This Man

This Man #1

by Jodi Ellen Malpas, Andrea Fischer (Translator)

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?

Genres: Romance, Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, BDSM, Adult, Erotic Romance

448 pages, ebook

First published October 20, 2012

About the author

“I write for myself. Not what I think people want to read.” ~ JEM

#1 New York Times & Sunday Times Bestselling Author Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in England, where she lives with her husband, her boys, and Theo the Doberman.

Writing powerful love stories with fierce, memorable characters is her passion – a passion that has taken her on an amazing journey into the world of romantic fiction. Her work is now published in more than twenty-five languages across the world.

Reviews

[Navessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I set the book down when the female lead's racism started to show.

[Akanksha❤ Søren♰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you need a story to relate to the book, this isn't your cup of tea because the book doesn't have one. It has only 3 things, controlling guy (not in a hot way), Crazy girl (in the literal way) and sex (without any chemistry)

____

She’s mentally undressing me. I should take my shirt off and confirm what she’s thinking.
A little something in Jesse's pov.. Here & Here
________
What the fuck did I just read and waste my time on????


"Watch Your Fucking Mouth"
I can totally imagine Jesse barking this as he reads all my reviews and my cuss words! hehehe


Totally disliked the book. It was frustrating, SO FUCKING DRAGGED and had no story and it was a waste of my time. I dont know why I went with the flow and got into the obviously exaggerated hype about this book. It has nothing other than a lot of sex. It didn't even ooze chemistry. It lacked everything, story and plot included. He wasn't even bloody romantic. *pissed*

The author's way of writing was pretty good, I enjoyed her writing but not her story. The book had NOTHING.
It was like..
Enters pretty girl, hot and loaded guy,
They meet..
Sparks fly..
They fuck..
She falls in love, talks shit in her head but never tells him..
Guy is has a mysterious streak and is a weird controlling freak..
Guy hides shit from girl..
Girl finds out..
Both are left heard broken..
The End.

Boy can Jesse bark, shout and fume like non other. He is supa crazy!!! So needs to take some pills to keep himself in control. He was over the top controlling, and for no reason what so ever, at least I felt that way.. because I could barely see a story line.
We know absolutely nothing about Jesse, Not even his age. All we know is he is good in bed, needs power, is controlling and is over the top cray cray.
I have such a strong feeling that he is the one stealing her pills to get her preggers..

Ava is stupid, she talks more in her head.. She really should speak half the stuff in her head out of her mouth too. Pissing off shit.
Ava is so much like Eva from Bared to You, She just keeps fucking running away like a cunt.
At least Eva has a reason, Ava has none. Annoying bitch, running all the time and pissing everyone off.
There Gideon fucked her before and after she ran away and was found, here she meets Sarah, runs away, then he finds her and 'makes friends' with her. Such shit. Pissed.

This book is SO FRUSTRATING. No story, only sex. Agrh! I need some story, something, anything!! This much 'making friends' pretty pissing off and irritating. Its like no shit is happening, Its stuck on SEX.
I like a story, I need a story to relate to the book, to feel something for the characters and the book. But I felt nothing here in this book.

I wanted to dump the book in the middle, but I kept going only for the end and even that didn't live up to any shit. I hope the 2nd book is better than this, at least it will revile stuff and have some kinda story.
I have high hopes for the 2nd book. I have a feeling even that will be dragged if the author wants to move stuff into the 3rd book.

Sarah was a bitch, Jesse is fucking dumb and Ava is so bloody pissing off and stupid. I only liked Sam! :|

[Britt · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, No and just No.

This book was sort of like watching a car crash about to happen. You can see it happening right in front of you and it’s not something pleasant you want to experience, but for the hell of it you can’t bring yourself to look away.

There are just so many problems with this book (I even wrote a damn list), so I am apologising in advance if this review gets a bit ranty.

5 reasons why I hated this book

1. Jesse’s possessiveness.
I have experienced my fair share of super alpha males. Despite some negative reviews I enjoyed Christian Grey, Gideon Cross, James Cavendish and even Travis Maddox (oh the horror I know). However I could not deal with Jesse Ward. Whilst Christian may be possessive of Ana in Fifty Shades he still lets her go to work and most of his possessiveness stems from the fact that she is actually in real danger. If Jesse had his way Ava would never leave his sight, he doesn’t like her to work, even going as far as coming into her work and trying to buy all her time and mark time in for every day in her daily planner. He gets bouncers to watch her when she goes out with friends and makes her promise not to drink. He leaves 8 missed calls while she is in the damn shower, and when they are fighting she wakes up to find 42 missed calls from him. Hello Ava, that’s called a stalker not a lover.

Secondly he seems to have a huge hypocritical problem with Ava’s swearing while swearing like a trooper himself. This just pissed me the FUCK off.

2. Ava’s stupidity
What’s worse about this book is that Ava acknowledges that Jesse is crazy, controlling and stubborn; she understands it is not healthy behaviour that he is crazy but she accepts it anyways.

“What I’ve just sustained should repulse me, but it doesn’t. I’d do anything for him.”

Why doesn’t she just leave? Probably because he won’t let her. Oh and the fact that she thinks he is perfect. The way she describes his perfection made me want to gag. Lines like these:

“This man is so perfect, I’m almost in pain.”

“Good god, he is way past perfect.”

GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF WOMAN!!!

3. The plot, or lack thereof
This book basically goes along the lines of something like this:
Ava and Jesse fuck, then she runs away and ignores her phone while he leaves a bazillion messages and calls a bazillion times. Then he chases her down and gives what he dubs (yes he does) a ‘sense fuck’ and she forgots the reason why she ran away in the first place. This happens again and again without them ever communicating about what was the issue in the first place. They don’t talk about it, they just start having sex again. Jesse doesn’t ask what made Ava run, Ava doesn’t try and discuss her insecurities with Jesse. It’s a bloody train wreck. Oh and did I mention that this same scenario happens three or four times throughout the book?. Its repetitive, annoying and predictable. There is this big secret that we all guessed in the first 10% that finally comes to fruition at the end of the book and that’s about it.

4. The great unsexiness (and just plain stupid).
There are just parts of this book that made me laugh at their stupidity, made no logistical sense and didn’t seem realistic or sexy.

-The first time that Jesse and Ava have sex, Ava lets him do something anal sex that seemed a bit unrealistic to happen on the first date. She just acknowledged a few pages ago that she wouldn’t let her boyfriend of four years do that but she just jumps in and lets Jesse do it when they have only just had sex. It seems very unrealistic.

-At 28% Ava tells Jesse she really needs to go to the toilet but he instead pins her down and she lets him have her way with him. HELLO??? They obviously have never heard of something called a urinary tract infection!

-Also quotes like this didn’t really make me hot and heavy

"I’m panting like a dehydrated dog" hmmm sexy Ava

"I’m gagging for him." Yes Ava you should be gagging, he is disgusting but I don’t think this is what this sentence is meant to mean. It’s probably some Brit slang that I am oblivious to but it didn’t really invoke the sexiest visuals.

5. The editing (or lack thereof)
I understand this this is a self-published novel but some of the editing in this book was so bad.

"How long have you been stood here."

"I see him stood watching me."


Ok somebody needs to teach Jodi the difference between stood and standing.

“with everything else I have to poke up with.” I think she means put.

I usually don’t notice bad editing as much as a lot of other reviewers do but I couldn’t miss this one.

