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A review by inmydreams
Control by R. Phoenix, Adara Wolf
4.0
Me, giving a book with instalust 4 stars and not DNF-ing? Kudos to the authors, they made me push through and I found a gem. This was a solid book, and I haven't read anything else from the series so it works well as a standalone.
The story is about Evan, a mob boss' head security, who becomes infactuated with Helios. Helios is an erotic dancer/sex worker at a private gay club, that arrives to a meeting to "entertain" the men. Evan feels a strong attraction at first sight, so he asks him for the night, but Evan won't be fine with just one and he'll keep pestering Helios until he "understands" he needs his protection.
From the beginning, the authors make it very clear the type of story they want to tell, with some dark edges but nothing too overwhelming. It absolutely worked for me. Evan is very pushy and even turns into a stalker, while Helios is resistant to any flirtation and just wants to get through the day. Evan won't let Helios go easily, nor would allow him to get rid of Evan. While I wasn't feeling how possessive he was of Helios from the moment he met him, I really liked how it served for his "protection".
The one thing I liked the most was how Helios was reluctant to accept "help" from a guy he just met and paid to have sex with him, because it felt realistic. I usually encounter books with possessive MLs where the guys are fine with that type of attention, and don't even get a little freaked out. Helios thinks Evan is creepy because he IS creepy. He was also very smart at not accepting anything easily just because and did his best to protect himself. His POV on how Evan kept intruding his life was well portrayed, because Evan is a stalker even if he thinks it's just for "protection", and it's even harder to guess another man's intentions with Helios' job.
Another thing I enjoyed was that Helios is latino and it didn't feel like the authors did this just to get points. As latina, all I want when people write latino characters into their stories is that they treat them just as any other without making it as if being latino is their entire personality. Here, there isn't annoying spanish words out of nowhere (spanglish), nor that fact is told to us over and over. Instead, we see who Helios is through his actions and the conversations he has with others. I do think that the word Papi in many sentences was a bit too much, but it's easily skippable. Helios had a very interesting personality, and I love any character that grabs my attention like this.
Despite my mention of Evan being a creepy ass guy, I still liked him. I am usually very hard on MLs because sometimes I feel they're too cocky and get annoying very easily (too close to reality lol). But here Evan had a backstory, and I liked how both MCs connected. I wish that the sex scene that followed that one heartfelt conversation in the house was omitted because to me it felt like it came out of nowhere after sharing their secrets.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this book a lot because of Helios, his realistic reactions, and the chemistry the couple had. I liked that Helios didn't fall for Evan immediately (in his place, who would? his job is dangerous as hell). I also like a good saving scene and this book gave me exactly that, even if I thought Helios became a bit too dumb at that moment, but I guess emotions get the best out of humans so it's somewhat understandable. It was a great ride.
PS. Fox is a side character but he caught my attention immediately as well. Waiting for his and Cristiano's book, I believe in them getting one and I'd be there when it happens.
Tags: (can miss some, heads up that I don't tag everything)
-POV: first person
-Content warnings:
-Elements:
-Kinks:
-Sexual act(s):
-Dynamic:
The story is about Evan, a mob boss' head security, who becomes infactuated with Helios. Helios is an erotic dancer/sex worker at a private gay club, that arrives to a meeting to "entertain" the men. Evan feels a strong attraction at first sight, so he asks him for the night, but Evan won't be fine with just one and he'll keep pestering Helios until he "understands" he needs his protection.
From the beginning, the authors make it very clear the type of story they want to tell, with some dark edges but nothing too overwhelming. It absolutely worked for me. Evan is very pushy and even turns into a stalker, while Helios is resistant to any flirtation and just wants to get through the day. Evan won't let Helios go easily, nor would allow him to get rid of Evan. While I wasn't feeling how possessive he was of Helios from the moment he met him, I really liked how it served for his "protection".
The one thing I liked the most was how Helios was reluctant to accept "help" from a guy he just met and paid to have sex with him, because it felt realistic. I usually encounter books with possessive MLs where the guys are fine with that type of attention, and don't even get a little freaked out. Helios thinks Evan is creepy because he IS creepy. He was also very smart at not accepting anything easily just because and did his best to protect himself. His POV on how Evan kept intruding his life was well portrayed, because Evan is a stalker even if he thinks it's just for "protection", and it's even harder to guess another man's intentions with Helios' job.
Another thing I enjoyed was that Helios is latino and it didn't feel like the authors did this just to get points. As latina, all I want when people write latino characters into their stories is that they treat them just as any other without making it as if being latino is their entire personality. Here, there isn't annoying spanish words out of nowhere (spanglish), nor that fact is told to us over and over. Instead, we see who Helios is through his actions and the conversations he has with others. I do think that the word Papi in many sentences was a bit too much, but it's easily skippable. Helios had a very interesting personality, and I love any character that grabs my attention like this.
Despite my mention of Evan being a creepy ass guy, I still liked him. I am usually very hard on MLs because sometimes I feel they're too cocky and get annoying very easily (too close to reality lol). But here Evan had a backstory, and I liked how both MCs connected. I wish that the sex scene that followed that one heartfelt conversation in the house was omitted because to me it felt like it came out of nowhere after sharing their secrets.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this book a lot because of Helios, his realistic reactions, and the chemistry the couple had. I liked that Helios didn't fall for Evan immediately (in his place, who would? his job is dangerous as hell). I also like a good saving scene and this book gave me exactly that, even if I thought Helios became a bit too dumb at that moment, but I guess emotions get the best out of humans so it's somewhat understandable. It was a great ride.
PS. Fox is a side character but he caught my attention immediately as well. Waiting for his and Cristiano's book, I believe in them getting one and I'd be there when it happens.
Tags: (can miss some, heads up that I don't tag everything)
-POV: first person
-Content warnings:
Spoiler
mentions of underage sex work (abuse), mentions of homophobic parents, kidnapping, violence towards MC, sexual assault (not between MCs), stalking (done by ML), harrassment-Elements:
Spoiler
rich x poor, age gap, size difference, manhandling, possessiveness-Kinks:
Spoiler
big dick, spanking, dirty talk, loud bottom-Sexual act(s):
Spoiler
blowjobs, facial, fingering, humping-grinding, riding, toys, rimming-Dynamic: