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A Gentleman Never Keeps Score
(Seducing the Sedgwicks #2)
by
Once beloved by London's fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most-private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him.
Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Be ...more
Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Be ...more
ebook, 320 pages
Published
July 10th 2018
by Avon Impulse
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Start your review of A Gentleman Never Keeps Score (Seducing the Sedgwicks, #2)

4.5 Stars
Whew was this book such a good and steamy romance! From the start, my heart went out to Hartley. Hartley is living as a recluse after being taken advantage of as a young boy. Now, his reputation is ruined and he feels as if he cannot interact with anyone. He is such a sweetheart and I loved how close he was with his staff and how much he really cared for him. Sam is a bar owner and he breaks into Hartley's estate to find a risqué painting of a friend of his. Sam runs into Hartley and th ...more
Whew was this book such a good and steamy romance! From the start, my heart went out to Hartley. Hartley is living as a recluse after being taken advantage of as a young boy. Now, his reputation is ruined and he feels as if he cannot interact with anyone. He is such a sweetheart and I loved how close he was with his staff and how much he really cared for him. Sam is a bar owner and he breaks into Hartley's estate to find a risqué painting of a friend of his. Sam runs into Hartley and th ...more

~3.5~
All the stars for:
✔ strong writing (Cat Sebastian has a way with words);
✔ vivid sense of time/place (London, 1817);
✔ fantastic secondary characters (I loved Alf and Sadie, not to mention Kate and Nick!) who added depth to the story;
✔ likable MCs (particularly Sam, who was maybe too sweet);
✔ humour (Hartley was adorably snarky);
✔ non-white MC (Sam was well aware of the scrutiny upon him as a free black man);
✔ cute baby + three-legged dog + Hartley with said baby and dog (all the cuten ...more
All the stars for:
✔ strong writing (Cat Sebastian has a way with words);
✔ vivid sense of time/place (London, 1817);
✔ fantastic secondary characters (I loved Alf and Sadie, not to mention Kate and Nick!) who added depth to the story;
✔ likable MCs (particularly Sam, who was maybe too sweet);
✔ humour (Hartley was adorably snarky);
✔ non-white MC (Sam was well aware of the scrutiny upon him as a free black man);
✔ cute baby + three-legged dog + Hartley with said baby and dog (all the cuten ...more

Jul 31, 2018
Anne Boleyn's Ghost
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical
This book. It made me teary-eyed and it made me sigh. I was a sniffling, gooey mess. Although A Gentleman Never Keeps Score isn't my favorite Cat Sebastian book, it is deeply touching and tender.
Since I’m on record as low-key stanning Sebastian’s stories (although I'm low-key hating this cover) it is no surprise that her characters always affect me. Hartley Sedgwick may be one of the most affecting yet. Hart's dead godfather was a sexual predator who took advantage of a teenaged Hart's love for ...more
Since I’m on record as low-key stanning Sebastian’s stories (although I'm low-key hating this cover) it is no surprise that her characters always affect me. Hartley Sedgwick may be one of the most affecting yet. Hart's dead godfather was a sexual predator who took advantage of a teenaged Hart's love for ...more

I quite like all the interconnectedness of these stories, and was gratified that Ben showed up despite being happily hooked up with his Phillip.
Not quite as easy for me was the nature of Hartley's problem barring him from easy intimacy with Sam. Saintly Sam got a smidge saccharine if you want to know the truth. The big problem separating them was, in the end, less resolved than treated with a massive injection of handwavium. I was in the fullness of my go-with-the-flow mood from Ben and Phillip' ...more
Not quite as easy for me was the nature of Hartley's problem barring him from easy intimacy with Sam. Saintly Sam got a smidge saccharine if you want to know the truth. The big problem separating them was, in the end, less resolved than treated with a massive injection of handwavium. I was in the fullness of my go-with-the-flow mood from Ben and Phillip' ...more