SORRY TO EVERYONE WHO LOVED IT! But this book just was not for me.

That said I probably will torture myself with the second book, because as I said I can’t look away from the car crash.

[Bibi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note to authors: putting a Black man and a white woman together with a rape whistle on the same page is indicative of both a conscious and unconscious bias on your part. Either make Black people normal or simply continue to exclude them as you’ve done for eons.

As to the plot and characters? You might as well just re-read FSOG because then at least you’d get some semblance of a story along with the ubiquitous sex. 🙂

[Aestas Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn on how to rate this book. I liked some of it, I disliked some of it, some of it was thrilling, some of it was frustrating so...

3.5 stars.

This book has been 'going around' a lot and I was very intrigued by the controlling, possessive billionaire premise.

“Just tell me one thing before you leave, Ava.” His voice prickles at my senses… His face is serious, but still stunning. “How loud do you think you’ll scream when I fuck you?”

I’m not a fan of comparing books, I prefer to let each one stand on its own. But in the case of this book, after the huge impact of the last 2 mega-successful controlling billionaire series, its inevitable that some comparisons will be made. But, personally, if I were to do so, I honestly feel like Jesse was maybe a bit more like a non-kinky Knight than Christian or Gideon.

Let’s start out from the beginning. Because I felt differently about this book in the beginning than I did at the end.

To say that the beginning melted my panties and set my heart a-flutter is a mega understatement. I swear, after their first meeting, I was ready to just throw a 6 star rating at the book. I was hooked and utterly captivated by their chemistry.

When Ava, an up-and-coming interior designer lands a job at The Manor in the country side, the last thing she expects is for the proprietor, or Lord of the Manor, to be drop dead gorgeous. He is beyond intense and she is so strongly affected by him that he just takes over her mind every time she sees him. She jumps to several conclusions about him and decided though that its all too much for her and walks away. But Jesse is not one to be deterred from getting what he wants. He relentlessly peruses her until finally the combination of his determination and her intense desire for him make her give in.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers softly… “I lied, I’m sorry. I told you, I can’t stay away… I need to have all of you, Ava. Say I can have all of you.”

Jesse gave me shivers!!! He was a gorgeous, controlling, domineering, self-assured British billionaire with a husky accent. I mean, holy hell, can you just picture that?? *fans self* But… he was also an unreasonable control freak and pretty much a stalker. I do love me a controlling, possessive hero but… I felt he went too far. Even I was feeling stifled and I wasn’t the object of his attention.

He was just … too much sometimes… like too stalker-ish, too rude, too demanding, too extreme, too unreasonable, too neurotic, borderline immature (especially at the end). And Ava just gave in every time. I wish she stood up a bit more.

And honestly, if he told her to “Watch your mouth!” one more time… *mimes throttling* . I mean, its not like he was a saint or anything. He swore all the time, but every time she’d swear at all, he’d yell at her. Every. Time. It got old real fast.

Let’s just say that, in real life, I’d personally actually put up with a Christian or a Gideon, but a Jesse would have been kicked to the fucking curb if he said/did the things he did in this book to me. That being said, this is fiction. And, in the spirit of appreciating him for the fictional character that he is, I tried to be more lenient in my judgement.

But I guess I just found Jesse too extreme overall. At the same time, I really did like him and felt like I wanted to know where his story went, but I couldn’t really look past a few of his demands.

Ava. hmmm I don’t know what to say about her. I didn’t like a lot of what she did but at the same time, I didn’t dislike her. She didn’t make me mad or anything, but her actions/reactions just didn’t make me admire her. First of all, I’m really surprised she didn’t see the “twist” at the end. I had my suspicions from the beginning and after that, there was a lot that hinted at it and she never had a clue. Second, I didn’t like how, on her own she was an intelligent, relatively strong, independent woman, but the second she shared the same air as Jesse, she pretty much turned into a doormat. So many moments when he’d say things to her like “Who has the power?” , I really just wanted her, at some point, to stand up to him, but she completely gave in every time. Even when she did “rebel”, it was always relatively short-lived.

I felt that Jesse took things to an extreme and what would have been needed to balance him out was someone that wouldn’t like outright defy him per say, but that would have stood on her own enough to not give him complete and utter power.

Also, with many other such controlling, possessive heroes, I guess what makes me accept them so readily, is that, no matter what extremes they’ll go to to control their women, they are still always thinking of the woman first. But there were several times here where I felt that Jesse put his need to control her above her comfort.

There are a few examples, but the one I’ll reference is the scene at 25%. I found it very unrealistic and unbelievable. I don’t have any problem with butt sex – if its done well. But the fact that it was her first time doing it, that it was only their second time having sex at all, that she wasn’t even like ‘looking forward’ to it and then he just rammed her so suddenly like that (and that was after it was made very clear how well-endowed he was)…. I didn’t like how he handled it. I mean sure the scene was hot, and she did enjoy it in the end but I guess it was about as un-realistic as their always-perfectly-timed mutual orgasms… lol, I felt sometime like they were taking a photo or something “three…two…one…COME!” o_O

This book takes place in England and has a LOT of “Bristishisms” –> Sodding. Knickers. Jumper. Quiff. Plum. Posh. Tart. Tube. Lush. Dribble. Bloody. Tosser. Bin bags. Knackered. Bird. Shag. Cheeky fag… there’s a lot. It didn’t bother me or anything, this isn’t a complaint, but it definitely jumps out at you.

The plot wasn’t overly gripping. The whole story was about them figuring each other out. Again, it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t feel like there was too much change in the characters by the end of the book and wasn’t really sure if the story had gone anywhere except at the very end.

There was only one thing in the books that really made me mad. Now, I understand that this book came out after Fifty Shades and that it’s got to fight to be appreciated on its own terms and not be labeled a copy or a wanna-be. But regardless, there IS the blatant fact that it is in a similar genre and, although it did stand on its own, it is without a doubt along the same lines and as such, given the context, I did NOT appreciate the blatant dig at putting down Dominants. I thought it was petty and disrespectful because there is NO doubt what was being referred to there. I hope that if this book ever gets published officially (currently, it is self-published) that that line gets taken out.

That being said, you should know that this is not a BDSM book. In fact, Jesse is relatively anti-kink. Its all straight-up, albeit intense, vanilla sex.

Parts of this book thrilled me and excited me. Parts of this book annoyed me and frustrated me. I’m torn here because I know a lot of people rated it with 5 stars. But I’m just trying to really be honest and something about the book didn’t fully sit right with me. At the same time, I did like it. I really did. I didn’t hate it. Please don’t think I hated it. Its not a bad book. I just had some issues with it.

It really helped that Jesse was totally hot. And when he wasn’t being overly control-y and stalker-y, I could really see myself falling for him. He had him moments of tender and sweet to be sure and I really did get the feeling like he was just out of his league with this relationship.

“I want to look after you forever,” he whispers, pressing his lips against my temple.”

I am intrigued by him. I do want to know more about his past. Where did he get that scar?? How old is he???? What happened in his past to make him so utterly terrified of loosing her? There are a lot of questions still to be answered and I’ll definitely be going on to the next book. I hope he gets over some things though in it. I didn’t feel like he ‘grew’ at all as a person in this story. In fact, you could almost say it ended on a major low point for him. So I’m really, really hoping that in the second book (that is supposed to be out in December, so thankfully not too long a wait) he makes some progress at learning to be more reasonable and finding a more balanced way of being controlling and possessive.

