Control

Great series it’s a page turner, super twisted not for the faint of heart

This is such a different beast from the Maximum books. I thought a story about Vadim would be from his perspective, but not once is this story told from his POV. It’s all from the eyes of Tiffy, a newly divorced woman who is on the prowl. After 10 years of playing the dutifully wife only to come home to find her husband with his pregnant mistress, she has decided to take life back by the horns and she wants to play it kinky-style. So though Vadim isn’t her type (he’s too thin, too beautiful), she decides to heck with it.
That one decision leads her to another coast, a power-play within a family she couldn’t even understand, auditioning for the role of a fake wife, and so many new kinky sexy times that her brain may be fried. What was supposed to be a one-night stand has somehow turned into something more complicated.
It’s charming and aching all in one as these two users come head to head. Who will come out on top and who will get burned? One thing is for sure, Vadim is a complex person that I thought and I want to know all his secrets.

I’ve been waiting for so long to read this book and I am so excited to say that it was as great as I expected it to be! The main character was so different from the ones I’ve seen in other books by this same author and it was incredibly refreshing to read. Tiffany, who wishes to explore certain pleasures in life meets the elusive Vadim, a man with a difficult past. While seemingly simple at first, the plot becomes increasingly more complicated, taking the reader on a journey that remains interesting throughout. I enjoyed this book so much and I can’t wait to read the next book!

Oh, this kicked me HARD in the heart. Seriously kicked me.
The 2 main characters are Vadim & Tiffany. Vadim is Maxim’s (Submit, Obey, Surrender) brother: tortured, tormented, tossed aside from childhood he’s erected ironclad walls to protect his mind & heart from further assaults. Tiffany is an everyday woman, freshly divorced (FREE!) of her rigid controlling jerk of a husband & vibrating to experience everything in life she’s ever imagined or dreamed.
And her first order of business is her headfirst dive into the DEEP end of her kinky sexual revolution pool. And purely by chance, Vadim is the first participant she chooses. And after a wobbly start (considerably emboldened due to her weakness for wine) Vadim & Tiffany engage in what is to be a 4 hour one of . . . .
Ms. Sky is an absolute artist in this tale, the reader has hints that Vadim is not what he seems: cold, distant, detached, but his walls are always raised & impenetrable. But Tiffany is a force of nature unto herself: determined, playful, snarky but not cruel, eager & enthusiastically desirous of enjoying her time with Vadim & wanting him to enjoy her.
Even Vadim finds her honest admiration & compliments increasingly difficult to repel or disbelieve. But just exactly WHAT, if anything, IS Vadim’s ultimate goal? And how, if at all, does Tiffany fit in?
‘Control’ is told completely via Tiffany’s POV & therefore Vadim remains a unknown quantity & enticingly mysterious. Tiffany does start chipping at his defenses, worming or cajoling ‘tiny scraps’ of his past & feelings in unexpected bursts & slices that ever so slowly allow both Tiffany & the reader to understand just how d*mn awful & heinous Vadim’s life has been.
Ms. Sky slowly peels the layers that shield Vadim to begin to reveal a man so damaged & tormented that both Tiffany & the reader’s hearts ACHE for this man. No matter his power, his wealth, his mask: we ACHE for him. And Tiffany IMO is a superb heroine: she has her moments of selfishness, of self concern, self focus, of flippancy, BUT they are thankfully very brief & few & far between. What shines out from Tiffany is her true attraction to, admiration of, & growing sense of caring for the beautiful man that fascinates her in every way. Her true, sincere & deepening concern for the tragic & lonely Vadim, her honest desire to make him smile, happy, carefree.
The reader is lifted higher & higher with their hopes for a potential long-term relationship between Vadim & Tiffany & then a new angle is exposed, one which reinstates Vadim’s walls higher than ever & shakes Tiffany to the core . . . .
A beautifully written romance with wonderfully light deft touches that increasingly engage the reader emotions, keeps them pulled in & intrigued, invested in Vadim & Tiffany’s path to a potential future, maybe together. I loved this one & cannot wait for the next book in their story.

Control: XXX Vadim Book 1 (Club XXX 4) by Lana Sky

Tiffany Conners is a newly divorce’ and repressed. She has played the dutiful wife and Sunday school teacher but wants a little taste of the darker side of romance. She is tired of hiding that inner part of herself.

Vadim (Dima) Gorgoshev has been through literal hell his entire life and has made it through the other side. He has learned to control everything in his life because it is what saved him from utter chaos.

After years of playing a part that everyone wanted her to be, Tiffany is being a little selfish for once and then going back to her boring life. She just wants a taste and then she will close that part of herself. She meets a man that she thinks will help to scratch that itch. What she finds instead is a man that needs it just as much as she does. Vadim needs help with an ongoing project and Tiffany might be the perfect fit. All he needs to do is find the right price to get her to agree. When an agreement is made with an end date, will Vadim allow her to walk away after having a taste of her? Vadim can control everything in his life but when it comes to Tiffany, there is none. How can a woman make him want to and will he ever be the same?

I fell in love with Dima in Surrender with is grin that hid the hidden scars of his youth. I know that book only showed the surface of his pain but the amount of strength that it takes to still breath every day. Tiffany became a favorite within the second page of this book with her inner monologues. I am so used to Lana’s dark twisted love stories, but I have also fell in love with this brand as well. Gone was the animalistic and instead the quiet study of the inner control of a man afraid to let go. The way that Tiffany went after Vadim without question because she wanted to. She isn’t one to hold back when it comes to what she is thinking and that was refreshing. Like her mother, she tries to act with good manners and calm the storms. Vadim needs that in his life. A kind of cushion between normal issues of life because he doesn’t think of the little things. Tiffany picks up the slack but because she wants to.

Oh BABY!!!
My favorite. This one blew me away if I wasn’t chuckling I was saying WTF followed by more chuckles. I loved the banter and all the Witty sass that Tiffy dold out to Vadim who was always on edge but sneaky at getting what he wanted all while making her Happy. A perfectly written read that was so unexpected fun exciting intense with a perfect mix of hot chemistry and impossible to put down. The cliffy was definitely a jaw dropper so prepare to be addicted and wanting more.

If you read the first three books in this series, the ones that focused on Frankie and Maxim, you will find that Tiffany and Vadim’s story is not nearly as dark. At least, so far it isn’t. What will happen in the next books is yet to be known. I thought this was a really good start to a new couple, but if you’re looking for Ms. Sky’s normal DARK, you won’t find it in book four.

Having said that, I did really like Tiffany and Vadim. I thought their chemistry was great. You could almost feel the heat coming off the pages. I loved her “new me” attitude and wanting to prove to herself that she was so much more than her past relationships. I also really liked how she didn’t shrink with Vadim; she pushed him to open up and let her in.

Vadim was emotionally and socially damaged from his childhood and subsequent adult relationships. Because of this, he put up walls. He could not recognize or accept sincere praise or compliments. There is definitely more to the story of who Vadim is than what we were shown in this book. Will Tiffany be able to uncover all there is to Vadim?

We were left with quite the cliffhanger that made my jaw (and I think Tiffany’s, too) hit the floor. Ooh, Vadim has some explaining to do after that ending and I can’t wait to see what he has to say.
*I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review*

I have been patiently waiting for Vadim’s story and Lana did not disappoint!
Vadim is mysterious and unknown to me, only cameos in the previous books and I love him more and more!
Ella exposes herself to Vadim and silently dreams of him repeatedly.
I think there is more to Vadim than what is exposed in this story! I need more of him!

Vadim is a manipulative man with secrets upon secrets on the search of a fake wife. Tiffany searches for sexual freedom and experiences she’s only dreamed of. A chance encounter brings these two very different people into a game of bribery, sexual exploration, and self discovery. Why would Vadim need a fake wife? Will they be able to trust each other as they negotiate the whirlwinds headed their way? Don’t miss this emotional story you won’t be able to put down!

Control is a fitting name for the first book about Vadim, Maxim’s troubled and estranged brother from the first three Club XXX books. We met Vadim in the last book, and got treated to a first class lesson in dangerous sibling rivalry. Make no mistake, the only thing the two brothers seem to have in common is a brutal upbringing and a need to control their environment. Enter Tiffany, a bored divorcee looking for wild, uninhibited sex with a stranger. Right away, Vadim comes off completely different than Maxim. Some of my favorite parts of the book describe Vadim.

“He’s pretty. Freakishly so. An angelic nose anchors his delicately crafted features— like a masculine but beautiful doll. Pale skin conforms to his high cheekbones and strong jaw. Jesus almighty, I’ve never seen a sexier jaw. Eyes so dark, I feel the need to strike a match take me in with little reaction, and my brain runs wild trying to decipher them. Is he bored? Surprised that I’ve approached him?”

“There’s something about his eyes that I find the most enticing. They’re… shadowed. Like he has an invisible wall up, and I’m only seeing a sliver of what lurks underneath—what he wants me to see. And right now, he wants me to see a sheepish, devastating smile.”

“My eyes linger over his face this time, and my next breath catches in my throat. His eyelashes go on for days, his lips alarmingly pink. Again, my brain turns to dirty, dirty things. But a part of me almost feels ashamed for putting him in that light— even in my imagination. He looks so innocent.”

Tiffany isn’t fooled. She sees the wall he puts up and decides what the heck? It’s just a one night stand! But Vadim is mysterious and alluring, and they both make a deal for company that seems to already have an end date. Tiffany is bold, whip smart and observant, never hesitating to challenge Vadim on his baloney. She’s fascinated by him almost immediately.

“Denying himself of beauty and pleasure is starting to seem like his defining trait. ”

“”Why do you have your penis pierced?” We both glance down to the center of his slacks . Is that a slight bulge I see? My cheeks heat, and I’m not sure if I enjoy the idea that he may like feeling me against him as much as I do. Or, it could be a trick of the light. “Why? Control,” he says simply. “To prove that I alone can exert ownership over my body.””

“”…Offer me a real, heartfelt compliment, and I’ll stay. Until Tuesday. After that, you’re allowing me the use of your private plane to go back to Cali so that you can’t ‘cancel’ any more commercial flights.” He frowns, looking surlier than ever. “I can start, if you want?” I say sweetly. “Watch and learn— I love your c$ck. I love how you f&@% when you lose yourself in the moment. I love it when you slap me on the—”“The things you say.” His frown deepens, his brows furrowing in aggravation. “Am I really to believe that you were a Sunday school teacher?”“Amen,” I say solemnly. “But whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter to me. I don’t spend my life concerned with the intentions of others like you do.””

And she’s successful grabs his attention. Slowly, Vadim becomes less of a myth and more of a man fighting off his demons. The interactions between Vadim and Maxim show a fractured relationship that never really had a chance to thrive. Instead of lashing out and demanding, like Maxim does, Vadim shrinks and gives in to the negativity. But again, here comes Tiffany who, after just a few days of dissecting Vadim, she just GETS it. Typical, right? And they call women overly emotional.

The sex scenes were dynamite in the page. Sky doesn’t just write them. She paints them in broad, beautiful strokes.

“Lost in a haze of pleasure, I hear him curse, his hips slamming over mine. Like gasoline poured onto a roaring inferno, the sensation of his release flooding my sheath sets me off yet again.”

I loved the way Vadim started to count on Tiffany’s unique presence. How she became his saving grace, so much so that he was afraid to lose her. Tiffany is written as a strong, funny woman who DEMANDS Vadim’s attention. It’s such a pleasure to read about a male character who appreciates a female like Tiffany! When some major revelations occur, I just cheered on my head, as you can’t help but root for them. Vadim is not a dom like Maxim, and Tiffany’s sexual journey runs parallel to Vadim’s. Some of it is heartbreaking. You can certainly read this book as a standalone, but I can’t help but be happy that I devoured the first three books in the Club XXX series, especially the last book. I just felt that I had some insider revelations that helped to shape the story for me. When you read the beginning of Vadim’s story, you know there’s so much more to come, and there is a cliffhanger. The story is a masterpiece of human emotion and empathy for a man who doesn’t think he’s really worth your time, and a woman willing to do anything to solve his mystery.