No Control [Mass Market Paperback]

Shannon K. Butcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2008

NO HIDING. Lana Hancock knows all about danger--and betrayal. Eighteen months ago, she was captured by a terrorist group known as the Swarm while one of its members, a rugged man with sinfully dark eyes, did nothing to help her. Now when she's freed and desperate to put it all behind her, the unthinkable happens. The Swarm is targeting Lana once again and the man who stood silently by has become her protector. But can she trust him? NO ESCAPE. Delta Force operative Caleb Stone will never forget the hatred shining in Lana's eyes. Ordered to take down the Swarm by infiltrating its ranks, Caleb couldn't blow his cover to save her--no matter how much it haunted him. Now, gifted with a second chance, he vows to move heaven and earth to protect her...and fulfill her every desire. But the Swarm has reorganized. It's more powerful than ever and hell-bent on revenge...NO CONTROL.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the opening of Butcher's tense, fast-paced latest, First Light Foundation do-gooder Lana Hancock is still recovering from being kidnapped and tortured 18 months before in Armenia. Covert Delta Force operative Caleb Stone, who allowed her to come to harm instead of blowing his cover, learns that the group that tortured Lana is still active, and comes to alert her and see if she remembers anything. Lana doesn't trust or forgive Stone, and withholds the identity of one of her attackers. As the two grapple with their growing feelings for each other, evildoers bent on killing her to protect their own identities close in. Lana's PTSD and quiet strength are believable and gut-wrenching, while Stone is more of a studly caricature. Their chemistry, however, is excellent, and the other Delta Force men have a nice rapport. On the whole, Butcher (No Regrets) is in control. (Feb.)
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Review

Butcher is a first-rate find Romantic TIMES BOOK REVIEW MAGAZINE An absolute must-read...romantic suspense at its very best Mariah Stewart

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Forever (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446618667
• ISBN-13: 978-0446618663
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No regrets in reading this winner!, January 22, 2008

By 

Amy R. (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: No Control (Mass Market Paperback)

In the followup to her debut novel, No Regrets, Shannon K. Butcher gives us another exciting romantic suspense novel in No Control.

Lana Hancock's life has been out of control since a mission trip in Armenia went south eighteen months before. Her group was captured by terrorists and beaten and tortured to death. Lana was the only survivor but was beaten emotionally and physically until she was rescued.

The 18 months since have been for Lana to take control of her life again. She had to learn how to walk again, get through the nightmares that plague her sleep every night, and to move on with her life. She has her foundation to get off the ground and that is the only thing that gets her up in the morning.

The past comes back to haunt in the form of Caleb Stone, who Lana had met 18 months before and had rescued her from the terrorists. He feels guilty because he was an undercover agent within the group and had watched her getting beaten and couldn't do anything. He is the last person she wants to see but those who hurt her want her dead and he has been sent to protect her and get the information that they think she is hiding. What exactly happened during her three days of hell in Armenia? What is she hiding that people will kill her for? Caleb is looking for a second chance and will not let anything stop him from protecting Lana this time and ending her nightmare.

Caleb is an alpha male with a guilty conscience but a good heart. He tries to remedy the past and regain the trust of Lana. Along the way, he falls in love with her. It takes her more time to realize that she has come to love him as well. She doesn't trust easily and also doesn't want her secrets to get anybody she loves hurt including Caleb. They can't ignore the chemistry between them and their love scenes are steamy. This is a couple that you want to overcome the obstacles and take control of their lives together. He is the only one who can comfort her and end her nightmares. She has learned to trust again and doesn't have to be alone anymore.

Will Lana's secrets hurt the ones she loves or will the truth finally give her the control of her life and her future? You will have to read this exciting novel to find out.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The story got bogged down, January 28, 2008

By 

Scout (ma.USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: No Control (Mass Market Paperback)

My review is for the reader that wants something a bit edgier than a simple love story with a bit of violence. I thought I was going to get a more gottcha storyline. So the other reviews are correct with their thoughts of the story.

