Review: Control (Meet Me in the Dark) by Jade Dare

                                                                   

Print Length: 147 pages

Publisher: Jade Dare (January 17, 2022)

From Goodreads.com: Control.

It’s the one thing Charlotte doesn’t feel like she’s had any of for the past few months. Ever since she had to tell her darkest sexual fantasy in a game of truth or dare at a party, and she saw the way Jackson’s eyes lit up at her words. Now her days are filled with dirty thoughts, and her nights with filthy dreams, about him.
But she knows she can never be with him anywhere other than her mind.

When Jackson corners her and offers to make her fantasy a reality, she’s as shocked as she is doubtful. She doesn’t believe he can make her feel like it’s anything more than pretend when he holds her down and takes her by force. He can’t give her the danger and thrill she’s seeking, so what’s the use in saying yes?

Waking up from yet another dream about Jackson has her agreeing to hand over every bit of control to him, anxious to see what he’ll do with it. Now, she just has to wait until he comes for her.

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My Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

It's no secret that I don't necessarily read these books for the plot, but this one was a hot mess all the way around (and not always in the sexy way). Right out of the gate, the theme to this one is consensual non-consent which I don't have a problem with. I didn't have a problem whatsoever with Jackson appearing out of nowhere to bring her "masked intruder" fantasies to life. 

What I had a problem with was when it boarded on domestic violence. Such as the time that Jackson backhanded her so hard during one of their "scenes" (for lack of a better word), that she fell to the floor with pain exploding in her cheek, and her screams seeming to echo throughout the room. To me? That isn't sexy. That is abuse. 

What I had a problem with was the half-ass excuse for a their falling out, when it could have been handled (in my opinion) in a much better way. 

You see Charlotte, despite having courage enough to tell him her deepest and most depraved fantasies, can't seem to muster that same courage to tell him that she has fallen in love with him. Sure, she whispers it one night when he is asleep (and really, it would have been so much better had he actually been awake and overheard her), but she refuses to tell him. So she pushes him away. And she "breaks up" with him via text, which he doesn't see until after he (again in my opinion) showed that he cared for her. 

Anyway, Jackson storms out, they are both miserable without each other, but much too prideful to admit it to the other. At least until Jackson overhears Charlotte admitting to their friends how she feels about him (which annoyed me on another level because I felt like he should have fought for her before this if he truly had feelings for her), at which time he sets a new plan into motion. Which we all know is going to work out, and that's cool because I am a sucker for a happily-ever-after, I just.... there was the potential for so much more between these two that what we got was disappointing. 

However, it was nice to see Sophie and Lawson still being very much in love, while Lexa is still avoiding her future like the plague. And to be honest, her story is the one I am most looking forward to simply because out of the three of the friends she was the most against falling in love. Or even having a relationship. So I am hoping her story will be the most fun out of the bunch.