If I Were You (The Inside Out, #1)

by Lisa Renee Jones

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.

• ISBN10: 1476726043
• ISBN13: 9781476726045
• Publish Date: 28 March 2013 (first published 1 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[boghunden]

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't get this book. Nothing happens for 50% of the book, then a lot of sex and then a cliffhanger ending. That's it.

What? Are you serious?
As a matter of fact, yes I am.
It starts out with a sex scene, and you're like oh, this will be a hot read! only to find out that no, it won't. It came to a point where I was seriously doubting that this was erotica. Then it turns out that it is, because in the last half of the book, they do nothing except having sex, tasting wines and talking a hell of a lot about art. I could probably go to an art showing and fit right in now...

I found it weird how much Sara was off, I mean, she literally just started her job, and then she takes off and leave for a couple of days. What?
It would be a nice change as well, if the MMC wasn't filthy rich!

The writing was, as in every other erotic book I've read, nice and easy. The characters seemed to be all haunted by their "complicated past," but I guess all characters in these kinds of books are. I kind of liked Chris. I mean, yes, he was possessive and could've been acting more nicely, but at least he knew when he was being a jerk, and he told Sara several times to stay away from him.

I found nothing in this book that I haven't seen before. I was quite bored while reading it, and I didn't enjoy it.

This book ends on a cliffhangr, but it's quite clear to me that nothing will happen to Sara. The man in the room is either Chris or Mark - or maybe even both of them. I could be wrong though, but I guess I'll never find out, because I have no interest in reading the next book in this series.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Book reviews & blogging tips

If I Were You didn't go the way I hoped AT ALL. I wanted the slow unraveling of the story in the journals, a mystery, intensity, sex, danger, a fight for your life! What I got instead was:


* Disappointment, because we only got to read like 2 journal entries. I thought we'd slowly read through the journals to uncover the story, but instead the story begins with Sara reading the last entry.
* Sara is concerned about Rebecca and sets out to find her.
* Almost immediately after immersing herself into Rebecca's life at the art gallery, Sara meets an artist. Suddenly Rebecca's whole story is ignored. We get nothing about Rebecca for like 60% of the book while Sara is busy having sex with this artist guy.
* At the end, Sara is like, "Oh yeah, Rebecca!" and turns her attention back to that for all of 2 seconds, before the story is cut off in the middle (to create a "cliffhanger").


I'm going to talk about the end first because I'm just so fucking pissed. I won't reveal any spoilers, I'll just say that it ends on a "cliffhanger". But it's not a cliffhanger. I consider a cliffhanger to be something that happens at the end of a complete story that has you desperately wanting more. But If I Were You is NOT a complete story! The book ends before anything has actually ever happened.

There is sort of a "big reveal" at the end (something before the cliffhanger), but it was hardly a big reveal.. it was obvious ALL ALONG! Sara learns that Chris is into some kinky BDSM stuff. SHOCKER! Really? How is this a HUGE SURPRISE to Sara, when she makes note of his obsession with control and dominance throughout the entire book? Their sex scenes are all about him ordering her around and exercising his dominance over her. She knows this and acknowledges it. So why is it then a huge surprise to find out he's a member of some kinky BDSM club? That's the next logical step.

But mostly I was just severely disappointed that the book practically ended in the middle of a sentence. By the end, we still know absolutely nothing about Rebecca or where she is. The book just... ends. That is NOT the way to end the first book in a series. That does not a cliffhanger make.

Also, on a side note, I really didn't like Chris. I thought I liked him at first, but over time he actually became two different characters. He had one personality (the laid back, artistic type), and then a totally different personality (the domineering control freak). I felt like they didn't go together. They made Chris seem like two completely different people (and not in an interesting way, but in a "this character doesn't seem like a realistic person" way). I'm all about characters having secret sides to themselves, but in this case it just didn't work.

Here's how I wanted the book to go:

Sara starts out reading the journals one by one. As she's reading them, she starts immersing herself in Rebecca's life (like getting a job at the gallery she works at). She starts a relationship with a handsome, rich guy and cue lots of sex. But as she continues reading the journals, she realizes that the man described in the journals sounds an awful lot like the man she's with now. She slowly starts to get terrified, but doesn't know how to get out and make a clean break. She does a bit of digging and all clues lead to something sinister happening to Rebecca. Did this guy kill her? Is she next? Danger, mystery, sex, and a hot but terrifying relationship that she doesn't know how to escape from without becoming the next victim.

Unfortunately that's not how this book went AT ALL.

In summary..


* This book has ZERO plot progression. Nothing happens.
* I didn't like Chris because his character felt unrealistic. It's like he had a split personality.
* The mystery around Rebecca goes NOWHERE. It's completely ignored for over half the book.
* The "big shocker" wasn't a shocker at all.
* The book ends practically in the middle of the book. It's not a cliffhanger, it's just a bad ending.

[Cocktails and Books]

When I saw the tag line for this book, “Fifty Shades meets Basic Instinct”, I was instantly intrigued. I loved the twists and turns of Basic Instinct and eagerly wanted to see how Lisa Renee Jones incorporated that into an erotic romance. The results….I’m still waiting for the Basic Instinct part.

I loved the story, don’t get me wrong. Sara, a teacher on summer break, finds herself in possession of a storage locker containing the effects of Rebecca. After reading Rebecca’s very erotic, very dark journal, she decides to track the woman down and return her items to her. Sara suddenly finds herself becoming Rebecca, as she’s offered the woman’s job at an art gallery and begins a “relationship” with the dark, mysterious and famous artist, Chris Merit, that mirrors what Rebecca wrote.

While this installment set up the trilogy, it didn’t have the crazy twists and turns that I was expecting…at least from the suspenseful intrigue angle, based on the tag line. But it did lay the foundation for the kind of work Sara and Chris were going to have to climb over if they were going to attempt any kind of relationship. While we don’t fully understand exactly what happened with Sara or Chris to cause they to write off ever having a HEA, we are given glimpses into why they’ve formed the opinions they have. Neither of them has had an easy life and seem to be irreparably damaged by earlier events. My hope is that we get more insight into both Sara and Chris’ past in the next book.

This being the first Lisa Renee Jones book that I’ve read, I have to say I love the way she creates characters. They are complex and can’t be taken at face value, especially gallery owner Mark Compton. The majority of the time, the guy comes off as a complete ass, but there is that tiny little something that makes me wonder if he’s a bad guy or a misunderstood good one. I can’t wait to see where this character goes as we move through the trilogy (I have my suspicions, but I’m going to keep them to myself).
Even without the intrigue I was looking for, this was still a story I enjoyed immensely, mainly because of Chris and Sara. I’m emotionally invested in them trying a relationship and learning to open up and trust the other. I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface with them and I crave more (too bad I must wait until next year)!

[violetpeanut]

When I think of erotic romance, I think sex scene after sex scene with a superficial plot that loosely ties the whole thing together. Usually it goes something like this:
Woman meets man. Woman intensely dislikes man while still finding him extremely attractive. Woman and man exchange heated words with an undercurrent of sexual tension. They give in to sexual chemistry and end up in bed together - for the rest of the book. Of course, there are variations on this theme but that's how it generally goes. At least, that's how it goes in most romance novels I've read. I can't help it, I have stereotypes for romance and erotica. That's why I generally don't read or review them. Enter author Lisa Renee Jones. If I Stay breaks just about every stereotype I have.

The main character, Sara, is a strong woman. No, she probably can't kick your ass and she's not a ball-buster. She's a real woman. She's been in bad relationships before and knows better than to repeat her mistakes. She's assertive and smart while also being sensitive and kind. The first-person point of view also gives us an intimate look into Sara's mind and we can see an element of vulnerability that really rounds her out and makes her very believable. I think many women will relate to Sara, her thoughts and her actions. She reads like a real woman instead of a stereotype.

The main love interest, Chris, is a sexy artist who is a little bit dark and mysterious. He has tattoos, ownes a motorcycle and wears boots. Typical male bad boy, right? No way! Along with being an extreme hottie, he is also sensitive, considerate, and protective without demeaning Sara or coming off as misogynistic. Another stereotype blown!

As for plot, there's a lot going on here. On the surface, Sara is trying to figure out what happened to Rebecca, the author of the erotic journals that are found in a storage unit. The journals hint at something nefarious and Rebecca has been missing for months. Where is she? Is Sara's new boss, Mark, the man from Rebecca's journals? Does he have something to do with where Rebecca is? Or maybe it's Chris! Could he be the other man in the journal? Sara is determined to find out.

Underneath that, is the story of Sara and Chris. They are both damaged people who find each other and form the fragile first threads of a relationship. They don't start off hating each other. In fact, they start off curious about each other. With each meeting of this pair, their attraction and genuine interest in each other grows. Things initially build slowly between them but once they each realize the depth of feeling between them things swing into high gear.

The book ends in a major cliffhanger which I both love and hate! I love that the author makes me want to read the next book in the series immediately! I hate that I have to wait until it's published to read it! This is the exact reason that I like to wait until a series is finished before I start it. That way I can have a reading marathon and read them all one after the other. Darn you, Lisa Renee Jones! Now I have to wait until sometime in 2013!

Overall, I would recommend this book to a wide audience. The writing is amazing, there's a good mystery, realistic characters, and romance. There are some really steamy sex scenes if that's what you're looking for. Don't be afraid of the mention of BDSM on other reviews or descriptions. And don't be afraid of the comparisons to 50 Shades. This book offers something a little spicier than the usual while still being accessible to the casual reader. There's nothing disturbing or offensive here.

This book broke just about every stereotype I had of the genre. I loved the characters, loved the plot and was pulled in right from the very first page. 4 Stars!