Total Exposure takes mind-games to another level. Huss is a master at mind-games in her books, but here, she upped the ante times n. And I just couldn't stop reading. Flipping the pages. Wanting to know how Evangeline would react. What Ixion would do next. How this could ever end well.
Story:
I'm not even sure how to put Total Exposure into a genre, it is romance, for sure. But it is also has a bit of suspense - just not the usual kind. There is no lurking danger, there are no crimes, but still - between Ixion and Evangeline, there is some kind of mystery anyway.
Total Exposure is set in the same universe as Huss' The Turning series, and some of the characters from that series are mentioned, or show up. This one can be read as a stand alone, though. And my goodness, this huis clos is both exciting and enticing!
Evangeline's life has not been a dance on roses, and Total Exposure is her last chance to take back control and get her life on track once more. Ixion watching her, observing her takes a different turn than either of them had anticipated. Especially when he realizes this game might be just as much for him as it is for her.
Characters:
Evangeline was a child-prodigy violinist. Her parents carted her around the world for concerts, ever in the spotlight. Always observed. Until the day she just couldn't take it anymore.
Ixion was hard to analyze. At first, I thought he was just another bad guy, and he had to show me that he wasn't all that bad. And that his way of dealing with the past came through observing the present.
Jordan was in the background, but still very much a main player. I can't wait to see what will happen when his own game takes off - if it ever does.
Writing style :
Total Exposure is written in dual point of view, with very in depth chapters from either Evangeline's or Ixion's perspective. The pace is fairly fast, which kind of surprised me, as most of the action unfolds inside a mansion, and only the two main characters are present. The present tense of the narration brings the reader right into the middle of the plot - and it's impossible to look away.
Feels :
I think excitement is the strongest feeling I had. And there was also so much hope I almost didn't know what to do with it!
I could've just stayed up in Wyoming dong my thing and being me. But it didn't take much self-reflection to come to the conclusion that I'm doing a whole lot of nothing. Not to mention being me isn't as much fun as it once was. If it ever was.
Take the gain away and the relationship goes with it.
I don't even know this person. This watcher, this stranger. And there's no possible way to be attracted to someone from two stupid handwritten notes. And yet... irrational as it is, that's how I feel. Attracted. You're rested, but now you're hungry. I am, I realize. I didn't eat yesterday.