Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones

Escaping Reality (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen, #1)

by Lisa Renee Jones

His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn't trust him. I shouldn't tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need.

At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loved to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she's finally dared to believe she is forgotten-even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets her guard down, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run.

On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take "no" as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give?

Reviewed by KitsuneBae on

1 of 5 stars

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Thoughts and Pens

To say that I was stupid for picking this title in NG was putting it lightly. I was in fact duped into reading this. It took advantage of my thirst for romantic stories punctuated with mystery. And boy, I was fool enough to be ensnared by its charismatic charm which totally left me breathless at the end…breathless from the brewing anger inside my heart.

At first, Amy’s monologue about her mysterious and dark past pulled me in. As a matter of fact, I devoured the first 44 pages like a hungry cow. I was thrilled to know what pushed Amy to be on the run while changing identities. And who was this enigmatic protector who seemed to be stalking her every move, giving her new identity and telling her to relocate? Those premises were enough to sell me on a book. Then on the ~16th page, I was introduced to another character, Liam Stone. And just like any other romance stereotypes, our heroine felt that tingling chemistry for this gorgeous and handsome of a man. Of course, her knees turned to jelly as his dangerous aura invades her senses. But I went along with that since there’s no reason to be alarmed. It was just a necessary part of the story.
At around page 44 or 50ish however, my brain started to give off warning signals. But like the idiot that I am, I kept on reading and voila, it was déjà vu. Errr. I was transported into the world of Fifty Shades of Grey. Only this one has a twist which proved to be unessential as the story progressed. How did I ever miss that? It was like the author just used the mystery part as a prelude to get to the whole point of the story… sex and endless sex.

Amy Bensen a.ka. Anastasia Steele, a deflowered (at least there’s the difference) 20ish something damsel-in-distress is on the run from Mr. Mysterious Man (MMM). According to her monologue, she’s been hiding since she was 18, changing identities and locations for fear that MMM will catch and worst, kill her.
While on the run, Amy a.ka. Ana met Mr. Liam Stone a.k.a Christian Grey (but surprise, he has blue eyes) on a plane. Then there was chemistry and the whole butterflies in the stomach thingy.
Then Liam can’t seem to resist helpless Amy, even accompanying her to her new apartment. For some reason, Liam started to fuss and get worried about the safety of Amy even if it’s their first meeting.
Since Amy was still quite apprehensive of the new handsome stranger, she decided to play a little hard-to-get.
But because Liam a.k.a Christian Grey was so smitten with the innocent Amy, he felt the need to convince her that he was as harmless as a fly. He showed her his WIKI Profile. And oh my, he was a celebrated architect at the age of 31. And the most surprising fact is that, he’s a BILLIONAIRE!
Because the man is too good to be true, Amy immediately spread her legs apart. And they have sex. Yes. Despite the fact that she’s on the run from her would-be killer/s, Amy decided that sex with a total stranger was the best course of action to take. Afterall, she needed an escape from reality.
And then the drama stars to kick in. “I don’t think you’re safe here. You don’t even have the right amenities to live decently in this apartment. I’ll call my slaves to deliver whatever you need. Wait, you don’t have a phone? I’ll buy you one.” What a knight in shining armour.
“No, I am not a prostitute. I don’t want your money. Please stop giving me all these shit. Just fuck me please till we can’t walk or run out of breath or whatever.” Poor Amy, she just wants to isolate herself from those filthy gold digging ho-bags.
“Yes. Yes. But I hate these condoms. I really want to feel you without that wrap separating us, babe. You should go to the doctor and maybe ask for pills. But I still need to tie you up with my necktie or shoelace or brief garter or whatever it is that will make your hand sit still while I’m hammering the hell out of you. For the meantime, let’s have sex.”
“Yes. Yes. I’ll do whatever you say. But I can’t be with you anymore. I’ll be endangering your life. I couldn’t have that in my conscience. I need to run away. Let go of me please.” The drama queen said.
“Then go…”
“I will now pack my things even if it hurts so bad.”
“What the hell are you doing? Do you really want me out of your life?”
“I really want to say yes but the sex is so great so NOOOO. I can’t live without you now. You’re the air that I breathe. I’m okay even if you just revealed that you also have your own skeleton in the closet. What you’re going through right now is worse than mine so I would never leave you.”
Then sex.
And that’s the end of the story. Save yourself from reading 250 pages when you can read the above review and get the whole picture.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 8 August, 2013: Finished reading
  • 8 August, 2013: Reviewed