Today, we let our blog be taken over by an overbearing, controlling, hotter than fire, man named Jesse Ward. He is the epitome of Alpha Male, and please join us in our dedication today to This Man! (AKA full series reviews, so hang in there!)
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 affect 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?
Find This Man: Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
*Source: Bought*
I stumbled upon this book months ago and it was such a pleasant surprise. I honestly had no idea what to expect and the cover is so ambiguous that it could've really gone in any direction. What I quickly discovered is that in the midst of the crazy, CRAZY, love story of Ava and Jesse are some laugh out loud funny and smexy scenes. (Did she mention crazy...yes...ok! Hah! C-R-A-Z-Y!)
Ava and Jesse have that crazy sexual jaw-dropping tension from the moment they meet and their chemistry just gets stronger and stronger as the novel continues. Their relationship is filled with secrets and lies and intrigue (oh! and sex...or as they term them...various types of f*cks--lots of that!). I had many 'oh shit!' moments where I either had to giggle or agonize over the tension and drama that came between these two. Even when one of them made a dumb ass move I found myself still hoping that somehow they would find a way to work through their issues...which of course they did or we wouldn't have books 2 and 3. (There was a lot of sex...but I liked that when he was mad at her he ravished her, instead of being a bit sadistic as we have seen in other billionaire romances...sorry, you know what I mean.)
As I mentioned before, the humor was a huge draw for me and this book. Ava has great dialogue with her best friend, Kate--some of the things that come out of their mouths...HILARIOUS...but Ava's observations about her boss, co-workers, and those around her were a constant source of amusement. Also funny were the crazy ass scenes between Ava and Jesse...at least I saw them as funny. He was the ultimate alpha control freak-to the point that I either had to laugh or smack him. I chose to laugh. (Kate is ah-mazing, I knew I would love this book when our first encounter with her involves her threatening Ava with bodily harm if she doesn't spill her guts.)
Thankfully when I began this series book 1 and 2 were out because the way book 1 ended was in the midst of some serious drama ...so I eagerly jumped into book 2 as soon as I finished book 1. Luckily for you the entire series is now out!
Shelley: 4 1/2 Stars
Courtney: 4 stars
She knew she was heading towards disaster. Every instinct told her to run, but Jesse Ward was a hard man to escape.
It has been five days’ since Ava O’Shea left Jesse drunk and raging at Lusso – left behind a man who drowned her in his intensity and blindsided her with his touch. Getting over this man was never going to be easy. And now he’s back in her life.
She has questions she needs answering, but her determination to get these answers will give the pleasure-seeking playboy the power to destroy her again. She needs to keep her eyes wide open and caution at the forefront of her mind, an ambitious intention when Jesse Ward is within touching distance. And he plans to be.
He’s dark, he’s broken – Ava knows this, but the only way to find out how dark and how broken is to get beneath the steely exterior of this man.
So This Man was very good...it set things up, but we really got a teeny little taste of who Jesse was, and a lot of sexy. Well...I was expecting a huge shift for the second book, and shift it did!
Ava now knows a little bit more than she bargained for in this man who relentlessly chases her and it is safe to say she is less than pleased...so on one hand I am thinking, girl, it's not that big of a deal...people are in to what they are in to, get over it...THEN I let those thoughts creep in of if I was with a man who's profession is, how you say, adventurous and secretive...O_o and he has partaken in a lot of..ahem, festivities himself...I totally get why she freaked. These two have had more to work through in their short two month romance than most people do in two decades....! For real, Court. They tackle a lifetime of problems in 2 months...it's hard to believe just two months --sometimes I completely lost track of time, it felt like a much longer time frame.
Jesse was such a mystery for me still at this point. Every time he tells Ava..that's it, you know me...(cough*liar*) out comes more and more secrets. And with a lot of outside factors pulling for them to not be together, it kept me up half the night all week to find out who the next person to try to seduce Jesse was going to be.
The bath-tub-talks are among my favorite parts of this series, as he finally gives her pieces of himself that no one else knows. Ahhh...tub time is amazeballs! My swoons this week are probably all from these scenes. The British lingo and humor is still there, the count-downs (which at first were like...wtf...but now they are really funny), and I finally loved how passionate Jesse is about Ava instead of being skeptical! I thought Jodi Ellen Malpas totally hit an amazing rhythm with this installment, and had a ton of hand-over-my-mouth gasp! moments. A. Ton. Of. These. Moments! One Word: Sarah....
Courtney: 5 Stars
Shelley: 4 Stars
The Manor, the very place where their passionate love affair began, fills with guests on what should be the happiest day of Ava and Jesse's lives. She has accepted that she'll never tame the fierceness in Jesse-and she doesn't want to. Their love is profound, their connection powerful, but just when she thinks that she's finally gotten beneath his guarded exterior, more questions arise, leading Ava to believe that Jesse Ward may not be the man she thinks he is. He knows too well how to take her to a place beyond ecstasy . . . but will he also drive her to the brink of despair? It's time for this man to confess.
Find This Man Confessed: Amazon | Goodreads | B&N
Source: received eArc from Publisher via NetGalley
I've been waiting for the final installment of this series for what seems like FOREVER. This series has all of the things that I love--humor (OMGOSH I LOVE THE HUMOR!!!), sexy Brits, equally strong female and male leads, secrets and lies, and a little bit of intrigue.
Honey bun, I'm sorry that I seem to have hit the series mother effing jackpot lately that all of the books are out already! How this happened I don't know! But thank you for introducing me!
This Man Confessed was every bit as good as the first two books in the series for many reasons. I liked that we were rewarded for enduring the revelations of Jesse's past by having all of his secrets confessed. They don't all come out at once but once they are all out, the reasons for Jesse's behavior all make sense--Ava has the ultimate 'aha' moment and any lingering doubts she had about him are gone. Of course in order for her to get to this moment, she have to overcome some hurdles along the way.
I think that describes it perfectly. We are truly rewarded for enduring the roller coaster it is to be in Ava's world. I was skeptical, and I am sure I earned a few eye rolls from Shelley begging her to give me some information early. She wouldn't, but I am overjoyed where this installment took us and truly brought the trilogy full circle.
I really enjoyed Ava's honesty and struggle in this novel. I think that many young women would've had the exact same furious reaction she did to Jesse's first confession to the birth control pills. Actually, many women may have let THAT be the end of the marriage. Not Ava. She struggles with her decisions here and there are some truly awful moments that go along with those struggles--ones that many women in the world have felt--but she fights through those to chose her love for Jesse rather than her anger for what he's done. She continues to fight for her marriage when several women from Jesse's past threaten their marital bliss and even when she's furious, she never runs from him. She never gives up. I actually saw her as incredibly strong in this final book. She helps Jesse shoulder some burdens from the past and refuses to let either of them throw away their crazy, intense love.
They truly met in the middle....it was great! "Who holds the power?" went from being an asshole move, to an incredibly fun part of the story because Jesse lets her in on the little secret that she does. I was amazed at some of the decisions she was faced with early on, and thought it was an amazing take on an relevant topic...and heart stabbing! (Palpitations, anyone?!) The external crazy as well as their normal brand of crazy made this one thrilling and fast paced, even for such a long novel.
Jesse makes some nice steps in trying to reign in his controlling ways and even when he's not as successful as Ava might like, it's great to see him attempting to give in a little. He's not as tortured in this novel and he's able to offer Ava the love and support and of course his own brand of crazy to help her get through any struggle she has. His character also provides some humorous and swoon-worthy moments like: the handcuffs at the wedding, constantly needling her mom, standing up for her at various occasions, the trip to Paradise, and the Ava wall--just to name a few.
All of your examples! I am smiling right now just thinking about it! For all of the hurt, there is so much fun and humor and swoon worthy moments that made this my favorite of the series and a perfect conclusion!!! Don't forget him counting down and trampling her in a restaurant in front of strangers...whenever, wherever..and he meant it! Swooning still....excuse me..!
As I mentioned before, there are obstacles that are placed along the way to their HEA --the biggest is the crazy stalker that won't leave poor Ava alone. This stalker creates some anxious moments throughout the story and has you guessing and worrying almost to the very end. And what an end it is!!! The Who-Done-It plot added a little more depth and action to the story, as well as the catalyst for Jesse to finally tear down all of his walls. Still heart stabbing, solidified my Jesse love even more!
The epilogue was wonderful and while it definitely satisfied my hunger to know about their future...it really made me want to read about them until their old age. I so enjoyed these characters and I cannot wait to read the characters that Jodi creates next! Jesse POV...sign me up anytime! It was hysterical and sweet and him getting a dose of his own medicine....still smiling!
Jodi Ellen Malpas, for the win!
Shelley: 5 Stars
Courtney: 5 stars
About the Author (From Goodreads):
First time British author Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in the Midlands town of Northampton, where she lives with her family. Working for her father’s construction business fulltime, she tried to ignore the lingering idea of This Man until it became impossible. She made time and found the courage to release her creative streak, unleashing the character Mr Jesse Ward, Lord of The Manor.
Jodi took a chance on a story with some intense characters and exploded onto the self-published author scene at the end of October 2012, sparking some incredible reactions from women all over the world. Within two months of self-publishing This Man, Jodi made the decision to leave her day job to concentrate on her new and very unexpected career in writing.
The second instalment of the This Man Trilogy, ‘Beneath This Man’ was published in January 2013 and fast became an Amazon Bestseller, holding #1 position in the chart of its genre for many weeks in both the US and UK. Now the anticipation for the third and final part of the trilogy, ‘This Man Confessed’, is rife and will be published July 2nd 2013 by Grand Central Publishing.
Where to Find Jodi Ellen Malpas:
