This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpas

My rating: 4.5/5 Stars

My feelings are all over the place, so excuse the non-consistency, because it will be present a lot in this review.

My first book from Jodi Ellen Malpas came as a total shock. I was not familiar with her style and characters, and I dived into this book blind, without even reading the blurb first!! I had it on my Kindle for a while and I thought now is the perfect time “to make friends” with it:)

Ava is a very successful interior designer. At a very young age she managed to strike everybody with her talent and dedication, making her very important in the business. She is hired to decorate the new rooms that appeared during the expansion project at The Manor. At the fist meeting with the owner of the place, Jesse Ward, Ava finds herself caught in a web of lust and desire, unable to get free. Jesse is determined to have her, while Ava is determined to fight this feeling with everything she has.

There are 2 striking elements in the book that managed to get me out of my comfort zone : the construction of the characters and the sex scenes.. But let’s take them separately.

The characters were mind blowing and even if they were portrayed to be different, they couldn’t be more alike. Jesse is confident, aware of himself and of his physical qualities, but also controlling, dominant and very intense. He has a thing for “no swearing label”, doesn’t reveal his age ( the age game is adorable) and doesn’t enjoy women drinking in his presence. Since he met Ava, his determination sky rocketed and he was relentless in his pursue. He used all this best assets to seduce her, beginning with gentleness and attraction and ending with mind blowing sex. Yes, sex is used a lot in this book, in different ways. It is use when Jesse and Ava fight, when Jesse wants to make Ava comply to something, when Jesse wants Ava, mostly in all parts from a normal day:))

Ava was THE PERFECT MATCH for Jesse in all the ways possible. Her stubbornness, her fire, her youth, are all aspects that blended with our hero so well and lighted up this imense fire that is their relationship. When he was “Yes”, she was “No” and in this way, like a tennis game, the reader assists at endless debates and fights, that always ended up in..yes, you figure it out.. SEX!! Ava is very aware of the effect Jesse has on her, but she can’t pull away, being so tied to him, emotionally and physically. Jesse found his purpose, but he just has to make Ava realise that as well. her towards him, that by the end of the day, you want to enter the book and reason with them on the spot. The fact that they are so complex, makes this book complex and intense, with many things to understand and cope. Personally, Jesse’s behaviour and way of adapting to his feelings for Ava were the most difficult to adjust with, but I tried to understand him and I think I finally did 🙂

Coming again to the sex scenes, this are probably the most intense and raw scenes I have ever read. My feelings towards them are kind of complex, because many were not my type, but the book has this addictive pull that makes you want to know more, even if you are uncomfortable with certain aspects of it.  You just keep on reading, because you NEED to see what happens with the characters, how will they evolve and what secrets you may discover. Brace yourselves, because there are secrets involved and you need an open mind.

As I said before, a special and different experience, more mature and more complex, with an addictive plot and pleasurable frustrating characters that will keep you on the edge. Really looking forward to book 2:)