Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.

Series: This Man #1
Published by Selfpublished on October 20, 2012
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Erotica
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchase


Young interior designer Ava O’Shea has an appointment for a first consultation at The Manor with the owner, Mr Jesse Ward. She is expecting nothing more than an overweight, cravat wearing, well-to-do countryman, and on arrival, nothing would suggest otherwise. How wrong could she be? This Man is devastatingly handsome, charming and confident. He is also a conceited, hedonistic playboy, who knows no boundaries. Ava desperately does not want to be attracted to him, but she can’t control the overwhelming effect he has on her. Every instinct is telling her to run, so she does, but Jesse Ward is not so willing to let her go. He wants her and is determined to have her. She knows she is heading for heartbreak, but how can she run when he won’t let her?
What did you think about the first meeting between Ava and Jesse?
The sexual tension and chemistry was palpable, wasn’t it? Wowza! It was there from the very beginning and never seemed to wane. That Ava was dumbstruck when she walked into Jesse’s office almost had me giggling. But I also felt for her because she’d never experienced anything like it before and she certainly didn’t know what to do with those feelings.
I actually really enjoyed the sexual tension that was totally there from the get-go. It was a bit mysterious, and it was so strong I could feel it very strongly myself!
What about how he kind of tricked her when she went back to The Manor?
That was a bit underhanded but honestly I wasn’t surprised. He’d told her he’d trample anyone or anything that tried to stand in between them. Yes, he was extremely controlling – and at times scary – but the more Ava was around him, the more I understood him. I think, as a reader looking from the outside, I could see all the things she was missing.
He was playing it cool, in my opinion, however, not for long. And while I understand chemistry and attraction, I just couldn’t understand Ava. I would have taken a vacation and left London behind for a while, I think. Jesse was way too controlling and a bit scary in my opinion.
WTF is up with Jesse ‘making friends’ with Ava all the time? I find him to be a bit creepy, to be honest…
The terminology he used – ‘making friends’, ‘reminder fuck’, ‘sense fuck’ – bothered me but I tried to read between his lines and just go with it. He did use their chemistry to his advantage quite often, and Ava knew what he was doing but seemed incapable of stopping him…because she really didn’t want to, in my opinion.
He used sex and their attraction to manipulate Ava from the beginning, I think. And he didn’t really care about what she truly wanted. He never answered her questions, and then he was ‘making friends’ or having ‘sense sex’ with her. It was really weird.
What did you think of the ending?
That ending! Man! If I could crawl into my kindle and throttle him, I would have. I get his devastation but Ava was devastated too. I understood his keeping The Manor a secret – it would have been difficult to find a way to tell her about it AND he really was terrified of giving her a reason to leave him. *Did you have a bonus chapter at the end from Jesse’s POV? Reading it gave me more insight into him and I understood his actions all the more. I’m not saying I approve of them or that I would put up with them, mind you. I’m just saying that as I said before, I could see things about his words and actions that Ava couldn’t seem to and that chapter from his POV served to solidify my thinking.* I’m not sure he’s redeemable but I *WANT* him to be. So I’ll be reading the next book. Will you read it with me?
The way Jesse acted towards the end made me really mad at him! He steamrolled his way into Ava’s life, and when the consequences of his secrecy happened, it was somehow her fault? Like, really? I’m not sure if he’s redeemable to me… But at the same time, I do kind of want to know what will happen next.
Oh, I think there was a bonus chapter – I didn’t read it *grins* I will now, though!
What did you think of Kate? How accepting she was of Jesse and his controlling ways?
I did find Kate interesting – she was accepting of Jesse and Sam, too, for that matter. But maybe she was seeing these things in Jesse that I saw and understood him better than Ava. Matt is a douche and obviously didn’t care a whit about Ava so I get Kate hating on him. Not only was he a cheat but I’m sure it was apparent to all but Ava that he didn’t care. So maybe Kate is just more intuitive? Look at me giving her the benefit of the doubt. *grins*
I didn’t get Kate at all! She was all upset about Ava’s ex, Matt. And she hated him – had no qualms about saying that, either. But with Jesse, she just let him take over everything. Why would she do that? I don’t think she’s a very good friend to Ava.
