Control

By Charlotte Stein

When Madison Morris decides to hire an assistant to help run her naughty bookshop, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.

Assertive Andy doesn't quite make the grade, but continues to push her buttons in other areas, while uptight and utterly repressed Gabriel can't quite take Madison's training techniques.

One makes her grasp control, while the other makes her lose it. But the lines are blurring and she's no longer sure who's leading and who's following. In the midst of kinky threesomes and power plays, can Madison work out what she really wants?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Aug 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9780008148836

Charlotte Stein

Charlotte Stein has written over thirty short stories, novellas and novels. Her collection of short stories was named one of the best erotic romances of 2009 by Michelle Buonfiglio, and her first novel, Control, was recently called “…a non-stop crazy hot sex book”. When not writing non-stop crazy hot sex books, she can be found eating jelly turtles, watching terrible sitcoms and occasionally lusting after hunks. She lives in West Yorkshire with her husband and their imaginary dog.

Reviews for Control

[jyl22075 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I picked this one up because I'm a fan of the other Charlotte Stein books I've read and I heard great things about this one. It is definitely well written and for something this smutty it has many layers. There is a lot of story being told. I had some difficulty connecting to the heroine and I think that may be the reason I didn't love this one as much as some of the other books by this author.

[saturnnalia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The virgin hero and fem Dom and a threesome, all in one story. I dislike threesome, I can imagine the appeal but I don't like reading about them, maybe because I believe in only one soul mate, well at least in my romance. That being said, I didn't mind the third wheel here. Gabriel and Maddie brought Andy in like a toy to spice up things and Andy was only invited when Gabriel and Maddie had solid feelings for each other. But the threesome and kinky sex was not the point of the book, a lot of sex was included, but that was not the main point. Two people coming together and discovering their sexuality and healing each other, was at the heart of the story. Neither Gabriel or Maddie knew what they wanted sexually and were mostly unsatisfied, with damaged childhoods. Then they found each other and started to discover what really turned them on. The most fun was watching Gabriel unwind. Very enjoyable.

[scorchingrevs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When steamy book seller Madison finds herself in the midst of a steamy clinch with an interviewee, she realises that maybe she hasn’t been fulfilling all her needs. Sexually aggressive Andy (i.e. Mr-Make-a-good-Impression on the interview) isn’t up to the grade, but maybe the man that she eventually hires will tend to her every whim. Uptight, repressed and a little bit weedy, Gabriel doesn’t seem to be attracted to her at all. Unable to resist trying to get a reaction from him, after realising that he has seen her mid-Andy clinch, Madison does everything in her power to elicit some kind of response. From going to work without pants on to leaving butt prints from sweaty sex on the counter at work (I kid you not!), she tries every trick in the book to get him to make him blush and aroused. Eventually, he gives in to her persistence and they embark on a rather steamy affair. Gabriel needs control, he craves the bossy Madison and the orders that she gives out. Andy (who appears sporadically throughout the book) craves control and likes to exert it over them both. The question is what does Madison want; does she want the lovely Gabe and the power that he gifts her? Or does she want the rough and slightly smug Andy, along with the submission that he craves?

Well, this book led me through a variety of emotions from start to finish! I always admire authors who write from first person POV; it’s so risky if your main character isn’t relatable. Luckily, although I didn’t always agree with her decisions, I did relate to Madison. She wasn’t afraid to go out for what she wants sexually; unfortunately I did feel that at points this made her a little selfish. I was a little scared for poor Gabriel; I didn’t think he actually knew what to do with himself when she started to pursue him so viscously. Although I found her a little selfish personally, I found her completely selfless sexually. Once she realised what Gabriel needed sexually, she gave herself over to her role completely. She gave him what he craved, she encouraged the side of himself that he was ashamed of, and accepted him. I loved the fact that she didn’t ever make him feel stupid, even when the requests were slightly weird to her, she just considered whether she could do them or not. I understood her attraction to Andy but I honestly wanted her to end up with Gabriel.

Gabriel was a hard character to like, but once I started to understand him, I fell for him hook, line and sinker. I’m used to a certain type of male sub in fem-Dom erotica and they tend to be strong, butch men (not sure why this is!) Gabriel is the complete opposite. He is a repressed, slightly nerdy man who needs to be told what to do. Yes, his background slightly explains these character traits, but it wasn’t enough for me to do anything more than pity him. It wasn’t until he started to trust Madison and let some of his crazy show that I started to love him. When Madison finds him reading erotic fiction, when he confesses to masturbating when she told off a supplier on the phone…..all these things made me realise that he was a man I could adore. Once they start having mad monkey sex (and seriously, the sex in this book starts at page one and continues to get more kinky with each page) I realised that, although the outer shell p*ssed me off something rotten, the person he becomes when he is accepted for what he needs, is amazing. The scene where she finds him wearing her pyjamas…..well read it and see for yourselves.

So why 4 stars and not 5, I hear you ask. This is going to be a little spoilery so you may want to put your fingers over your eyes. Andy appears periodically throughout the book as a contrast to Gabe, to confuse Madison over what she wants and to generally irritate the crap out of me with his smug attitude. There is a particular scene where all three of them are in bed together (although this scene starts off so well….one Dom controlling two subs..be still my beating heart :D) Unfortunately, the ending of this scene left a bad taste in my mouth. Personal preference means that I only like sex in a book for the sake of enjoyment of ALL characters involved. One of the characters was left a little tied up and out of the action therefore didn’t enjoy the sex…I didn’t like it and it stuck with me. Still, one scene out of the book is a fairly good ratio.

Overall this book is a fabulously sexy tale that made my palms sweaty and my heart race. I grew to love both Madison and Gabe and, although I didn’t agree with some of the decisions that they made, I wholeheartedly routed for a situation where they could both be happy. I didn’t like Andy much but he served a purpose and he made for some fabulously hot sex scenes :D

[sarah_hearts_books · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I might have found another author as kinky—or even kinkier (but probably not)—than the Queen of Kink herself, Tiffany Reisz. CONTROL features some lovely erotic spankings, humiliating cross-dressing, hot domination and submission and much more! If any of these things make you shudder (and not in a good way), I would recommend you turn around now. If you're curious of all things naughty, welcome aboard the kinky train!So there really wasn't many characters in the 200 plus pages of this book. Andy is the cliche'd bad boy. He's tattooed, dominate, but a regular asshole (when he's not giving Maddie screaming orgasms, that is).Gabe is beautiful, buttoned-up, and lives to take orders. He's the clean freak to Maddie's unorganized self. He's madly attracted to Maddie, but has a hard time telling her what he wants. He's great at taking orders—hell, he loves it—but he's terrible at telling her what he wants. Maddie is the slutty owner of a slutty bookstore and she wants Gabe. She might be screwing a tattooed god, but she'd rather have Gabe bent over her bed, obeying her every order. There is nothing in this book that I have read before. I described this book to a friend as "literary erotica mixed with dirty, dirty sex." I know I will never read another other book like CONTROL, and I can't wait to read more Charlotte Stein originals. xoxo,Sarah Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[mlleehreen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I used to think there was no reason to read erotica about kinks/partner dynamics that didn't personally appeal. Even if the story is good, even if the book is well-written, there's a rubbing-against-the-grain element to the experience, a disconnect that can be distancing and alienating -- all of this aside from whether or not you expect the book to actually turn you on.

But every rule has an exception, and every exception opens up the possibility of a watershed moment.

CONTROL is about handsome, hung, sweet and very, very submissive Gabriel, and a naughty bookstore owner, Maddie, who discovers her inner domme. Hyper-confident, swaggering Andy is sniffing around Maddie as well. As Maddie and Gabriel grow closer as a couple, Andy hangs on as a third party the bedroom to further humiliate Gabriel.

I do not naturally gravitate toward books about sweet submissive guys. But, as usual, Charlotte Stein is talented enough to trample over my natural inclinations and preferences. She writes Gabriel as tender, meek, neat-freakish, virginal...but also really masculine, hairy, hung, and a quick study. He is so easy to fall for, a straight-up wonderful character.

Maddie, who's used to loutish galoots like Andy, who's masterful and quick with the dirty-talk but also an insensitive jerk, absolutely cherishes Gabe. She sees how special he is and values him appropriately. She marvels over him. She is astonished, effusive in her praise, guarding and nourishing him like the world's most valuable hot-house orchid.

Maddie can't deny that Andy is hot - who would deny that Andy is hot? He's a textbook alpha male - but every time she chooses Gabriel over Andy, it's like she's trying to reach out to the reader & slap some sense into the romance/erotica readers of the world. Which is not to say that the book ever reads like a diatribe; Stein writes deep POV as well as anyone I've ever read & her characters and interactions always feel very real.

I've only read shorts by Stein before & I'm so happy that she's just as successful in the longer format. She's quickly become a favorite of mine & I recommend this highly, whether or not it sounds like something you'd like.