For me, the story was a woman that was tortured 18 months ago and was constantly warring with herself not to tell anyone about who was involved in the torture. She had friends murdered next to her and yet she kept a secret who the bad guys were. She put her family in danger, her lover, friends and still held back information that was needed to get the bad guys. I got very tired of the author writing over and over, "I have to keep my family safe and the kids I work with." So boring. I rolled my eyes how many times that line was used.

I was bored with her wanting to save Calab by lying to him that she doesn't love him. She wanted to keep him safe. Then she should tell the truth and let the good guys take care of the bad guys.

I did like Caleb and his buddies. I liked how he wasn't always so sure how to handle his love situation. Kent was a good character for Caleb to have around.

I didn't like the alpha guys getting together to put on a carnival fund-raiser. It was suppose to show the softer side of the guys it just didn't fit in the story.

I think another editing cycle could have remedied the dumb-line fillers and knocked the story up a notch.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done Romance Thriller, February 17, 2008

By 

Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Control (Mass Market Paperback)

NO CONTROL is author Shannon K. Butcher's second novel. She writes boiling hot romance intertwined with huge dollops of intrigue and a generous backstory. Romance readers don't always get those, so someone who provides a good mix of terrific hero and heroine, as well as the above elements, is going to get noticed. Butcher has. And if you think her last name is familiar, you may be thinking of her husband, Jim Butcher, the author of the Harry Dresden fantasy series.

I enjoyed Butcher's take on her characters. You could almost have picked them out of stock players (take one emotionally damaged heroine who no longer trusts herself, and take one Special Forces guy with a Savior complex that gets totally ensnared in the damaged female's life). Yet Butcher makes both of these characters jump from the pages larger than life but as people readers will learn to love.

Eighteen months ago, Lana Hancock was the lone survivor of a terrorist attack. A group that called themselves the Swarm took a group of young American's hostage, tortured them, and killed them. Lana was believed dead as well. Even though she survived, she had to undergo several surgeries and torturous months of rehab to reclaim even a shadow of her life. She's since started a foundation based in art that's aimed at helping kids.

The last thing she needed was for special forces soldier Caleb Stone to come striding back into her life. But he did. As it turns out, there's some question about the Swarm and whether that organization was razed to the ground in the bitter firefight that followed the capture of the hostages. Caleb gets assigned to protect Lana, but he's also been ordered to find out everything she knows. Caleb's superiors don't think Lana told them everything she knows.

Unfortunately, Caleb is probably the last guy that should have been sent. He was undercover at the time of Lana's abduction. He was onhand and some of the worst torture she went through - and he did nothing. She didn't ever want to see him again.

I loved the instant antagonism that Butcher placed between her characters. It's always best to believe in the forces that try to keep two lovers apart. Stupidity and selfishness are big reasons to keep the characters apart in romance novels that I read, yet some writers continue to use them. I totally bought into Butcher's scenario, and she builds up the reasons for Caleb's presence there - because of that history - instead of letting it just sit there.

The romance elements of the story are incredibly hot. Butcher takes her time to build those up as well. Nothing happens too quickly in the novel, and readers aren't kept waiting too long.

In addition, Butcher is a fine action writer as well. In the action scenes, she proves herself time and time again. The choreography is great, and her military thinking and jargon is dead-on. There isn't much in the way of action for a long time, but when she gets to it, the result is deadly earnest.

Even more, Butcher's backstory with the villains and Caleb's special forces friends is marvelous. The creepy intensity of the woman who's out for Lana's blood is awesome, as well as the head of the Swarm. And there are enough other things going on that a small puzzle of who's doing what to whom builds up as well. I loved Caleb's friend Grant, and I hope he ends up getting featured in her third book.

Butcher is an excellent romance writer. If you haven't picked her up, you should. Her first book, NO REGRETS, is still on the shelves as well.