I’ve been waiting for Gwendolyn and Beckett’s story since their almost-kiss in Dublin, and A Touch of Steele didn’t disappoint. Maxwell nails the tension between these two—Gwendolyn, who’s known exactly what she wants (him) from the start, and Beckett, who’s too busy brooding over his mysterious past to admit he’s falling hard. Their dynamic is the best kind of frustrating: she’s all sharp wit and determination, he’s all stubborn denial, and watching him cave to her charm is deeply satisfying.

The plot hooks you early with Beckett’s quest to uncover his origins, and the house party setting amps up the drama: hidden identities, shady secrets, and some legitimately tense moments. I’ll admit, I wanted more comeuppance for the villains (justice for Beckett!), but the focus stays rightly on the romance. Their banter crackles, and the emotional payoff—when Beckett finally stops pushing Gwendolyn away—feels earned.

If you’ve read the rest of the series, you’ll love seeing the Lanscarr sisters again; if not, this works fine as a standalone, though the earlier books add context. It’s a solid mix of heart and intrigue, with just enough steam to keep things interesting. Perfect for when you’re craving a historical romance with a hero who needs (a lot of) saving from himself.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

And the last remaining Gambler’s daughter has fallen. Actually Gwendolyn had met Beckett Steele in Dublin and she didn’t realize she lost her heart when he rescued her in a gambling den. At the time he told her she owes him a favor and now years later he has come to collect. The favor was a bit odd, to partner and accompany a Lady O. to a house party that surrounds a competition of whist. Once there the hostess and old friend of Lady O. has decided not to hold the competition, which highly upset her ladyship. Questioning Beck why she was there and why he is pretending to be someone else and Lady O’s long lost nephew. Opened a pandora box of unanswered questions that his dreams had lead him to this place to seek out answers.
A mystery to be solved, which points to the obvious but which one isn’t revealed till the end. Has some heat and a spoil obnoxious dog. The ending was nice, to nice! I would want revenge. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

A low angst romance with fabulous tension and pining!
I loved how believable the insta-love aspect was - it’s usually an obstacle to my enjoyment. The initial attraction and slow build were deftly, expertly handled, and you could feel the riot of emotions the characters were experiencing.
I am absolute dumpster trash for a stern, enigmatic hero with hidden cinnamon roll layers, and Beckett Steele was irresistible.

As a disclaimer, I DNFed this book so my review is based off of what I did read. I was honestly just not hooked by what I did read and really wasn't encouraged to continue.

“He’d asked for the oldest whore in the house.” And with that first line, we’re off—straight into the mystery of Beckett Steele (which, by the way, is an excellent romance hero name). How could you not keep reading?

This historical romance has a little bit of everything: scandal, hidden identities, blackmail, a house party, a couple on the run, just one bed, and so much mutual pining. While it’s not required, reading the first two books in the series helps set the stage for Gwendolyn Lanscarr and Beckett. When this story begins, they’ve already met—and almost kissed. Gwendolyn has never forgotten him, and when Beckett comes to her family’s rescue, she owes him a favor. He’s ready to collect—by asking her to pose as a whist partner at a very strategic house party.

What follows is part mystery, part slow-burn romance. Who’s the real villain? What is everyone hiding? And can Beckett please just admit he’s in love already? He’s the classic historical hero—no-nonsense, feelings-avoidant, and completely obsessed with the heroine. Gwendolyn, on the other hand, knows what she wants and is determined to help him solve the mystery of his past.

This was a solid 3-star read for me. The mystery, action, and payoff (when Beckett finally says the words!) were satisfying. The pacing lagged a bit early on, but once the house party starts, things really pick up.

Gwen finally gets her story. She's determined to get her Mr. Steele and I like the attraction between these two characters. Beckett has some issues to sort out, finding his mother's identity and family, skillfully rejecting his ex, figuring out how to love Gwen.

