ARC Review: Beyond Control by Kit Rocha

Synopsis:

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O’Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there’s almost nothing she wouldn’t do for the gang…and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill—but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O’Kane.

He’ll settle for nothing less.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. His liquor business is flourishing, and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.
  4.5 flames out of 5
Kit Rocha’s buffet of bad boys, as I call them, are back in this second installment of the Beyond series, and the focus is on Dallas O’Kane and Lex, his on-again/ off-again woman. This installment continues both the action and the hedonistic erotica. This book contains lots of debauched, smutty sex,often with multiple partners and combinations, so be forewarned.

Since this book is yet to be released, I’m going to try to do this without spoilers. At the end of the first book, Beyond Shame, trouble was brewing in the sectors, with Dallas eliminating Wilson Trent from a neighboring sector, putting it up for grabs to the person strong enough to take it and keep it. Yeah, there’s going to be trouble there for sure.

Back in Sector four, Dallas is distracted with the mind games Lex plays with him, instead of focusing on the troubles brewing, and she’s egging him on. Dallas has an image to uphold as king, and he doesn’t falter, which makes his vulnerability toward Lex all that more endearing. Some of my favorite moments in the book were his thoughts regarding how he feels about her I didn’t doubt his feelings, and it made him one sexy dude.

Lex is more complicated. She has needs that Dallas cannot fulfill, at least not in her mind. She fights him, keeps things from him, and manipulates him. We learn more about her background and some of the things she hides from him. She’s not perfect, and she is actually as inept at dealing with her feelings for Dallas as he is when dealing with his feelings for her. Only she doesn’t see it.

I really like the world the authors have built here. It’s gritty and dirty and has tons of potential. But really, it’s the characters that make this story interesting. Jasper, Noelle, Ace, Bren, Rachel, Six, and other are back too, although their parts are a bit slim. More characters from the other sectors are introduced in this book, including someone who could potentially hurt both Lex and Dallas. Things get tense for a while. Good thing there’s sex to relieve the tensions, at least temporarily.

When Dallas makes a critical mistake in Lex’s eyes, everything explodes. Dallas doesn’t understand what Lex wants and Lex can’t understand why Dallas doesn’t know why she’s upset. Who hasn’t been there, right? The authors give the reader a good dose of some really terrific angsty moments. I absolutely adored the ending of this book for its emotional quality.

I really like this series. It’s got really nice world building, interesting characters, and fresh storylines and erotica. I still have some issues with muddled point of view in some of the scenes with multiple characters. I find I have to re-read sections to really get a handle on who’s thoughts I’m hearing. I wish that could be a little less pronounced for me.

At times the action sequences regarding the gang takes second place to the erotic scenes, and for me, I would rather a more even treatment of between the action and the erotica. I want to know more about this world.

Overall, I loved Beyond Control, and I’m looking forward to the next installment in the series, Beyond Pain (Fall 2013) , with Bren and Six as the main characters.

Thanks to the authors for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review.