So am I just more gullible or more forgiving or more naive than you, darling, seeing as I always want to believe that there’s good in people? I think I ended up liking This Man more than you did. I understand your frustration with Ava but at the same time, I understood her hesitancy and ‘wishy-washy’ behavior. She was attempting to protect her heart even if she’d handed it over the minute she and Jesse touched. And while I find Jesse’s behavior boorish and overbearing and would never put up with it in real life, I kind of understood where he was coming from. He’d finally found the thing to give his life meaning and he feared losing her. <–See? Always giving the benefit of the doubt because I *WANT* to believe he’s decent and redeemable. I’m actually looking forward to Beneath This Man.
See, yeah, I agree about wanting to find good in people. And I definitely want to continue reading! The writing was really good, and the story – even if I didn’t love it as much as you did – was rather addictive;) Jesse was afraid to lose her… then, when he really thought he did, he went ballistic – and he didn’t listen to her. EVER! Wanna buddy read Beneath This Man as well? I love chatting with you about the books we read 😉
@bookwormbrandee liked this a little more than Lexxie did - but they agree that this series is one they're going to continue! Share on X
Twitter: ailynk
ahh.. not for me, I am kind of over the caveman hype at the moment. Can’t a man be… self- confident and not arrogant for once?
I kind of agree with you, Ailyn. I love strong, confident men, but I enjoy them more when they actually listen to the people they’re with 🙂
Twitter: ailynk
listen is the key word here I think =d
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
I really like your chats about your buddy reads even though I don’t read them. ??
Thanks Stormi 🙂 We love being able to chat about the books we read – it makes the experience even better!
Thank you, Stormi. We’re really enjoying doing buddy reads and chat reviews. 🙂
Great discussion! Sounds like an intense read actually. I do like the sound of it, though!
Thanks, Stephanie. It was intense and it was pretty good…there were just things about the couple that gave pause to both Lexxie and I. We started book 2 today so we’ll let you know what we think soon. 🙂
Thanks Stephanie 🙂 It was definitely intense. And we’re on to book 2 now – we’ll see how that goes 😉
Love dual reviews and getting your thoughts. I still haven’t read this author, but not sure about this one. I might wait to see what you both think of book two. 🙂
Thanks, Sophia. We’re really enjoying doing chat reviews. 🙂 And you’re in luck…we started book 2 today. We’ll be letting you know what we think soon. 😀
We love our chat-reviews, too. Reading pleasure is more than double when we can discuss our thoughts while we’re reading.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
You kind of have me curious and backing away at the same time..lol
Oh LOL Kim! That’s so funny 🙂 I’ll let you know if you should keep backing away or not when I finish the 2nd book :p
Twitter: teamwork
Ladies, you are in my a ride!!! I love this trilogy so much. I swear Jodi knows how to write a book that shocks you at every turn!!
Great dual review you ladies have here. I just bought this series, so I can’t wait to delve into it.I have heard you find the hero redeemable in book three. so *crossing fingers* I will like this story. I love writing from an author that is addicting like this one sounds to be.
I just finished the third book, Renée, and I agree with other people – the hero really was redeemed in that one 🙂 Addictive writing is always a plus.
I enjoyed reading your chat. I just don’t think this is the book for me. So it’s good to know now, thanks for the review. I love the green and purple theme – favorite colors for me. Anne – Books of My Heart
The writing is really addictive, though, even if we didn’t completely love this story, we’ve continued with the series – so look out for more chat reviews 🙂
Purple is my fave color, and green is Brandee’s I’m glad you enjoy our new color scheme as well 🙂