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scvallese1's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a difficult one for me to rate. I really enjoyed it. But something just felt like it was missing. I loved the first half, parts of the second half dragged a bit, but was still good. There were some details that I felt were missing (they may be spoilers for others, though, so I won't mention). I will read the next one!
jen286's review against another edition
1.0
Also posted to Jen in Bookland
Beyond Control was not my favorite book. The writing was the style where the author is way too descriptive. Way too many details that don't matter. The style that I really don't like. I can never figure out exactly what it is that drives me crazy, but it is the description. I can never quite figure out what it is, how the author is describing things differently than what I like, but it annoys me. The story is set in Seattle and at the beginning it felt like the author just kept putting in references, or making small scenes that reference something in Seattle, just to be like look! It is Seattle!! See! It is Seattle!! It was like I get it, but you don't have to go out of your way to try and make the location the location. It just seemed a little forced and a few of the things made me pause like really? For instance how bicycles are the main mode of travel in Seattle. Haha. Sure. There is a bike culture there, and some people do ride bikes from outside the city to work, but main mode of travel? It is a laugh. It is not like Copenhagen or anything. The bike storage in the building where I used to work had maybe 6 bikes in a day. Out of a 20 story office building full of tenants, that is definitely not the main way people got to work. I only know one person who rides a bike in Seattle, and that is just for fun usually in the mountains. Just small things like that annoy me.
The story itself...well Gabby was pretty immature and I didn't really like her that much. She doesn't want a boyfriend again after some not so good prior experiences, but nothing insanely horrible. She gets pushed into working for her dad, and her brother leaving when she was younger still troubles her. She meets Jason and is just crazy! She obviously likes him, but then when she finds out he is friends with her brother...well her brother must have sent him! It is the only reason. Um sure. She just is crazy, but they work it out. Then Jason keeps asking her out, and she keeps freaking then being all well he probably has a girlfriend and doesn't really like me. Sure, that is why he keeps asking you out. You can be insecure, but geeze louise maybe listen to your friends once and a while? She was just up and down and all over the place.
They did eventually work everything out and it was nice, but the writing still didn't make me care that much about anything. Plus the heart transplant/fiance's death. It was pretty obvious what would happen with that whole thing, and then it does. I remember when I realized it I just groaned and my husband was like what? I was just like I think I know what is going to happen...and yeah. It did, but still. They work it out and so yey I guess.
Then you get to the very end and oh my goodness I wished I had a physical copy of the book so I could throw it across the room. Seriously. I was so angry by the placement of where it ended. It was horrible, a terrible place to end the story. I mean if you still wanted to include what happened then fine, end it with the text. Don't end it after that at just a random place, just the exact moment when you find out what is going on. Really? I mean you want a cliffhanger fine, have a cliffhanger. But don't end it there. It is like ending it mid conversation or something. Who does that? It made me so angry! It made me not want to read the next book I was so angry. And by the way, the next book doesn't start where this one leaves off. It goes back to when this book started, or somewhere around there, and tells the story of someone else. So I guess you have to read the entire book to see what happens...super lame! I read the whole stupid book and then it just ends in the middle of a scene? I was not a happy camper at all. Like I said, if it would have ended with the text I wouldn't have liked it, but I wouldn't have been angry with it. So I won't be reading the next book as I am too annoyed to even want to read through another book to maybe find out what happens. Ugh.
Beyond Control was not my favorite book. The writing was the style where the author is way too descriptive. Way too many details that don't matter. The style that I really don't like. I can never figure out exactly what it is that drives me crazy, but it is the description. I can never quite figure out what it is, how the author is describing things differently than what I like, but it annoys me. The story is set in Seattle and at the beginning it felt like the author just kept putting in references, or making small scenes that reference something in Seattle, just to be like look! It is Seattle!! See! It is Seattle!! It was like I get it, but you don't have to go out of your way to try and make the location the location. It just seemed a little forced and a few of the things made me pause like really? For instance how bicycles are the main mode of travel in Seattle. Haha. Sure. There is a bike culture there, and some people do ride bikes from outside the city to work, but main mode of travel? It is a laugh. It is not like Copenhagen or anything. The bike storage in the building where I used to work had maybe 6 bikes in a day. Out of a 20 story office building full of tenants, that is definitely not the main way people got to work. I only know one person who rides a bike in Seattle, and that is just for fun usually in the mountains. Just small things like that annoy me.
The story itself...well Gabby was pretty immature and I didn't really like her that much. She doesn't want a boyfriend again after some not so good prior experiences, but nothing insanely horrible. She gets pushed into working for her dad, and her brother leaving when she was younger still troubles her. She meets Jason and is just crazy! She obviously likes him, but then when she finds out he is friends with her brother...well her brother must have sent him! It is the only reason. Um sure. She just is crazy, but they work it out. Then Jason keeps asking her out, and she keeps freaking then being all well he probably has a girlfriend and doesn't really like me. Sure, that is why he keeps asking you out. You can be insecure, but geeze louise maybe listen to your friends once and a while? She was just up and down and all over the place.
