I went into this thinking it was more of a romance than it seems to be, and the subject matter gets a little heavier than I expected, what with the focus on the murders of sex workers and Emily's past with her husband.

Oddly, the tone of the novel is quite breezy and light and doesn't really fit with the subject matter. The writing is also not the best. I know it's a debut novel, but there were so many times where the wording was just clumsy and took me out of the story. The one that sticks out most in my memory is the phrase "fingers of rage tapped the backs of Zach's eyeballs."

I had been really trying to give it a good go despite the awkward writing, but that phrase was the last straw for me. Phrasing that is that clumsy and awkward is something I absolutely cannot handle.

I will say that if readers who don't mind awkward phrasing like that and are aware of the heavier themes, might really enjoy this one.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Forever, and Hachette Audio for providing an early copy and audio copy for review.

I have not read very many historical romance novels so I wasn't totally sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. Firstly, the cover is stunning so that hooked me right away. The colors just grabbed your attention and don't let go.
The characters in this book are intriguing, fun and mysterious. The story of a "Ripper" like serial killer in Victorian England killing women of "ill repute" although not a completely original idea the story as a whole is. Emily is our FMC and she is a Governess for a wealthy family, but she is also part of a secret society of governess spies. I love this! In a time where women were not viewed as equals this was a way for them to contribute to society by spying on the "ton" (which is the Victorian upper class) and reporting back to their head "the Dove" on any gossip or suspicious going ons. Any nefarious findings were submitted anonymously to the Police as a means of assisting even though they couldn't be police themselves.
There were lots of little twists and turns and definitely some spice. Our MMC Zach is perfectly delectable and an instant favorite of mine. He is persistent, charming, mysterious, humble....oh I could go on but let's just suffice to say I loved him.
So all in all this book was a hit. And I look forward to the next installment.

I had the privilege of reading an ARC of @lindsaylovise debut book, Never Blow A Kiss, thanks to @readforeverpub and it did not disappoint!!

I am a sucker for a historical romance-mystery with a strong female lead and this book DELIVERED.

I think my fave part of the book is knowing that it’s the first in a series and so that had me paying attention to details for clues of what could come next.

Lindsay packed a lot into the book, building a world that I happily immersed myself in. I felt for Emily, the FMC, who has been let down by so many people and just wants some security in life. And Zach is an intriguing MMC; one of the richest men in England thanks to investing in the burgeoning railway industry and when he could live a life of luxury, he instead chooses to be a police officer.

A serendipitous interaction at a ball first brings Emily and Zach together, and the mutual attraction builds each time they meet again, whether planned or by accident. Emily gets drawn further into Zach’s world after she agrees to work for the mysterious Dove and her governess/detective agency, and the more the two get to know each other, the more they become any to - and eventually do - give in to the attraction.

There’s a lot happening in the book, with red herrings mixed in with clues, Emily’s past catching up with her, and so much more.

I had a great time reading it and am excited for the additional books in the series and other books Lindsay publishes!

A delightfully witty Victorian romance, a governess spy running away from her past falls for an ex-soldier turned railroad magnate..
This is a good romance/mystery. Who is killing the ladies of the night?
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

No, this book was absolute perfection and wholesomeness okay

The BANTER !!!! Their banter from their literal first meeting was soo top notch

Also, him calling her noodles 😭 I am a puddle on the floor

Emily's perseverance and general badass-ery >>>>>

Also, the murder mystery subplot? Written SO damn well

TWs - serial killings (present and past), murder in self defense, MC being an accomplice to murder without her knowledge

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I simply LOVED this book! How can a story contain a s3rial k!ller, a mrdr and talk about such dark topics, and yet be so adorable that you just can’t stop smiling? Maybe I’m twisted after all 😂

Emily is a fake governess with a dark past, and Zach is a policeman who becomes the catch of the Season by making a fortune from his investments. I loved them together — their interactions, the chemistry, the notes — damn, those notes 🫠🫠

Zach is such a precious man, and he fell so hard for Emily. And poor Emily, with her Big Secret! I thought it was going to be something stupid when it’s revealed, but it turned out to be quite the convincing obstacle. I was impressed. Even the twist I didn’t guess, though I didn’t try very hard either.

I’m not sure I care yet about the overarching plot, but I’ll gladly read the next ones to discover more about the secret society of governess spies. 🕵️‍♀️

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(Just because of a couple of modern expressions that unexpectedly took me out of the story for a moment. Otherwise the book is perfect!)
🌶️🌶️
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

A mystery romance? Sign me up! I loved everything about this. It was Sherlock-esque almost.with so much incredible romance

This book is an excellent combination of romance and mystery. Emily is part of a secret network of governesses spying on influential members of the ton. Zach is a former soldier turned police officer on the hunt for a dangerous killer prowling the streets London.

While the mystery is a great subplot and a very important part of the story, the main focus of the book is the romance. I really enjoyed reading a historical romance novel that includes a working class hero and heroine. It was a very nice change of pace from all of the Lords and Ladys populating most HR.

Never Blow a Kiss is a wonderful debut for Lindsay Lovise, and I absolutely can't wait for the next installment of this series. With an intriguing murder mystery and a steamy romance, this book was like catnip to me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

When a governess is placed in a wealthy home to learn if members of the ton are involved in sinister dealings, she makes the mistake of attracting the attention of an investigator working on the same assignment. As they keep running into each other, the close association leads to romance.

I enjoyed this book but it was too long in my opinion. I think the romance and historical aspect were well done. I think the mystery part was not super fleshed out and needed better outlining. Some plot holes existed in it and it seemed more like a side note than the main part of the story. I truly enjoyed learning about Emily’s. Character but Zach took longer to warm up to and his nickname for her was f-ing awful! Overall impounding up because I believe this was her debut book

Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise is the First book in the Secret Society of Governess Spies Series. This is the story of Emily Laverton and Zachariah Denholm. Emily has been working her way up an out of her poor life. Now she is a governess but so much more. Enjoyed this book!

A governess part of a secret network and an ex-soldier hunting killers who is attracted to the governess but knows she has big secrets. I haven’t read a historical romance with such a mysterious plot line like this. Lovise did an amazing job with bringing this story to life. Many would think this would be a mystery book but it’s more of a subplot and focuses more on romance. I really enjoyed the conflicts in the story and how it gave off old romance movie vibes. The pacing was great and I really enjoyed the world this book was set in.

Told from both Emily and Zach’s pov, they are both similar but different characters. Emily is badass and I loved how strong she was especially with her past. She had a wonderful character development and her story was fun. Zach is an ex-soldier looking for a killer. I have to say that I didn’t enjoy his character so much but his romance with Emily was cute. There are many side characters in this book and some will see those characters coming in future books. The romance is spy romance, instant love, and slow burn. The romance was cute and the characters were great for each other.

The ending was well done and I have to say that I did forget about the entire mystery part of this book but yes the mystery does get solved. This is a well-written story so I’m excited to see how the next book goes. I think those who love more action historical romances will love this one.

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

Emily has always been a good observer and learned useful skills to stay safe on the London streets. When an unexpected offer to become a spy to keep people of the ton, especially ladies, safe Emily can’t help but want to help. Placed as a governess in a prominent household of the ton, Emily reports any suspicious happenings. The problem is she can’t seem to shake dashing Zach of the Metropolitan Police. Together they get closer to finding the identity of a serial killer as well as a peel back each other’s layers. But will Emily and Zach catch the killer before one of them gets hurt?

This debut is absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait for the next installment. With a steamy romance and the allure of a murder mystery this book is perfection!

This debut from Lindsay Lovise was such a great surprise! I went into this one a little hesitant, since I haven’t had a lot of good luck recently with historical romance mysteries, and this one ended up checking off all the right boxes!

The story opens up with Emily, a governess who was recently approved to join a secret spy network run by The Dove. Who better to spy on the ton, than the governesses in their homes!

Lucky for Emily. she starts this gig right as a serial killer is stocking ladies of ill repute in London…

Also hot on the trail of the murderer, nicknamed The Evangelist, is the wealthy self made society playboy and the Metropolitan Police Department’s task force leader, Zachariah Denholm.

Both of these characters are on the hunt and team up to give their own respective assignments an edge. Two minds are better than one!

Emily and Zac are so much alike and their checkered pasts not only help their investigations but also brings them closer together!

This was an excellent romance and murder mystery! I was totally guessing until the end- and best of all, not only do they solve the case, the get an HEA together as well!


Thanks to Forever Publishing for my ebook review copy via NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

This was a delightful debut! I especially loved the unconventional main characters - a thief and a former soldier who made his investment fortune and now solves mysteries to pass the time.
The exchanges are incendiary and this opposites attract romance will have you both swooning and laughing!
I cannot wait to follow this author's career!
Full review to come on Bookbub.

Very exciting romance/thriller! The romance was sweet, and genuinely funny. Good banter. I liked the mystery subplot, it kept me turning pages. Will keep you enthralled until the last page.

Loved this book in the series. This author is new to me and she will definitely be added to my tbr list.

Romance readers are a varied lot. We love all sorts of genres, leads, levels of heat, and more. What is one person’s romp is another’s slog. I was in the middle of this book when our review of Never Blow a Kiss came out. It’s a good review and I think for readers that prefer their historical romances to be realistic with plots that don’t rely on unlikely events, it’s on the money.

But for those of us who don’t give a fig whether the titles are portrayed correctly and who, sometimes, just want to have fun, this book is a good time. It’s not a DIK for me, but I liked it better than did our reviewer.

Never Blow A Kiss is like a super fun action rom-com. Think Miss Scarlet and The Duke crossed with Romancing the Stone. From the moment the heroine impulsively blows a kiss to the hero, the story quickly unspools. Our leads, two hyper modern Victorians, fall for each other almost immediately but their path to true love has many an obstacle.

Though both were born poor, Zach is now on of the wealthiest men in Britain, thanks to his investment in the nascent railroad industry. (His stake came from gambling winnings.) He's also a policeman who has been tasked with finding The Evangelist, a serial killer preying on prostitutes. Emily is not in any way his peer. She is, as she says, a lousy governess, a job she initially got by lying about her criminal past. Her skills, though, were markedly improved by a stint of training at Perdita, the most prestigious agency in London. Emily was recruited by the owner of Perdita, a mysterious woman named The Dove, to spy on those she works for in order to catch those in the ton whom the police cannot. (This is book one in a series called, very straightforwardly, The Secret Society of Governess Spies.)

I was captivated by them both. Zach exudes a very sexy charm and humor, and his banter with Emily is delightful in both written and spoken form. Emily is a forward thinking lead that, contrary to my usual reservations about such women stuffed into historical romance, I found remarkably enjoyable. Her advocacy for the downtrodden stems not from virtue signaling, but from a painful childhood that she ardently wishes to spare others. She's smart, honest with herself about her choices, and very sweetly smitten with Zach even though she knows he can never be hers.

As Emily and Zach fall for each other--the sex scenes, though completely modern, are steamy and funny, my favorite combo--they also join forces to figure out who is killing ladies of the night in Bethnal Green. And while I figured out who the killer was almost immediately--I am a devoted mystery reader and literary puzzles are my jam--I enjoyed watching Emily and Zach work together--in between passionate encounters--to bring the murderer to justice.

I enjoyed less the fact that Emily has a BIG SECRET, although to be fair it is indeed a BIG SECRET. Again and again, the author tells us that Emily is fretting about Zach--and the world--finding out about her BIG SECRET and I got bored. I'd have preferred less anxiety and more answers--this part of the story, along with the appearances of those from her past (all uniformly awful people) is a drag on otherwise zippy storytelling.

As I said, this is not a book for purists nor is a perfect read. It worked for me. I'm interested in the series--the heroine of the next book is a STEM heroine!--and in seeing what the Dove is really up to. It's a B read and one I recommend to those who like their romances to be airy romps. As the kids say YMMV!

Emily Leverton isn’t your typical governess. First of all, she hasn’t exactly portrayed her past in truthful terms. Secondly, she uses her position as a governess to spy for her contact known only as The Dove.

Governesses are supposed to blend into the background, but some cheeky behavior at a ball puts her on the radar of Zachary Denholm. Zach rose up from working class means himself, but as an extremely wealthy self-made man, the Detective Constable is highly sought after as a potential husband for the unattached young ladies of the ton.

His interest isn’t piqued by those ladies, however; it seems he only has eyes for Emily. Unbeknownst to him, though, his current case overlaps with hers.

This one does not feel like a debut. I loved it! I adored the spirited banter and flirtation between the two MCs, their combustive chemistry, and their letters to each other. I enjoyed the twists and turns in the mystery aspects of the novel. And I always appreciate seeing strong female main characters and self-made characters on the page.

I look forward to reading the next book in The Secret Society of Governess Spies series.

I received an advance copy of the book from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Overall a great debut from this author and I really want to see what they publish next. However the dialogue was a little anachronistic for me and there was a good dose of insta-love.