Customer Reviews

Control

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Spoilers. Control is told from the perspective of Elsie, a trophy wife, the third wife of an older man, Robert. She is still in love with him, wants to seduce him and have the sensual, passionate life she's dreamed of--and a baby. But he is jealous and abrasive and she soon starts fantasizing and getting off to the image of the hot stranger who she saw briefly at her flower shop.

Meanwhile, when she finds out Robert has betrayed her in a major way, she decides to leave. She knows it will be a challenge since Robert is very rich, but doesn't realize just how many problems he can create. His diabolical attempts at revenge are some of the most dramatic moments here. She does wind up meeting and bedding and falling for the stranger, Dion, and he swoops in to protect her but isn't a match for Robert's ruthlessness. By the end it's hard to see what appeal Robert ever even held for her even though Elsie retains, to a degree, some tenderness for him.

This is a fast-paced, erotic read, and once Elsie starts to follow her heart and dreams, I was rooting for her, though in my opinion she should've started down that path years ago. Robert had found ways to humiliate, belittle and infantilize her and while that is how some men act, it made me feel like she didn't care about herself enough to get out sooner. There was one side plot about Dion that didn't strike me as necessary, but otherwise this novel has steamy sex scenes, a love story and a dash of danger, and it was interesting to see how Elsie reacted once Robert went from love of her life to bad guy determined not to let her have a life of her own.

Kayla Perrin writes a story that is not new: A May/December marriage where the Elsie (wife) has issues stemming from her own childhood lacking a father figure, Robert the much older husband provides wealth, security and the desired father presence. After realizing that she is in an ivory tower, Elsie slowly starts to wake up to reality; she is being controlled by her older, rich & powerful husband. The trips, maids, country club dinners, and beautiful home does not measure up to what Elsie really wants: Hot, steamy sex from her husband who has to rely on the `little blue pill'.

Elsie finds out after years of trying to get pregnant that Robert has had a vasectomy - he does not want any more babies and she wants to be a mother for the first time. After THIS happens, I really wanted Elsie to be more methodical in her breaking away in independence from Robert - but Elsie throws the baby out with the bath water (No pun intended) and leaves. This gives Robert ample control over her life, her friends and her flower shop. This rich wife should have had her own rolodex to fall back on - Elsie has little backbone and little heroine abilities.
The story is good but Robert's antics are just not dastardly enough, Elise is not a smart woman after coming from the ghetto and the sex scenes are not erotic enough for me: Perrin uses the term `eating' so much for oral sex; I did NOT read this book while eating - ever...The masturbation scenes left me...dry.

Dion comes into the story and Elise does not do a background check on him? No way that's believable! They have sex on the first date! The story is a good one, although the plot is not. At the end what goes around comes around and they live happily ever after...What? Did you think the plot was going to be DIFFERENT???YOU ARE OUT OF CONTROL IF YOU THOUGHT OTHER WISE!!!!

The saving grace of this story are the questions that the reader comes to: What does it take to make a marriage happy, should the wife settle for less control and weak sex when she gets all the other perks? How much should a wife tell her husband about her past?

Eight years ago elderly millionaire Robert met much younger waitress Elise. He courted her, made love to her and married her. Living with Robert as his wife, even though this makes her his third spouse, in Charlotte, she felt like Cinderella as he took her to the most expensive places by private jet.

However, now Elise feels like a bird in a gilded cage. Her spouse controls every nuance of her life smothering her. She begins to want her freedom as the price of being under her husband's domination 24/7 is too exorbitant though she understands she will be left with nothing if she leaves him. At her flower shop, Elise meets high school football coach Dion and is attracted to the hunk, but vows not to act on her feelings until she learns Robert betrayed her with a major omission.

This engaging erotic romance is told from the perspective mostly of Elise, a fascinating character with deep rooted psychological issues. That approach enables the audience to understand the heroine especially what she has seen in her spouse and in the coach. However, that also limits how controlling Robert is as that the martinet never is fully developed and the ending too simple of an escape from the triangle. Still fans will enjoy this engaging contemporary as the bird in the cage tries to fly solo for the first time in almost a decade.

Harriet Klausner

This was story of a insecure but beautiful girl who falls in love and marries a man 30 years older than her and how she comes into her own.

Elise was a young waitress who was sweep off her feet by the older, wealthy and manipulative Robert Kolstad. They have an relatively uneventful life for eight years, but as with most women Elsie begins to change. She is coming into her own and beginning to see that Robert just might not be everything she thought he was. Robert is getting older and is beginning to feel insecure about his young beautiful wife. He start off subtle about his attempts to keep Elise dependent on him. Without truly realizing it, Elsie has loss herself and become somewhat of a Stedford wife. She dresses the way Robert wants her to dress, does what he wants her do and acts how he wants her to act. She's feeling un-fullfilled, which all the more reason she is desperate to have a baby.

In walks Dion, Mr. Fantasy and Elsie world is turn upside down. Suddenly she's having erotic fantasies about a man she has never met, which also causes her to question herself. Elise accidentally stumbles across Robert's ultimate betrayal. She is too through and decides to leave him. Dion just happens to walk into her Florist shop again and Elsie gets the nerve to flirt. Suddenly she and Dion are involved in a streamy romance.

Robert is not a man to be denied what he feels belongs to him and begins to ruthlessly destroy Elsie, in an effort to make her come back. Elsie is more determined than ever to end her relationship with Robert, but there seems to be no limit to what he will do to keep her. By the way, Robert's little sidebar information he provides about Dion, seems to be another manipulative lie on Robert to get inside Elsie's head and have her questioning her decisions again.

I have met my fair share of Roberts in my life and I just thank GOD I was able to recognize them for who they were before things went too far. I read about 5 or 6 books a week and many of them are good, but few of them inspire me to take the time to write a review. If I write a positive review it is because I highly recommend reading it. This is one of those books. I truly enjoyed it and refused to put it down until I finished it.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was so hard. Some parts were unrealistic and the sex scenes were dull. For an erotica book I was expecting the sex scenes to be hot. The character development fell flat as well.

Drama, Drama, Drama! This is what I love about erotica's, there's so much dang drama!

In the beginning, I felt bad for Elsie. She was faithful, honest and she put up with her husband and his stupid attitude the best she could (she had far more patience than I will ever have). She is passionate about her floral shop and she didn't care about her husband's money. And I really admired that about her. I shouldn't say "in the beginning" because really I felt bad for her through out but... well, let me explain.

I totally agree that Robert's secret was a total deal breaker. I don't think she was overreacting one bit. She had every right to leave him. Not to mention her realization of the way he really treated her through out their marriage. And especially for the way he was acting at The Melting Pot. I wanted to grab her out of my Nook and take her there my damn self, The Melting Pot is delicious! I think she made the right move to move in with her friend.

However, I think she rushed into her new relationship far too fast. I know she was fantasizing and all that for a really long time about Dion but I think jumping into a new relationship the day after you leave your husband is fast. And even if she didn't think so, she could had at least laid low for awhile. With everyone's warnings about Robert being a powerful man, flaunting Dion was not a good idea! I didn't agree with her friend Treasure's actions at the party, but Elsie had that comin.

I hated Robert. I think hate is an understatement. He just made me sick! I can't stand people who are so control hungry that they set out to ruin other people's lives and can't grasp the fact that SHE DON'T WANT YOU! He sits there and says sorry but we all know he's not cause he turns right around and does something else equally stupid. She should had pushed him off the boat when she had the chance!

I did enjoy reading this book even if it made me mad half the time but it's like watching a movie where you're screaming at the girl to JUST RUN. Except I was screaming at my Nook lol! And it made me glad I didn't marry my control hungry abusive boyfriend. He woulda been pushed off a boat. Or car. Or bus. Whatever!

Even though I did enjoy this read, I don't see myself re-reading it. I also didn't think the steamy scenes were steamy enough and there weren't that many. But man was there drama to take its place!

Kayla Perrin has done it again ! I've read 3 of her previous books and this Woman knows how to bring out the excitement of a book . Control is about a woman who is in her late 30's and is married to an older man who is WEALTHY , so he likes to have his way being the fact she really had nothing when he married her. She meets a man who she's fantasized about and OMG it GETS HOT & HEAVY BABY. But that husband (who she is divorcing) wont stop at nothing to get her back and he will make it HARD for her because she is RISKING it ALL if she leaves him ... WILL SHE LEAVE HIM? .. IDK IM STILL READING IT lol .. GET THIS BOOK. KAYLA P I loveeee Her Books

Elsie Kolstadt narrates her journey of using her sexual fantasies to understand what is important in her life.

Eight years into her fairy-tale marriage, Elsie Kolstadt hears her biological clock ticking and, would like nothing better than to have a child with her husband, Robert. But, Elsie is confused on how selling a customer a get-well floral arrangement has triggered the uncontrollable erotic thoughts that are becoming more and more frequent. At first, Elsie contributes it to not being intimate with Robert for the past several weeks due to her husband's busy work schedule. But, she begins to notice that the sexual fantasies are becoming more about the mystery man in the fantasy then the sexual act itself. Elsie thinks that some of these fantasies can be used to spice up her sex life with her husband, but begins to see him in a different light as he berates her for being aggressive in their lovemaking. Elsie, once again yields to his wishes, and tries another path to get pregnant which will eventually leads her to understanding the person she has become in her marriage to Robert. Elsie wonders what has gone wrong with her relationship with Robert. Is it her or is it him, and what does this mystery man have to do with any of this?

As Elsie, is the only narrator of the story, I had to experience the story at Elsie's pace as she goes from learning that all is not healthy in a marriage when one partner controls the other partner. The author did a good job of showing how Elsie becomes aware of her situation, and the moment that their relationship change is apparent to me. It was a realistic approach to a relationship that is mentally abusive. The author did a good job of getting into Elsie's head and showing me how Elsie realizes that not all acts of thoughtfulness are done as act of kindness. The erotic scenes are tastefully done, and will entertain the reader. I liked the idea of Elsie taking her erotic daydreams and using them to help spice up a marriage. The storyline moved along quickly and there were several suspenseful moments when I was not sure what the outcome would be.

As this is an erotic novel, once Elsie does decides that she wants out of her marriage, and connects with the source of her sexual fantasies, she immediately jumps into another relationship while still living with her husband, and this may offend some readers. I would have liked for Elsie to be independent, receive counseling, or become part of a support group before being seriously involved with someone new. I recommend this book to fans of Kayla Perrin and readers who enjoy storylines of sexual awakenings.