Frankie Turner is in desperate need of help. Her sister has disappeared and she's running out of the means to track her down. Enter The Dove - owner of Perdita's Governess Agency, which is the most highly regarded governess school in London. Unbeknownst to many The Dove's governesses also operate as spies, being placed in the affluent houses of the ton and exposing corruption where they can.

Lately, there have been a number of women being caught in compromising situations and being forced to marry. Strangely, all these women are outspoken for their belief in equality, and they all possess generous dowries. One thing the grooms all have in common: they frequent Rockford's - the most opulent gaming call in London - owned by Jasper Jones.

The Dove makes a deal with Frankie: infiltrate Jasper Jones's house posing as a governess for his niece, looking for any information that he's the ringleader behind the Dowry Thieves, and she'll help Frankie find her sister.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and Frankie makes a brief appearance in that, but she made enough of an impression that when I heard she was featured in this book, I was super excited.

I felt like this time around went a lot further into the whole spying and mystery aspect of the story. It was balanced out to perfection.

There's this thread of tension humming throughout the book, not particularly between Jasper and Frankie - although, yes, the spark is there too - but just being on alert all the time that someone is going to get ensnared in an unwanted betrothal and nothing will go to plan for Frankie and Jasper.

I've certainly read plenty of historicals with people getting caught in compromising situations, but this one was so calculating. I didn't trust anyone!

The way the story is structured is great too. We switch point of view mostly every chapter between Jasper and Frankie. Moreso than just starting and stopping one chapter and on to the next, they blend in together, filling in the gaps of what happened what that character was off-page previously until they meet up again and the story moves forward with them together. I loved this, and feel like it gave me all the character depth that sometimes gets missed when a certain scene happens from one character's point of view rather than another's.

This works so well with the audiobook narration. I love that both Frankie and Jasper get a "voice". They fulfill their parts to perfection. I wish we could have gotten each narrator to do their own dialogue as I've experienced on other audiobooks I've listened to, but regardless I think both narrators did great in accounting for their own respective character as well as all the secondary characters that make up the story. I was happily immersed.

Of course I have to talk about the Frankie and Jasper of it all. Their relationship starts out slightly antagonistic. Jasper thinks that Frankie is unsuitable in her job - which, fair, she's not really trained as a governess - and is immediately set on replacing her. However, she has a knack for redirecting any and all conversations and Jasper finds himself quite intrigued by Frankie.

Frankie is beyond smart especially in mathematics, but sometimes she isn't able to identify social cues in the same way as others - something her mother constantly reminds her about. Her only real concern at this point is getting the information for The Dove and finding her sister. She's not intimidated by Jasper like so many people are due to his hard-earned wealth and power that comes with knowing everyone's secrets.

For his part, Jasper doesn't make Frankie feel like her intelligence is wrong. He welcomes all the challenges she puts forth before him, and Frankie likes the way Jasper makes her feel seen and safe.

Bonus points for having a "glasses-on" scene that counter-balances all those times of yore where a woman only becomes truly beautiful when she takes her glasses off (we know the ones). Jasper likes Frankie just the way she is. Despite this being not a really novel idea, something about it just felt very fresh and natural. It wasn't being forced onto the page to make a statement, it was just the fact of the matter.

I also appreciated that we got more scenes with The Dove. I'm assuming the series will slowly work its way toward The Dove being the main heroine in possibly the final book, and I'm all in on the build up. I do wish there was a better lead into the next book like there was for Frankie in the first book. Instead we kind of get a tacked on introduction at the end which does have me excited for what's to come, but also, I just like when the characters all intermingle, however briefly that may be.

Overall, though, I feel like this entry is stronger than the first one and based on what we do know about the next book - not giving it away! - that one seems like it's going to up the ante further!