CASTING:



"This man is so perfect, I'm almost in pain. His dirty blond hair looks like he's half attempted to get it into a semblance of a style but given up. His eyes are sludgy green, but bright and way too intense, and the stubble covering his square jaw does nothing to conceal the handsome features beneath it. He's lightly tanned and just... Oh God, he's devastating."

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[Miss H · Rating 1 out of 5]

This will most likely contain spoilers, so if that isn't your thing, feel free to ignore this review entirely.

I don't even know where to start. To be honest, I’m baffled by the amount of reviews that rave about how good this book is.



I mean, I just—I can’t.



But to each their own, as they say.

The editing—well, this book could use a good editor. And that's to say nothing about the writing itself, which was bland, pedestrian, and long-winded.

Jesse:







I typically enjoy reading books with alpha male characters. It's sexy for a man to be a little possessive, especially in the bedroom. However, it is not okay when he tries to control every single aspect of your life, thus controlling you. There is a very thin line and it was crossed. Jesse is...well, he's beyond crazy. He’s a domineering, overly possessive control freak. And that's putting it nicely. There's nothing sexy about the way he behaves. The guy seriously has issues. He claims he only acts like a psycho around Ava. I find this hard to believe. He’s also really secretive about his age. He’s supposedly 30-ish. He sure as hell doesn’t act like a mature adult. He’s manipulative and uses sex as a weapon (or a "reminder", as he calls it). He has absolutely no regard for Ava’s feelings about anything. He does what he wants, when he wants.

1: He scowls at me good and proper. ‘Like I said, I don’t have to explain myself to you. Let’s go.’

2: ‘Hey. Let’s get one thing straight, lady. You don’t dictate when and where I kiss you, or for how long.’ He’s deadly serious.

3: ‘Listen to me, lady. You’re not going anywhere. I’ve told you repeatedly, so get fucking use to it!’

Don't even get me started on his stalker tendencies. He calls Ava multiple times a day. Heaven forbid she not answer his call on the first ring. He calls and sends text messages and when that doesn't work, he shows up unannounced, demanding to know where she's been.

‘I’m outside Kate’s kicking the door down,’ he snaps, ‘Is it too much to ask that you answer your phone the first time I call you?’

[...]

‘I was in the shower.’

‘Well, take your phone next time.’ he orders.

Jesse has little to no redeeming qualities whatsoever, especially not after what happened at the end of the book. Ava finally grows a pair and he loses his shit, blaming her for the sorry state in which he finds himself. I fail to see how his choices and deplorable actions are anyone's fault but his own. It’s like, damn, get your act together!

Ava:







Ava…yeah, I don’t even know where to begin with her. She’s a 26-year-old woman, but you’d never know that based on how she behaves. She's incredibly immature. She works as an interior designer, but she has got to be the most unprofessional person on the planet.

She's such a doormat, too. She repeatedly tells Jesse "no", but she doesn't really put her foot down. Jesse is a bully and she lets him get away with it. I mean, Jesse is one big unknown. She's curious, has questions, but does she ask them? No, of course not.

As for the supporting characters, the only one I'm going to mention is Kate. That woman, I swear. She's just as bad as Jesse. She and Ava are roommates, by the way. Ava tells her that she no longer wants to see Jesse and what does Kate do? She goes behind Ava's back, making deals with Jesse, allowing him into their apartment. Ava needs to seriously reevaluate their friendship, because Kate is a terrible friend.

The book itself was really drawn out. All the petty conflicts through miscommunication and misunderstandings was overdone and got on my nerves. It became redundant after a while. He’d make some unreasonable demand, she’d fight him on it, then he would proceed to “fuck some sense into her." Rinse and repeat. Unfortunately, if you remove all the unnecessary, contrived drama, you're not left with much of a story. With Jesse hiding Ava's birth control pills, I can only assume where book two is headed. Seriously, how dense can she be? "Oh, I can't find my pills." Yeah, that's because your psycho boyfriend stole them not once, but twice.

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★! This Man, book 1 of 3. The in control yet so out-of-control, Jesse Ward’s intense & imperious seduction & pursuit of Ava O’Shea. A whirlwind tale filled with secrets, lies, villains & suspense plus a captivating love!

“He shakes his head. ‘You’re different. I told you, Ava, I’ll trample anyone who tries to get in my way. Even you.”

This Man Series is the intense, epic saga about Jesse Ward, Mr. Sexy, Bossy, Compulsive and Secretive Extraordinaire, in his relentless pursuit and seduction of interior designer, Ava O’Shea. Their story is filled with covert pasts and hidden agendas! It’s truly a wild, bumpy and emotional ride loaded with intrigue and shockers, undiluted lust and mind-bending sex plus a compulsive and intense love. Be prepared to be swept away by their story!

Books in This Man series should be read in order:
Book 1: This Man
Book 2: Beneath This Man
Book 3: This Man Confessed
Book 4: With This Man

This Man (book 1) opens up with Jesse Ward needing 10 rooms decorated at a country estate, the Manor. He has specifically requested Ava O’Shea though she has to prior knowledge of him. Their first meeting is electric and the story goes from there sucking you in for a roller-coaster of seduction, sex, secrets, surprises, suspense and set-backs throughout ending with a series of shocking cliff-hangers, but no worries book 2, Beneath This Man has been released and book 3, This Man Confessed is about to be released.

“You added yourself to my contacts list?’ I gasp. When did he do that? I mentally sprint through our meeting, settling on my visit to the toilet when I left my portfolio and phone on the table. I can’t believe he went through my phone!
‘I need to be able to get hold of you.”

Jesse Ward is just what I needed. In fact he is everything I needed! The first time he started barking orders “Mouth!” I felt like - Whoa, that does not make him an alpha. As it turns out Jesse and I just need a little more time to connect and once we did I was on “Cloud Nine” (sigh!) He truly is all pure, sexy, unadulterated alpha!

Six words to describe Jesse: Intense, bossy, compulsive, enigmatic, possessive and elusive.

“I’m having Ava withdrawal.’ I melt a little on a sigh. He can be so domineering, bossy and unreasonable, and in the next breath, completely soppy and lovely.”

Ava O’Shea is everything that Jesse needed and everything we needed to keep the story going. She stood up to him, she succumbed to him, she riled him, she created more drama and she kept the mystery and story going by NOT demanding answers.

Six words to describe Ava; Talented, strong, focused, ambitious, stubborn and meek.

“I can be quiet,’ I whisper. ‘Gag me if you must.’
He smirks. ‘Trust me, you’ll be screaming. No gag will stifle it.”

I’d also like to extend my sincere thanks for introducing us to all that is sex with Jesse (or fucks depending on the mood):
Reminder fucks, Sleepy sex, Make friends sex, Shower fucks, Hangover sex, Catching up sex, Sense fucks, Seeing stars fucks, Apology fucks, Possessive fucks, Retribution fucks, Sleepy celebration sex… Proposal fucks and… Truth fucks. The last one courtesy Ava.

Euphoric Angst! Intense! Epic! Captivating! I am so thankful to Ms. Malpas!

“I’m talking about how much easier we’ll get along if you accept who holds the power.’
Oh, I can’t bear it anymore. ‘You do!’
He releases me immediately. ‘Good girl.”

