a fun combination of romance, historical, and mystery elements that make it a little bit different than some of the other books I've read. I felt there could have been a bit more development of the relationship itself because it sometimes felt like it came out of nowhere a little bit, but overall, I thought the characters had nice development and all had a good individual story behind them.

Historical romances that involve governesses who are also spies? Yes, please!

Frankie is an enigma that Jasper just cannot fathom. She irritates him to no end and is constantly giving him a run for his money and teaching his niece to do the same, but he cannot help himself being drawn towards her and, in the end, falling hard for her.

I oddly loved the mystery aspect in this story more than I thought I would. I'm not one who is big into reading about spies/detectives, but I found myself drawn into this mystery and trying to guess (I was partially correct) who the villain was at every turn.

I was a tad disappointed that the epilogue did not include the main couple whatsoever; only that it teased the next book, which I am excited for, but I feel like it could have been added as a teaser and not under the epilogue section, so I can only hope we will get to see or hear about the main couple in the future books.

I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance and wants to add a bit of mystery into the mix.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

3.75 stars. This is a fun, solid series. I’ve enjoyed both books so far, but there is some little area of the book where it falls a bit short for me. In the case of this book, the messaging surrounding the conflict resolution at the end is heavy handed (though I do agree with the point the author is trying to make). I did love Frankie and Jasper’s characters. We love a MMC who tells the FMC “don’t fall in love with me” and then falls hard and falls first. And we love an HR woman in STEM. The set up for the next book in the epilogue was fun, and I will 100% be continuing the series!

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC!!

I love the idea of a network of governess spies. This series of historical romances mixes everything I love about the genre with a mystery to solve. I like that added element. Both of the main characters operate outside of the mold society made for them. Frankie was a woman who excelled at math and didn’t demure for anyone. Jasper was a wealthy business owner who came from humble beginnings. Franke’s straightforward manner was so fun when coupled with Jasper’s teasing. I enjoyed their banter and chemistry. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun romance with an intriguing mystery.

Never Gamble Your Heart is a historical romance that combines chemistry and heat with mystery and suspense. Oh, and did I mention that there is a bookish governess and rakish gaming hell owner too?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Frankie is a genius mathematician working as a governess for the mysterious Dove when her younger sister disappears. Frankie agrees to take a position with gambling den owner Jasper, who’s just taken on guardianship of his niece, in exchange for help searching for her sister. Jasper is beguiled by Frankie’s matter of fact statements, and her card counting skills. He doesn’t know that she’s investigating whether or not he’s involved with a scheme where impoverished gentlemen end up married to rich, progressive women after compromising their reputations. Once he discovers her motives, though, he agrees to help. But can their mutual attraction allow them to keep things professional?

Anytime romance characters begin by swearing not to fall in love with each other, I’m in. Frankie and Jasper have tons of chemistry together. Not only is Jasper attracted to her but he’s charmed by her brains. It’s a blast to watch these two work through the mystery plot together.

For Frankie’s part, she used to being shamed for her mathematical skills, and abilities to see patterns in numbers where others don’t. She’s shocked when the things her family told her to hide about herself are the things that Jasper likes most about her.

Never Gamble Your Heart is a terrific historical romance with a satisfying mystery plot. Lindsay Lovise’s series of governess spy standalones seem to get better with each installment, and I can’t wait to read what’s up next.

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

This is a fun, entertaining read. Jasper and Frankie are interesting, relatable, intriguing, strong, smart, complex, entertaining characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took to get to their HEA. These two are fun to spend time with. The mystery is intriguing from start to finish. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

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

Lindsay Lovise is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. After reading (and loving) her first historical romance, Never Blow a Kiss, I was so happy to see Never Gamble Your Heart pop up on Net Galley. This book helped me out of a reading slump, which I am so grateful for. It flowed seamlessly, with an intriguing mystery plot which kept my attention. But the best part of Lovise’s writing, for me, are the characters she creates. The quirky, math loving heroine Frankie Turner who is honest to a fault. The spunky niece who realizes the main characters are perfect for one another before they do. The main characters Frankie and Jasper had the great chemistry you hope for in a historical romance and it was lovely watching Jasper fall in love first. The 3rd book in the series was teased in this one and now I am eagerly awaiting release of that book. I highly recommend this book. Lindsay Lovise’s writing does not disappoint!

Tropes: opposites attract; neurodivergent MFC; MMC with a past; MC's team up to solve a mystery
Steam level: 3
Part of a series, but fine if read on its own.

Another charming book by this author. All of the HR elements work well here: the plot, the banter, and, in particular, the characters. Jasper and Frankie are a great couple; I love a gaming hell owner MMC who's slightly rough around the edges but actually has a heart of gold. And it's so easy to root for Frankie, who's brilliant and honest but awkward. They're an odd couple who complement each other perfectly, and have more in common than expected. I love the "he falls first" and "MFC saves MMC" tropes toward the end. And the humor throughout the book is effective.

My nitpicks:
--I couldn't quite get a handle on Frankie at first. In the opening chapter she seemed confident enough to be worldly, and I thought in the previous book it was mentioned that she'd been a spy for a while. She ends up making some reckless decisions in the book that almost get her in big trouble.
--I'm not a fan of The Awful Mom/Dad in HR's. Frankie's mom has a character arc but I still found it hard to like her.
--One of the baddies is pretty easy to figure out.
--I wanted the epilogue to focus on Frankie and Jasper's life in the future, but it moves on to introduce the next book.

Overall: an enjoyable new book in this series.

3.5 stars rounded down

Having loved ‘Never Blow a Kiss’, the first of Lindsay Lovise’s exciting series of governess spies working for the mysterious The Dove, I was eager to get my hands on the second, Never Gamble Your Heart. This adventure features Frankie Turner, a brilliant mathematician going undercover as the governess of Cecilia, the teenage niece of notorious rake and gambling hell owner Jasper Jones, to find out the link between the sudden marriage of outspoken women to abusive men.

While there’s an instant chemistry between Frankie and Jasper, it’s a sweet, slow burn as both come to understand their hearts, especially Jasper who has had to raise himself from an impoverished background. I loved how Jasper saw Frankie as an equal and loved her quirks (coded neurospicy) that her mother put her down for. She’s outspoken, clever and doesn’t understand social cues, which Jasper finds refreshing compared to the two-faced nature of the ton.

However, I feel this book was let down by the slow-pace and some plot developments. It took a third of the way through for Frankie and Jasper to join forces for the mystery, and then they resolved the relationship via something that all the characters should’ve seen coming. I think what was missing was that Frankie lacked the spy training, when it was implied in book one that she’d also been a spy for a while. I would’ve much preferred it if Frankie had been a spy for a while.

That said, I can’t wait for Ivy’s story. An addictive series that’s perfect for those who enjoyed Manda Collin's 'Ladies Most Scandalous' series or Sarah MacLean's 'Hell's Belles' series.

Thanks to Forever/Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

I received an E-Arc from Netgalley and the publisher for an honest review! Big thanks to Dana! Thank you!

All the things to say are:

Jasper....can I have him?

Jasper grows throughout the story. The smarts he has about him, skills he has about him and how he says things...pretty nice package.

Frankie is amazing person who loves math, wants to be her own person and does her best what she can do. Throughout the story she changes as well. Towards the end there is a part that actually made her realize something.

I dislike Frankie's mother for a bit.

Jasper's niece is a handful and a tad mischievous which had me laughing a bit at the plots she was planning.

The connection between Jasper and Frankie was sizzling! They worked together and slowly things unfolded. I loved it. Their banter was magic.

Fast pace plot that kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I even tried to figure out who the bad guy was! I kept waiting for the culprit to pop up but how the author weaves it in was so sneaky!

I read this book in a day and half, I could not put this one down.

This the second book in the series. I enjoyed this book as much as I did with the first one in the series! I so look forward to more. You do not need to read the first one to read this one. This can be a standalone. I am also looking forward to learn more about The Dove too!

Another great read! I definitely going to add his book to my collection!

If you’re a fan of historical romance with a twist of intrigue, "Never Gamble Your Heart" by Lindsay Lovise is your jam. This Victorian-era tale sparkles with chemistry, cleverness, and danger.

Frankie Turner, a brilliant but impoverished mathematician, becomes entangled in a mystery when her impulsive sister goes missing. Her search leads her to the doorstep of Jasper Jones, the rakish owner of a notorious gambling hell. As Jasper’s new governess, Frankie finds herself teaching his spirited niece and poking into his business, all while unraveling a scheme targeting young women with large dowries. Frankie’s sharp intellect and neurodivergent coding make her stand out in the HR genre. Jasper, with his charm and working-class roots, is an irresistible counterpart to her. Jasper’s lively niece also adds some humor and warmth.

Perfect for: lovers of slow-burn romance, Victorian intrigue, and fiercely intelligent heroines.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.