Oh my gosh this book was such a fun time!! I love historicals with a mystery element and this one was no exception. I found the mix of espionage and romance to be perfectly balanced. Frankie isn't the perfect governness or the perfect spy but Jasper was so charmed by her passion and candor. I also found her quite compelling. I was rooting for her to save her sister and the other women caught in the scheme she was determined to unravel. The stakes were high and the sexual tension was there from their first meeting. This book did a fantastic job showing what a good team Jaster and Frankie are. They felt so suited to each other and I was thrilled to see them find someone who appreciated them for who they really were. I had a marvelous time with this book and I'm definitely going to be reading the rest of the series. I'm extremely intrigued about The Dove and I really hope she gets a book too because I can't wait to meet the woman who has been pulling all the strings. If you love your historicals with a side of espionage definitely pick this one up!!

The narrators did a lovely job bringing this story to life! The accents they chose helped transport me to a different time. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes listening to books.

Once again Ella Lynch and Rupert Channing deliver impeccable performances, bringing the characters of Frankie and Jasper to life. Ella has such a charming English accent I just love to listen to and Rupert definitely brings the charming rake to life. I cannot recommend this enough for any historical romance fan!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (4 Stars)
Steam: 🌶️🌶️/5 (a few scenes with description)

Narration: I enjoyed the duel narration for this! Made it a great audio read!

No spoiler review 👇🏻

This was such a fun historical romance read!
Undercover governess, a spy network, pinning, and a swoon worthy MMC. I really enjoyed this. This is a second book in a series but I haven’t read the first and understood this well.

I loved Frankie and her neurodivergent rep in this romance book. Her and Jasper had me gigging and swooning. It took me a bit to get into this book (why I’m giving 4 stars) but I ended up getting so invested and loving it.
As this book goes on it’s a fast paced and a very enjoyable read! I will continue with this series!

Thanks to Netgalley, Hachette Audio and Forever for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise
Secret Society of Governess Spies #2. Historical romance. Can be read as a stand-alone bit better if you at least know the premise of “governess spies”.
Frankie Turner is a spy. She’s going to work as a governess for Gambling Hall owner Jasper Jones. She wants to review his ledgers to see if Jasper is involved with the dowry hunters that are members of his club. She makes it clear she is not a servant but Jasper is more than aware of that fact. He’s fascinated with Frankie and doesn’t believe she is just a governess or that she’ll be able handle his niece.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook. The narration is performed by Ella Lynch and Rupert Channing, each performing their chapter’s POV. They both did a wonderful job with emotional expression and timing. Their voices were compatible with similar timing and volume though I did have to slow down and replay whenever Cecilia spoke since as an excitable teen, she was amusingly chatty.
Especially liked that the audiobook included the authors note at the end.

My main issue with the story is that it starts as if you already know Frankie is a spy and on a mission with this new governess job. For someone that hasn’t read the blurb or the prior story, you may feel a bit lost.

Loved Frankie. She’s a math wiz and factors everything by statistics. Not really acceptable for the times. So smart she’s even able to use her theory skills looking for clues in a death. Clearly a good match for Jasper.
The story is a bit convoluted since she is investigating men marrying for a dowry, but in reality searching for her missing sister. It’s connected but the sister piece is seldom mentioned but for a few pages. This doesn’t make the story any less readable, it just a bit startling when it comes up as a reminder.
Enjoyed the push and pull between Frankie and Jasper and their being manipulated by Cecilia. Fun, sexy, and several layered factors for a longer romance.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Hachette Audio.

In this, the second book in the Secret Society of Governess Spies series, the Dove is back and placing another erstwhile governess in a unique situation to spy on an unsuspecting master.

This time around and impoverished math, genius is thrust into the role of governess for an incredibly rich gambling. Hell owner’s neice in order to attempt to find her own missing younger sister.

Frankie Turner was never going to win big on the marriage mart with her calculating ways but they definitely came in handy endearing her to the self-made Jasper Jones. A mutual affinity for numbers and Jasper‘s non- gentile ways, sets them up for an instant attraction!

I felt the story started off a little slow, but once these two realize they make better partners than enemies, and the investigation doubled down, I ended up really liking this pair! There’s nothing more attractive than a man supporting, respecting and promoting his partner’s abilities- especially when so many have treated poorly in the past because of her abilities.

