TITLE: Gentleman Nine
AUTHOR: Penelope Ward
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
PUBLICATION: February 19th, 2018
#TEAM CHANNING
This review is going to be all over the place because I want to make it as spoiler free as I can so it pretty much won't make a hell of a lot of sense. But here goes. Here's the gist of the story.
GENTLEMAN NINE: A standalone, full length New Adult novel by Penelope Ward. In this we meet Twenty-five year old Amber & Twenty seven year old Channing Lord
Three best friends known as the three Musketeers, Rory was the nerd, Channing was the playboy and Amber was the beauty that neither could have.
PAST: Two best friends made a pact in their teenage years that Amber would be off limits to the both of them. But Rory lied. Once Channing was away at college he made his move on Amber, he was her first love, nine years later out of the blue he says they should go their separate ways and see what else was out there, he then turned into her first heartbreak.
She was devastated, heartbroken, and couldn't imagine life without Rory. He was all she knew. Out of the blue Channing rings Amber because he needs a place to stay for a few months and had heard from a mutual friend that she has a spare room which she rents out. For as long as Amber has known Channing she’s harboured a secret crush on him but he’d always been off limits on all counts. He was her best friends older brother, and Rory’s best friend.
Old feelings and sexual frustrations come to the core quickly with Amber fighting to keep her feelings at bay not wanting to get into another relationship at present or a one night stand with the fear of expectations.
You blew into my life like a storm. I was so depressed and hopeless. You saved me with your light, with your laughter, with your positive point of view. Before you moved in, I had such preconceived notions about the type of person you'd become over the years. And I was wrong.
She confides to her friend and her work colleague then puts her onto a VIP male escort website. Scrolling through the men on the website at home on her laptop after work she decides to make contact with Gentleman Nine.
I wish I had like a superpower where I could have sex with a man and erase the whole experience after, so that there was no aftermath or guilt. I would never run into him again. In fact, he would stop existing after that. But that’s just a fantasy.
Coming home early one night and wanting to check his facebook status Channing jums on Amber's laptop and straight away notices the last web page Amber was on is sitting on her desktop and a message to a Gentleman Nine. From this point onwards things start heating up and for me it’s where the true magic in the story takes place. Meetings in a hotel suite take place every Saturday where every sexual fantasy is fulfilled. What happens in that room stays in that room.
Then you hit a plot twist in the story that could change the whole story you sit there wondering which way the author is going to take you, either way it will break your heart.
These types of books from friends to lovers are fast becoming my guilty obsession, and what Penelope Ward did cemented that even more. I enjoyed the look into their past friendships, the where it all went so wrong for them, the heartbreak they both endured, the secret crush they had carried around with them for years was bound to come falling down around their ears when they reconnected and that’s what I loved. The connection these two had poured off the pages, the humour the author instilled in the pages had me giggling so many times, a light, fluffy, full of angst and all the feels.
This review is going to be all over the place because I want to make it as spoiler free as I can so it pretty much won't make a hell of a lot of sense. But here goes. Here's the gist of the story.
GENTLEMAN NINE: A standalone, full length New Adult novel by Penelope Ward. In this we meet Twenty-five year old Amber & Twenty seven year old Channing Lord
Three best friends known as the three Musketeers, Rory was the nerd, Channing was the playboy and Amber was the beauty that neither could have.
PAST: Two best friends made a pact in their teenage years that Amber would be off limits to the both of them. But Rory lied. Once Channing was away at college he made his move on Amber, he was her first love, nine years later out of the blue he says they should go their separate ways and see what else was out there, he then turned into her first heartbreak.
She was devastated, heartbroken, and couldn't imagine life without Rory. He was all she knew. Out of the blue Channing rings Amber because he needs a place to stay for a few months and had heard from a mutual friend that she has a spare room which she rents out. For as long as Amber has known Channing she’s harboured a secret crush on him but he’d always been off limits on all counts. He was her best friends older brother, and Rory’s best friend.
Old feelings and sexual frustrations come to the core quickly with Amber fighting to keep her feelings at bay not wanting to get into another relationship at present or a one night stand with the fear of expectations.
You blew into my life like a storm. I was so depressed and hopeless. You saved me with your light, with your laughter, with your positive point of view. Before you moved in, I had such preconceived notions about the type of person you'd become over the years. And I was wrong.
She confides to her friend and her work colleague then puts her onto a VIP male escort website. Scrolling through the men on the website at home on her laptop after work she decides to make contact with Gentleman Nine.
I wish I had like a superpower where I could have sex with a man and erase the whole experience after, so that there was no aftermath or guilt. I would never run into him again. In fact, he would stop existing after that. But that’s just a fantasy.
Coming home early one night and wanting to check his facebook status Channing jums on Amber's laptop and straight away notices the last web page Amber was on is sitting on her desktop and a message to a Gentleman Nine. From this point onwards things start heating up and for me it’s where the true magic in the story takes place. Meetings in a hotel suite take place every Saturday where every sexual fantasy is fulfilled. What happens in that room stays in that room.
Then you hit a plot twist in the story that could change the whole story you sit there wondering which way the author is going to take you, either way it will break your heart.
These types of books from friends to lovers are fast becoming my guilty obsession, and what Penelope Ward did cemented that even more. I enjoyed the look into their past friendships, the where it all went so wrong for them, the heartbreak they both endured, the secret crush they had carried around with them for years was bound to come falling down around their ears when they reconnected and that’s what I loved. The connection these two had poured off the pages, the humour the author instilled in the pages had me giggling so many times, a light, fluffy, full of angst and all the feels.
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new, sexy standalone novel.
Growing up, the three of us were friends.
He was the nerd.
I was the playboy.
She was the beauty.
Deep down, I only ever wanted her. I kept it inside because Rory and I made a pact that our friend, Amber, was off-limits.
He lied.
I went off to college, and he got the girl.
Amber never knew how I felt.
They were together for years—before he broke her heart.
Through it all and across the miles, she and I casually stayed in touch.
When my job sent me to Boston for a three-month contract position, Amber let me stay in her spare room.
Still reeling from her breakup, she’d sworn off men.
One night, I opened her computer to find the shock of my life. She’d hesitantly contacted a male escort company. Afraid to date and get her heart broken again, she was looking for sex with no strings.
Every emotion imaginable ran through me: protectiveness, jealousy—curiosity.
Amber had chosen Gentleman Number Nine and sent him a message.
She opened up to him, confessing, among other things, her physical attraction to her friend—me. But she considered me off-limits—and she thought I was a manwhore. (Ironic, considering the circumstances.)
Eventually, she set up a date to meet Gentleman Nine at a hotel.
When she showed up several nights later to meet him, she was stunned to see me standing there—with an offer I hoped she wouldn’t refuse.
Growing up, the three of us were friends.
He was the nerd.
I was the playboy.
She was the beauty.
Deep down, I only ever wanted her. I kept it inside because Rory and I made a pact that our friend, Amber, was off-limits.
He lied.
I went off to college, and he got the girl.
Amber never knew how I felt.
They were together for years—before he broke her heart.
Through it all and across the miles, she and I casually stayed in touch.
When my job sent me to Boston for a three-month contract position, Amber let me stay in her spare room.
Still reeling from her breakup, she’d sworn off men.
One night, I opened her computer to find the shock of my life. She’d hesitantly contacted a male escort company. Afraid to date and get her heart broken again, she was looking for sex with no strings.
Every emotion imaginable ran through me: protectiveness, jealousy—curiosity.
Amber had chosen Gentleman Number Nine and sent him a message.
She opened up to him, confessing, among other things, her physical attraction to her friend—me. But she considered me off-limits—and she thought I was a manwhore. (Ironic, considering the circumstances.)
Eventually, she set up a date to meet Gentleman Nine at a hotel.
When she showed up several nights later to meet him, she was stunned to see me standing there—with an offer I hoped she wouldn’t refuse.
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor before switching to a more family-friendly career.
Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends.
She is the proud mother of a beautiful 12-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 10-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.
Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.
She is the author of eleven novels. Her book RoomHate hit #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list and #1 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list. Other New York Times bestsellers include Neighbor Dearest, Stepbrother Dearest, Stuck-Up Suit, Cocky Bastard and Playboy Pilot (the latter three co-written with Vi Keeland).
Penelope loves friend requests from readers!
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor before switching to a more family-friendly career.
Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends.
She is the proud mother of a beautiful 12-year-old girl with autism (the inspiration for the character Callie in Gemini) and a 10-year-old boy, both of whom are the lights of her life.
Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.
She is the author of eleven novels. Her book RoomHate hit #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list and #1 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list. Other New York Times bestsellers include Neighbor Dearest, Stepbrother Dearest, Stuck-Up Suit, Cocky Bastard and Playboy Pilot (the latter three co-written with Vi Keeland).
Penelope loves friend requests from readers!