***
Hero rating: 5+ stars
Heroine rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 5 stars
Storyline concept rating: 5 stars
Storyline execution rating: 5 stars
Storytelling skills rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: N/A
*********************************************
Overall rating: 5 stars

Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Yes!
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.

[Shabby -BookBistroBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lord Shalt Forever Be Mine
Holy Mother of Hotness!!
"How loud do you think you'll scream when I fuck you Ava?"
SwwoooooooooooooonThump Jesse ward!!
I'm forever on #CentralJesseCloudNine #321ZeroBaby
He's Top Alpha my Top BBF OF ALL TIME!
Ava meets Jesse on a job and he makes her fall for him
"I'll make you need me, I'll make it my mission"
Ooooh sexy. He can move like Justin, make love like a Love God and woo ava like a Love sick fool he is.
It ends on a cliff but there's more....
5 stars for The Lord Of The Manor
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[Jenny Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

MOVE OVER 50 SHADES OF GREY TRILOGY AND CROSSFIRE SERIES...
THERE'S A NEW STEAMY TRILOGY IN TOWN!

I'm adding "This Man" to my list of favorites. I still love FSoG and The Crossfire Series though. HA.

Anyway, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Ava, a mid-twenties Interior designer was sent by her boss to do her job at "The Manor", owned by the I-don't-know-his-age drop dead gorgeous devastatingly handsome suited God, Jesse Ward, which isn't what she expected though (she expected a pompous country bumpkin. It was love (or LUST) at first sight on their first meeting. But coming out of an awful relationship, Ava does not want to have anything to do with Jesse, but boy is this guy persistent, and she found herself falling deep...in shit.

Meet Anna and Christian, Eva and Gideon -- Ava and Jesse.

Ava
Ava baby, I don't know what I think about her. There are times that I just want to strangle her for constantly running away and getting back together...again and again and again with Jesse...on the other hand, I couldn't blame her coz who can resist God-like Jesse Ward, duh! I kinda feel for her though coz she's fallen deep for him, but she isn't sure if she is just a constant fvck or more than that. And she keeps on asking Jesse about his life, but HE WON'T OPEN UP. She also keeps on asking him about his age, which he won't admit. First, he said 21, and everytime she asks him, it will go up a notch. The latest is 30, I guess. Though, according to him the reason he isn't telling his REAL age is "Because, you
might think I’m too old for you and run a mile." LOL.

My fave scene of Ava is her drunken confession:

"It
doesn’t matter how old you are." I mumble.
"It doesn’t?"
"No, it doesn’t. Nothing matters – I still love
you."

Now,

Jesse
Mr. Unreasonable Control Freak. Seriously, this dude is cuhrazzyyyy. He's so possessive of Ava, tramples everything that gets in his way, he is obsessed!
Btw, I have a gift for you:

I also hate it that wherever Ava is, he is also there. STALKER MUCH? Like, don't you have a job? HAHA.
Sometimes, I also wanna scream because he won't open up on Ava. He's full of mystery.
But, you know what, I still love him. Just like I love Christian and Gideon ;) Maybe because of his panty-melting lines???

"Oh, I’ll take care of it. Make sure you dream of me."
I smile. "I will. Goodnight."
"Oh, Ava?"
"What?"
"You’re the one, baby."

"Everything is so much more bearable with
you around, Ava"

"You’re the one I’ve been waiting for���"

This book also introduces us to various types of sex/fvck, namely:
*reminder fvck
*sense fvck
*apology fvck
*possessive fvck
*sleepy sex
*catching up sex

HAHA. Moving on...

So, a lot of readers are comparing this book to Fifty Shades Trilogy and Crossfire series. I, too, have seen similarities.

i.e.

Eva and Gideon's:
"Because I want to fuck you, Eva. I need to know what’s standing in my way, if anything."

VS.

Ava and Jesse's:
"How loud do you think you’ll scream
when I fuck you?"

And that's both like in their second or third meeting. And we also got the same reaction from the ladies.

I also think Christian and Jesse are similar in the dominance department (minus BDSM). And the ending is kinda similar to that of Fifty Shades of Grey

They are also comparing "This Man" to "Beautiful Disaster." Hmm. Idk. Maybe because of Jesse's possessiveness that sometimes he thinks he'll go crazy without Ava, just like Travis with Abby? :)

Anywayssss, reading this book was so much fun! The chemistry between Jesse and Ava are way off the charts! I laughed, I cried, I got angry. The sex is great (there are tons, btw). It also annoys me how everytime Ava cusses, Jesse always tells her "Watch your fucking mouth!" like all throughout the book. UGH. The ending isn't what I expected though (coz I didn't know this was a trilogy). Anyway, at the end of the book, you will get some of your questions answered, but, I still got quite a few ones like: What is really Sarah's role in Jesse's life? What's the story behind his scars? and the ultimate question, HOW OLD IS JESSE??? Hopefully, we'll get the answers on book 2!

Overall, I think this book was awesome, wonderfully written and HOT HOT HOT!!! Definitely worth reading! :)



4.5 UNREASONABLY SMEXY STARS!

UPDATE
--> Beneath This Man (This Man #2) Release Date: January 18, 2013

[JoJo - JJJ (Jo Anna) Janesko · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buddy Read with Liz

I love an alpha but Jesse took it to the extreme. This book was long and just full of sex and fighting. I am not sure if I will be reading on with the series given that there really isn't much of a story.

[Baba]

WTF? Even if I hadn't been convinced yet that I would never read her books, the following mind-boggling statements sealed the deal for me...



My husband was no match for the fantasy hunk in my erotic novels...so I've ditched him.




Ms Malpas, from Northampton, says: ‘All my fictional men are strong, successful, sophisticated and enigmatic. I guess it’s hard for any living, breathing man to live up to such a fantasy.




‘After all, I created him and I made him the way he is for a reason. Every woman needs some fantasy lover to spice up the dull reality of her real life. I wanted to create my perfect love story.
‘But the success of my books and the popularity of my male character led to the breakdown of my marriage. Sadly it was not solid enough to withstand the changes success has brought to my life.’





I think I'll continue to stick to reality. Thank you very much.

Here's the link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic...

You should also check out the comment section. It's very…er…telling, to say the least.

[Vika aka ♔ of GIF & Grumpy Smut-ateer *P/T Freebie Fairy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Cray-Cray - Wine Bottles & Mini Dresses & Countdowns to Zero & Eclairs

    May I present to you... *drum roll*... My Jesse!
  

Holy sh!t to the crazy man - Jesse. And Ava sweetie...




Before I start can I have a moment please?




Theeeeeeere much better... now on to the review

~*~*~*~*~*~


Let's start off with presenting the Manor of Jesse... simply beautiful and well I dare you to take an ungaurded peak into one of the rooms (whoops... I did not say that)

[image error]


The beautiful, young and talented interior decorator Ava O'Shea heads out to Manor only for a consult but gets so much more. From the moment their eyes meet there is crazy chemistry (and I mean crazy!). Chemistry you feel thick in the air and as Ava's friend, Kate, said chemistry that gets YOU horny if you are in proximity.

A much older, successful *cough* hotel owner & manager, Jesse, wants her and pulls out all the stops... and I mean it! the man goes over the top crazy to get Jesse. In a real world I would have been withdrawing my accounts and visiting some shady businesses to get a new identity. Then getting off the grid far away as possible from this man. But thank god this man is a figment imagination of this brilliant writer. Seriously, I hope this wasn't modeled after someone.