Overall, this was a cute book. Pacing was a little off in parts but did not deter me from competing the story

#netgalley #ATouchofSteele

Cathy Maxwell never disappoints! Beck and Gwendolyn have appeared in previous books and this one finally brings their mutual connection back to the forefront and what a wild ride it is. Beckett Steele has drawn Gwendolyn since their first meeting and that fascination hasn’t weakened over time. She knows he needs her and she can be patient while he figures it out. There’s plenty of moments of doubt but a central mystery and some danger keeps our characters together throughout the book working together to end the danger. I love a good adventure and this story has it in spades and both characters are so well-written you can help but cheer them on along the way. Wonderful book with plenty to keep you reading through the night.

Good conclusion to the Gambler's Daughters series. I've looked forward to Gwendolyn and Beck's story since their first meeting at a Dublin gambling hell. Ever since that first meeting and the kiss that almost happened, Gwendolyn has known he is the man she wants. Those feelings grow with every encounter over the first two books in the series.

Many people respect Beckett, from members of London's underbelly to the highest echelons. I'm still not sure exactly what he does, other than help people solve problems. This frequently involves them owing him favors, which he then calls in when needed for future activities. Gwendolyn is one of those who owes him.

The book opens as Beck investigates a personal mystery. The opening line, "He'd asked for the oldest whore in the house," was a unique hook to pull me into the story. Beck is a man searching for the truth about his past. A wartime injury stirred up long-buried memories, and he is determined to discover the truth. To do that, he needs Gwendolyn's help.

Gwendolyn is happy to help, but she intends more involvement than Beck is willing to accept. She is a strong-willed woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. I loved their interactions as Beck attempts to keep her safe, and Gwendolyn fights to help the man she loves. I enjoyed seeing how she chips away at his "go it alone" attitude by refusing to step back. Her understanding and support also crumble the walls he had around his heart, and he begins to believe that he might be worthy of her love. My heart broke for him and the past he uncovered.

I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. Gwendolyn knows her feelings from the start, but getting Beck to admit his was an uphill battle. She never gives up on him, and I had to laugh at some of the situations she took advantage of to chip away at his objections. Beckett fights hard against his feelings, but he's no match for her unconditional love and determination. A dangerous situation forces him to finally accept his feelings and stop pushing her away. I loved the ending and the surprise he had for her.

The mystery of Beckett's past intrigued me and kept me turning the pages. The twists and turns of his investigation kept me guessing at the whole truth. I figured out parts of it, but others took me by surprise. There were some nail-biter moments involving those who intended to make sure their secrets stayed buried, but the teamwork of Beckett and Gwendolyn brought them through safely. The resolution surprised me a bit, but I can see why they made the choice they did.

Though this book is the last of this series, I believe, I would like to see a book with Lord Elliston as its hero. He was a young man who exhibited some intriguing character growth throughout the book, and I would like to see where it leads.

I was unable to truly get into this book so I am going to have to DNF it. I will come back to it later...probably in audio.

This is the third book in the Gambler's Daughters series and Gwendolyn has been crushing on Beckett since book one. He helped Gwendolyn out at the start of the series and now he's cashing in on the favor she owes him. As an illegitimate son, he's never met his father. He wants to go undercover to his father's house party and he needs Gwendolyn's help to do it. Repressed memories, family secrets, kidnapping, and murder lead to an exciting series ending. We get to see all three Lanscarr sisters again for a satisfying conclusion. I think there's a hint of who will be the hero of a forthcoming series too.

I have been a fan of Cathy Maxwell books for years and she did not disappoint with this book. I was taken on a great adventure with Gwendolyn and Beckett. It was good from beginning to end and I didn't want to put it down.

A Touch of Steele is the third installment in Cathy Maxwell’s The Gambler’s Daughters series, and although I hadn’t read the previous books, I thoroughly enjoyed this one as a standalone. That said, I do think reading the earlier books would have added even more depth—especially to better understand how Becket and Gwendolyn first met, which is referenced throughout and sounds like it was a great meet/cute moment.
One of the highlights of this story—beyond the simmering romance—is the mystery surrounding Mr. Steele’s origins. Maxwell masterfully unravels Becket’s past, piece by piece, keeping the reader engaged with twists and revelations that deepen the emotional stakes.
Becket Steele is a loner, strong-willed and guarded, while Gwendolyn Lanscarr is a fiercely independent woman. The two are thrown together as Beck seeks Gwen’s help to uncover the secrets of his birth. He calls in the favor she owes him. As their journey unfolds, resisting their mutual attraction becomes increasingly difficult. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the slow burn of their connection makes the payoff all the more satisfying.
The novel blends action, secrets, romance, and a hint of danger in a well-paced and emotionally rewarding story.
While some readers might feel the villains didn’t receive their full comeuppance, I appreciated the resolution. Beck got the closure he needed, and his choices felt true to his growth.
A captivating blend of mystery and romance

open door scenes
violence - someone is trying to keep them from learning the truth
note: mention of Beck being raised in a brothel

Touch of Steele is the fun story of a house party where there is a whist tournament to win, a couple mysteries to solve, and a simmering romance to finally get going. As the eldest and only unmarried Lanscarr sister, Gwendolyn Lanscarr is the subject of her sisters’ matchmaking, since they are happily married, they believe that Gwendolyn must be married too. What they don’t know is that there is only one man that could tempt Gwendolyn off her path to spinsterhood – Beckett Steele. Gwendolyn and her sisters met Beckett in Dublin as they were making money to come to London: Beckett helped, and he is now back to collect on the favor. They arrive at the house party and Gwendolyn slowly unravels the mystery of Beckett Steele, but his story is a dangerous one and may cost her more than just her heart but is one that must be solved if she has any hope of a happily ever after. This story had a wonderful balance of suspense, misadventures, and steamy romance. While the ending may not be vengeful enough for some, I appreciated the focus on adventures in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, and Netgalley for my review. e-arc.

DNF @ 27%

Compared to the first two books in the series, this was disappointing. Gwen was a little too needy and obsessed with Steele for my liking. Honestly I expected more from her pov.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I am a huge fan of Cathy Maxwell and of her Gamblers Daughters series. This story is so fun. We find Becket Steele who is a loner and a bit stubborn. Gwendolyn Lanscarr is a strong independent woman. Steele needs her help to find out the secrets about his past and birth. Now the hardest part will be resisting the draw to each other.
This was such a great adventure for me. Maxwell creates such wonderful characters that you can't help but fall in love with. She gives us amazing details and back stories that make us apart of the story. This story has it all. It’s packed with action, mystery, secrets and amazing, passionate romance. You won't be able to put it down. You’re going to love this adventure. If you missed out on the rest of the series you will want to go back and read them too, trust me. Enjoy this adventure.

This book has one of the best opening lines I’ve read in a very long time. “He’d asked for the oldest w***e in the house.” That certainly gets your attention. I did enjoy Beckett (Beck) Steele and Gwendolyn Lanscarr, but they were the only characters I even remotely liked. With a spectacular opening line and a dissatisfying finish, this book was all over the place for me. I loved the gist of the story, but I found it a tad slow and found myself putting it down much more often than I normally do with a book I’m reading. Perhaps that was me, and I was just more distracted. Not sure, but I felt there could have been more exciting things happening.

Beckett Steele is a war hero who ‘helps’ people. Often, that means finding things or people for them. Those tasks are quite lucrative, but he often declines money and asks them to grant him a favor at a future time when he asks. Usually, those favors are asked in furtherance of a personal pursuit – finding his mother. He’s sure she is a whore because he’d lived in a bawdy house until a man came and put him in a boarding school. After being injured in the wars, Beck was determined to find out what happened to his mother. Is she alive? Is the woman in his dreams his mother?

Gwendolyn is one of three Irish sisters who pooled all of their resources to travel to London, participate in the season, and find suitable husbands. The two previous books in the series showed Gwendolyn’s sisters finding their HEAs. Gwendolyn met a man in Ireland, who has consumed all of her thoughts since. He helped her win enough money playing Whist so she and her sisters could implement their plan. All he asked in return was a favor to be granted at some future time.

I enjoyed that Gwendolyn made no secret of her fixation on Beck – and that he was thoroughly convinced he had no feelings for Gwendolyn. Watching the attraction grow, and watching Beck wrestle with those pesky ‘feelings’ he kept having, made the search for Beck’s mother an enjoyable read. I would have liked a bit more excitement and a slightly faster pace, but it was a nice read. One of the things that dampened my enthusiasm was that none (save one) of the villains got any punishment at all. If you look at what they did, could you just walk away and leave them unpunished? I couldn’t. But – that was followed by the HEA, and I did enjoy that.

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

Heat Factor: Only when they find themselves in the inn with only one bed

Character Chemistry: She is crushing on him, and he is flattered

Plot: Time to infiltrate a house party

Overall: This review might be petty

So here’s the deal. In chapter two, the heroine’s butler makes an appearance. His name is Herald.

From that moment on, I was disinclined to take this book seriously. Is it supposed to be Harold, which is a nice, old-timey British name? But wait a minute. In historical romances (and actually, all historical fiction about old British people), we call butlers by their last names. So is this last name on purpose because butlers are messengers? (Later butlers are named Leonard and Nathaniel, so I guess Maxwell is into bucking generic verisimilitude for this one.) Anyways, I spent a heck of a lot of time thinking about something that was completely irrelevant to anything else in the book.

Gwen is the eldest of the gambler’s daughters for whom this series is named, and she’s been in love with the enigmatic Beckett Steele presumably since Book 1, when he helped her out and then almost kissed her. (I have not read either of the other two books in the series.) I really wanted to see the scene where she fell for him, and I get that it’s on me for jumping into a series at the end, but…I would have wanted to see it from *her* perspective, not the perspective of the sister who intervenes and blocks the kiss. What is it about Beck that has her all tangled up? I wasn’t sure at the beginning, and I never really got to be sure that the answer was more than just “because she is.”

Anyways, Beck is on a mission to figure out whatever happened to his mother. He’s been told that he was the illegitimate son of a reclusive lord who hosts a single house party a year. In order to get into said house party, he makes a deal with a cranky old lady to find her a whist partner: Gwen (whose gambler dad apparently taught her so well that she’s a whist savant). So Gwen and Beck are off to this house party where Gwen will play whist and Beck will investigate. Except then the whist is cancelled. And they are compromised but not actually. And then they are kidnapped but escape. There’s a lot of stuff that happens.

Regarding the romance…well, let me share this passage:

"And his fascination had grown, even when he didn’t wish to admit it. He’d told himself it was because he’d been rejected by a woman once, and he did not wish to experience that humiliation again.

"Except he knew Gwendolyn’s heart, her courage, her intelligence. Her honesty. She didn’t act thoughtlessly.

" She met him as an equal, as if her feelings, her desires…her opinion mattered because he was important to her. He understood that now. Never once had she wavered in her admiration of him…even when he hadn’t admired himself."

I read this as: Beck decides he loves Gwen precisely because she loves him. She sees the best in him and because of her honesty, her truth must be the truth. He is worthwhile after all. There’s nothing in there that’s inherently about Gwen—it’s her good characteristics as revealed through her admiration of him. I don’t love that dynamic.

To sum up: this was a miss for me. The plot was all over the place, the romance was so-so, and the butlers are called by their first names. And unfortunately, there wasn’t anything that was so great that it overcame these flaws.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

The MCs were well established from the beginning, they have history from the previous books it was so easy to read even though I haven’t read the first two books. It was addicting to read I could not put it down. There was an air of mystery to Beck that was unraveled throughout the book at an even pace. Gwen was an interesting FMC she was fierce and loyal who knows want she wants. So much drama that was telenovela worthy. He tells her he is not the one to fall in love with but the moment he sees her with another man he goes weak in the knees.

i'm a fan of this series and was happy to see the end of it come out this way, but it felt a little too quick to the resolution, I feel like we needed more time with them and less with the mystery. I listened to the audio book and the narrators were good

Really enjoyed the plot of this one, but I felt like the characters were lacking a bit. I didn't feel like there was enough romance for me to. believe what was going on. I felt like I was being told everything about the main characters love instead of being shown. I really loved the mystery plot going on and I felt like that was the driving force behind my enjoyment.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.