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Out Of CTRL
Andrew had no intention of ever going back home. But circumstances force him to face his painful past and the friend who betrayed him.
Andrew Finley has no intention of going back to his hometown—ever. After he’s caught hacking into the CIA, he builds himself a new life as a computer guy for the very government agency he hacked. But over the past few months, something has been bothering him, and his boss is acting more paranoid than usual. Every time an operation fails, Andrew collects information that could prove someone is selling secrets. Now he’s pretty sure his boss is trying to kill him, so he has no choice but to go back home to buy some time. Home may be more dangerous than facing his boss. Nine years ago, his former best friend and first crush Teddy betrayed him, and let his evil sister and her minions send him running.
But he’s back now and not everything is as clear-cut as he thought. Teddy may not be a Judas but can Andrew catch his fireman without getting burned, or is coming home going to kill him?
One corrupt boss, one evil sister, enough family drama to fill a dozen daytime chat shows and an ex-best friend whom he’s been in love with for half his life makes for one hell of an interesting trip home
Andrew Finley has no intention of going back to his hometown—ever. After he’s caught hacking into the CIA, he builds himself a new life as a computer guy for the very government agency he hacked. But over the past few months, something has been bothering him, and his boss is acting more paranoid than usual. Every time an operation fails, Andrew collects information that could prove someone is selling secrets. Now he’s pretty sure his boss is trying to kill him, so he has no choice but to go back home to buy some time. Home may be more dangerous than facing his boss. Nine years ago, his former best friend and first crush Teddy betrayed him, and let his evil sister and her minions send him running.
But he’s back now and not everything is as clear-cut as he thought. Teddy may not be a Judas but can Andrew catch his fireman without getting burned, or is coming home going to kill him?
One corrupt boss, one evil sister, enough family drama to fill a dozen daytime chat shows and an ex-best friend whom he’s been in love with for half his life makes for one hell of an interesting trip home
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 13, 2014
6 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
S.A. Welsh
24 books187 followersThere really is nothing better than a good book and a big mug of tea on a rainy day, which is often needed when considering the wet weather in Wales. She is rarely found without a book of some description on her person and a notebook, she can always be seen scribbling and doodling while lost in thought about sometimes random nonsense or day dreaming about alternate worlds of fiction. Real life may not be much fun but the imagination allows infinite possibilities to be explored and lots of naughty fun too if you're up to the challenge. So in the words of a crazy scientist - I reject your reality and submit one of my own. Happy reading.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 15, 2014
2.5
This one is a bit difficult to rate. Parts of it I enjoyed quite a bit but then there were parts that I had a hard time with and had me giving sections of this read a side-eye. I will say that enjoyed the writing a lot despite my issues with the plot. The story and dialogue flowed really well for me and the majority of the characterizations worked well. Drew was quite sweet. I loved his nerdiness and how he loved his parents and two of his sisters. I’m saving one sister to talk about later. One of the things that I liked the most about him was how smart he was and how he managed to make a career out of his hacker lifestyle. His brain was the hero here and I liked that. This would have worked better for me as two different stories. A thriller that followed his work shenanigans and reunion story that followed his family, they shouldn’t have ever crossed streams because things went from kinda believable to fairy tale in the blink of an eye.
I did enjoy Teddy the other MC and we get the final chapter in his POV which I was glad to see, I think we needed to be more in his brain. I do question why he’d wait around for Drew for almost ten years without trying to contact him. That just seemed far to passive a roll for him to take considering what we’re shown of his character.
Now to the evil sister. She is actually evil, verging on psychopathic. That was pretty disturbing to read. I’m not sure how anyone in this family survived without her staging their deaths for the insurance money. They’re quite lucky. Unfortunately, she seemed more like a two dimensional character when compared to all the others. I can’t even believe some of things that she pulled.
If this hadn’t delved into the shoot-em-up my rating would have been higher because I did really enjoy seeing Drew come back and clear things up with this family and his best friend. Seeing them reconnect was sweet and the chemistry stayed hot and strong from the flashbacks through to the present but despite enjoying the MC’s and their relationship the plot and some the villain characters dragged this one down for me and I felt it got more and more outlandish.
**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
This one is a bit difficult to rate. Parts of it I enjoyed quite a bit but then there were parts that I had a hard time with and had me giving sections of this read a side-eye. I will say that enjoyed the writing a lot despite my issues with the plot. The story and dialogue flowed really well for me and the majority of the characterizations worked well. Drew was quite sweet. I loved his nerdiness and how he loved his parents and two of his sisters. I’m saving one sister to talk about later. One of the things that I liked the most about him was how smart he was and how he managed to make a career out of his hacker lifestyle. His brain was the hero here and I liked that. This would have worked better for me as two different stories. A thriller that followed his work shenanigans and reunion story that followed his family, they shouldn’t have ever crossed streams because things went from kinda believable to fairy tale in the blink of an eye.
I did enjoy Teddy the other MC and we get the final chapter in his POV which I was glad to see, I think we needed to be more in his brain. I do question why he’d wait around for Drew for almost ten years without trying to contact him. That just seemed far to passive a roll for him to take considering what we’re shown of his character.
Now to the evil sister. She is actually evil, verging on psychopathic. That was pretty disturbing to read. I’m not sure how anyone in this family survived without her staging their deaths for the insurance money. They’re quite lucky. Unfortunately, she seemed more like a two dimensional character when compared to all the others. I can’t even believe some of things that she pulled.
If this hadn’t delved into the shoot-em-up my rating would have been higher because I did really enjoy seeing Drew come back and clear things up with this family and his best friend. Seeing them reconnect was sweet and the chemistry stayed hot and strong from the flashbacks through to the present but despite enjoying the MC’s and their relationship the plot and some the villain characters dragged this one down for me and I felt it got more and more outlandish.
**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
January 18, 2015
*facepalm*
I would probably say it's a 1.5 but seriously, this book did almost everything wrong!
Technically, most of the grammar was ok. There was one part where it was "Sara, told me" instead of "Sara told me" but that was the only rogue comma I noticed. There were a lot of "He stated" instead of said, which is pet peeve of mine, but one I can overlook in other circumstances.
The real problem with this book was - EVERYTHING ELSE.
First of all, we had things like single tears tracing their way down Teddy's neck. We had frankly STUPID things, like the idea that the dad had cancer and went through chemo and none of the family (that LIVED IN THE SAME TOWN) NOTICED. Oh, and that, btw, is just a super mention, it's not even a plot point, which is why I am not even spoilering it. We have a psychotic one dimensional sister who is never explained. We have a really, really pretty badly written sex scene where they have like 3 orgasms each in 10 minutes.
We have what's essentially insta-love and moving in together after one night, but no real chemistry. Sure they were apparently 'best friends' in high school even though I am not sure how that even worked because it sounds like Teddy just hung out with Drew's sister the whole time but whatever, it's been NINE YEARS and they were teenagers. The supporting characters were all flat and one dimensional which is fair, since so were the MCs. We have a plot that makes NO SENSE on any level, from the pre-setup until the end. Also 'his man'. Gross.
THIS WHOLE BOOK WAS JUST AN EXERCISE IN WHAT NOT TO DO, it was so bad. Whew.
I would probably say it's a 1.5 but seriously, this book did almost everything wrong!
Technically, most of the grammar was ok. There was one part where it was "Sara, told me" instead of "Sara told me" but that was the only rogue comma I noticed. There were a lot of "He stated" instead of said, which is pet peeve of mine, but one I can overlook in other circumstances.
The real problem with this book was - EVERYTHING ELSE.
First of all, we had things like single tears tracing their way down Teddy's neck. We had frankly STUPID things, like the idea that the dad had cancer and went through chemo and none of the family (that LIVED IN THE SAME TOWN) NOTICED. Oh, and that, btw, is just a super mention, it's not even a plot point, which is why I am not even spoilering it. We have a psychotic one dimensional sister who is never explained. We have a really, really pretty badly written sex scene where they have like 3 orgasms each in 10 minutes.
We have what's essentially insta-love and moving in together after one night, but no real chemistry. Sure they were apparently 'best friends' in high school even though I am not sure how that even worked because it sounds like Teddy just hung out with Drew's sister the whole time but whatever, it's been NINE YEARS and they were teenagers. The supporting characters were all flat and one dimensional which is fair, since so were the MCs. We have a plot that makes NO SENSE on any level, from the pre-setup until the end. Also 'his man'. Gross.
THIS WHOLE BOOK WAS JUST AN EXERCISE IN WHAT NOT TO DO, it was so bad. Whew.
March 12, 2018
An OK read.
Mostly predictable with a lot of plot holes and loose ends.