As for the audiobook, I really enjoyed the dual narration provided by Ella Lynch & Rupert Channing. They make a great pairing, and their voice is pair up nicely. I found this to be an enjoyable listen, and I think their narration kept me going at the beginning when I wasn’t as invested in the story- which I’m glad I did!

Thanks to Forever Publishing and Hachette Audio for my ebook and audio review copies via NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

This review is for the audiobook narrated by Ella Lynch and Rupert Channing. Frankie is a governess who has been given the task of spying on Jasper, in his gaming hell. She's working on a case of unscrupulous men who are stealing ladies' dowries. Jasper is raising his niece, Cecelia, so the position of a governess is her cover. Frankie is a bluestocking, wears glasses and probably is smarter than everyone in the gaming hell combined. Jasper is growly and overbearing, while also being a great uncle for Cecelia.
The narrators were excellent. They each were the perfect voice for their characters. Great job for matching the narrators to the book.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

(4.25 stars)
Never Gamble Your Heart is the second book in the Secret Society of Governess Spies series that is part historical fiction, part romance, and part mystery. I really enjoyed it, just as I did the first book (Never Blow A Kiss). We travel to 1838 in England, mostly in London. Once again, we have a governess placed in a wealthy home, but whose secret purpose is to spy on the owner, who may or may not be connected to a nefarious scheme by which rich young women are “forced” (by the ever-so-strict social conventions of the times) into marriage with destitute but titled men. Jasper Jones is the owner of a super-successful gambling “hell” and all the previously destitute grooms are members of his club.

Frankie (Frances) is a math whiz, who we met briefly in book one, and I had to laugh at her attempt to interest her 15-year-old charge, Cecilia (Jasper’s niece), in math by teaching her how to play (and win at!) cards, specifically the game we call 21 or Blackjack. Cecilia was probably my favorite character; her youthful exuberance was a breath of fresh air, compared to the formal manners of the “ton.” Frankie was placed at the Jones house by an agency run by a mysterious woman known only as The Dove. The Dove delights in exposing the bad behavior of the upper classes.

I also loved Frankie and her “frank” way of talking. The one weird thing was that she said “Holy Queen V” a few times. I can’t imagine that people really said that back then - but maybe the author has done her research and they did?

Note: there are a couple of very spicy scenes between Frankie and Jasper starting about 75% through the book.

You can definitely read Never Gamble Your Heart as a standalone. There is a brief cameo of characters from book one, but that’s all.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book and to listen to a review copy of the audiobook. I bounced between the ebook and the audiobook, which was beautifully narrated by two people: Ella Lynch and Rupert Channing. All opinions are my own.

📖 + 🎧: Never Gamble Your Heart-The Secret Society of Governess Spies #2

✍🏾 Author: Lindsay Lovise-Read Never Blow a Kiss-4⭐

📅Publication date: 2-4-25 | Read 2-2-25

📃: eBook 384 pgs.

🏃🏾‍♀️‍➡️Run Time: 10:27

🗣️Narrator: Ella Lynch and Rupert Channing voice all the characters with standouts from Cecelia, Jasper, and Frankie. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrators worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrators paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.


Genre:
*Historical/Women's Fic
*Victorian Romance
*Mystery

Tropes:
*workplace romance
*wealthy vs poor
*neurodivergent h
*slow burn
*amateur sleuth

👆🏾POV: 3rd person dual Frankie and Jasper

⚠️TW: attempted SA, virgin h, mental abuse

🌎 Setting: London 1838

Summary: Frankie's sister goes missing and "The Dove" tasks her with investigating Jasper. Frankie believes Jasper is the leader of "The Dowry Thieves" and knows something about her sister's disappearance.


👩🏾 Heroine: Frankie Turner-a math genius/governess/spy

👨🏾 Hero: Jasper Jones -owns The Rockford gambling house

🎭 Other Characters:

* Cecelia-15, Jasper's niece and new ward. Plays matchmaker for Jasper
* Fidelia-16, Frankie's missing sister
* The Dove-owner of Perdita's Governess Agency
*The Dowry Thieves- unworthy men marry troublesome women hastily
*Lady Evelyn Barker-an entitled lady of the ton, Cecelia tries to matchmake with Jasper.
*Mr. Lyle Farthins-Frankie's distant cousin
*Miranda-Frankie's mother

🤔 My Thoughts: I loved Frankie for speaking her mind and being proud of her intelligence. Jasper was physically attracted to her, but after suffering emotional abuse from her mother, she won't believe him. Cecelia has funny moments in her "coming of age" as she tested boundaries. Frankie's sister disappearance was the last plot point resolved and was a little anticlimactic. I will read another book in this series, no doubt!