Gotta say there is not much happening for most of the book... mostly it's just *SEMI-SPOILER ALERT* hot sex, short dresses, drunken escapades, non-stop ringing phones, cussing, temper tantrums and JEEZ THE NON-STOP CAT AND MOUSE CHASE GAMES.

There is quiet a lot not being said... like Jesse's age... seriously with all this mystery he better be a well preserved man in his 60's lol.
I really wish we had more on his past, too. I think at 70% I was getting exasperated that we weren't getting shit. Hopefully book 2?

Perhaps we can get bit of a backbone for Ava, while we at it. Seriously girl, he is going all loco on you and you are scared to ask him the hard questions. Jeez half of the time you are doubting yourself and grow cold on him when he says a wrong word that does not belong in your perfect HEA world. Grow up! Can't you tell he is a fucked up millionaire with some messed up past hmm?





Btw, who want to kills this Sarah bitch with me? Who is she???




Now the ending...


hopefully that is all in that and I can't wait to get to book 2. Hopefully Ava learned some things and found her voice.

Those two are explosive but they belong together no doubt.

'He brings out the worst in me too. He hates me swearing, so I do it more. he has issues with exposing my flesh to anyone other than him, so I wear shorter dresses. he tells me not to get drunk, so I do...'

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Lady, you're mine forever"

[image error]

Random Ramblings:
- The man sure loves his toppings and condiments... Whip Cream, PB, Chocolate, Ava lol
- So many different type of sex: catching-up sex, reminder fuck, sense fuck, retribution fuck, sleepy sex, apology fuck, hangover sex... hm... am I missing anything more from this book?

Favorite quote

The modern man needs to catch on to the fact that women want to be treated as equals, but only when it suits us. the modern woman's fierce need for independence doesn't mean we want to pay for our half of a meal, or that we don't want a man to hold a door open for us. We still want to be looked after, but on our terms.

lol we are so confusing

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Attempting to write a review for this book without allowing myself to go off on a rant about everything that bothered me about the story would be next to impossible. So, consider yourself warned.




I am a fan of the Alpha Male character in books. Hell, gimme an Uber-Alpha Male and I'm an even happier girl. But...there is a difference between being an Alpha Male and being an obnoxious bully. Sometimes the lines blur, but in the case of this book...there is no question that the character of Jesse Ward is a first class asshat.

Let me make this clear: There is nothing sexy about Jesse's behavior in this book. Nothing. He becomes obsessed with and begins systematically stalking Ava after their first encounter. Calling her phone dozens of times and when she refuses to answer he goes out and gets a new cell phone so he can trick her by calling her from another phone number. Showing up at her house in the middle of the night, banging on her door and screaming like a madman until she lets him in. Calling and blowing up at her for not calling him as soon as she got home after spending the night with him (oh, and did I mention the fact that she wanted to return home the night before but he physically restrained her from leaving?). I'm sorry, but if someone acted like that in real life, his ass would get arrested pretty damn quick.

As far as the sex scenes go...I am far from a prude. In fact a large portion of the books I have read in 2012 have been erotica & BDSM related. Having said that, in my opinion there is nothing sexy about basically forcing a particular sex act on someone regardless of the fact that the woman 'ended up liking it'. After that scene it became increasingly difficult for me to continue on to the end of this book.

Oh, and did i mention how Malpas described Jesse as being twitchy, having clammy hands and having a habit of heavy breathing on Ava?!



As others have mentioned, this book is by an independent British author who continually uses many British terms that are unfamiliar. I can pretty much ignore that most of the time and something like that very rarely makes me enjoy a good book less. However, here I found myself downright confused at times. Ava repeatedly describes Jesse's eyes as being "sludgy". Now, I am assuming that the author meant this in a positive way (considering she uses the term when Ava is waxing poetic about how impossibly perfect Jesse is), but it just didn't compute with me. Maybe's it's some obscure British-ism, but it was especially distracting given how many times the author used the term.

Speaking of which...and I feel like I'm having a Fifty Shades of Grey flashback here, but this author was extremely repetitive. Jesse was continually yelling at Ava about cursing ("Watch your mouth, lady!") even while cursing himself. And dear Lord in heaven I think I speak for everyone who read this book when I ask the following question:

HOW OLD IS JESSE WARD???!!!???

I really wish the author had cleared that up because I was so damn sick of Ava pontificating about it throughout the book. In the beginning, Ava comments that Jesse looks to be in his early 30's, but at other times she acts like he is a dirty old man and must be in his 40's or 50's because she constantly comments about how much older he is than her (even though she is in her mid 20's). That was just one more aspect of the story line that I found maddening.

Despite what it might sound like given the tone of this review, I did go into this book with an open mind, wanting to like it. Unfortunately it was 100% not for me.

Read more reviews at my blog: http://ravingbookaddict.blogspot.com/

[Patty ~ Wrapped Up In Reading Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's time for a re-read and who better to get reacquainted with than Jesse Ward??!! 💖💖💖






This story is simply captivating and smokin hot!!!
Jesse Ward is all kinds of yummy!!!
The book was hard to put down.
The fireworks between Jesse and Ava are BLAZING!!!
I'm utterly grateful to the ladies of TotallyBooked for bringing this story to my attention!
Just how old is Jesse?? Hoping to find out at least by the third book.
I was totally not expecting what happened at the end!
I guess I had my heads up in Jesse Cloud Nine along with Ava :)
I'm off to read Beneath This Man next!
Totally am loving the angst!!!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

REREAD on March 17-19,2018;
I decided to give this series a re-read considering book #4 is coming out soon! My memory isn't what it used to be, so I want to make sure I have all the details freshly in my mind! It is also kind of neat to see how my tastes and opinions have changed over the years! In the case of Jesse Ward and Ava, I will say that my opinions do still stand; although I have way more tolerance for Jesse's stalkerish tendencies and his possessiveness. A part of the reason for that is I have read some very dark reads since I have read this series....and Jesse doesn't seem near as bad as some of the anti-heroes I have recently read about! LOL I will say that Ava ticked me off more this time around. With her hot and cold attitude, and always leaving him...I would have kicked her to the curb...Just saying. She must be really hot in bed for him to put up with her...LOL

What I noticed this time around as well is that a lot of the recent books don't even compare to the intensity of Jesse and Ava's relationship. Their passion as well, is so hard to beat. They just don't make books like they used to!!! I think it is time for me to revisit some of my other faves over time, because truly it is rare for me to be hooked on stories now like I was back then! Moving on to book #2!! Ava had better be nicer to Jesse, or I am going to start not liking her! LOL



Original Review from 2013:


I have some very mixed feelings when it comes to this book. I have to say that a big part of the book made me feel uncomfortable with the way Jesse treated Ava. I normally LOVE alpha males and even enjoy them controlling their woman! Jesse took control to a new level that, in my opinion; was extremely abusive. Ava was not happy with him "bossing" her around, but usually she would just let him have his own way, which again rubbed me the wrong way. At one point, he punches a hole in Ava's roomates door, and when the roomate comes back and sees it, Jesse throws her a bunch of money to fix it and then everything is ok...UH HELLO???? What am I missing here??? Where on earth is this type of behaviour acceptable, and further more how is that romantic?? Jesse had also MAJOR stalking tendencies, and a huge issue with Ava wearing revealing clothes. He also holds a lot of information about himself inside and doesnt' share with Ava, so she never really gets to know him and his personal life. She doesn't even know how old he is!
Now, in saying all of this, I still gave this book a four star rating and this is why I felt it deserved it! The sex in this book is beyond HOT! It is so intense and holy smoly!!!! I had to fan myself on several occasions! The author knows how to write a sex scene like nobody's business!!! Whether we were treated to "Sleepy Sex", "Possessive Sex" or even his famous "Sense Sex", there was no shortage of steamy scenes in this story! This is one of the hottest books I have read in a long time! So for all of my complaints, I still was hooked onto the pages and the explosive ending had me extremely glad that I had waited to read this story until the second book was available! Believe me, as soon as I finished this one, I immediately began the next installment!! I am strongly hoping that the next book will reveal more of why Jesse is the way he is, and of course I am expecting that we will be highly entertained with intense rip roaring hot sex!!!

[Georgia ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-ish CRAZY-ass Stars



"I’m keeping you forever."

Really,really glad I read this story!! I understand now the controversial reviews and why few DNF, but I kinda loved it. It's nothing unique really. But it's funny, it's bat-shit crazy, it's enjoying. My kinda of sexy read!

And all of you sexy billionaires, you think you are insane? Possesive? Ha, ha, ha..


There is a a new psychotic man in town. And he deserves to be hospitalized!!!!!!!!!! THIS MAN!

So, WELCOME TO THE MANORSeriously, who didn't immediately thought that this was a sex club....


Every manor has a Lord and Master and ours is the one and only:

Jesse Ward

Jesse is insane. Don't get me wrong... I love him completely but he is arrogant, jealous, possessive, flawed, liar, filthy rich, adrenaline junkie. Cavemann Style!!!!!!!!! He is interesting to read, keeps you on your toes, AMAZING! I don't suggest marrying him, but admiring from a safe distance? DEFINITELY!

"I’m going to possess every.single.part.of.you. He punctuates each word clearly and sharply. There will be nowhere on this beautiful body that won’t have had me in it, on it or over it."

Our unsuspecting heroine is Ava O'Shea.

"I’m not getting caught up with a handsome stranger, no matter how handsome he is. And oh, is he mind meltingly delicious. Anyway, he’s way too old for me. And more importantly, he’s obviously taken. And that only reinforces the fact that he’s an ultimate player. This is not the sort of man I need to be attracted to, damn me, especially after Matt and his infidelities. I need a man, eventually, who’ll be faithful, protective and look after me – preferably a bit nearer my age too."

No awkward bone in her body... A young accomplished designer, opinionated, some issues with an ex, but a real coward. The only thing it kinda went old with this story is the summary of Jesse and Ava's relationship...



I swear, every 20 damn pages, she was running away! Constantly! I wanted to tie her up and spank her!!!!!!!!!! I was FED UP!
Yeap girl, Jesse has some serious issues but you can't hide your head in the sand, you are amazing together!



And by the end, she drove him over the edge (not that he wasn't close..) and everything crashed and burned and we left them in ruins...
WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?! One of the worst cliffhangers endings I have ever read!!!



Thank God I waited until now to read it. The next is to be released next week, so I can handle it!



Also what I really liked in this book, was the glimpse into the modern womanhood and how that clashes with our basic female instincts. It is something that me (and probably enough of you) struggles with every day. Our hard-won independence or the alpha male. The answer is as always somewhere in-between...

"The modern man needs to catch on to the fact that women want to be treated as equals, but only when it suits us. The modern woman’s fierce need for independence doesn’t mean we want to pay for our half of a meal, or that we don’t want a man to hold a door open for us. We still want to be looked after, but on our terms."

Painful admittion: I was on date and the clown I was with, broke out the calculator and told me that my half of the meal was 12,23 EUROS... True and painful story!! I, of course gave him 25 EUROS, stormed off and bribed my brother to make him a call...LOL! Great times!



If you are looking for the ultimate male, look no further... An intense read I really enjoyed! I have already started the countdown for the next!

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 CRAZY, POSSESSIVE, "WATCH YOUR MOUTH" STARS.


Who is This Man??

Let me provide you with a mental image first...



We know his name is Jesse Ward.

We know that YES, Jesse is pretty much perfect on the outside... He's dangerously handsome, filthy rich and he's also the Lord of the Manor; a blooming, successful "hotel" for which Jesse has hired the 26 year old ambitious interior designer Ava O'Shea to redesign some of the rooms.

From the moment Ava and Jesse meet, there's an instant powerful connection between and they're immediately attracted to each other. Or, as Ava's friend Kate said it:

"Ava, the sexual tension batting between you and that man was so fucking super charged, even I was horny!"

Ava tries to stay away from the mysterious businessman because she KNOWS he has "heartbreak" written all over him but there's no escaping a guy like Jesse... He's the kind of guy who ALWAYS gets what he wants.

"Just tell me one thing before you leave, Ava." His voice prickles at my senses, and I find my eyes travelling up the leanness of his body until our stares meet. His face is serious, but still stunning. "How loud do you think you'll scream when I fuck you?"

First off, what I would like to say to Jesse:
I mean, the guy has some serious control issues, he pretty much takes being a control freak to the extreme... And most of the things he does would practically drive any sane woman INSANE. And if he doesn't get what he wants, he uses all kinds of methods, most of them including sex, to get his way.

"You'll always need me, Ava. I'm going to make sure of it. Now, let's see if we can fuck some sense into you."

Then there's the infamous phrase he likes to use so much: "Watch your fucking mouth". He uses it ALL the time whenever Ava accidently uses a cuss word, he uses it while they're arguing, while they're having sex, while they're jogging in the park... Seriously, by 50 % into the story I was starting to get extremely exasperated with hearing him say that...

Especially, since he had NO PROBLEM at all when he was the one swearing (which he did a lot of times for that matter).


The story of Ava and Jesse basically consists of them getting together, then they have some huge argument (mostly whenever Ava didn't want to do things exactly the way Jesse wanted her to), she tries to run away from him, he chases after her (resulting in a lot of banging on doors and an endless amount of phone calls), they get back together. And the cycle repeats itself...

I know, it all seems a little shallow and predictable and admittedly, at times I thought it was just that BUT the last 30 % of the story changed my opinion about that. Things started to get much more interesting and there were some surprising revelations that make me anxious to find out how the story will continue...

So, despite all of Jesse's craziness, will I still continue reading the rest of the series??

Granted, Jesse was HOT and he could also be really sweet sometimes...

"Is that all you rang for?" "No, I wanted to hear your voice." he says softly. "I'm having Ava withdrawal."

Also, there are just so many unanswered questions about Jesse's past that I can't wait to find out and then there's the main unsolved mystery: "Exactly how old is he????"

If you're going to read this book, prepare yourself for some very frustrating confrontations and for the intensity that is Jesse Ward... Overall, I ended up really enjoying This Man and because of the (not so pleasant) cliffhanger, I'll definitely start the second part of this series Beneath This Man soon.



****

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @27%

There isn't much of a plot, but then, I guess there doesn't really need to be since it's just smut cleverly, the entire "story" is them fucking and then whining about it, she feels bad she flees from him, he finds her, they fuck again, REPEAT! i'm sick of this dominant, twisted, irresistible smut king stereotype.

[~ Becs ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was with no small amount of trepidation that I embarked upon this novel. After reading hugely differing opinions on the hero and the writing in general in reviews, I was concerned that this story was going to wave all sorts of personal red flags for me, rake up painful memories and generally traumatise me. Thankfully, this caution was most definitely misplaced as I very much enjoyed this book – in fact, I loved every second.

It’s the story of interior designer Ava, a girl about town, in London. She is asked to go to The Manor, a ‘hotel’ in the Surrey foothills to quote on a redesign for some of their rooms. The minute she meets the owner, Jesse Ward, there is an instant, physical attraction sparking between them. Ava can hardly function, she’s so flustered by the impossibly handsome Mr Ward and he feels the same way about her but manages to remain far calmer. He pursues her and they embark upon an emotionally exhausting relationship. All the time that I was reading this, I was waiting for the ‘big bad’ that would make me hate Jesse but it never came. He is kind of outrageous but I found a lot to love.

‘Just tell me one thing before you leave, Ava.’ His voice prickles at my senses, and I find my eyes travelling up the leanness of his body until our stares meet. His face is serious, but still stunning. ‘How loud do you think you’ll scream when I fuck you?’

So, Jesse Ward. Mr Ward is quite the enigma.



Jesse is devastatingly handsome, he towers over her, kisses her on the cheek and generally puts her under his spell right from the very first second she claps eyes on him. Despite her initial reluctance as she thinks he already has a girlfriend, Jesse aggressively pursues Ava, almost forcing her into a relationship. He reduced her to a quivering mass of lust and sexual awareness, using her desire to coerce her into his arms. He’s aggressive, unreasonable, challenging, protective, possessive, moody, temperamental and an absolute control freak. There’s almost a desperation to him as he endeavours to keep Ava within arm’s reach at all times, to keep her from her normal routine and friends, to completely take over her life. He appears mortally afraid that he will lose her but yet he just demands these things of her, attempts to control her but will never open up and tell her why.

He’s keeping so many secrets – he won’t tell her his real age, he has a prominent jagged scar across his abdomen that he won’t explain and he certainly won’t tell her what is really going on at The Manor. He’s so possessive – he tells her relentlessly that she’s his but he never confesses his true feelings. One second, he talks about them being together forever and the next he tells her that they’re just fucking. With such uncertainty, Ava decides not to confess to Jesse that she is in love with him.

I drop my head. I can’t look at him. What can I tell him? That I’ve fallen in love with him? Perhaps I should – he might freak out and leave me alone. I shrug instead.

Ava is a great heroine – I really enjoyed reading her story. It’s so nice to have a British author set the story firmly in London – everything is authentic and Ava’s lifestyle is spot on the way a 20something single girl is, working the 9-5 in London, getting drunk on the weekend with her friends and work colleagues, going to pubs and clubs, shopping in Camden. This is just exactly how it is and it lends an air of reality to the whole story.

I think I’d have to put this one in the erotic romance category because there is a whole lotta lovin going on. Jesse and Ava share an exquisitely intense physical connection as they steam up the pages of the story with their sex scenes – there’s sense fucks, reminder fucks, rebound fucks, hangover sex, sleepy sex – all with perfectly synchronised orgasms. Perfect 10’s every single time. OK, so that is all highly unrealistic but it sure makes for pleasurable reading!!

So, I think I understand why so many reviewers had problems with the hero – he is most definitely a bit of a jerk but the story’s so compelling to me and that’s what I’m judging this book on. Jesse may be a bit of an idiot but it sure makes for a captivating and engrossing story and you know I’ll be waiting with bated breath for the upcoming sequel on January 18th as there is still a long way to go yet.

So, if you like an uber-alpha, dominant, controlling, obnoxious yet very handsome hero who is shit hot in bed and a taut, emotionally exhausting, intense romance, I think you might well enjoy this book. Give it a go and come back and tell me what you thought.

4.5 stars batshit crazy romance

For more reviews, please visit Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews

[Dilek VT]

I couldn't get into the story and I disliked the heroine. She says something and then, goes and does something else. Also, she doesn't try to learn the truth by just asking, she just assumes.

DNF on page 117

Sorry... but I tried :(

[Sophia Triad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Met the Lord, have we?"

Another reread for one of my favourite series, and surprisingly and shyly I have to confess that I still have not overcome my crush on Jesse Ward.

"Oh good God. My heart crashes against my breast bone and my nervous breathing rockets to damn right dangerous levels. I suddenly feel light headed, and my mouth is ignoring my brains instructions to at least say something. I just stand there staring at this man, while he stares back at me. His husky voice halted me in my tracks, but the sight of him... well, that's just turned me into a non-responsive quivering wreck."

What a story! This book was brilliant. I loved it and I got hooked from the first until the last page.

This is a book full of passion and extreme emotions. Two people will fall in love and during this process there is a lot of chasing and a lot of yelling.
And this is the oldest game in flirting/mating in the history of human kind. The woman runs away and the man runs after her. Sometimes they shout and fight with each other, but in the end they have make up sex and all is good. This is completely natural and funny. It is just a game of two people who are crazy for each other from the first moment their eyes meet.

The book is full of twists and secrets which come out at some point. The only sure fact is that Jesse is ALMOST NEVER honest with Ava.
Another fact is that he wants her like crazy and he will do anything, I repeat HE WILL DO ANYTHING to have her and to keep her.

Ava behaves like a reluctant virgin towards Jesse and this is something he will make her stop it during the first 10 minutes they spend in the bathroom of his new flat and the first half an hour they spend in the kitchen of his old flat.

Ava, you should know that once I've had you, you're mine.

And the big questions are three:
1. What is happening with Ava's pills? Why they keep disappearing?
2. How old is Jesse? Seriously only 19?
3. Why the mansion/hotel does not have a front desk and sightseeing brochures?

I am sure all the people who are reading the book will suspect the answers to these questions before the book finishes. Only Ava does not seem to realise what is going on around her since she is lost somewhere inside Central Jesse's Cloud 9.

[Purist · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another one of those books...
1 Girl Meet Gorgeous Boy
...........
2 Weeping Cunny, Peeking Nips
...........
3 Girl: Go away, I should not want you!!
...........
4 Boy: Stalk, Act generally creepy
...........
5 Girl: Here comes some stupid reason because of which I have to run
...........
6 Boy: You've ruined my life
...........
7 Author: The saga continues in the next book
...........
8 Me: Ha, fucking ha!!!

Now, the sucky things that stand out:
1) sludgy eyes
I am sorry, but sludgy implies viscous. Now, unless the female poke her fingers in his eyes to check the viscosity or something, the use of this adjective does not make sense

2)"One look was all it took" theme:
Ya right, coz that happens. After one look, the girl is rendered speechless, with her hands shaking!! I'm sorry but that most of the people wil find difficult to relate to.

3) Clammy, Shaky Hands:
Hmmm, so would anybody's dream guy have clammy, shaky and sweaty hands? No? Yeah, I thought so!

This book makes 50 Shades looks like a deep and a thought provoking piece of literature.

These are the highlights of the first hundred pages. After that I just skimmed through the book to see how the story ended. I am NOT continuing with the series and would NOT recommend it to anyone!