I did like Theo/Teddy, but Drew was a bit whiny.
Mostly predictable with a lot of plot holes and loose ends.
I did like Theo/Teddy, but Drew was a bit whiny.
April 6, 2018
Rolled my eyes too many times for 3 stars.
November 9, 2014
Original Blog Post: eARC Review & Excerpt: Out of CTRL by SA Welsh
That Back!
Out of CTRL is a fast paced, erotic and action-packed story of crime, passion, betrayal and firefighter hot erotica that is light to read, and impossible to put down.
For the crime element, we have Andrew Finley computer geek/nerd and brilliant hacker. At a young age, he had done some naughty things that caught the attention of the CIA. He started off with the easy stuff like changing grades here and there but he had steadily progressed to getting into and changing some stuff within the CIA system. Caught, he was made to choose: go directly to jail without having to pass go or go directly to jail by working with the CIA. Which choice do you think he looked into?
Now for the passion, betrayal and firefighter hunky HOT!ness.
Here Drew was, almost a decade later, successful in his anonymous career as government hacker-extraordinaire, money coming out of his ears, and miserably lonely, unhappy, and wanting to be with his family. But he cannot, he could not. Not when his sister Angela was there. Nothing could convince him to go back home. Nothing.
A call and a bit of blackmail later from his other two elder sisters did him in and he goes home. First day, he gets tickled silly. Hours after the tickle attack, Angela is there. More hours later, and his former best friend from hell, the one he grew up loving but had betrayed him at his hour of need, is standing in front of him. What comes next?
Just bullets flying and fires started, is all.
Theodore had been best friends with the young Drew for years but he suddenly up and left, never saying good-bye, never communicating, never coming home. Stepping out of the showers at the fire station, Drew is standing in front of him, with his future brother-in-law. The hate he sees in Drew's eyes destroy him. What he did, he had no idea. What to do, he made plans. No way was he letting Drew get away from him, for he does mean to keep him. Waiting for nine years was done. The boy was now a man, and he had no intention of letting him out of his sight. First, he has to find out all about that hate.
Oh, he also has to think on what to do about the secrets Drew kept, those that are biting them in the...
This is not short in the least, but frankly, I just wanted more. There are so many things going on here that kept my interest on the up and up and even if I had thought to give this a 4 star rating, I could not. I loved how the whole story fell into place when I thought it would crash, and I absolutely love that there was not too much angst nor drama going on, even if they are here.
Also, I found myself too invested in the awesomeness of Teddy's back.
SA Welsh, naughty naughty!! tsk tsk - now I have to look for those backs and hunt the vids of said backs! The way you wrote... those were just too visually HOT!, erotic and irresistible ugh I hate you bwahhahahahaaaa
Oh, before I forget: yes, a definite recommend. :D
Note: Review based on copy provided by Totally Bound.
That Back!
Out of CTRL is a fast paced, erotic and action-packed story of crime, passion, betrayal and firefighter hot erotica that is light to read, and impossible to put down.
For the crime element, we have Andrew Finley computer geek/nerd and brilliant hacker. At a young age, he had done some naughty things that caught the attention of the CIA. He started off with the easy stuff like changing grades here and there but he had steadily progressed to getting into and changing some stuff within the CIA system. Caught, he was made to choose: go directly to jail without having to pass go or go directly to jail by working with the CIA. Which choice do you think he looked into?
Now for the passion, betrayal and firefighter hunky HOT!ness.
Here Drew was, almost a decade later, successful in his anonymous career as government hacker-extraordinaire, money coming out of his ears, and miserably lonely, unhappy, and wanting to be with his family. But he cannot, he could not. Not when his sister Angela was there. Nothing could convince him to go back home. Nothing.
A call and a bit of blackmail later from his other two elder sisters did him in and he goes home. First day, he gets tickled silly. Hours after the tickle attack, Angela is there. More hours later, and his former best friend from hell, the one he grew up loving but had betrayed him at his hour of need, is standing in front of him. What comes next?
Just bullets flying and fires started, is all.
Theodore had been best friends with the young Drew for years but he suddenly up and left, never saying good-bye, never communicating, never coming home. Stepping out of the showers at the fire station, Drew is standing in front of him, with his future brother-in-law. The hate he sees in Drew's eyes destroy him. What he did, he had no idea. What to do, he made plans. No way was he letting Drew get away from him, for he does mean to keep him. Waiting for nine years was done. The boy was now a man, and he had no intention of letting him out of his sight. First, he has to find out all about that hate.
