A Gentleman's Wager

By: Madelynne Ellis

Narrated by: Betsy Garden

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

"Bella's mouth fell open in astonishment. She'd never seen two men kiss, and had never heard of such a thing, but a warming prickle between her thighs told her she approved wholeheartedly."

When young, 18th-century lady Bella Rushdale finds herself fiercely attracted to handsome landowner Lucerne Marlinscar, she does not expect the rival for her affections to be another man. However, the handsome and decadent Marquis Pennerley has desired Lucerne for years, and when they are brought together at the remote Lauwine Hall for a country party on the Yorkshire Moors, he intends to claim him. This leads to a passionate struggle for dominance, at the risk of scandal, between the highly sexed Bella and the debauched aristocrat. Ultimately it will be Lucerne who will choose the outcome, and his decision will be bound to upset somebody's plans.

©2007 Madelynne Ellis (P)2007 Virgin Books Ltd

Smart, spicy and sexy

A Gentleman's Wager begins like a rompy piece of Victorian erotica, but evolves into something quite well crafted. The characters are richer and more complicated than the publisher's blurb would lead you to believe. That being said, the character of the heroine might have benefited by a little more socio-historical accuracy, or at least a back-story that adequately explains her remarkable lack of inhibition, considering the period in which the novel is set.

Nonetheless, considering the lack of narrative prowess that marks most erotica, this rises above the rest considerably and, in places, really is both smart and very sexy.

The reader is excellent - especially for this genre.

WOW!!

Would you listen to A Gentleman's Wager again? Why?

Yes, I loved the english accent

What other book might you compare A Gentleman's Wager to and why?

none so far.

What aspect of Betsy Garden’s performance would you have changed?

nothing

Any additional comments?

I was not expecting some of the things that occurred in the book. It was a good surprise.

Great! I'll look for more from this author.

I thought it was a great listen, highly erotic, and very well read and written. Judging by the outrage from other readers, they must have been expecting something more conventionally romantic- which this is decidedly NOT. You say 'pornography'- I say "erotica". I hope the detractors don't have an undue influence on audible's buyers. I really liked this book, as well as the erotica of Kristina Lloyd. I'd like to hear more from both of these writers.

Different

The book was o.k. A lot of sex - female/male, male/male, & three-some. Which was fine but some was out of place. Will definately get you hot.

Hot Hot

This was my first audiobook and all I can say is WOW. I learned a few things. :)

Risque Period Romance

This book was absolutely delightful! For anyone looking for a delicate romance with ocean deep volumes of tender meaningful conversation and tender lovemaking, this is NOT the book for you. Ellis has a fantastically ribald sense of humor and creates a delicious tangled web of relationships between her characters.

Like a sexually charged Jane Austin novel, Ellis managed to create a period sexual drama that kept me interested until the very end. This is not the book for the faint of heart when it comes to sexuality, be prepared for wild trysts that cross genders. Bella was a wonderful main character (I hesitate to call her a heroine), she was beautiful, naughty and shortsighted but her realistic short comings made her such an endearing and enjoyable character. Vaughan was hands down my favorite, a fantastic character. Totally devilish. Honestly I'd love to read a follow-up book to this one following more of their escapades.

Ms. Gardener, the narrator, did a brilliant job with this book, though at times it seemed she spoke too quickly. Her accent added to the atmosphere of the book and the way she portrayed Vaughan was incredible. She managed to convey all of Vaughan's wicked aloof humor. I'm definitely going to listen to this again. This book will not be for everyone but it managed to exceed my expectations in a romance novel. Thank you so much Ms. Ellis! I look forward to reading more of your books!

Sex without a story.

What disappointed you about A Gentleman's Wager?

I understand that when I read this genre that I not going to fine great literature, but could we have a little character development. I love HOT HOT sex but I do like the book to include a story. I also like to care about a least one character. I didn't like anyone in this book. Don't be fooled by other reviews . . . there are far better books for your listening pleasure.

an enjoyable book

This is not a Georgette Heyer by any means. But the character Vaughan, my absolute favorite, reminded me of a younger Lord Alistar from These Old Shades. One thing I liked was how all the characters developed over the course of the book. M. Ellis did a nice job in the variety of conflicts facing all her characters. This book is not for the unadventurous in terms of sexuality. But it exceeded my expectations. I will definitely look for more from this author.

And the narrator, Betsy Garden, added so much to the enjoyment of this book. She gave all the different characters their own personalities, especially Vaughan. This is one that I will be listening to again. And I'm going to look for other books Ms. Garden has narrated as well. She is just so good.

Refund!!!!

I gave it an hour just to see if it would get better, it did not, it got worse. There is nothing redeeming about this book at all. I have recently listened to the pride and prejudice zombie books and enjoyed them thoroughly and thought it would be interesting to take a turn on those period pieces in an erotice fashion. What a disappointment. I am not a prude and will listen to books with steamy sex, Lora Leigh, the shades of grey books etc are all in my wheelhouse and do not offend me, but this book had no redeeming qualities. The characters would just bump into each other and engage in sex, and the descriptions of the act where not even erotic or intriguing to listen to. Not worth a credit, I just lost an hour and I can't get it back. I have listened to hundreds of books and this is only the third book I have given up on.

The narrator managed to do a good job with horrilbe material which is the only reason I hung in there for an hour.

Stay far away from this one.

WOW! (And not in a good way!)

How can I describe this book? Indulgent, irresponsible people having indiscriminate sex with whoever is at hand and will hold still long enough. With all the random bed-hoping (when they could make it to a bed, that is!), the author was barely able to squeeze in a weak storyline. What I kept asking myself about the heroine (if you could call her that) is, how could an 18th-century woman have so much unprotected sex (sometimes three men in one day!) and not get pregnant? I'm all for sexy entertainment, but please provide at least a marginally believable storyline to go with it!