Book Summary
***Content Warning – This is a new adult fiction with mature themes. It contains graphic sexual situations, mature language and explicit description of sexual violence.***
Conflict is the second book in the Control series. This description contains spoilers for those who have not read book one in the series, entitled Control.
Private Investigator, Paige Stone has always appreciated the independence of her life, however, her world was pitched upside down when she and her roommates were attacked and nearly killed. As a result of the attack by Chris, Paige now finds herself dependent upon Daemon Pierce for a place to live as she hides from Chris. Paige has never lived with a man before and demands that Daemon consider her a “roommate” only, even though it goes against her own desires.
Strong-willed and arrogant, Daemon Pierce has been working hard to protect Paige from Chris and from herself. Letting go of his life as a womanizer, Daemon tries to prove to Paige that she can trust him, even though he refuses to enlighten her as to his past. Daemon struggles to comply with Paige’s ridiculous demand to be “roommates” and quickly finds that he has fallen in love with the girl who does nothing but push him away.
Paige’s emotional journey once again places her in dangerous situations and when secrets are revealed and decisions are made, Paige has no choice but to look deep within herself to see if she can finally trust the man who will stop at nothing to save her.
Excerpts
Her voice was authoritative and assured as she spoke. “I mean, think about it, ladies. Yes, all of you underwent some form of physical or emotional abuse, the severity of which is different in each case. You can look to your neighbors on your right and left and I can guarantee you one of them went through something worse than you or they endured it longer than you. So, does that make them more of a victim and you, less of one?” Momma paused a beat to allow what she was saying to be processed by the group.
“The answer is ‘no’, ladies. Regardless of the severity of the trauma, the end result is that the trauma occurred, it affected you negatively, and as a result, you were victimized. But it does not stop with you. Think back to the things that happened to you; now think about the people who first found you, or helped you, or treated your injuries. Think about what it must have been like for a good person to see or hear about what happened, to feel powerless to stop the violent acts they knew were being committed by others on a daily basis. Think about having to see that every day. Those people are also victims. Think about how you feel when you watch the news and a child has been killed or some other horrible tragedy has befallen one person at the hands of another. It hurts us all, it impacts us all, and no matter the severity of the attack or role you play, we are all in this together despite our level of participation.”
She stopped in the center of the group as she said, “We are at a crossroads, ladies, and we have two choices. At this point in our lives, as a group of people affected in some way by the evil and heinous acts of another, we have to choose. Do we choose the path where we let this break us and define us? Will we lay down and die because of what happened to us?” She slowly turned, once again making sure to look at each person. “Or will we choose the path where we pick ourselves up, where we fight against it to get past it and where we come out stronger on the other side?”
The attention of the women was focused solely on Momma. Some seemed hesitant and unsure, while I swore I could see that special spark begin to build in the eyes of the others.
“So, what will it be, ladies? Let’s make our choice. It’s time for all of us to stop sitting around wallowing in the events of our past. I will warn you that the road to recovery is not always the easy. We have to fight against those intent on harming us. But, because we are victims together, all of us, we can fight together. We can rebuild together. There is power in numbers.” Momma’s eyes continued to look around the room to meet and hold each and every pair of eyes there. “You have to get angry, ladies. You have to use what most consider a negative emotion as a driving force within you. Do not let the anger
consume you, but do let it ignite the fire within you that pushes you forward along that difficult road. Because when you reach the end of that road and finally obtain the life you deserve, you have won that fight and you have triumphed in the face of your abuser.”
My Review
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this series? In case I haven’t, WELL I DO……
I don’t normally include excerpts or quotes from the book into my review but this book cries for it. I could sit here for hours and try to come up with the correct words to say what the above excerpt says, but I would fail. Yes this book has mystery, intrigue and love, but I hope above all else each reader walks away with the words above planted in your heart and brain. I couldn’t have said the message any better.
Paige finds out the answers she has long to know but it comes at the expense of having to accept the role she played in the past. In order to protect her, her parents had to turn their back on the cause they held dear for years. The dream of having Buddy back has come true, but it comes with nightmares and realizations that our mind does block out events in which we don’t want to remember.
Daemon, ever the constant source of love and control refuses to leave Paige. She pushes and pushes and strikes out at him, but he stands firm in knowing that she is worth the fight. I love this quote by him…..
“Please, Damsel. Let me take on some of the burden you carry. Open up to me and let me in so that I can relieve you of your nightmares.”
How do you not fall in love with a man like that. I found through the second book it has a touch of Fifty Shades as far as woman pushes man, man stands firm to protect woman, but this book is MUCH deeper than Fifty Shades. It has surpassed Fifty on my list of books that must be read over and over. It deals with being a victim and knowing that it doesn’t make you weak, it makes you part of a group. It gives you the strength to stand with others who are victims as well and to march forward and become a strong unit of hope, determination and love. You are not what they did to you, you are what you make of yourself from that experience.
We still haven’t found out how they are going to get the man who attacked her and David and Anne, but we were able to see that her roommates are ok and they are going to recover. In Conflict you will see Paige go toe to toe with Chris, the attacker, and face her terrors and fears from her past. You will also get a chance to see the walls come down a little bit as she learns to accept that Buddy is back and she won’t have the fantasy return she had always dreamed of. He won’t come in riding on a white horse and save her from herself…………or will he in the end? I guess I had better get started on book 3 to see what happens in this story.
This books reads so smooth and so fast, I couldn’t put it down. Even when I had to go to sleep last night I couldn’t stop thinking about Paige and Daemon. The intensity is so high at times, I wanted to scream out loud and I found myself having to take deep breaths a few times to get the heart rate down. The sex is hot, but trust me this book is MUCH more than a hot sex read. It grabs your heart and attention and doesn’t let go. I have to say once again this is one of my top three series ever.
Purchase links
http://www.amazon.com/Control-ebook/dp/B00D379FPS/
http://www.amazon.com/Conflict-Control-ebook/dp/B00DT707EK/
http://www.amazon.com/Conquer-Control-ebook/dp/B00ERFMUW0/
Author Bio
life becomes me 
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