Pretty sure this is the first book by Frampton I’ve read. Really enjoyed it. So looking forward to getting stuck into the series. ( )

It wasn't too shabby. The chemistry was undeniable and I thought they made an ideal pairing though the whole 'game kink' was not up my alley. Nevertheless it wasn't a bad read and would definitely categorize this as mediocre.

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3.75 stars but I did really like this.

After reading this, I definitely want to read more from Frampton. This is my first book from her and I really liked it. the writing was really good and I absolutely fell into the story. I gave this book only 3.75 stars because this book barely had a plot. Normally I that would bother me a lot more but because I liked the writing and characters so much, I could ignore the plotlessness more. I really liked the gambling den stuff and the fact that this book focused more on working people rather than just being about nobility like a lot of historical romances are. I would have liked to have seen a more central external plot but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book.

The real highlight of this book for me was the relationship. When this book started I wasn't sure I was going to like Sebastian. He initially came off as really abrasive to me. I think this ended up really helping the story because we really got to see Sebastian grow as a person and transform with the help of Ivy and it really helped me believe their relationship. I think Ivy goes through less personal development but she does get to figure out what she wants and I liked reading about that. She started as a character I already liked and wanted to see a story about. I actually would have loved to see more scenes with them working but I think the balance of working scenes vs other scenes was pretty good.

As I said, I definitely want to read more from this author. I have the ARC for book four in this series and I'm trying to read the first three before I read it so I will be picking up more books in this series pretty soon but I would also love to branch out to different series. I get why this book has a lower rating but I was happy that I was able to enjoy it. ( )

Review originally published at Romancing Romances.

2.5*

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

First of all, don’t do like me. I read two historical romances all about gambling places/casinos in a row, and it did not help.

I believe this was my first book by Megan Frampton, but having heard good things, I expected a great book. And I almost got. Almost.

This book is… soft. Not in an “oh no, there’s no sexy times” way (on the contrary), but it just didn’t deliver.

I cared more about the side characters, than the main ones.

Ivy had a great premise, a lady who had a gambling house, who wagered to save herself and her sister, she seemed like she had all that was required for a great character. And that is true for the first half of the book. After that her character just changed in a way that didn’t make sense to me. Yes, we can be confident and still have times when we have self-doubt, and our self-love isn’t as high as it normally is, but is just felt like she Ivy was a completely different person.

For our former duke, Sebastian de Silva, everything seemed to simple. He lost all he had ever known, yet, he gets a job immediately and that pretty much makes the story flow in a way that does not allow him to discover himself, and when at the end he decides to actually do that we get, what? Two pages where nothing happens even if he spent two months thinking and getting to actually know himself and his feelings? It lacked depth.

Ana Maria (Sebastian’s sister), Nash (Sebastian’s best friend), and Octavia (Ivy’s sister) seemed way more interesting than our hero and heroine.

The writing was good, it just wasn’t compelling to me. But I am curious about the next couple in the series so, I might have better luck with the next book. ( )

Never Kiss A Duke, by Megan Frampton, is available through booksellers on 1-28-20. Never Kiss is book 1 in Ms Frampton's new series, A Hazards of Dukes. The premise is a duke loses his title, thanks to his own mother. He meets the lovely owner of a gambling hell, who happens to have lost her place in society too. I like the plot idea but it never seemed to quite spark on all cylinders. Our hero & heroine are perfectly nice people but a little too nice. Where's the anger, angst, regret, lust for revenge? They both seem to accept their fate too soon. Friends and relatives stick by them, nice, but neither runs into people from their former life. There's no cut direct or much snide comments thrown their way. I'm glad Seb & Ivy got their HEA but the secondary characters interested me more. After all that, I will say that I'm waiting on book 2. The next couple has promise.

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

#MeganFrampton #NeverKissADuke #HazardsOfDukes #Netgalley #AvonBooks #HarperCollinsPublishers #historicalromance ( )