Reviews

The Gentlemen's Club by Emmanuelle de Maupassant

jennadb's review

4.0

The​ ​Gentlemen’s​ ​Club​​ ​is​ ​the​ ​first​ ​book​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Noire​ ​Series​ ​by​ ​Emmanuelle​ ​de​ ​Maupassant.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a very​ ​erotic​ ​story​ ​set​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Victorian​ ​times​ ​and​ ​is​ ​filled​ ​with​ ​mystery​ ​and​ ​intrigue​ ​and​ ​will​ ​lure​ ​you in​ ​looking​ ​at​ ​these​ ​dark​ ​secrets​ ​surrounding​ ​the​ ​exclusive​ ​club​ ​and​ ​these​ ​rich​ ​people​ ​and​ ​their unusual​ ​tastes.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​an​ ​illicit​ ​world​ ​where​ ​whatever​ ​their​ ​pleasure,​ ​it​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​at​ ​the​ ​club. Whatever​ ​their​ ​tastes,​ ​it​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​behind​ ​closed​ ​doors.​ ​​ ​This​ ​story​ ​is​ ​both​ ​erotic​ ​and​ ​sensual and​ ​both​ ​disturbing​ ​and​ ​thrilling​ ​and​ ​will​ ​make​ ​your​ ​heart​ ​beat​ ​a​ ​little​ ​faster.
If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​an​ ​open​ ​mind​ ​and​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​a​ ​Victorian​ ​erotica​ ​novella,​ ​then​ ​you​ ​have​ ​found​ ​it.​ ​​ ​I would​ ​recommend​ ​it​ ​to​ ​those​ ​over​ ​the​ ​age​ ​of​ ​18.

hncald78's review

4.0

The author writes a solid book. This volume was not one I would normally read. It was well written but in the beginning I found the back and forth confusing. I knew it was necessary for character development purposes. And at the end it made much more sense from a plot perspective. It was effective in portraying the societal expectations for the Victorian age as assigned to your sex. Although this was outside my comfort zone, the author writes a solid book.

tc_mill's review

3.0

First off, what a GORGEOUS color. A+++ for packaging. I'd leave it out on the coffee table with the art prints if not for the questions it might raise.

My problem is I got into this story expecting it to be decadent historical femdom. Decadent...yes. Historical...yes, and strongly so--the Victorian setting isn't merely a backdrop but infuses everything from the daytime heroine's adventures (which are refreshingly non-sexual as a foil to MacAuley's raunchy nights) to the language of the sex scenes (at times the metaphors reminded me of John Cleland from a century earlier--and that's not a problem, because while I usually hate florid metaphors for sex, once they get florid *enough* it's amazingly fun). It also keeps an eye on the cutting edge of Victorian feminist developments, right from the start where a prologue acknowledges the role of birth control in helping women freely express their sexuality. Hell yeah!!

Femdom...not really. Yes, there is that initial scene (although is "forced" m/m really femdom? Quote marks because there is consent, enough for the fictional scene at least--there's some negotiation going on there that is truly interesting). But afterwards we get a heroine who is more of a masochist that tops from the bottom--which is still something I enjoy seeing, actually! I like my kink to be kinked and twisted further. The hero, though, stopped being so engaging when he became the piston-pussy-pounding "alpha" type whose pages I've listlessly flipped through a hundred times before. I was more interested in some of the other characters at the club (Noire's girlfriends, the man from the first scene-who gets some gestures at characterization and interactions with Noire that raise a little above the "big black cock" trope but not enough, honestly). It's not as if there wasn't space to develop both the characters and the dynamics some more--for a short book, this packs in an amazing amount of content through brief but well-focused chapters. But I realize some of this is a matter of my personal tastes, and being misled by the book description and a heavy dose of wishful thinking (if only this were femdom!).

This came so close to working for me and then it didn't quite work. It will probably work for many other people, though, who like me don't mind the flowery language or who unlike me don't mind toppy heroes.

hosborneauthor's review

5.0

I found this book to be a very interesting take on the erotica genre. An exclusive club, a mysterious woman, a man obsessed. It's a common theme to many erotica novels, but I thought the language was very poetic in this novel. It is the first part of the series so I was left curious as to what would happen next. I felt this novel could not stand alone. You would have to keep reading the series to fully grasp the entire story, but it's not necessarily a bad thing when the writing is well done. Other than that, definitely one of the better erotica novels I have read of late. Kudos to the author!

avoraciousreader68's review

5.0

4.5

*Book source ~ Free on Amazon

It’s Victorian London and people are so right and proper with their lip all stiff and upper. Or are they?

The Gentlemen’s Club is not just a place for the upper crust to get their naked jollies. This club is all about the kinky side of sex: BDSM, voyeurism, same-sex play, role play and more. Told from the POV of member Lord MacCauley as he becomes obsessed with Mademoiselle Noire and her nightly shows, I love how he descends into a darker side of himself that he didn’t even know was there or knew that he needed. Have some type of cooling method handy (and possibly a towel) when you sit down to read this. I enjoy erotica especially when there’s kink involved and most especially when it’s set in historical times. There’s just something so deliciously naughty about the steamier seedier side of things when everyone is supposed to be so stiff and proper. I simply love it. This is well-written, creative and hot. Enough said. Now, go. Run and get it, if you dare…

mabsmith's review

4.0

Rated NC-17 for a reason!

What a delightfully unique work of erotica! Loved the Victorian setting, this classy-yet-naughty gentlemen's club with it's artful scenes, the *twist-that-wasn't-really-a-twist-because-it-was-so-obvious-but-still-fun*, the descriptions of the scenes that make you feel like you, the reader, are right there in the audience - I enjoyed it greatly. The only critique I had was that the two main characters seemed...a little flat at times. Like disjointed from scene to scene at times. But overall I would recommend and would read more in this series/by this author!