Classic romance lovers who enjoy a good dollop of spice will love Losing Control by Rachael Stewart.
The moody and tumultuous beginning set as an inner monologue from Cain, our central male protagonist (and antogonist), established the historical why’s and what for’s fairly dramatically. Having left 7 years earlier after an unexpected freeze-out from his father, Cain returns the day of his father and brothers’ funeral, an awful double family death, the result of a plane crash. Somewhat anxiously, Cain views the funeral proceedings from afar, spotting Alexa, his ex and past-life love comforting his mother in her desperate hour of need.
Quickly, the narrative switches character perspective, and we launch into Alexa’s monologue; similarly the tumult of emotions, almost too much to bare. And so the tension bar is set, with both of our hero’s sharing regret, guilt, and past secrets with equal measure. Naturally, the arc exists on a set of assumptions from Cain, in that he returned 3 months after he had left only to find Alexa and his brother Liam walking out of the Marriage Registry office having just tied the knot. However, what Cain witnesses, isn’t of course the whole story, and the circumstance around Alexa’ shotgun wedding to Liam are understandable to say the least. Given that the family had already taken Alexa in as a foster child in her youth, for all intents and purposes, the family have done all they can to stick by her and demonstrate fierce acts of loyalty.
Unfortunately, the predictability from the second chapter became a pillar of frustration. The dual inner monologue vacillation from both characters, whilst somewhat justified in places, was equally maddening, drawing out the simplest of conversations and turning them into chapter-long waffles. Interestingly enough, when Cain’s mother or other characters were in the scenes, the dialogue became clear, precise and the narrative picked up a natural energy highlighting the importance of showing rather than telling. Living within Cain and Alexa’s minds for the majority of the book however, was far too indecisive and unnecessary, and frankly, no one thinks with that level of verbosity. Additionally, it felt like there was nothing of real substance from either character to latch on to, so there was a strange sense of ambivalence about both – neither were terribly likeable or particularly sympathetic.
Having said that, there was undoubtedly a clear throughline from beginning to end that from a birds-eye view captured the soulmatish desires of both characters. Losing Control as it is aptly named, delivered on many fronts, namely the spicy romance and predictable Happily Ever After however needed to tone down the spinning wheel of emotions that impacted the overall readability.
Book Info:
Publication: 20th August 2020 | Harlequin Dare |
She watched him walk away…
…and now he’s back to claim her!
A family feud forced me to walk away from the woman of my dreams, Alexa—but I didn’t expect her to betray me by falling into my brother’s arms. Now, after a tragic accident, I’ve returned home to find Alexa leading the family business…and the chemistry between us is hotter than ever. The sparks reignite our electrifying connection, but can we learn to trust each other again?
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Sounds great .