Taking Control (Kerr Chronicles, #2) by Jen Frederick
Erotic Romance Contemporary
Ebook, 280 pages
September 2, 2014
Self Published
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “What does he see in you?” “I give really good head.”
Taking Control is the second book in Jen Frederick’s Kerr Chronicles. An erotic suspenseful romance series that introduced us to two protagonists who meet by a twist of fate and embark on a whirlwind romance filled with sexual exploration and intriguing revenge all from pov of the heroine. Book two wraps up the main storyline and romance but from the pov of the hero. Though a common enough trope – rich emotionally stunted billionaire finds true love in an economically stymied virgin with a dubious past- Frederick’s twists and tweaks her characters in order to elevate some of the preconceived notions that often accompany this trope.
Taking Control picks up a few weeks after the end of Losing Control. Victoria (Tiny) Corielli has lost her mother to cancer and is grieving in private behind the closed doors of Ian Kerr’s home. Ian’s dreams of revenge against the family that ruined his family and life fall to the wayside as his obsession and love for Tiny flourishes. He wants everything she has to give him and he’ll uses whatever means necessary to bind her to his side.
I was well and truly caught.
Sex dominates this book as billionaire bad boy Ian Kerr attempts to deal with the overwhelming emotions that are consuming him. Titillating dialogue and lush scenes reveal a man whose possessive and controlling nature are all focused one hundred percent on Victoria (Tiny) Corielli. He adores her. He worships her. She is his morning, noon, and night. He would kill and die for her. She is everything to him and his worst fear is she will leave him.
There‘s a danger that she‘ll wake up from her grief-induced fog and realize that I‘m a manipulative asshole who is more trouble than he‘s worth, but I have time and proximity on my side. I‘ve bought my way into her heart and life. I‘ll lie, steal, and cheat to stay there because nothing is worth more than her
It’s this element that I had issues with. Though Taking Control was enjoyable and filled with the same steamy hot smexy goodness as book one, I did feel that balance between the storyline and the romance was off. A majority of this book is sex. Either Ian and Tiny having sex or Ian thinking about having sex with Tiny. It’s endless talk of Ian burying himself in Tiny on every available surface and his love of her always sopping wet panties.
…I’d pocket those wet panties and take them back to my office with me, and in the afternoon I’d replay our lunch date and jerk off into your panties until the fabric was heavy with the juices of your body and mine.
It overwhelms the book and I found my eyes glazing over as we are inundated with repetitive scenes and dialogue. Ian’s obsessive nature is more prevalent and verbose since this is from his point of view and it didn’t always mesh with the image I had of him in book one. That’s not to say he’s lost that deliciously dirty mind and mouth because rest assured, Ian still has that in spades.
I’m too horny right now to lick her slowly. I need to feel her orgasm all over my face, to have her thighs clench my head in a vise grip, like nothing is ever going to separate the two of us.
I enjoyed seeing Victoria and Ian again and how they both are trying to deal with the changes their relationship is experiencing. Injects of humor keeps the storyline from becoming too emotionally melodramatic. Frederick’s doesn’t make things easy for them and stays pretty true to their nature. Victoria feels for Ian just as deeply as he for her and better yet, she understands him. She sees beyond the arrogance he shows to the world and knows of the generous loving spirit that resides within. I like she develops a little dirtiness herself and is not afraid to let Ian know how she feels or what she wants from him in and out of bedroom.
“I get wet thinking about you,” she whispers.
She is a strong, fearless, intelligent woman who doesn’t believe in charity nor handouts and that is the crux of their problems. Ian’s wealth makes her nervous and she struggles daily to find balance in his world. A tiny slip of a woman whose somewhat fragile looks belays the steel that lies inside of her, she is Ian’s perfect match in that he can not intimidate her into silence or blind acceptance.
She might not want my money, but she wants me. And I‘m completely devoted to seeing that she is replete with satisfaction during every waking moment.
A softly deceptive action packed conflict winds its way through the sexually charged relationship, expanding previous revealed subplots. The book seems to be split in half with the first part concentrating almost solely on Ian and Tiny’s relationship while the second half addresses the conflict and brings events and other characters into play. The storyline takes of off the second half and my attention was firmly engaged.
The ending is a climatic release that brings closure to the main storyline while keeping enough open to assure us we haven’t seen the last of Ian, Tiny, or their friends. I do hope Frederick’s opts to write Kaga’s and Steve’s stories as they have both proven to be extremely interesting characters.
RATING: C+
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