A review by srivalli
Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

 3.8 Stars

One Liner: Mindless fun (extra love for Cecelia)

Frankie Turner has always loved mathematics more than everything else. When her family’s finances force her and her younger sister to find employment, she does her best to keep things going. 

However, Frankie’s sister is missing and the search leads her to a disturbing pattern among the ton. Seems confident and rich ladies are being found in compromising situations and are married off to men with heavy debts. The common element is the membership to Rockford, the famous gambling den run by Jasper Jones. 

Frankie joins Jasper’s house as a governess to his fifteen-year-old niece, Cecelia. She is determined to uncover the truth and prevent more such weddings (and find her sister). Dealing with Jasper is not easy but looks like both will get more than what they bargained for! 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Jasper and Frankie, with a few chapters from the Dove’s POV. 

My Thoughts:

This is a standalone second book in the series though it may have minor spoilers for the first one. I didn’t read the previous book but had no issues following this. 

I like to call this genre a contemporary historical romance since the stories are abundant in anachronisms. That’s okay since I read these for entertainment. Still, I was a little annoyed by the repeated ‘Holy Queen V!’ exclamations by the FMC. 

Though we have secret services, a mystery, and dangerous men, the book is predominantly romance. The other elements are present but support the romantic track. 

It has insta-lust and some scenes get hot and heavy. However, the act doesn’t occur until the last quarter which is a good move. There’s quite a bit of banter. Some of it is hilarious. While the main characters aren’t wow, they deliver what’s expected of them. 

Cecelia, the fifteen-year-old niece, deserves an entire point. She is easily the highlight of the book. I wouldn’t have enjoyed the story this much if not for her and her antics. Gosh, she never stops! 

Despite the descriptions and internal dialogues, the pacing is pretty decent. The dual POV helps too as we get a few insights into running gambling dens as well as the hidden lives of the ton (and their duplicity). 

While the book is mostly in a lighter vein, it deals with some heavy themes like gender bias, societal bias, bullying by the ton, parental expectations, snobbery, and the general inequality (hypocrisy) seen in the then society. 

There’s some danger as well but it doesn’t change the book’s tone. The situation is handled well with some (comic) relief immediately. 

There’s an epilogue which is not an epilogue. It is a teaser for book three. The only way it can be called an epilogue is why declaring it belongs to the overarching plot. I wish the MCs of this book also had a small role in the epilogue. 

The author’s note talks about the inspiration for the main characters and the plotline. 

To summarize, Never Gamble Your Heart is an easy and lighthearted read with thoughtful themes. It works well as a breather between heavy reads. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #NeverGambleYourHeart 

*** 

At one point, a carpet in a library was described to have the gods and goddesses of pagan religions on it (including Lakshmi Devi). My first instinct was anger (you do not walk over gods) but then I realized this suits the period. Heck, even today, we see brands printing our gods on innerwear and doormats. We have to run campaigns for them to withdraw the products only for another brand to do it a few months later.