Unwrapping: Review of BEING ME, an Inside Out Trilogy novel by Lisa Renee Jones

Almost a year ago, well it will be in August, I introduced you to a new trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones, the Inside Out Trilogy.
IF I WERE YOU was book one in the trilogy and because Lisa knew it was going to be a long wait for book two, BEING ME, she filled in the months and gaps with Rebecca’s Lost Journals. I’ve reviewed and discussed all of these except the soon-to-be released BEING ME with you and I hope you’ve ventured into this amazing trilogy that will someday be a featured mini-series on STARZ. When asked if I would like to read and review BEING ME by Lisa Renee Jones, I leaped, ran, celebrated, and promised to read it before release and not to give out any spoilers. So, don’t ask, I’m not going to tell you any of the answers to secrets that you will encounter in BEING ME, book two of the Inside Out Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones. 

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted reviews and no spoilers. 

Blurb for BEING ME: 

"I arch into him, drinking in his passion, instantly, willingly consumed by all that he is and could be to me. . . ."

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 lost 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 not before 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?

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At the end of IF I WERE YOU, we left Sara in the dark inside the storage unit containing Rebecca’s belongings. Scared witless, believing the worst is about to befall her, Sara is thankful when her phone rings, and it is Chris. He’s back in town and she can’t be happier to see him. Now worried that Sara is in danger, Chris insists that she stay with him and be under his protection – meaning he wants her to tell him or his security where she is at all times. Well, Sara McMillan is not the kind of woman to do as she is told - even by Chris Merit, the man with whom she’s falling in love. 

Sara is determined to discover what has happened to Rebecca. Her angst grows stronger when she discovers that her friend, Ella, has still not been in touch since supposedly going on a honeymoon with a man Sara has never met. Chris does his best to aid her with both. He’s hired private investigators to search out the whereabouts of both women, even as Sara goes against his wishes and makes her inquisitive inquiries into galley clients and business. Her suspicions toward Ricco Alvarez, Mark Compton, and even Chris remain strong. She’s still not ready to open herself up to Chris completely until one evening when someone from her past reappears and threatens to ruin things for Chris. 

That’s it, folks – that’s all you’re getting out of me! Vague, I know, intriguing – I hope! 

 

Lisa starts BEING ME exactly where we left off, in the darkness of the storage unit with Sara. Can you ask for better continuity? Just as in IF I WERE YOU, we journey with Sara through her actions (present tense) and her thoughts, her joys, her growing love for Chris, and her anxieties.  

BEING ME by Lisa Renee Jones is everything I expected it to be and a bit more. We experience falling deeper in love with Chris as Sara does. We see a side of him that is unexpected as well as a side that breaks our hearts. Mark shows himself to have a sense of humor and emotion that actually makes me want to know him even better and learn what secrets he carries that motivate him to be the way he is. Everyone has secrets, some are revealed in BEING ME, while others are driven deeper driving us to want them revealed all the more. There are answers in BEING ME, but Lisa has, once more, left us in the end with more questions that need answering, and a what will happen next cliffhanger. 

I hope you’ve been following the Inside Out Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones. If you haven’t ventured into this amazing thriller contemporary romance series, I highly recommend you do. You must start with book one – IF I WERE YOU – followed by four of Rebecca’s Lost Journals: THE SEDUCTION, THE CONTRACT, HIS SUBMISSIVE, and MY MASTER. After reading those, you’ll be ready, and starving, for BEING ME. 

BEING ME, book two of the Inside Out Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones is an adventure in reading that shouldn’t be missed. It has the answers you seek after IF I WERE YOU. It creates more questions that will plague you until you can read the final book, REVEALING US, but it keeps you mesmerized and intrigued. It keeps you turning the pages in eagerness to experience Sara and Chris, while seeking out the pensive relationship that exists between Sara and Mark.  

I highly recommend BEING ME by Lisa Renee Jones to all who read IF I WERE YOU and Rebecca’s Lost Journals, and to anyone who wishes to experience a romance that will leave you breathless, heart aching, and wishing you could reach into the pages and comfort the men of the Inside Out Trilogy. This is not a stand-alone novel. You MUST read book one and the journals to understand what’s happening in BEING ME, but it’s so worth it, I can’t even begin to express how much. It will definitely leave you craving more. Thank goodness the wait for the next installment is much shorter.  

BEING ME, an Inside Out Trilogy novel by Lisa Renee Jones, Simon and Schuster, release date – June 11, 2013 in print and ebook formats. 

                                               

                        

                           ***Feel free to click on the above covers for purchasing information.