Title: The Man I Thought I knew
Author: E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year: Independent 9/5/20
Length: 178 Pages
Series: Two-Faced #1
Overview
A real man.FINALLY.Chiseled eight pack? Yep, he’s got it.That shadow on a sharp jawline? Yep, two for two.So charming you want to scream? Definitely.Not all intimidated by my success? Check.Pretty much perfect? Ooooh yeaaahhh.All that man…just for me.But I’m an investigative reporter for the biggest newspaper in the country, so it’s my job to pick up on details, to see the signs that other people miss. I’m not afraid of danger. Not even afraid of dying.And there’s definitely something about this man that I’m missing…I’ve got a caboose that doesn’t quit, so I will get to the bottom of this.Every man has two faces. I’ve seen one side…but what about the other?
My Thoughts
It’s been a while since i’ve read something by EL Todd and it’s an interesting re-introduction into a series. The story itself has a lot of legs, but i’ll be honest, the way that the characters talk don’t really match their pedigree and the image that we get through the descriptions.
We start off from Carson’s point of view. She’s a Harvard educated journalist who’s worked her way up in The New York Press to get the good stories to write – the ones that are dangerous, that require a specific touch and an angle. She’s put herself in danger time and time again, and honestly, it’s what she needs since her personal life imploded. We learn that she was married and that her husband cheated on her, and as a result, she’s got thicker walls up than most people. She refuses to get close to anyone, and instead has her ‘Boy Toys’ . It’s one night, in a bar, when she’s working on a story that her life changes.
Enter Dax – a sexy as all heck man, who exudes power even in his t-shirt and jeans. He recognizes Carson’s fire, just by overhearing a conversation and decides that he wants to know more. While he accepts the sex only nature of a relationship, we realize quickly that he’s a good guy and maybe wants more.
We spend the bulk of this story watching them dance around the idea of being something more. Being something real. Both are hot off divorces with spouses who burned them pretty badly. They aren’t willing to trust easily, but they both realize that there’s more than just a physical connection.
The Dax we know is a guy who seems to make ends meet, he says he’s in finance and he’s able to afford nice things, yet his apartment is sparse. Carson lives with a co-worker and doesn’t really splurge on things, and doesn’t care about materials or wealth. As a journalist though, her spidey sense peaks when she feels like something is off with Dax but she decides not to investigate him because that’s not what a relationship is about. That comes to bite her in the butt, when she learns who he is and what that means to her.
It’s a shallow level introduction to the series, where we don’t know what the outcome will be since there are so many implications both personally and professionally, but we know that Dax seems to have ingratiated himself into the life of Carson and her friends that i’m sure it’s not the last of him. On top of that story line though, we do get what our author is known for, some of the steamiest scenes that are hot and descriptive and make you wonder what you’re doing wrong in your own life to not find a partner as open, wld and sexy as these two. I guess this means that we’ll have to go and pick up book two and see what comes next. Enjoy!