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Diablo Blanco Club #2
Under Control
Diablo Blanco Club; Previous Unfair Advantage
BDSM LGBT Erotic Contemporary
The moment Vance Justiss walked through the door, Ben Murphy knew the wounds his Marine carried went deeper than those carved by the explosion that had ended the soldier's career. He decided it was time to reveal the feelings he'd carried for his best friend and perhaps he could offer a healing touch to the tired warrior.
Vance looked on his return home as a final farewell. Despite the success of a mission that left him scarred both inside and out, Vance measured his failure in the soft whispers of a young woman's voice. A promise made halfway around the world demanded he face the man he'd loved for years. Once Ben learned of his act of betrayal, Vance doubted his future with the other man would last beyond the sunrise.
Walking away from his military career was easy. Having the man he loved turn away from him wasn't. Vance had learned how to stay in command during battle, but in matters of the heart, love has him under control.
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find Anal play/intercourse, BDSM theme and content, dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, violence.
BDSM LGBT Erotic Contemporary
The moment Vance Justiss walked through the door, Ben Murphy knew the wounds his Marine carried went deeper than those carved by the explosion that had ended the soldier's career. He decided it was time to reveal the feelings he'd carried for his best friend and perhaps he could offer a healing touch to the tired warrior.
Vance looked on his return home as a final farewell. Despite the success of a mission that left him scarred both inside and out, Vance measured his failure in the soft whispers of a young woman's voice. A promise made halfway around the world demanded he face the man he'd loved for years. Once Ben learned of his act of betrayal, Vance doubted his future with the other man would last beyond the sunrise.
Walking away from his military career was easy. Having the man he loved turn away from him wasn't. Vance had learned how to stay in command during battle, but in matters of the heart, love has him under control.
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find Anal play/intercourse, BDSM theme and content, dubious consent, male/male sexual practices, violence.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 26, 2009
6 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 21, 2011
A short novel in the Diablo Blanco Club series. Really liked this M/M story about two Marines who finally discover one another and who allow their relationship to be the means for healing old wounds and finally revealing hurtful secrets that have poisoned too long. I was disappointed that this was a shorter work--it really could have been developed much more extensively and still held its own. There was just enough information to place it in the context of the series as a whole, and several of the other book's characters were not present--they weren't needed in this story. I gave it four stars because the story was robust and beautifully told, even though it was just too short to deal with some of the issues facing these two men.
February 21, 2011
The best part of this book, the author gave the prologue to Vance and Ben's relationship.
The 8 yrs coming to this was given, not in lil bits and pieces but chunks.
Ben & Vance are so good together.
The BDSM, not BDSM. More like a dabble in it.
I give this book 4 stars because Matti & Bryce were not in it & Ben & Vance did a wonderful job holding their own. This would have been better as a stand-alone rather than a book 2 of 3.
The 8 yrs coming to this was given, not in lil bits and pieces but chunks.
Ben & Vance are so good together.
The BDSM, not BDSM. More like a dabble in it.
I give this book 4 stars because Matti & Bryce were not in it & Ben & Vance did a wonderful job holding their own. This would have been better as a stand-alone rather than a book 2 of 3.
February 14, 2011
This was a good book about dealing with the emotions that come after being on a difficult mission for the military. It was rather short, and took place only over a couple of days. I really liked Ben and Vance's characters.
December 2, 2013
Under Control is a quick read dealing with heavy issues. For a Marine returning from a mission gone wrong, scarred both inside and out, grief and guilt weighs on him. A promise made in a moment of great heartbreak gives him the push he needs to finally admit his feelings for the man who's been his only comfort for the last eight years. It should be easy to say those three little words but unrelenting grief make it hard to admit what happened during that mission for fear that he'll be rejected and have nothing to live for.
Vance has always worried his strength would hurt someone someday so he's learned to keep himself under control through heavy BDSM play. Since coming home though he constantly feels out of control as guilt keeps him from finding the calm that whipping used to give him. He teeters on the brink of unending darkness and it's only his feelings for Ben that keep him going. My heart ached for Vance and his misplaced grief. He was put into a position of which there was no good way out. His experience in the terrorist's camp was vividly detailed and gut-wrenching in its intensity. This scene pulled no punches and cast a shadow over the entire story that didn't let up until the richly rewarding HEA.
Ben is a loyal and honorable man who is just what Vance needs to move past his grief. He's a calming influence for the constantly on edge Vance and they truly are meant to be together. While we get an in-depth look into who Vance is, the same can't be said for Ben. What little we know of him is in relation to Vance and I miss not knowing more about such a likable character.
What there IS a lot of is hot and intense sexual encounters! These scenes take up a big part of the story and are the only times we see Vance with a smile and get to see the building connection between them. From start to finish this is a gritty and heart-wrenching read that led to a heartwarming conclusion that has me wanting to read more books in this series.
Vance has always worried his strength would hurt someone someday so he's learned to keep himself under control through heavy BDSM play. Since coming home though he constantly feels out of control as guilt keeps him from finding the calm that whipping used to give him. He teeters on the brink of unending darkness and it's only his feelings for Ben that keep him going. My heart ached for Vance and his misplaced grief. He was put into a position of which there was no good way out. His experience in the terrorist's camp was vividly detailed and gut-wrenching in its intensity. This scene pulled no punches and cast a shadow over the entire story that didn't let up until the richly rewarding HEA.
Ben is a loyal and honorable man who is just what Vance needs to move past his grief. He's a calming influence for the constantly on edge Vance and they truly are meant to be together. While we get an in-depth look into who Vance is, the same can't be said for Ben. What little we know of him is in relation to Vance and I miss not knowing more about such a likable character.
What there IS a lot of is hot and intense sexual encounters! These scenes take up a big part of the story and are the only times we see Vance with a smile and get to see the building connection between them. From start to finish this is a gritty and heart-wrenching read that led to a heartwarming conclusion that has me wanting to read more books in this series.
March 16, 2010
This was a disturbing book for me to read - on many levels. It is the story of two Marines, one now on his way to becoming a doctor and the other just having received a medical discharge, is full of physical and emotional pain and abuse. I guess it is meant to deal with some of the trauma men undergo when they are put in horrible situations, but the way in which it happened in this book made it extremely hard for me to come to terms with it or even understand how the two main characters got through it. The amount of violence referred to (even if 'only' in flashbacks and Vance telling Ben) made me cringe.
Thinking about why I fee left hanging, I have come to the conclusion that it may be because the emphasis is on the suffering and pain, Vance torturing himself for what he has done, and Ben waiting for Vance to finally come to him so they can resolve their issues. The discussion that starts the healing process is barely over and - bam - the book ends. That was what it felt like. For me to feel better, I wuld have needed to see how Ben adn Vance dealt with the pain, and how they healed; not just seeing them 'a few weeks later' with everything suddenly okay.
If you want to find out more about the emotions of someone who has been made to do gruesome things, and don't mind the lack of a more detailed resolution, this book might be for you. It is real, gritty and heart breaking - utterly realistic. Just not a relaity I deal with very well at all.
Thinking about why I fee left hanging, I have come to the conclusion that it may be because the emphasis is on the suffering and pain, Vance torturing himself for what he has done, and Ben waiting for Vance to finally come to him so they can resolve their issues. The discussion that starts the healing process is barely over and - bam - the book ends. That was what it felt like. For me to feel better, I wuld have needed to see how Ben adn Vance dealt with the pain, and how they healed; not just seeing them 'a few weeks later' with everything suddenly okay.
If you want to find out more about the emotions of someone who has been made to do gruesome things, and don't mind the lack of a more detailed resolution, this book might be for you. It is real, gritty and heart breaking - utterly realistic. Just not a relaity I deal with very well at all.
April 25, 2011
Based on some of the other reviews, I really didn’t have high expectations for this book. I was more than pleasantly surprised:) This book really struck a chord with me. As a lover of the hurt/comfort storyline, I thought this one was fantastic and had a lot of depth. There was a section that brought me to immediate tears – the author managed to convey a ton of emotion and it really melted my heart.
Vance and Ben were fantastic together. Who couldn’t adore two strong military types that can come to feel strongly about one another? They’ve been dancing around their feelings for each other for a number of years, and a new set of circumstances finally gives them the chance to face reality.
There is some BDSM associated with this book – it really amounts to one scene that involves bondage and whipping and it’s not extreme by any means, but reader beware. The rest of the sex scenes between Vance and Ben are just plain hot!
I know this book is part of a series, but it read very well as a standalone and I wish it were longer. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s style and I’m looking forward to checking out more of her work!
Vance and Ben were fantastic together. Who couldn’t adore two strong military types that can come to feel strongly about one another? They’ve been dancing around their feelings for each other for a number of years, and a new set of circumstances finally gives them the chance to face reality.
There is some BDSM associated with this book – it really amounts to one scene that involves bondage and whipping and it’s not extreme by any means, but reader beware. The rest of the sex scenes between Vance and Ben are just plain hot!
I know this book is part of a series, but it read very well as a standalone and I wish it were longer. I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s style and I’m looking forward to checking out more of her work!
June 17, 2015
A lot of self-flagellation on the part of a Marine traumatized by war. Ben rapidly helps Vance regain control...and then give it up again with complete trust in the other man. I wouldn't recommend this book at all, but it's like the trifecta of A-Z challenges with winners for "U" book title, "Q" author name, and "V" character name. Aside from improving the story and writing, the only thing that would make this book better is if it took place in Ohio instead of California.
February 9, 2015
I think this book is well written. I liked the basic story behind the book. I thought I would be uncomfortable with this book, but it is just as good as the other books in the series. This book definitely falls in the category of "Don't judge a book by it's cover".
September 2, 2016
A short read. A serious storyline but I think it could have been developed a bit more. No one is 'cured' from those memories and feelings of guilt in one night. I'm not into the gay genre but this sex was hot hot hot.
February 21, 2011
This is more of a 3.5 than just a 3. It was a good short story- I wanted it to be longer. I liked the connection between Ben and Vance, plus the sex scenes were hawt.
August 2, 2011
3.25 stars
August 15, 2020
3.5 stars
June 16, 2012
Yeah i didnt know what that book was about until i started reading it. I was in for a surprise to say the least.....
December 27, 2012
Loved it! Full of hurt, comfort, angst, romance and hot boys. Recommended!
November 19, 2013
This was my 1st m/m read. I really enjoyed it. The characters were so passionate. Book could have been longer.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews