Control Me by Elle Raven

For a debut novel Elle Raven managed to pack far more into this book that I would have ever anticipated.

The book jumped to life from the first page, diving straight in to a strong a punchy storyline. Jada, a stunningly beautiful model who travels the world and lives a life that many would give their right arm for is subjected to the most horrific of attacks and in order to recuperate she heads home to her family in the Barossa Valley. She needed time to gather herself together to heal both physically and mentally and to find that feisty spark again, the one she wore so well.

Then we get Max, well I don’t actually think I got Max at all initially, he was fairly difficult for me to actually like early on. This self-made man was not only seriously wealthy but he was stupidly handsome and topped all that off with his own special brand of arrogance and I was at a loss for words.

Now, life when she returned home was a lot harder than Jada had anticipated, the family winery was in serious financial trouble and there was only one person they could turn to for assistance…Max

He may be a friend of the family and Jada may have had a secret crush on him for many years but get the two of them together and the sparks start to fly, in and out of the bedroom.

This was a full on battle of will in some respects but there was only ever going to be one winner, Max Brunetti does not do second place, ever.

He made sure that he used every trick in the book to get her to bend to his will and she enjoyed every second of his domination.

I have to say that while initially Max was a bit of a sore subject, I did warm to him.

I found I began to understand why he was the way he was, and I actually felt for him. He had been the subject of use and abuse, for want of a better word by so many women that his walls were up and he had no intention of ever letting them down.

Women only wanted him for what they could get from him, for the social prestige of being his girlfriend or being seen in his company, I mean who wouldn’t want a shot with the most eligible bachelor in the country but it was his money that was the biggest aphrodisiac to the women he was surrounded by, and he just wanted someone to want him for himself not what he could give them… he wanted to be enough in his own right.

But that aside, I have to say I thought the story took shape really well, the way he showed Jada how much she meant to him, the love that grew between the two of them and the fact that despite the odd temper tantrum, Jada managed to curb this megalomaniac and let him see that there was nothing wrong with being nice.

There were a few bits that niggled but nothing that was glaringly getting on my nerves. I thought at least one situation was glossed over too quickly but then again this is a work of fiction so I can let that slide.

Overall a super first of the series, certainly has me reaching for book two immediately!