Control Freak
by Brianna Hale
Total control. I need it in every aspect of my life. Some would say that makes me an asshole. A freak. But as long as everything’s exactly how I want it, I’m completely flexible.
I’m kidding.
Okay, I’m not kidding.
Lacey needs someone in her life who’s bigger and scarier than her demons, and she wants that man to be me. Her boss. The Viking in a suit. I hope she understands what she’s getting into. This daddy isn’t going to pat her on the head and tell her she’s a good girl for nothing. Especially not when she’s spinning out of control.
Spice Level: 4.5/6 | Story Score: 7.5/10 | Rating: 4.25/5 |
I needed an eating disorder book for my bingo card and this one had been in my tbr for a while. That cover: whew. And I have to say, I’m happy with this book. I don’t willingly go into a daddy-kink book….or a BDSM book. Um, I loved this one.
Lacey is a recovering anorexic and Stian is a control freak, museum curator. He hires her on her father’s request as his assistant and Lacey agrees because staying busy helps fight her toxic thoughts. She learns very quickly that she likes doing what she’s asked to do. She likes being given instructions and a job and completing them. It gives her a purpose and a tangible one. After a hard incident, she propositions Stian to be her Dom because she likes the way he makes her feel. Stian warns her that he does nothing by half measures so they tumble into an odd D/s relationship. Lacey isn’t good with change and she has a lot of quirks due to her tenuous recovery so he does take it very slow. Eventually, she does have a massive setback and she has to work her way back to the light again.
I loved some of the sexy lines. Stian was so incredibly patient. I do NOT have a daddy kink, but this one made me chuckle and it didn’t deter me.
-SPOILERS-
I hurt so bad for Stian when Lacey shut down after their first time together…their first time which may be my favorite un-virgin-izing scene I’ve read in so long. He cared so much about her and her evil inner voice just beat her so terribly. I hurt for him for waiting so long and trying so hard for something out of his control to tear her away immediately. And I felt so bad for Lacey for having any part of herself hate herself so much. I have depression, I understand self-loathing, but her feeling like the only thing that she could control, do right, or make everything else quiet being not eating. Ugh.
So, I dislike the concept of a make wanting to break a woman. Testing limits is a tricky thing for me. But Stian saying that he didn’t want to break her, that he wanted to push her so that she would realize how far she could go and NOT break, was an interesting revelation for me. I thought that was beautiful. He knew she was stronger than she realized and - which I feel like is a common theme among BDSM - but the way he could say it was different. The concept of breaking a woman down to her basics just to build her back up doesn’t sit well with me. I get having to break through walls and having to break bad habits, but I think THIS outlook was a first for me. I’m really, really happy about it.
I also understood why Lacey wanted to be dominated. By him telling her what to do, he took away her ability to choose to do the wrong thing. That made sense to me! Gah, I love understanding characters and their motivations.
I even understood why Lacey panicked thinking that he showed her a world that she could never live in and hating it. And being scared that he would hate her for not being able to give that to him.
Alright, so the discipline scene after she admits to losing that pound was…fire. Like, geez. That’s how I want to be disciplined. Lol. I liked that spanking wasn’t a punishment in this book. It was definitely a conduit for emotions and it was foreplay.
Standalone | 311 Pages | Trope Challenge: -Not on Challenge- |
Denying her the release just yet, I stand up, put one hand on her collarbone to keep her where she is, and reach for her clit with the other. I love fingering girls. All I need to do is make tiny movements on that little spot, and I can overwhelm her whole world. The control is spectacular.
- Stian, Control Freak by Brianna Hale
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