Jun 13, 2018
h o l l i s
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
lgbtqiap-content,
romance,
hello-diversity,
hist-romance,
arc,
m-m,
sexytimes,
2018-reads,
a-smattering-of-lols,
ebook
"When you said you brought something to cheer me up, I thought maybe some boiled sweets. Not an enormous glass prick."
I've been looking forward to more of Sebastian's Seducing the Sedgwicks since book one came out and I don't want to say I was disappointed by Hartley's story, because I wasn't, but I guess I expected more of the kind of pure gooey delicious fluff we got in IT TAKES TWO TO TUMBLE. What the author offers up in A GENTLEMAN NEVER KEEPS SCORE is more serious, more weighted in some not ...more
I've been looking forward to more of Sebastian's Seducing the Sedgwicks since book one came out and I don't want to say I was disappointed by Hartley's story, because I wasn't, but I guess I expected more of the kind of pure gooey delicious fluff we got in IT TAKES TWO TO TUMBLE. What the author offers up in A GENTLEMAN NEVER KEEPS SCORE is more serious, more weighted in some not ...more

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When his godfather leaves his house to him, Hartley's reputation gets banded about in less than complimentary terms. Feeling shunned, Hartley finds himself losing servants and becoming a bit of a shut-in.
Sam just wants to see his brother and his friend Kate finally get married and when he learns Kate fears a scandalous painting of her becoming public knowledge ...more
When his godfather leaves his house to him, Hartley's reputation gets banded about in less than complimentary terms. Feeling shunned, Hartley finds himself losing servants and becoming a bit of a shut-in.
Sam just wants to see his brother and his friend Kate finally get married and when he learns Kate fears a scandalous painting of her becoming public knowledge ...more

Another lovely historical romance by the queen herself ! This was sweet, warm and made me smile. Sam was the kind hearted soul who took care of people around him. Being a black man who leased a pub made life challenging as the dodgy cops were always looking for trouble. Hartley was the damaged young man, shunned by society for being a degenerate but who was really a victim of abuse. Both men always looking out for others with soft hearts. They recognized this in each other and the dance of frien
...more

I've given this a B+ at AAR, so that's 4.5 stars
This second book in Cat Sebastian’s Seducing the Sedgwicks series centres around Hartley, younger brother of Ben (hero of book one, It Takes Two to Tumble) whose backstory as explained in that book was both heartbreaking and intriguing. It’s impossible to discuss further without entering into spoiler territory for book one, so if you haven’t read it yet, but intend to and don’t want to know, then stop reading this review now.
If you have read t ...more
This second book in Cat Sebastian’s Seducing the Sedgwicks series centres around Hartley, younger brother of Ben (hero of book one, It Takes Two to Tumble) whose backstory as explained in that book was both heartbreaking and intriguing. It’s impossible to discuss further without entering into spoiler territory for book one, so if you haven’t read it yet, but intend to and don’t want to know, then stop reading this review now.
If you have read t ...more


Mar 07, 2022
Heather K (dentist in my spare time)
marked it as to-read
Price drop to $1.99 today, 3/7/22

Dang, the books in this series are smoking hot! The was Cat Sebastian weaves Harley's issues into the plot, and how Sam gently draws him out... fantastic!
...more

I really enjoyed this one 🥰. I've loved reading so much Cat Sebastian this year. She writes wonderfully human characters while balancing humor and heart with more emotional, heavy topics. Watching Hartley and Sam fall in love was an absolute delight, with a lovable cast of side characters who become found family. Also, the story ends at Christmastime, so if you want to pick this up as a holiday read I would say it counts.
CW/TW: sexual abuse (happens off-page but alluded to frequently) ...more
CW/TW: sexual abuse (happens off-page but alluded to frequently) ...more

3.75 stars rounded up
I loved the relationship build -- it felt tender and sweet. Probably because Sam Fox, despite his feature and previous job as boxer, is very patient with Hartley. I also adored the 'family of choice' that Hartley builds alongside his valet, Alf, and the cook Sadie. And there's a three-legged dog here... I should really point it out ^^.
The 'case' with the painting doesn't really go anywhere, it's pretty much buried under Hartley and Sam's relationship, and only appears once i ...more
I loved the relationship build -- it felt tender and sweet. Probably because Sam Fox, despite his feature and previous job as boxer, is very patient with Hartley. I also adored the 'family of choice' that Hartley builds alongside his valet, Alf, and the cook Sadie. And there's a three-legged dog here... I should really point it out ^^.
The 'case' with the painting doesn't really go anywhere, it's pretty much buried under Hartley and Sam's relationship, and only appears once i ...more

Not my favorite book by this author. It is, as always, wonderfully written, with well fleshed-out characters who feel real and believable, and the love between the characters is palpable and sweet.
I honestly don't know why I didn't love this more. There was little drama, the story focuses on character-growth, and there is no one who upset me or was in any way annoying me. I loved how sweet Hartley finally got to step out of the shadow he had been living under and realized there was more to life ...more
I honestly don't know why I didn't love this more. There was little drama, the story focuses on character-growth, and there is no one who upset me or was in any way annoying me. I loved how sweet Hartley finally got to step out of the shadow he had been living under and realized there was more to life ...more

It took me a bit to relax into this book and trust the Cat Sebastian would be able to give me a happily ever after in this queer interracial historical romance.
She does. The writing is lovely and detailed. Sam and Hart make a wonderful couple.
Hart is in crisis and has to reexamine so many things as his life is upended after he is exposed for being a kept man. He has to come to terms with the truth that through it felt like a choice to support his family, the power dynamics at play make "choice ...more
She does. The writing is lovely and detailed. Sam and Hart make a wonderful couple.
Hart is in crisis and has to reexamine so many things as his life is upended after he is exposed for being a kept man. He has to come to terms with the truth that through it felt like a choice to support his family, the power dynamics at play make "choice ...more

3.5 rounded down
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to! Perhaps it was my low expectations based on the summary/review/introduction of character in the first book, or maybe it's because I've read some pretty poorly written MM romances lately, so this one looked so much better by comparison. Whatever the reason, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth!
I enjoyed the characters and their connection, and I generally thought the build was lovely and the issues between them realistic and we ...more
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to! Perhaps it was my low expectations based on the summary/review/introduction of character in the first book, or maybe it's because I've read some pretty poorly written MM romances lately, so this one looked so much better by comparison. Whatever the reason, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth!
I enjoyed the characters and their connection, and I generally thought the build was lovely and the issues between them realistic and we ...more

I don’t think I’ve ever read Cat Sebastian and shame on me! I really enjoyed her voice in this one – she gives us two characters that will make you smile and warm your heart.
Hartley Sedgwick took London drawing rooms by storm with his good looks and easy charm. But when his godfather dies, and Hartley inherits his house, the godfather’s son, who was overlooked in the inheritance, starts to release salacious gossip about Hartley – that he admires men, not women. There is 100% truth in this gossip ...more
Hartley Sedgwick took London drawing rooms by storm with his good looks and easy charm. But when his godfather dies, and Hartley inherits his house, the godfather’s son, who was overlooked in the inheritance, starts to release salacious gossip about Hartley – that he admires men, not women. There is 100% truth in this gossip ...more

A super pleasant, sweet read, but at times the characters felt slightly flat. Maybe I'll have more to say later...
...more

Jul 09, 2018
anna (½ of readsrainbow)
rated it
it was ok
Shelves:
2-achillean,
2-protags-of-color,
2-lgbt,
5-new-adult,
1-romance,
4-siblings,
arcs,
1-historical,
pub-2018
rep: gay mc, gay Black mc
ARC provided by the publisher. Review also on my blog.
2.5 ☆
It’s not that I was promised a slowburn with A Gentleman Never Keeps Score, but it is marketed as a regency era romance and there just are some things one expects from this genre. And the slowburn quality of the romance is the first on that list, the most important even.
So is A Gentleman Never Keeps Score a good book? Sure, it actually kind of is. And is the relationship portrayed in a good, healthy way? Yeah. B ...more
ARC provided by the publisher. Review also on my blog.
2.5 ☆
It’s not that I was promised a slowburn with A Gentleman Never Keeps Score, but it is marketed as a regency era romance and there just are some things one expects from this genre. And the slowburn quality of the romance is the first on that list, the most important even.
So is A Gentleman Never Keeps Score a good book? Sure, it actually kind of is. And is the relationship portrayed in a good, healthy way? Yeah. B ...more

This is only my second book by Cat Sebastian, the first being a high-rater and this one being an okay read. I do love this era that she writes in and her description and detail certainly transport you to the setting and context very well.
This unlikely coupling of Hartley and Sam crosses social class and race which is the soaring strength of the book. The side characters, most of whom were Sam’s family, friends and compatriots brought depth to the social differences and I enjoyed that. I felt lik ...more
This unlikely coupling of Hartley and Sam crosses social class and race which is the soaring strength of the book. The side characters, most of whom were Sam’s family, friends and compatriots brought depth to the social differences and I enjoyed that. I felt lik ...more

3.5 Stars
I loved the fact that this book had an MCs of different races and from different social classes. This one was quite a bit angstier than other Cat Sebastian books, but I really enjoyed my second listen of the fantastic narration by Joel Leslie!
We saw much more of the racism in Regency England, as well as the very structured social hierarchy that ruled the times.
Sam, a black pub owner, and Hartley a disgraced gentleman find that they have a common goal: to destroy lewd paintings commissi ...more
I loved the fact that this book had an MCs of different races and from different social classes. This one was quite a bit angstier than other Cat Sebastian books, but I really enjoyed my second listen of the fantastic narration by Joel Leslie!
We saw much more of the racism in Regency England, as well as the very structured social hierarchy that ruled the times.
Sam, a black pub owner, and Hartley a disgraced gentleman find that they have a common goal: to destroy lewd paintings commissi ...more

edit: 11/18/2019 Thank you Santa's little hippopotamus for gifting me this book! I really appreciate it! I liked reading this book so much and I seem to have forgotten to review it, so soon it will be REREAD time!
The cover . . . this book will be mine! ...more
The cover . . . this book will be mine! ...more

Wow, fantastic book. Just warm and lovely the whole way through, very cozy, and full of sweet domesticity. I wanted it to be about three times as long, not because it's incomplete in any way, but because I wanted to spend more time with these characters.
To be honest, I put off reading this book because of the serious subject matter, but of course Cat Sebastian handles Hartley's past with sensitivity and care. It's not at all an emotionally overwrought book, but I got choked up more than once, at ...more
To be honest, I put off reading this book because of the serious subject matter, but of course Cat Sebastian handles Hartley's past with sensitivity and care. It's not at all an emotionally overwrought book, but I got choked up more than once, at ...more

Cat Sebastian's writing was excellent & Joel Leslie's narration did it justice. Hartley & Sam were very sweet and their growth throughout the book was well done, especially Hart's. The thing with Martin (view spoiler) was kind of ridiculous, but *shrug* everything can't be perfect.
...more

It all starts with the search for a missing nudie painting . . .
This was such a warm, sweet and gentle romance. There’s a little miscommunication and struggling of the feelings and getting over past hurts but nothing overly angsty and overly complicated. Thank the loard because I didn’t want any of those things when I picked this up after having just finished a grueling read. There’s a little mystery of the paintings which fizzles a bit but that didn’t bother me at all. This story was just righ ...more
This was such a warm, sweet and gentle romance. There’s a little miscommunication and struggling of the feelings and getting over past hurts but nothing overly angsty and overly complicated. Thank the loard because I didn’t want any of those things when I picked this up after having just finished a grueling read. There’s a little mystery of the paintings which fizzles a bit but that didn’t bother me at all. This story was just righ ...more

Cat Sebastian is now six for six. Not a stinker among her published books so far (though to be fair, I haven't *loved* all of them (Unmasked by the Marquess was fun, but didn't hit me in my swooners).
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score, though saddled with a truly execrable cover*, features more of what I love about her books: two fully realized leads who have good chemistry, and who are kept apart not by asinine plot machinations and outside forces, but by character flaws and life circumstances and ...more
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score, though saddled with a truly execrable cover*, features more of what I love about her books: two fully realized leads who have good chemistry, and who are kept apart not by asinine plot machinations and outside forces, but by character flaws and life circumstances and ...more
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Cat Sebastian has written sixteen queer historical romances. Cat’s books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist.
Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling dow ...more
Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling dow ...more
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