Oh, he also has to think on what to do about the secrets Drew kept, those that are biting them in the...
This is not short in the least, but frankly, I just wanted more. There are so many things going on here that kept my interest on the up and up and even if I had thought to give this a 4 star rating, I could not. I loved how the whole story fell into place when I thought it would crash, and I absolutely love that there was not too much angst nor drama going on, even if they are here.
Also, I found myself too invested in the awesomeness of Teddy's back.
SA Welsh, naughty naughty!! tsk tsk - now I have to look for those backs and hunt the vids of said backs! The way you wrote... those were just too visually HOT!, erotic and irresistible ugh I hate you bwahhahahahaaaa
Oh, before I forget: yes, a definite recommend. :D
Note: Review based on copy provided by Totally Bound.
November 2, 2014
What can I say about Andrew's family? Some love him like crazy, others are just plain crazy. Right away, I really liked Andrew. I loved that he was a geek who despite having a few missteps in his past - forged his own path. And, even though he was scarred beyond belief by his family, he was able to find some semblance of forgiveness - especially for his parents who were enablers to the nth degree to his sister, Angela. I can't say anything nice about Angela - not that I am meant to, but man, what a hateful character! I loved that Andrew's other sisters came to his defense, even when he was younger.
Andrew's character also is awesome because despite his boss being a traitor, Andrew is trying his hardest to make sure that nobody else can be hurt by his boss' actions. Andrew took his talent with computers and turned it in to a career.
Back at home, despite not wanting to be there, Andrew stands up and faces his past - the past that included Teddy. Teddy has become a firefighter who works with Andrew's soon to be brother-in-law. Andrew has believed for so long that Teddy had betrayed his trust and love - but when truths are revealed, can Teddy and Andrew survive long enough to re-discover the connection they had so long ago?
I LOVED these characters. Andrew was my favorite, but his sisters were close behind. Although I hated the fact that his family put him in such a difficult position, I also really liked that Andrew was strong enough to re-evaluate his relationship with them, once his family (mostly his parents) saw the error of their own ways. Also, despite my initial dislike of Teddy, mainly because I was defending Andrew's feelings, he grew on me. He was the force that Andrew needed at the time and I loved how protective Teddy still was of Andrew, despite all the time that had passed.
This was a great story. Welsh did a wonderful job with the supporting characters, as well as the charged story line. Despite it's short length, this was a very complete story.
I was given this in return for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.
AvidReader
Andrew's character also is awesome because despite his boss being a traitor, Andrew is trying his hardest to make sure that nobody else can be hurt by his boss' actions. Andrew took his talent with computers and turned it in to a career.
Back at home, despite not wanting to be there, Andrew stands up and faces his past - the past that included Teddy. Teddy has become a firefighter who works with Andrew's soon to be brother-in-law. Andrew has believed for so long that Teddy had betrayed his trust and love - but when truths are revealed, can Teddy and Andrew survive long enough to re-discover the connection they had so long ago?
I LOVED these characters. Andrew was my favorite, but his sisters were close behind. Although I hated the fact that his family put him in such a difficult position, I also really liked that Andrew was strong enough to re-evaluate his relationship with them, once his family (mostly his parents) saw the error of their own ways. Also, despite my initial dislike of Teddy, mainly because I was defending Andrew's feelings, he grew on me. He was the force that Andrew needed at the time and I loved how protective Teddy still was of Andrew, despite all the time that had passed.
This was a great story. Welsh did a wonderful job with the supporting characters, as well as the charged story line. Despite it's short length, this was a very complete story.
I was given this in return for an honest review by Inked Rainbow Reads.
AvidReader
November 18, 2014
3.5 star review by The Blogger Girls.
Family issues and misunderstandings abound in this story.
Andrew left his home after what he believed was a very big betrayal by his best friend and his sister. But, it isn’t quite what you think. His sister is an evil, careless bitch who orchestrated and is involved in everything that leads to all of Andrew’s problems. For the sake of his family, who has always turned a somewhat blind eye to the sister’s actions, he leaves and makes his own life.
He’s a computer geek, a masterful hacking computer geek, who got caught by the feds and was given the “option” of working for them or going to prison. This is part of the side story and another of Andrew’s major problems. He’s basically between a rock and a hard place. He has been gathering info on his boss’ shady dealings but has yet to find anyone he can trust enough to hand over the information.