Rating: 4/5⭐
Spice level 4/5 🔥open door

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Hachette Audio, and Lindsay Lovise for this ARC and ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED the dual narrators for Never Gamble Your Heart! I feel like we need more historical romance with dual narration. It just brought the story so much more to life. Both narrators were really great. Their cadence and the way they did the voices for the other characters was great. I always know an audiobook is great as well as the narrators when I can easily up the speed.

I am looking forward to finding more books read by these narrators!

I loved the first book in this series, but Book 2 was even better. I may be partial to a book that contains anything that has anything to do with STEM in any fashion, but this was really a great book. The story was very present and, in some way, overpowered the romance of it all, and I wasn't upset about that at all. There were enough scenes to tide me through until the book ended. The one thing that I really do wish about this series is that we got a deeper look at the characters after the books ended.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

The narration of this was terrific; makes me wish I had listened to the first one rather than reading it.

I did not realize this was part of a series, so Ill be going back to read/listen to the first book immediately. The narration was wonderful and I loved the plot also. This is an interesting series with female spies and Im excited to read the first book!

Rated 4.5 Stars

Never Gamble Your Heart was an utter delight to listen to. I am so loving this series and the narrators make it even more of a joy to listen to. They did these characters and their story justice. I loved the way they brought life to the banter, the emotions, the characters, the suspenseful and tense moments. They did it all so amazingly. They kept me at the edge of my seat anticipating what would happen next. I loved Jasper and Frankie. I loved their verbal sparring and their chemistry was off the charts. I couldn't get enough of them and their journey. I simply adored this book and can't wait to read the next especially with what was revealed at the end. I'm excited and can't wait to get my hands on it.

Frankie Turner is not your typical governess. First of all, she’s rather inexperienced as a governess. To be honest, she hasn’t exactly been trained to be one. And, well, she’s actually in her current position more to spy on the man of the house than to educate her charge.

Jasper Jones isn’t your typical client. Recently made guardian of his fifteen-year-old niece, Jasper, a fishmonger’s son, made his fortune in gambling and is the owner of the most luxurious gambling hell on St. James’s Street.

But Frankie is determined to stay employed in Jasper’s home as long as possible. He may very well be the key to finding her missing sister and to unraveling the plot behind the Dowry Thieves, who have been trapping outspoken women of the ton into marriage. She needs to stick around until she’s learned all that she can.

Read it for
- The neurodivergent heroine
- The women in STEM representation (Math is Frankie’s thing.)
- The matchmaking niece who loves to meddle
- The mystery and intrigue
- How Jasper adores Frankie for her intelligence (We stan a man who loves a smart woman. 👏🏻)
- The delicious steam

The epilogue whet my appetite for the next book in the series, and I can’t wait to read Ivy and Lord Brackley’s story!

The dual narration by Ella Lynch and Rupert Channing makes for an enjoyable audiobook experience. I especially enjoyed the chapters narrated by Channing from Jasper’s point-of-view.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Hachette Audio. All review opinions are my own.

So here I was hoping that this might become a series, and I see on Goodreads that this is actually book #2!! Good to know!

Frankie Turner is a 24 year old ‘spinster’ in the late 1800’s Victorian Era! She is a brilliant mathematician, but is given NO CREDIT as she is a woman…

Her younger sister Fidelia has gone missing, and she sets out to find her…in any way she can…

She meets a woman named ‘The Dove’ who runs a school for governesses, BUT, it is actually a school for woman spies!! Being Frankie has nowhere left to turn, she asks The Dove for help in finding her little sister…

What she finds is that there seems to be a group of (older) men who are marrying very young ‘troubled’ girls in order to gain their dowries! But the only thing they have in common is a membership to a gambling house… Rockford’s…

And so, Frankie is sent to be a governess for Jasper Jones’ niece, Cecelia. Jones is the owner of Rockfords…and so she is there, trying to find out what is actually going on!

