Book Review: If I Were You

If I Were You
(Inside Out #1)
By: Lisa Renee Jones
Published by: Gallery Books
Release Date: September 13, 2012
Genre: Erotic Fiction
Source: Purchased/Owned by Reviewer
Buy it on Amazon or Barnes & Nobel

My Thoughts:
I am a first time reader of Lisa Renee Jones, and after this book I can guarantee you it will not be my last book of hers--in fact, before attempting to write this review, I had placed my order for book two. Immediately from the start I was pulled into the mystery entwining Rebecca and how the author had woven the tale of pulling Sara McMillan in it. I won't lie, throughout the book I found myself measuring it against Fifty Shades of Grey. It was more of the style of writing for me that was similar than the story itself, but let me add that LRJ is leaps and bounds by far the better writer in comparison.

While initially it was the mystery that pulled me in, which is a very hard thing to do considering I am not much of a mystery reader, the author did a masterful job at keeping me pulled into her world to the point that I didn't want to do anything else but continue reading. That is a feat all on its own. As Sara sets on her journey to discover just who Rebecca is and where she is, the reader is catapulted into the world of art and wine and dominant men. We meet Chris Merit and Mark Compton. Each dark and brooding with the heavy laden air of danger. Sara finds herself sucked into a world she felt inadequate to belong in-- Alice had been sucked into the rabbit hole. But all is not as it seems, and Sara McMillan holds her own dark secrets just as the men do. The one thing I hated about this book is where it ended. The cliffhanger is already killing me. My thirst to know more, to put all the puzzle pieces together, is maddening. But with that Lisa Renee Jones accomplished one thing that few authors have been able to pull from me--a rush to the book store for book two.

Reviewed by: Lisa B. (Reading Lark After Dark reviewer)

Summary from Goodreads:
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.