Bella Rushdale and her brother are invited to stay with their neighbor for a summer party in the English countryside. Bella is excited at the prospect of being around Lucerne Marlinscar and wishes to catch his attentions. Bella is surprised when she realizes that she is not the only one who has eyes for Lucerne. Another gentleman Vaughan, Marquis Pennerley also has his sights set on Lucerne. Bella and Vaughan compete for Lucerne's favors, which eventually lead to emotional entanglements from every party.A Gentleman's Wager was a pleasant surprise for me. I tend to be hard when grading erotic romances and usually feel that character development or plot is usually neglected in light of focusing on the sexual activities of the characters. I felt that A Gentleman's Wager was able to balance lots of sex yet it seemed integral to the characters personalities and the relationships between them. And I will also say that this is the first time I have ever thought that a ménage a trios is written in a believable, honest light.For me, the characters are what really make this book interesting and most especially Vaughan, Marquis Pennerley. Vaughan is such a bad boy. He loves causing mischief anywhere he goes. He is such a troublemaker!! He will say and do things to create complete and utter chaos. It is why Lucerne, who is completely steadfast, is drawn to him. Actually, Vaughan is able to draw most people and is similar to a train wreck where you just can't turn away. I also enjoyed the development where the relationships between Lucerne and Vaughan and Lucerne and Bella eventually morph to encompass feelings between Vaughan and Bella from hostility to affection.If I had to complain about one thing in this book it would be Bella's lack of supervision, or actually any unmarried woman. It felt that the women in that time period would have been chaperoned a little better than they were. The author does touch on this a little bit at least in terms of Bella, but it felt out of place in the time period the book was written. I am glad to know that there is another book that continues to explore the relationship between Bella, Vaughan and Lucerne. I will definitely be reading it.
“What’s this?” I can hear you shout. “That’s a M/F cover – what’s going on?” Well, yes, it does have some het in it – quite a lot of het, to be honest, but this isn’t just another menage book. There is an established (if only if they did it once) homosexual relationship described and as such I think it deserves a place on the site.This, let me say from the first, is an erotic novel. Whilst there is a plot running through it, (and it’s a much better plot than so many novels where sex scenes happen almost every other page) it’s an erotic novel – there’s sex from the first page just about, and sex almost to the last page. One could level accusations of anachronism for the “let’s stay in this big house and all have sex with each other a lot” but who’s to say that some people didn’t behave like this in private?Yes, as expected, everyone wants Bella, and annoyingly, even the decadent, seemingly homosexual Pennerley is swept away by her “charms” (however well worn…!) but that’s to be expected in a Black Lace book – the heroine has to be irresistible. But what I did like particularly about the book was the way Lucerne (however silly it is to be named after a bean) struggled with his feelings for Pennerley and those of Bella. At times he’s swept away by Pennerley’s seduction, and at other times he’s protective of Bella, and then jealous of her as Penerley starts to stalk (hur hur) her.I was less impressed with Bella who – it seemed to me – would have not only slept with anyone who asked her (and she does, including the staff!) but would have gone off with any of them either. I was never really convinced that she loved Lucerne, and frankly I was cheering Pennerley on from the sidelines and hoped that he’d win Lucerne for himself.It’s a hot and steamy one-handed read, which will appeal to people who like a lot of froth and a lot of sex – it will even appeal to die-hards who only read M/M. Hell, I read it and enjoyed it, didn’t I? Can’t get more die-hard than that!
What do You think about A Gentleman's Wager (2008)?
Don’t take anything at face value. Like the intriguing characters within, this book refuses to conform to the stereotypes of its genre. You may think at first that you’re reading a historical bodice-ripper with the usual cast of rogues and gentlemen, but it’s far too smart to live down to your expectations. There’s a great story of love, lust, deception and obsession, some brilliantly witty dialogue that certainly made me laugh out loud and enough historical detail, description and mood to really bring the book alive. But what really kept me reading was the depth, complexity and humanity of the characters – from the enigmatic, alluring and wicked Vaughan to Charles, the lecherous squire with the soul of a poet. I really found myself caring what happened to all of them, and when each gets their moment of redemption you get a real feeling of warmth.
—Saha
Excessively naughty- Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters would have fainted dead away to have read a novel such as this in their day. Definitely on the erotic side of Romantica, this M/f, M/M, F/F, M/M/F novel throws everything you can imagine- including riding crops, toys and various other love play accouterments- into a regency English tale about one gals search for love... or the freedom to love however she willt, at the very least.My big problem was that the authors attempt to write a regency kept getting in the way of the wankfest it should have been because there was precious little else going for it. Certainly no emotional attachment. I never managed to give a hoot about the bratty- slutty!- heroine, nor the down right mean, and vastly unlikeable Lord who were both vying for the attention of the angelically beautiful hero. In addition the author inexplicably threw in some side romance between a friend of the Lord and the bratty/slutty heroine’s naïve/virgin best friend that took forever to be consummated and managed to just come off as annoying. Technically a well written story- something you don’t always get in story form erotica- but horrible narrative so, 1 out of 5 from me.
—Zeek
Hot Steamy and DifferentBored with romance novels and the simpering fidelity and overly flowery language therein? So was I so I ventured into erotica. The price of the ticket was well worth it.Like many heterosexual females I'm intrigued by two men, or a woman and two men. If you're not stay away for there is that aplenty.It's probably some of the best writing I've ever seen in any category. Believable well rounded characters, really well researched 18th century speech and clothing as well as settings, and plenty of steaminess. Ms. Ellis makes you wait for every encounter and builds the anticipation. So when it comes, wow. All I can say is wow.A must read for the enlightened female!
—Lia Mcintosh
