If I Were You (Inside Out, #1) in Lisa Renee Jones's INSIDERS BOOK GROUP

Oct 15, 2013 Sandy S rated it really liked it · review of another edition

IF I WERE YOU is the first storyline in Lisa Renee Jones new Inside Out Trilogy. There are bound to be comparisons to Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, Crossfire series by Sylvia Day and Beth Kery’s Because You are Mine as the premise focuses on two people whose lives have been haunted by pain and sorrow, and the measures to which they go to in order to dull that pain. The similarities are plenty right down to the BDSM, family secrets, art galleries and issues of control, but there is also an IF I WERE YOU is the first storyline in Lisa Renee Jones new Inside Out Trilogy. There are bound to be comparisons to Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, Crossfire series by Sylvia Day and Beth Kery’s Because You are Mine as the premise focuses on two people whose lives have been haunted by pain and sorrow, and the measures to which they go to in order to dull that pain. The similarities are plenty right down to the BDSM, family secrets, art galleries and issues of control, but there is also an underlying storyline that first presents itself to the heroine as she searches for information about a missing woman who has written a very revealing journal about her personal life.

Sara McMillan is a 28year old high school English Teacher with a Master’s degree in Art. And when her best friend Ella discovers a series of personal journals in a storage unit, Sara’s life will change forever. Rebecca Mason, the author of the journals, has been missing for several months, and hidden within her writings are the clues as to what has happened. Discovering the woman was the marketing director for a prestigious art gallery, Sara finds herself at an exclusive showing with a personal invite from the owner to fill Rebecca’s position. But it is the erotic writings and personal entries that will force Sara to question who is behind Rebecca’s disappearance and why.

Mark Compton is the gallery owner. From wealth and prestige, Mark makes it his mission to train and educate Sara on the ins and outs of the Art business, including the hosting of gallery affairs. But Sara finds herself uncomfortable around Mark especially when the other employees drop hints that Mark likes to be in control. And Sara begins to suspect that Mark has played a major role in Rebecca’s journal entries.

35 year old Chris Merit is a local artist whose works were presently on display at the gallery where Sara was currently working and Chris is a man who rarely reveals anything about himself. During a recent showing, Chris will make a promise to himself to get to know Sara, but he will find himself revealing more information and developing feelings for a woman who had only crossed his path a few evenings before. His attraction to Sara is sexually charged, but there is an underlying need to protect the woman from a path that she may not realize she is heading. But Sara is no wallflower and knows what she wants in life.

Chris has a secret that both he and Mark share. Although not friends, they are acquaintances in business but their paths cross into a world that Sara is unable to comprehend. As troubled as Sara’s past has been and the secrets that she refuses to reveal, Chris’s revelations will confuse and add more sorrow to Sara’s life. Believing she was falling in love with Chris, Sara will begin to question what is behind the man to whom she is losing her heart.

IF I WERE YOU is a sexually seductive and erotic storyline that ends abruptly with many unanswered questions that beg to be addressed. But this is a trilogy after all, and with each successive novel, more will be revealed and questions will be answered. The secondary storyline intertwines itself throughout the novel, as Sara reads the entries from Rebecca’s journals and wonders who or what has caused the mysterious Rebecca so much pleasure and so much pain. Lisa Renee Jones does a wonderful job building up the suspense and the reader is pulled into the storyline right from the very first word in Rebecca’s journal.

Copy supplied by Netgalley
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Jun 11, 2014 Bj Gaskill rated it it was amazing

Chick is missing...Maybe....at least according to her journals found in her unpaid storage unit...school teacher assumes life of "missing" chick...what could go wrong.....LOL

So....I'm on a total emotional roller coaster and right now we've stop at the very top of the giant hill......but DAMN IT the book ended before the ride!!!!!

I soooo what to know where the heck is Rebecca ( did she run off or is she dead) and I'm I the only one that finds it odd that Ella is missing in action???

I'm in lo Chick is missing...Maybe....at least according to her journals found in her unpaid storage unit...school teacher assumes life of "missing" chick...what could go wrong.....LOL

So....I'm on a total emotional roller coaster and right now we've stop at the very top of the giant hill......but DAMN IT the book ended before the ride!!!!!

I soooo what to know where the heck is Rebecca ( did she run off or is she dead) and I'm I the only one that finds it odd that Ella is missing in action???

I'm in love with the chaos of this story...Is it Chris or is it Mark....or damn it I bet it's both of them.....I'm so freaking lost...
It such a turmoil of twists I think it's the one, but then something gets thrown in to change my mind. They're both playing mind games I just have to figure out who's game to checkmate!!!
I really like Chris. I would have most likely have done him too, rich, hot, famous artist.....oh yeah...I so would have been up against that window in a heartbeat!!!! Still that man is hiding something major!!! Even though he showed Sara Mark's dirty secret...I still say he is hiding something.
Sara...Sara...Sara...I like her, but sometimes I really wonder about her. At first, I was really confused by her need to find Rebecca. I mean WTF, people buy storage lockers to sell people's stuff...not to return it to the people it belonged to. However, those journals were rather HOT!!! OMG!!! Poor little innocent school teacher needs to get out more.....LOL
Then she puts herself in Rebecca's life...Man I'm wondering how exactly she thinks this is gonna end for her...As she put it Chris and Mark are already having a who's Sword is bigger war....

Mark, is a piece of work. My thoughts are out on him. I know he is totally hiding a HELL of a lot. I just don't know if he's the one behind it all or not. I do know he's not well liked, but he tries so hard to be a protecting boss...over tries.

As Sara digs deeper into Rebecca, she's totally finding herself in the process. Which makes for an AWESOME read. It's like watching a rose bud blossom....but the thorns are catching her...
I can't wait to see who was the cause of the popping noises and the footsteps in the next book....the wait is gonna kill me... ...more

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Aug 21, 2013 Khelsey Jackson rated it it was amazing

Sara McMillan finds herself reading a journal her friend left at her apartment, and when she starts reading it she finds herself enthralled by the erotic life of the author Rebecca. When she is asked to clear out the locker, she only looks for things to help find Rebecca.
She finds that she worked at an art gallery and when she is offered Rebecca’s job she takes it. She wants to know what happened and she thinks if she asks the people close to Rebecca she will find out what happened. Finding her ...more

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May 26, 2013 Christina rated it it was amazing

4.5

I loved this book! I've been wanting to read it for the longest time, hearing amazing things about it. And now I know why.

This story was intriguing an mysterious in the beginning, when Sara goes to the storage unit and thinking about this Rebecca woman. I also loved the writing style! I felt like I was in the book. I understood Sara as a character, but also as a person because of how in depth we are able to get into, not just Sara's mind, but also Chris.

Mark is another story altogether.

I wan ...more

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