Total Control

Jackie Ashenden

Jun 2018 · An 11th Hour Novel Book 2 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

Once they were soldiers. Now they answer only to honor . . .

The 11th Hour is made up of men and women who are no longer deemed fit to serve their country, but still need to fight a war. They work in shadows, keep their secrets—and follow their hearts . . .

Helicopter pilot Kellan Blake has always hated being told what to do, so being discharged from the army for insubordination doesn't come as much of a surprise. What does surprise him is that when he joins up with the elite, underground 11th Hour squad instead, they send him straight home. The nest of vipers that calls itself his family is the next target for the team’s tech unit, so he’ll either have to brave their traps and deceptions himself—or watch his sweet, shy friend Sabrina walk into them alone . . .

Sabrina’s no femme fatale, but since there's no one else with the tech skills to get the info they need, she’ll put on a party dress and take one for the team. But whoever decided she should pretend to be Kellan’s new fiancée hit a little too close to home. How can she concentrate on a dangerous mission when she's worried about giving away what she really feels for her loyal, passionate, smoking hot partner? At least she isn’t likely to blow their cover. Until she’s in the line of fire, and neither Kellan's demons nor his heart are hers to tame . . .

Praise for Jackie Ashenden’s Dirty for Me

“An intense scorcher of a story that is sure to delight fans and win her a legion of new devotees. . . . Unforgettable.” —RT Book Reviews, Top Pick

“Tension and heat pervade the frequent sex scenes . . . Readers will eagerly anticipate future installments in the series.” —Publishers Weekly

“Explosively sexy.” —Heroes & Heartbreakers

Ratings and reviews

I just went on another thrilling mission for the 11th Hour team. On the Total Control mission, I joined Kellen and Sabrina as they fought their way to discovering the truth about Kellan’s father and Sabrina’s place in his family. Kellan and Sabrina are strong characters that easily grabbed my attention and I just had to find out what happened between these two because for them achieving their happily ever after is a heart tugging, soul wrenching journey that was anything but smooth or easy. Blindness and a refusal to accept the changing emotions between them keep this couple on an emotional rollercoaster throughout their mission, and let me tell you that I don’t think I have ever been around two more stubborn characters than these two. The fast paced and thrilling story keeps the adrenaline pumping and the suspense building throughout the story as Kellan and Sabrina go to some elaborate lengths to get at the truth, but there undercover game adds to the tension of their relationship as it starts to change the dynamics of their long standing friendship, so there was never a dull moment to be found. The second book in the 11th Hour series is quite an emotionally explosive but sexy and daring story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The best friends turning into lovers for this couple was filled with intense emotions and electrifying chemistry that I could practically feel as they poured from the pages. Needless to say, so far I am really liking this series, so I can’t wait for Hard Night to be released in November.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - especially Sabrina's character. She's the classic best friend that's been in love with her friend (Kellan) for years, however there are a number of twists to her story that made her an interesting character. That they both work together at 11th Hour makes their pairing more challenging and quickly shows them their relative value to the organization. To me, Kellan wasn't as likable a character as Sabrina was. While I wanted them to get their HEA, Kellan seemed a bit too focused on himself to me - to the point of vacillating between hero and martyr. I loved that we finally get to meet the illusive Mr. Knight in this book. He's an interesting character and the exact opposite of how I'd pictured him in my head, although the author's description works and makes more sense. Fans of the genre will enjoy this book and want to put it at the top of their TBR list. I'd give this one 4.5 stars, but am rounding up. The author is on my must read authors' list.

3.5 stars--TOTAL CONTROL is the second instalment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult 11th HOUR romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for 11th Hour Security. This is former Night Stalker Helicopter pilot and former Navy SEAL Kellan Blake, and IT specialist Sabrina Leighton’s story line. TOTAL CONTROL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Told from dual third person perspectives (Kellan and Sabrina) TOTAL CONTROL follows the friends to lovers relationship between 11 Hour Security team members former Night Stalker Helicopter pilot and former Navy SEAL Kellan Blake, and IT specialist Sabrina Leighton. Sabrina and Kellan were childhood best friends. The daughter of the Blake estate gardener, Sabrina was raised alongside Kellan when her mother’s death and her father’s subsequent abandonment left a ten year old Sabrina with no one else to care. Fast forward to present day wherein, Sabrina and Kellan must work side by side when an 11th Hour Security assignment pits father against son as Kellan must uncover the truth behind the accusations against the father he loves. What ensues is the building physical romance between Kellan and Sabrina; the take down of the man Kellan calls dad; and the fall-out of the relationship and friendship between our leading couple as Sabrina struggles with memories from the past. Sabrina Leighton has loved Kellan since she was ten-years old but as the daughter of the hired help, Sabrina was constantly reminded that she would never be acceptable for the man that she loved. With secrets of her own, Sabrina knew that to get involved with Kellan potentially meant a broken heart-a heart she had already lost to the man who only saw Sabrina as a friend, and nothing more. Low self esteem and numerous insecurities were always at the forefront of our heroine’s mind. Kellan Blake refused to believe that the man that he loved, his father, was involved in the things of which the 11th Hour Team had accused. With secrets of his own Kellan and Sabrina return to their childhood home, only to come face to face with the dysfunction within. The relationship between Sabrina and Kellan is a friends to lovers romance that is doomed to fail as secrets and ghosts from the past continue to loom over our leading couple. From unrequited love to the hero’s overprotective alpha personality, the relationship also struggles with preconceived notions and a familial history that continues to eat at our heroine’s heart. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. We are reintroduced to the 11th Hour Team including leader Jacob Night, ex-Black Ops, owner of a billion-dollar security company; Faith Beasley, Isaiah Graham, and Callie Hawthorne and Jack King (Raw Power #1). Faith and Jacob’s story is next in Hard Night. There are some issues of repetitiveness and redundancy including 76 mentions of varying eye shades of blue, and 16 comments about the green or green-gold color of the heroine’s eyes. I also had a difficult time accepting the ‘issues’ that eventually tore our couple apart-Sabrina’s explanations and actions just didn’t fly in the face of everything that had happened. Kellan’s quick emotional turn around once he discovers that Sabrina has wanted a relationship for close to twenty years is questionable; and the results of the team investigation that culminated in nothing more than a slap on the hand were unfulfilling and underwhelming. TOTAL CONTROL is an interesting and entertaining story line but I struggled with a number of issues. The premise is engaging; the romance is spicy; the characters are dynamic and energetic.

About the author

Jackie Ashenden lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, the inimitable Dr. Jax, two kids and two cats. When she's not torturing alpha males and their stroppy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, posting random crap on her blog, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband. Jackie also writes the dark, sexy contemporary Tate Brothers romance series for St. Martin's Press. Visit her at jackieashenden.com.