Right from the beginning Jasper sets a bunch of rules! And right from the beginning Frankie pays no mind to them!! It’s actually pretty funny.😄

Charged with teaching Cecelia math, Frankie decides that she will teach her how to ‘count cards’ during a game! Not the best idea for the niece of the gambling empire!

I’m going to stop 🛑 right here! 🛑. But if this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please pick it up!!

#NeverGambleYourHeart by #LindsayLovise and narrated nicely by #EllaLynch and #RupertChanning.

****. THIS IS DUE TO RELEASE ON 2/4/25 ****. So, a few days from now.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HachetteAudio for an ARC of the audiobook!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

⭐️ Enemies to lovers
⭐️ Victorian Era inspired
⭐️ Women as undercover spies
⭐️ Women making a name for themselves!!

As for me… You can always find my reviews on: Goodreads.
Insta: @BookReviews_with_emsr and/or
My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine

Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

3.5 stars. Never Gamble Your Heart is the second book in The Secret Society of Governess Spies series. This was my first time reading this historical romance author.

This one I kinda struggled with. While it had a lot of things I enjoy: historical romance, self made man (fish monger turned successful gaming hell owner), she’s a governess, secrets, gaming hell. I was really enjoying the first half, laughed out loud a couple times, was really into the characters and how smart she was with math and accidentally teaching his niece to count cards on her first day (lol when he realizes). But then somewhere around the middle/second half the story, it felt like there was maybe too much added in and nothing was given the time it probably should have had.

Jasper is a gaming hell owner who has suddenly become the guardian of his 15-year old niece (his late brother’s daughter). He’s in need of a governess for his niece and hires Frankie, who was sent over from a governess agency that is actually more than it seems… “The Dove” owns a governess agency and uses her governesses to spy on the ton to hold them accountable for their crimes and tip off the police. Frankie is one of those governesses and The Dove wants her to find out the identities of dowry thieves (men who purposefully compromise ladies to get access to their dowries) and in return, Frankie can find out more about her missing sister.

The first half of the story was solid, the second half lost my interest. So much started happening plot wise and I just wasn’t as invested in the plot points. I think more attention could have been spent on the couple and their romance. The cover is pretty, love the green dress!

This was my first foray into Historical Romance and i had a great time! This audiobook was fun, fast-paced, and easy to follow. The characters were interesting and the mystery/suspense element was JUICY. It kept me engaged the entire time. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

Thank you to Hachette and Forever for the ALC!

Thank you to Forever Publishing for eARC and Hachette Audio for the eALC.

This one was adorable and I listened to it all in about a day. Perfect accents, I couldn’t stop listening.

Frankie is the kind of heroine that I love. She’s smart, a little neurodivergent, but exceptionally loyal. Really, there was no way Jasper wouldn’t have fallen in love with her, she’s just that alluring (and yet, doesn’t know it).

I think my favorite part is Jasper wanting to admonish Frankie about teaching Cecilia how to count cards and he somehow agrees to host a party. He literally can’t say no to her, even at the beginning.

Fast paced, with a good overall mystery, nice amount of spice, and fun banter and dialogue, Never Gamble Your Heart was such a fun and cute listen and I can’t wait for the next in the series. That little sneak peak at the end has me 👀intrigued.👀

Female spies, mathematics genius governess, a gambling den owner, a matchmaking niece and a missing sister. A great combination to a fantastic read. Frankie and Jasper had the tension to burn the pages off my kindle.

This was my first historical romance by Lindsay Lovise and I loved it a lot!! Her last contemporary had me OBSESSED and this new dual POV, historical was easy to binge. The second in her Secret society of Governess spies book can definitely be read as a standalone and has a dual POV, guardian x nanny vibe with lots of forced proximity and a fun gambling/heist plot. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Amalie Howard or Erica Ridley. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ALC in exchange for my honest review!