When he finally does go home to visit, family issues come to a head and things are cleared up with Teddy, his big firefighting best friend, though it takes a while for all the details to come out and then be believed by the parties involved. Once it does, they are really sweet together. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before Andrew’s troubles chase him down. Teddy sticks by him as things heat up, which is good, because it seems Andrew has very few people he can trust as the danger grows.
There is a bit of mystery and intrigue here, and even though it’s a bit unrealistic at times, I quite enjoyed the overall story. The guys were great together - a big lovable alpha Teddy and seemingly shy computer nerd Andrew. It was nice to see Andrew patch things up a bit more with his family as well. This is a fairly fast-paced story, and while it didn’t blow me away, I found it quite enjoyable.
December 3, 2014
I was a bit sceptical since the crime element doesn't always work well but the way the characters interacted and the story was interesting, I couldn't wait to see where the plot went. The main character was cute but geeky and the hero- the fireman is such a sweety. I would definitely recommend this and I'll be trying the other books by this author after this too. Oh and just to prove how much I loved it...I've also ordered the paperback version to keep on the bookshelf.
Merged review:
I was a bit sceptical since the crime element doesn't always work well but the way the characters interacted and the story was interesting, I couldn't wait to see where the plot went. The main character was cute but geeky and the hero- the fireman is such a sweety. I would definitely recommend this and I'll be trying the other books by this author after this too. Oh and just to prove how much I loved it...I've also ordered the paperback version to keep on the bookshelf.
Merged review:
I was a bit sceptical since the crime element doesn't always work well but the way the characters interacted and the story was interesting, I couldn't wait to see where the plot went. The main character was cute but geeky and the hero- the fireman is such a sweety. I would definitely recommend this and I'll be trying the other books by this author after this too. Oh and just to prove how much I loved it...I've also ordered the paperback version to keep on the bookshelf.
July 24, 2015
Reviewed by Brandilyn for Prism Book Alliance. Out of CTRL is a good title for this story by SA Welsh. I spent half of the book wondering if there was going to be a plot, and I spent the other half wishing the plot had not developed as it did. Sadly, it developed exactly as I thought it would. In addition, I found the entire story to be just a little too close to a poster for the conspiracy nuts among us.
September 28, 2015
3.5 stars
I thought there would be more sense of urgency in the story, with more cloak and dagger stuffs thrown in. I thought wrong. Working with CIA and uncovering corruption within was apparently not such a big deal that the MC could share with his family. The second sister was almost caricature in evilness I couldn't take her seriously.
I thought there would be more sense of urgency in the story, with more cloak and dagger stuffs thrown in. I thought wrong. Working with CIA and uncovering corruption within was apparently not such a big deal that the MC could share with his family. The second sister was almost caricature in evilness I couldn't take her seriously.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2015
2.5 Stars
I really wanted to like this more, but I couldn't. So Andrew hasn't been home in 9 years then runs into his BFF from High School, who he HATES now, but then ends up....yeah nevermind. I liked the hacking stuff in this, but the romance? Unbelievable. I couldn't get into it :(
I really wanted to like this more, but I couldn't. So Andrew hasn't been home in 9 years then runs into his BFF from High School, who he HATES now, but then ends up....yeah nevermind. I liked the hacking stuff in this, but the romance? Unbelievable. I couldn't get into it :(
September 23, 2018
Confusing
and intriguing. The smart nerd who hacks for CIA? Who is keeping track of his boss's dealing but it never says exactly what it is. Not to mention his problems with family and ex best friend. It's a little too confusing. Not one of the best books by this author
and intriguing. The smart nerd who hacks for CIA? Who is keeping track of his boss's dealing but it never says exactly what it is. Not to mention his problems with family and ex best friend. It's a little too confusing. Not one of the best books by this author
October 23, 2014
3.5 descent mystery - fun easy read.
October 28, 2014
To be reviewed
November 24, 2015
Ok, yes, I had to suspend reality a few times, but entertaining nonetheless.
January 3, 2016
I liked the general idea of the book, the basic plot line, but it lacked a lot in delivery. The book was too messy and the characters had too much cardboard in their diets for my tastes.
May 27, 2016
2.5 stars
October 3, 2016
I enjoyed this book. I like the authors writing style
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews