Title: Being Me by Lisa Renee Jones
Inside Out Trilogy Book Two
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Imprint: Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, Mystery, BDSM
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publicist
Summary:
I arch into him, drinking in his passion, instantly, willingly consumed by all that he is and could be to me. . . .
Sara McMillan is still searching for Rebecca, the mysterious woman whose dark, erotic journal entries both enthralled and frightened her. Tormented by a strong desire to indulge the demands of her new boss while also drawn deeper into her passionate bond with the troubled artist, Chris Merit, Sara must face a past as deeply haunting as Rebecca’s written words. In one man’s arms, Sara will find the safe haven to reveal her most intimate secrets and explore her darkest fantasies. But is safety just an illusion, when the truth about Rebecca has yet to be discovered?
The Review:
Being Me is the angst-laden second novel in Lisa Renee Jones’ Inside Out trilogy. Picking up right where If I Were You leaves off, readers are thrust back into Sara McMillan’s dysfunctional relationship with Chris Merit and her investigation into Rebecca Mason’s disappearance.
While If I Were You focused mainly on Sara trying to uncover what happened to Rebecca, Being Me centers on Sara and Chris’s on again/off tumultuous relationship. The confident and independent Sara we encountered in the first book of the trilogy has been replaced by an insecure, dithering, jealous mess whose indecisiveness is beyond frustrating. Chris and Sara are tortured by their respective pasts and neither one of them can trust the other person enough to confide their secrets. Their relationship is full of steaming hot sex but their underlying issues continually tear them apart. The entire book is a rollercoaster of drama that never gets resolved and the ride is exhausting.
I liked Sara in the first book, but I absolutely could not stand her in Being Me. She is overly dramatic, prone to jumping to conclusions and just flat out wishy washy. She cannot stick to a decision to save her life and she constantly gives in to Chris’s demands. Her emotions are all over the place and her tendency to dissolve into hysterical sobs is exasperating. Unless she grows a backbone in Revealing Us, the final book in the trilogy, it appears that Sara is doomed to repeat the mistakes of her past.
Whereas Sara is an open book, Chris remains shrouded in mystery. He is dark, edgy and commanding but in Being Me, he is also vulnerable. While we see more of his compassionate and caring side, his secrets remain carefully hidden. The lack of information about what drives him becomes annoying as he continues to manipulate Sara and their relationship.
The mystery about what happened to Rebecca is what I found most intriguing. The investigation is haphazard and seems to be an afterthought to overall storyline. Fortunately the questions surrounding her disappearance are revealed in a surprising plot twist.
Being Me ends on another cliffhanger as Chris makes a decision that threatens the future of his and Sara’s relationship. There is also the unresolved mystery surrounding Sara’s friend Ella’s whereabouts. Are these two storylines about to converge? It certainly appears they might and it will be interesting to see how Lisa Renee Jones wraps up the Inside Out trilogy.
Title: If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones
Inside Out Trilogy Book One
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Imprint: Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, Mystery
Length: 352 pages
Summary:
The steamy first installment in the Inside Out erotic romance trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones, in the bestselling tradition of Fifty Shades of Grey.
When Sara McMillan finds a stack of journals in a storage unit, she’s shocked and enthralled by the erotic life the writer led. Unable to stop reading, she vicariously lives out dark fantasies through Rebecca, the writer—until the terrifying final entry.
Certain something sinister has happened, Sara sets out to discover the facts, immersing herself in Rebecca’s life. Soon she’s working at the art gallery Rebecca worked at and meeting Rebecca’s friends. Finding herself drawn to two dangerously sexy men, the manager of the gallery and a famed artist, Sara realizes she’s going down the same path Rebecca took. But with the promise of her dark needs being met by a man with confident good looks and a desire for control, she’s not sure anything else matters. Just the burn for more.
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