Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise
Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Secret Society of Governess Spies, #2
Release Date: February 4, 2025
After four failed seasons and the death of her father, Francis “Frankie” Turner, became a governess to help support her family. But when her younger sister goes missing, Frankie is desperate to find her and makes a deal with “The Dove” the mysterious owner of Perdita’s Governess Agency. She will help the Dove solve the mystery of several young women who have large dowries and have been labeled as “troublemakers” due to their outspokenness, who have been forced into marriage by being compromised by noblemen in need of funds. The Dove is sure there is a connection between the grooms, whom she calls the “Dowry Thieves” and Jasper Jones, the rakish owner of Rockford’s Gaming Den. Frankie will be placed in his household as a governess to his orphaned niece, Cecila. Frankie is a brilliant mathematician, but not the best spy and when she is caught by Jasper inspecting his ledgers, she knows he is not part of the Dowry Thieves and convinces him to help her find them by pretending to give her a huge dowry to lure the group into trying to compromise her. It seems like the perfect plan, until they fall in love and become targets for the masterminds of the Dowry Thieves.
Jasper Jones is the son of a fishmonger and grew up on the docks, but he learned early that he had a talent for gambling and used that talent to build a fortune and become the owner of the incredibly successful Rockford’s Gaming Den. When his brother dies unexpectedly, Jasper becomes the guardian of his 15-year-old niece, and he begins to question his current lifestyle. When he meets Frankie, he is intrigued and attracted to the unusual young woman, which means she needs to leave. But when Perdita’s tells him they can’t send a replacement for at least two weeks, he resigns himself to her presence in his home and tries to avoid her. But when he catches her in his study with his ledger, the truth of her placement in his home becomes clear and he is pulled into her scheme to bring down the Dowry Thieves, and when the men of the ton finally see what he has seen since he met her, he experiences jealousy for the first time in his life and decides that she will be his! And when she gets too close the truth and attempts are made on her life, he needs to help her find the mastermind of the Dowry Thieves before she is silenced for good.
This was another wonderful addition to the series, with wonderful characters and another intriguing mystery to solve! I loved Frankie and Jasper; they both believe they are not worthy of love, and each have their own insecurities. This story is filled with witty banter, wonderful characters, an incorrigible scheming teenager, a brilliant heroine, a cinnamon roll hero with a rakish reputation, steamyish love scenes, murder, truly evil villains, reunions, a beautiful declaration scene and finally a HEA with an epilogue that sets up the next book very nicely. I loved this story, and I am happy to recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of mystery woven into their romance. This is the second book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *
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