[Sláinte Wanderlust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cover & Title - 3.5 out 5
Favorite Line - "You better stop with the blah-fucking-zay shit now, or I'll shove this fork so far up your arse, you'll be chewing metal"
Favorite Character - Kate

Jesse


Ava


Their relationship



Mr Ward is liar, he is deceitful, arrogant, rude & possessive. (but yet i still like him)
Ava is a pushover, she is easy, stupid, naive & irritating at times. (but yet i still like her)
The book has many similarities for me to 50 shades but I still really enjoyed it. It was a different story to 50sog, not a copy like some other books i have read. I liked the plot for the most part and only a few things annoyed me throughout the book.

Things that annoyed me -
1. Why must every possessive male character from books now shag the girl up the arse to "claim her"? "I am going to fuck your ass, that makes you mine" I mean seriously, when did men stop asking women to go steady or be your girlfriend?! ARGH it drives me fucking nuts!
2. HE STOLE YOUR FUCKING PILLS, HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE?! I seriously wanted to smash my kindle when she "lost" her pills the second time.

I did actually enjoy this book a lot, even if it did seem like i was complaining in my review. I also am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I would recommend this book

I read this book for my Filthy Friday book, i would most certainly say this is a filthy friday book. For more of my reviews Click here

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Crazy Jesse Lovin' Stars!
Hmmm I had mixed feelings about this one. Overall I really liked it though. It had some hot parts and some funny parts. Here we go:
Jesse - I really liked him! Much more than I probably should have. He was batshit crazy at times, but also super alpha male, sexy and dominant! I will definitely read the next book just to get some more of Jesse... yum. I love the intense and a little crazy ones!!!! Right up my freaking alley!!!
Ava - At times, I did like Ava. Other times... ugh I really wanted to scream at her! Stop running, get with the program. I understood some of the reasons she did certain things, but at other times she need to pull it together.
Kate & Sam - I loved these two! Loved them! They were both funny and brought a lot to the story

I need the next book to come out like now, hopefully things will come together. I want to know how old Jesse is, and how he got his scar. Also, I want a little more background on him... and maybe to meet Ava's brother Dan would be nice.

[Lady Gabriella of Awesomeness (SLOW) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 I-really-wanted-to-rate-this-higher stars

THIS BOOK IS 70% OF.................




AND ABOUT 25% OF ....



AND ABOUT....5% OF




THEREFORE 70% SEX + 25 % ARGUMENTS + 5 % ROMANCE = THIS MAN

My Thoughts : This book DID have a solid plot..it's just that I found the book a tad bit predictable for my taste.Found the chracters either a bit to whiney or too aggressive with each other.



Would I recommend this book ?
Not really.No

Will I be reading the sequal ?
Probably yes.Since I own the series :P

[☆ Sammy ☆彡 · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★4 Stars Given to This Man★★★★

My Jesse (because I have been waiting for a character to use this delicious man as character inspiration)



My Ava


Ava, an interior decorator, is hired to decorate the new rooms built during at expansion project at The Manor. During her consultation for the project, she meets the owner Jesse Ward, with whom she has an instant spark with. While Jesse decides that he must make Ava his own, Ava is doing her best to fight the attraction.

Jesse... Jesse... Jesse... I really LOVED him :) This man is HOT, confident, secretive, mysterious, determined, possessive, protective, and above all else, an uber ALPHA male! At first sight, he determines that Ava is the woman he must have and he is going to do anything to get her. I know there are quite a few people out there who view Jesse as stalkerish and I can definitely understand where they are coming from. Some of his actions regarding Ava are extreme and over the top but you will have to read this book to find out what I am talking about. Jesse is one of those characters that you are either going to love or he is going to drive you crazy. Two of my favorite things about Jesse are: 1)The age game he plays with Ava; and 2)He tells her to "watch your fucking mouth" whenever she cusses.

Ava... Ava... Ava... Honestly, after reading this book, I was one the fence about how I felt about her. I loved the fact that she was feisty, independent, and stood up for herself. I could totally understand why she would be weary about a relationship with a man like Jesse. He is rich, is a known womanizer, and he can be really intimidating with how he acts around Ava. I would probably be the same way. I think my biggest problem with her was that she wouldn't be honest about her fears to Jesse and instead of trying to talk to him about issues, she would run away and refuse to talk to him.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading the first book in the This Man series and I would recommend this series to anyone who likes to read steamy stories about the mysterious, rich, alpha male pursuing the girl next door heroine.



Memorable Quotes

"God!" I scream.
"No baby, that's me."

*~*~*~*~*

"I'm going to fuck you until you're seeing stars, Ava." His voice is harsh as he grinds his hips against me. I whimper. "You won't be going to work tomorrow because you won't be able to walk. Get in the car."

*~*~*~*~*

"You think I belong to you."
"No, I know you do."

*~*~*~*~*

"You're different. I told you, Ava. I'll trample anyone who tries to get in my way. Even you."

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[⊱✿⊰ Alicia ⊱✿⊰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read 2014
Fourth re-read 2019

5 'ish' Stars!!

I have read this at least three time or more. I own it on paperback and ebook but still purchased the audiobook!



I have been loving my re-reads of favourites on audio, it's like reading them for the first time. Something about how they are narrated gives you a whole new look on a book.

So good to be back with the Lord!!



So I understand why this series is not everyone's favourite. I have read a lot of negative reviews and agree with a lot of statements in them, for me those negative things are some of the things I enjoy about this book. I mean how boring would it be if every book you read had perfect characters that had no faults? Pretty boring in my opinion.

Yes, Jesse is a possessive control freak with an addiction problem. Ava is naive, a bit of a doormat and can be kind of stupid at times, I mean really how she didn't know what the manner was for so long is beyond me.



BUT even with these traits I still love Jesse and Ava and their intense story.

I love the plot, the writing, the characters and the narrator was brilliant!! She reminded of Renee Zellweger from Bridget Jones's Diary. I highly recommend the audiobooks for anyone wanting a re-read or picking up the series for the first time.

[Anna]

I tried. I really truly did. This book was just not for me. If I'm at 40% and I'm still not sure of the integrity of the hero's heart ....... And my feelers are out and IT.AINT.GOOD anddddd the icccckkk moments overpower the awwwwww moments. It's a DNF. It's DNF-ingF !!! This book was not my friend !!!!!

Jesse Ward: although I didn't get to know you to 100% Here was what I was thinking the majority of the 40% of the time getting to know you and your control freak domineering condescending barking orders bullshit and stalkerish ways:



I had a lot of choice words for Jesse beginning with the letter "D" !
Reminded me of a domineering douchebag dipshit Dickhead that ended with the other D word Divorce that I used to know. Sorry maybe I took this too personally. Again, not for me.

Please ladies don't hate me :( no breaking -up with me over this ❤

[Maya · Rating 2 out of 5]

*´¨)
¸.· ´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸¸.·2,5 Stars

Short version of the story:

Jesse:









Ava:







And a lot of this:

How their conversation start/end:

"Shouldn't we talk our about our problems??"
"Nah."

[Aurelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Omg no, just no!
What in the ever loving f**k did I just read?
This book is so bad it's almost funny.
Okay so first of all Jessie is so f**king creepy, seriously the dude's got issues.
I spent the majority of the book cringing at everything Jessie said or did, especially every time he barked "mouth" or "watch your language" at her.
Ughh he was also overly possessive(understatement)and clearly unstable and Ava was so f**cking stupid and had no spine, she would tell him no but then let him have his way anyway.
The entire book consisted of them fucking and then bitching about it.
Don't get me wrong I love an alpha male, but Jessie just took it too far.