Beyond Control

Beyond Series, Book 2

By: Kit Rocha

Narrated by: Lucy Malone

Alexa Parrino escaped a life of servitude and survived danger on the streets to become one of the most trusted, influential people in Sector Four, where the O'Kanes rule with a hedonistic but iron fist. Lex has been at the top for years, and there's almost nothing she wouldn't do for the gang...and for its leader. Lie, steal, kill - but she bows to no one, not even Dallas O'Kane.

Dallas fought long and hard to carve a slice of order out of the chaos of the sectors. Dangers both large and small threaten his people, but it's nothing he can't handle. His liquor business is flourishing and new opportunities fuel his ambition. Lex could help him expand his empire, something he wants almost as much as he wants her. And no one says no to the king of Sector Four.

Falling into bed is easy, but their sexual games are anything but casual. Attraction quickly turns to obsession, and their careful dance of heady dominance and sweet submission uncovers a need so deep, so strong, it could crush them both.

©2013 Kit Rocha (P)2014 Tantor

Beyond Control

I was looking forward to Lex and Dallas’s story. They just were meant to be and I now get why Dallas put her at arm’s length for so long. But there is beauty in surrendering to what your heart needs.

I loved that sex is so fluid in these books. No one is judged for what they like or want. It is open and celebrated.

I wish we did get more of the world and why there are sectors and what that means. I hope we learn sooner rather than later.

The narration is ok she is growing on me.

Love Dallas and Lex!

What did you love best about Beyond Control?

I love that Lex is a strong, independent woman who has fought for that independence. She's a leader in Sector Four who is respected by the men and the women. Lex definitely pushes Dallas to make a move instead of circling around their obvious attraction. Dallas hides his intelligence at times, and he can be very possessive.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beyond Control?

I loved when Lex's new tattoo was revealed and the chain of events that tattoo ignites. And it was about time, too!

What does Lucy Malone bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Lucy Malone brings emotion to the characters. I really enjoyed how Lucy Malone moderated her voice for each of the different characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Lust, obsession, violence. and power...the King has met his match.

Any additional comments?

I love this series! I would highly recommend reading or listening to any of the books and novellas in the Beyond series.

One of the best Dystopian series out there!

Which character – as performed by Lucy Malone – was your favorite?

Lex

Any additional comments?

I love the entire Beyond series. Sex, violence, and tatts ... how can you go wrong?

Love the plot but poor descriptive words

“Balls deep
Shivering at the sensation
Shudder
Aftershock” if these terms were not overused so much, it would be a good story.

Great sequel

I totally enjoyed this book. Not as much as book 1, but boy is there a whole lot of smex...

This is romance and erotica, but with a developing plot... The events continue right where book 1 left off, but this time it's Dallas and Lex!

We get to see Lex interacting with the people from her old sector (sector 2), and watch as Dalls takes over literally 3 sectors by the end...

The smex is soooooo long... and drawn out in place... I perferred the story better in place and smex in others.

Well worth the credit or sale... Not a buy though because it pretty expensive.

Narration was great!

A six-way and slightly more story

“She wanted to be used and he wanted to defile her.”
Book 2 sees two alphas battling for control. Normally, I fault the romantic conflict for a failure to communicate, but here the bigger problem is the story-to-naughty ratio. Compared to book 1, there is a little more world building and a little more backstory for Dallas and Lexi. For instance, we learn about Lexi’s escape from prostitution in Sector Two and discover that Sector Five is the drug sector. However, this is still 10% dystopian story, 20% romance, and 70% hawty-nawty. No joke; the naughty is non-stop and creative. You’d think the kink variety in book 1 was a lot… and yet this book adds toys, butt-stuff and a six-way. It was delicious, however, it was also desensitizing. I think I’d have preferred less naughty and more story.

Although there’s gangs, tattoos, and a lot of dominating dirty talk, this is not Dark Romance.
This is a plus for me because I’m not into mafia, MC, or thug-life romance; I like my guys to be alpha in the sheets but heroes on the streets. The “gang” violence is more the Mad Max justice-type than the criminal-enterprise-type. More importantly, this series, with all its down and dirty kink, is nonetheless always consensual.

Ms. Malone is a great narrator. My slight criticism is that all of her gals, and all of her guys, sound the same. When some of the other characters get small POV chapters (like Jasper or Brendan), they sound just like Dallas. Given that the author duo’s writing doesn’t spend much time differentiating the characters, the narrator’s lack of voice differentiation makes the huge cast of H/h pairs hard to tell apart.

These are solid, erotic listens. Book 3 gets even better with the story-to-naughty ratio, not by easing up on the smut, but instead by increasing the story-arc about Sector Four’s battle for power against the other Sectors. I also like book 3 best of the first three because Six is the first female MC who has skills beyond being sexy and feisty. My biggest disappointment for these books is the lack of gals in independent leadership, technology, or warrior positions. These books are still on the whole gal-positive, but they could be more (the Mercenary Librarian spin-off does gal-power a bit better and is romance rather than erotica). I’m not sure there’s enough to carry me through the entire series, but I enjoyed the first three enough to buy later books when they go on sale.

Pretty good addition to the series :)

3.5-4 stars

This was a pretty good story. I liked Lex and Dallas and their story was good, actually better than I expected considering how they got along in book #1, Beyond Shame.

Lex was born in Sector 2 and sold by her parents to the "Orchid House". This place is where pretty young girls are sold and turned in to the equivalent of high class prostitutes. Lex wasn't willing to be one so she ran away and lived on the streets for years. She happened to get caught trying to steal from Dallas and got taken under him protection. Lex eventually convinced Dallas to include women in the gang and became a member.

Dallas didn't start out in a good life and has had to struggle for everything he's gotten. He claimed his sector and built his gang up through hard work and smarts, although he tries to convince his enemies that he's a brainless barbarian. Dallas has wanted Lex for years but he won't have sex (actual intercourse) with her because of his rules. Dallas won't have sex with a woman unless she's collared by him because Dallas won't share his women. He doesn't want to collar Lex because he's worried that if things don't work out between them it would cause issues within the gang.

When the story begins, Dallas has made a comment to Lex that pissed her off big time and she decides to do something in response that she knows will goad Dallas big time. I wonder what she was planning to goad him in to because what she does prompts Dallas to collar her as his. Lex doesn't really fight it but yet she makes sure Dallas knows she won't let him in easily. They come to a tentative peace together and start trying to figure out how to deal with each other in a relationship. Dallas is all for having Lex by his side. She's always been sort of the female leader (if unofficially) of the gang and now that they're together he likes the idea of her being a partner that will help with gang business and stand at his side. Lex is willing to take up the part and is happy when Dallas seems willing to give her some power as she'd been afraid that he'd just want to own her without giving her anything more.

Soon after Lex and Dallas start their relationship, a meeting is called in sector 2 for all the sector leaders. In book #1, the leader of sector 3 had attacked Dallas and company and got killed for his troubles and now the sector is out of control and the trouble could soon leak out to the other sectors. Dallas asks Lex to go along with him for the meeting to show a united front. This brings some interesting situations since the leader of sector 2 is also the owner of Orchid house and the woman Lex had fled years before. There is intrigue, backstabbing, alliances, threats and even an assassination attempt during the summit between the leaders. Dallas and Lex come out of it with mixed feelings but some good opportunities available to them. Unfortunately, some people try playing some games and those games cause a rift between Lex and Dallas. To be honest, I don't think that Dallas was trying to be mean or even act badly, I think he just said the wrong thing at the wrong time and Lex took it badly. There's some bad times as things are strained between Lex and Dallas and look to be heading south. Thankfully, they manage to save their relationship before all is lost and end the story starting their HEA together.

This was a pretty enjoyable story. I liked both Lex and Dallas. They're both rather hard characters but they both have good hearts and you can see that...I'm just glad they were able to work things out. Overall the story was a nice romance with lots of sex and a good action plot that kept things interesting outside of the romance and sex. I'm sure I'll probably read more of the series in the future. I'd recommend this story. :)

gritty, dirty, fun

I've read this book several times now. the beyond series is a go to for me.

Amazing Characters

This is book two in the Beyond series, a dystopian erotica series by Kit Rocha. In Beyond Control, we have the story of Dallas, the king of Sector Four and Lex who has been the unofficial queen of Sector Four. Here we have Lex really coming into her own and becoming the official queen of the sector. It starts with a typical Dallas Sector Four sex party. Then Lex and Dallas going to Sector Two to meet with all the sector leaders. There is no leadership in Sector Three and something has to be done about that, this meeting is to determine how to handle it.

In Beyond Control, we see two alphas really come together in a great relationship. Dallas is used to everyone bending to his will, especially anyone he takes as a bed partner. Dallas is a dominate at heart and doesn’t know how to give. Lex is the same, but she wants to give to Dallas. He must learn when she is able to submit and when it isn’t in the best interest of not only Lex but the sector.

The dynamics between the two and how they learn how they have to come together is a great story. The secondary characters are much more in the background of this story, compared to book one. They do have a part in Beyond Control, just not as much as in Beyond Shame.

Beyond Control takes the partying to a whole new level. The sectors are darker, more violent, sweaty and even more sexy that book one. The worldbuilding is some of the best I’ve ever read. The passion between these two strong alphas is a thing to behold. To watch their story come together was a lot of fun.

While Beyond Control could be read/listened to as a stand alone, I would recommend picking up Beyond Shame to get a better understanding of the world and the characters. I would check the prices of the Kindle versions of the books and then purchase the Audible versions. I got Beyond Shame audio for $2.99 after getting the free Kindle. Double check to be sure that the prices on sale, I can’t confirm that the Kindle prices are still discounted.

Narration
The narration is good. Lucy Malone does a good job with each of the different characters. I don’t think she does a bad job with the men. She makes Noelle’s innocence sound believable. Lex has a very strong voice to her, along with Dallas. Each character has a distinct voice that fits their personality well.

The sectors are alluring.

A strong magnetic storyline that draws you into a wonderfully unique place with sexy in everything.