Review and Giveaway: "Being Me" by Lisa Renee Jones

Fascinated by the dark fantasies in the journals she’s discovered, and the two men who have now found a place in her life, Sara McMillan finds herself torn between her new life and her past. Now, more than ever, Sara identifies with the missing journal writer, Rebecca, and is certain that something sinister has happened.

In the arms of the sexy, tormented artist Chris Merit, Sara seeks answers about Rebecca and ends up discovering things about herself she never knew existed. Chris forces Sara to reconsider who she is and what she truly wants from life, but his dark desires threaten to tear them apart. Her boss, Mark Compton, offers her the shelter to understand just what those needs mean to her, and what they might have meant to Rebecca—but can she trust him to lead her to a final conclusion to Rebecca’s story?




Note about Inside Out reading order:  Following If I Were You, there are 4 serial novellas (that follow Rebecca's journal entries) prior to reading Being Me.  It is not necessary to read these between book 1 and 2 but please do... they are great and really add to the series.

Being Me picks up right where the first book left off, right at the big cliffhanger.   This series is a little different than my usual read as it is more of a mystery romance, but I am loving it.  I was intrigued with the storyline that began in the last book, with Sara discovering Rebecca's journals in a storage unit she purchases and the search for what happened to her.  The novellas were a great look into Rebecca's life and of course had me even more curious about who the mystery men in her life were and whether they were responsible for her disappearance.  We get just enough clues that by the time I read Being Me I was pretty sure I knew at least one of the men, but of course, just as I get confident Ms. Jones throws me for a loop.  Luckily, we did get some much needed answers... for both Sara and the reader.  

Sara has been unable to resist her sexy artist, Chris... who can blame her!  He's got everything she wants in a man and more, but fears that she's losing herself by being with him.  She's trying to find that happy balance of allowing herself to fall for him while still keeping her own identity.  This is even harder to do when she already feels like she's living Rebecca's life in her attempt to get answers.  Just to add a little more turmoil for her with Chris, she soon discovers that he has plenty of his own demons as well.   

Mark, the gallery owner where she works, proves to be a powerful and alluring distraction for Sara also.  She is well aware that he has many secrets however, and her concern for Rebecca has her on the fence about him and his associates.  

This is such a hot, sexy and mysterious series!  This is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year.  The first book felt like more mystery than romance where the rest of the series was really well balanced.  Ms. Jones has created an extremely well thought out and executed series which is harder to pull off than you might think.  I loved seeing the relationship between Sara and Chris build.  Not only did it get much steamier but you see them really connect emotionally and they're forced to deal with their pasts.  It's great to watch them grow as a couple... a very hot couple!  I just want to rave about this book but I don't want to give anything away so there are certainly some major aspects of the story that I have skipped over so I can't wait for you to read it!

For an excerpt from the first book, If I Were You, see my previous post here.

For more information about Lisa Renee Jones and her books, visit her website at http://www.lisareneejones.com/.  Being Me is scheduled to be released June 11th, 2013.


An advanced copy of this book/series was provided by the author/publisher for an honest and fair review.

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Updated: June 10th, 2013

We've just added a great giveaway for one lucky winner to win ebook copies of all 4 journals in the "Inside Out" series.  

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