They did eventually work everything out and it was nice, but the writing still didn't make me care that much about anything. Plus the heart transplant/fiance's death. It was pretty obvious what would happen with that whole thing, and then it does. I remember when I realized it I just groaned and my husband was like what? I was just like I think I know what is going to happen...and yeah. It did, but still. They work it out and so yey I guess.
Then you get to the very end and oh my goodness I wished I had a physical copy of the book so I could throw it across the room. Seriously. I was so angry by the placement of where it ended. It was horrible, a terrible place to end the story. I mean if you still wanted to include what happened then fine, end it with the text. Don't end it after that at just a random place, just the exact moment when you find out what is going on. Really? I mean you want a cliffhanger fine, have a cliffhanger. But don't end it there. It is like ending it mid conversation or something. Who does that? It made me so angry! It made me not want to read the next book I was so angry. And by the way, the next book doesn't start where this one leaves off. It goes back to when this book started, or somewhere around there, and tells the story of someone else. So I guess you have to read the entire book to see what happens...super lame! I read the whole stupid book and then it just ends in the middle of a scene? I was not a happy camper at all. Like I said, if it would have ended with the text I wouldn't have liked it, but I wouldn't have been angry with it. So I won't be reading the next book as I am too annoyed to even want to read through another book to maybe find out what happens. Ugh.
livetoread2024's review against another edition
1.0
DNF - couldn't care less about the hero & heroine.
adhammie's review against another edition
1.0
I hated this. I felt like most of the story centered around her relationship with her brother and father and not her growing romance with Jason. There was no climax to this novel. It seemed rushed at the end. I didn't like Gabby at all. My biggest complaint is that this didn't feel like a romance novel. And the ending of the novel was probably the worst part. When I read romance novels, I want happily ever afters, not somebody almost dying. I won't even attempt to read the second book. I just can't bring myself to suffer through it.
grettypop's review against another edition
2.0
1.5/5 (I just don't want to be super cruel...)
They say don't judge a book by its cover - but I couldn't help it. When I started reading it - especially the overview - it gave me the impression that the book would be very sexual, and just completely out-of-their-mind falling in love, passion-filled couple, who had all the odds against them, but fell in love anyways. Now, maybe I've just had one too many incredible books that I've read in the past, but Beyond Control just didn't deliver it to me.
At the beginning, I was pulled in - by the mysterious stranger on the bridge, etc. Then it just became too cliche. Gabby wants an English bulldog and another type (I forgot), and Jason just happens to have those two exact same dogs. Gabby loves motorcycles, and Jason builds them. Gabby wants to own a bakery, and Jason just so happens to have one he owns - for sale. See a pattern?
I guess it's a cute love story, but I just sat here rolling my eyes at all the cliche moves. The characters weren't too lovable, and I was just annoyed at how obnoxious, taciturn, and blind Gabby is/was to everything around her. For an accomplished business woman, I was expecting more than a rag doll heroine - on strings between her long-lost brother, and tyrant father.
I wouldn't recommend this book, and I'm honestly surprised by the high reviews.
They say don't judge a book by its cover - but I couldn't help it. When I started reading it - especially the overview - it gave me the impression that the book would be very sexual, and just completely out-of-their-mind falling in love, passion-filled couple, who had all the odds against them, but fell in love anyways. Now, maybe I've just had one too many incredible books that I've read in the past, but Beyond Control just didn't deliver it to me.
At the beginning, I was pulled in - by the mysterious stranger on the bridge, etc. Then it just became too cliche. Gabby wants an English bulldog and another type (I forgot), and Jason just happens to have those two exact same dogs. Gabby loves motorcycles, and Jason builds them. Gabby wants to own a bakery, and Jason just so happens to have one he owns - for sale. See a pattern?
I guess it's a cute love story, but I just sat here rolling my eyes at all the cliche moves. The characters weren't too lovable, and I was just annoyed at how obnoxious, taciturn, and blind Gabby is/was to everything around her. For an accomplished business woman, I was expecting more than a rag doll heroine - on strings between her long-lost brother, and tyrant father.
I wouldn't recommend this book, and I'm honestly surprised by the high reviews.
mainemommie's review against another edition
1.0
Bookbub Freebie.
Didn't like. Not my cup of tea.
heart transplant + dead fiance = NOT A SURPRISE
Likable characters but the plot was blah. And I'm just not interested in finding out what happens in Part 2.
Didn't like. Not my cup of tea.
heart transplant + dead fiance = NOT A SURPRISE
Likable characters but the plot was blah. And I'm just not interested in finding out what happens in Part 2.
fancifulreader's review
4.0
Cliff hangers will get me everyday. But this book is still worth the read.
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