Under Control by Shannon Stacey

Under Control by Shannon StaceyNarrated by Tatiana Sokolov

Boston firefighter Derek Gilman is a divorced father of two who – happy surprise! – gets along really well with his ex-wife. In Under Control, book 5 of Shannon Stacey’s Boston Fire series, he gets his HEA with business owner and efficiency expert Olivia McGovern. They meet when they’re trapped together in an elevator and cross paths again when they find themselves both involved with the Village Hearts charity.

On the face of it, it didn’t appear that Derek and Olivia had all that much in common. And actually, by the end of the book I’m not sure I was convinced I was mistaken in that first assessment. She’s a strict planner; Derek has to be reminded by his ex-wife, Amber, to use the calendar app in his phone. He’s into sports; Olivia is decidedly not. Derek’s favourite movie is Die Hard. Olivia thinks it’s stupid.

Perhaps more importantly, Olivia is very leery of getting involved with a man who has an ex-wife and children. While she wants kids of her own one day, her plan doesn’t include them right now. Olivia’s parents had an extremely acrimonious divorce and she still, long years later, has to deal with the bad blood between them. A number of other people in her life have also been divorced but none of them have a good word to say about their exes. Derek is the first person she’s ever come across who not only gets along with his ex – he actually counts her as a good friend.

I understood why Olivia was concerned but at the same time, I found her generally to be a fairly cool personality. I saw that she eventually bonded with Derek’s kids but I didn’t really feel it – until perhaps, the epilogue. I understood the physical attraction between Derek and Olivia but the relationship chemistry wasn’t enough to really convince me they belonged together.

Even so, the story was entertaining enough. There is no significant drama; not even much firefighting – the relationship is front and centre the whole time. Mostly the conflict is about how the pair could merge their lives together. Olivia lives in the pricey Back Bay area of Boston, Derek lives in a far more working-class neighbourhood. He is okay financially but she is wealthy. He wants to be close to his children and to his work and his neighbourhood where he has tight familial bonds. Olivia wants to stay in the area where most of her business is derived and it’s simply not an efficient use of her time to travel for two hours per day to and from work. Can they possibly meet in the middle somehow?

In the end Under Control showed their solution but it was reached only in the last chapter and it all felt a little glossed over considering just how much of a barrier these things had been in the lead up. As well, I would have liked to have seen more from Derek about how he was going to come to grips with the financial disparity.

I think if I’d read the book I’d have been a little bored. However, I always enjoy Tatiana Sokolov’s narration and she gave some oomph to the story for me. Derek had a consistent, fairly mild, Bostonian accent and a nice level of growl to his voice. The female cast were sufficiently separated in sound that it was easy to tell them apart and for the most part, the same was true for the males as well. Her delivery of the intimate scenes was great, as usual and her pacing and emotional delivery was also very good. Sokolov’s depiction of Olivia probably warmed me towards her a little more than I would otherwise have been.

I feel like I’m damning the book with faint praise. I didn’t hate it. Not by a long stretch. But it didn’t compel me either. I loved loved loved that Amber was in no way an “evil-ex” (I am so tired of that trope!) and I enjoyed how she and Derek navigated co-parenting. I liked Olivia well enough even though she seemed pretty uptight and didn’t seem to joke around much. (Derek and Olivia together however? I wasn’t quite as sold). It shouldn’t surprise anyone to know that I liked Derek the best; I’m a hero-centric reader after all. He felt more well-rounded and relatable to me.

If I’d seen a little more of what actually kept Derek and Olivia together and perhaps if I’d seen a bit more humour from Olivia then the book could have been a solid B.

What I’m super-interested in now, to be honest, is the next book, Flare Up – out 29 January 2019, which will feature Grant Cutter and Wren Everett. The story promises to hit all of my favourite id-listening buttons and I can hardly wait.

Under Control was a pleasant listen and the narration was very good – as I’ve come to expect from Tatiana Sokolov – but there was a little less sizzle I’d been hoping for.

Kaetrin


 

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