If I were You by Lisa Renee Jones #Audiobook Review

Audiobook Review
By: Lisa Renee Jones
Narrated by: Grace Grant
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio 03/2013

Hot

Inside Out Trilogy # 1

9 hrs and 31 mins

Sample

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.

My Thoughts

I had an idea what I was getting myself into because my friend, Angela, from UTC was just done reading the next novel in the series, Being Me, and her excitement and the pleasure she expressed after finishing the novel left me no choice but to give this series a shot, forgetting my efforts to stay away from anything that reassemble 50 Shades of Gray.

Well, I have to admit, my expectations were pretty low, and I was anticipating just another story with an incredible HOT, rich and over possessive alpha male with the all too familiar mental and emotional issues, but instead I found myself in a different path when the story opened with a totally original premise.

Sara McMillan is a high school teacher with an ordinary life, (protagonist) who against her better judgment and sense of decency begins to read,  what she believes is her best friend’s journal, and what she discovers within those pages it’s a dark, dangerous and seductive world she never imagined existed, but one that immediately draws her in. 

And as she begins to fantasize and obsess over, Rebecca’s (the true owner of the journal) dark sexual escapades and the troubling and all-consuming relationship with a mysterious man, that appears to be Rebecca’s master; she embarks herself on a mission to find her.

Within in those pages Sara also discovers that she wants more out of life, more out of love...and most certainly, more out of sex.

Sara is convinced that something terrible has happened to Rebecca, adding the fact that her best friend found the journals in a storage unit she acquired in an auction.

Her efforts to find the girl take her to an Art Gallery, where she’s hoping to find more about the Rebecca’s real world, but what she finds in its place it’s a new job, in a new universe inhabited by powerful and dangerous men; where she meets, Mark Compton, the gallery's manager, and, Chris Merit, a famous artist whose work she’s all too familiar with.

Chris and Sara are immediately attracted to each-other. A relationship develops, but she can’t ignore the journals’ words, and when she’s warned by Chris of his dark side and his controlling nature, she has to ask herself, is Chris the man in the journals? Or is it Mark Compton, who with his commanding and dangerous presence makes a perfect suspect.

I love the feeling of mystery in the story; you know something big, dark and dangerous lingers in the back, but amidst all of it, a volatile love story emerges, and it’s exciting, sexy, HOT, dark, and just what Sara was looking for.

I had an idea this was going to end up in a cliffhanger, but I never imagined it was going to be in the middle of a scene...LOL. I almost call audible demanding the last part of the book, I seriously thought they were making a mistake, and they had forgotten to tape the last paragraph of the book...LOL

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this novel; the story is well written, and the characters have true depth... Just one thing, IF I WERE YOU, I’d wait until I have, BEING ME, in your hands, before indulging in this entertaining, sexy, dark and captivating story.

Contains small references to BDSM.

Angela's @ UTC Review

On Goodreads

The Narrator

Grace Grant

Grace Grant does a fantastic job with this story. Her interpretation of Sara communicates her internal struggles, as well as, all her emotions in a very relatable and authentic manner. 

She conveys Sara's personality with all her attributes, beginning with her insecurities and strengths, never neglecting her deep sense of curiosity.

Her male voices are quite adequate, and they never distract from the story.

She also does an excellent job with the sensuality of the novel; this is a HOT story, and you clearly get the sentiment with Grant’s interpretation.  

The darkness, suspense and the mysterious ambiance in the story are clearly transmitted to the listener.

All in all, this is a very good interpretation of the novel, and it undoubtedly shows Mrs. Grant understanding of the characters and their story.

The Author

Lisa Renee Jones