Gentleman Nine by Penelope Ward
Blurb:
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.
My Review:
I picked this book up after a week-long dilemma over what audiobook to pick. It was recommended by a blogger I follow on Instagram who had nothing but good things to say about it. I've never read anything by Penelope Ward before but I gave it a shot.
Gentleman Nine is about Channing and Amber, who grew up together secretly harboring feelings for the other. She was his younger sister's best friend, he was her boyfriend's best friend. Now as adults Channing comes to stay with Amber while he's in Boston just after Amber is dumped by her boyfriend Rory. Seeing Channing again makes Amber feel better - and reminds her just how much she wants him. Thinking it's unwise to try anything with Channing yet feeling sexually frustrated Amber takes the advice of her friend Annabelle and contacts a male escort company and emails "Gentleman Nine."
When Channing finds out what she's done he pretends to be Gentleman Nine and emails her back and when Amber shows up at the hotel she plans to meet Gentleman Nine at she's stunned to find Channing waiting for her with an unexpected proposition.
They try to stick to their pre-agreed to rules but soon their no-strings-attached fling turns out to be so much more than they ever expected. But Channing lives in Chicago and Amber lives in Boston and there are other things in their lives that could keep them apart. Will they end up together? Or will their time together end up nothing more than a memory to look back on fondly?
At first, I thought the writing was a little simplistic but then I got into the story and couldn't wait to see what happened next. I do think the words "cool" and "f***" were overused in this book which kind of annoyed me at times.
I really liked Channing as a character and I liked Amber up until a small section at the end where I finally understood why people hate love triangles so much, but overall I thought they had great chemistry and I loved listening to the characters interact.
There were two sections that I didn't think added anything to the story other than filler, which I will refer to as "the scare" and "the return of the ex" that I could have done without but overall I enjoyed the book.
I'm definitely interested in reading more by this author. I think fans of Abbi Glines and Kendall Ryan will enjoy this book.
My Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 of 5 Stars!
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