If I Were You (Inside Out Series Book 1)

If you're looking for an erotic novel, this one will fit the bill. It's sex from nearly page one. If they weren't having it, they were thinking about it. I began skipping through to find actual story content. I finally gave up on the book because without the sex, there was no story.

I know that this is touted as 50 Shades of Gray meets Basic Instinct, I wouldn't know. I've never read 50SoG* nor have I watched BI. What I do know is that Lisa Renee Jones has composed a captivating tale of one woman's journey to discover the fate of another, only to find her own world shaken and turned on its head, as she starts to fulfill her own dreams in the process of uncovering a mystery.

I love the whole Storage Wars concept of this book. It ponders the very questions I always wonder when I see that show: Why do people let their belongings go? What circumstances make people just abandon their things? You know that there has to be a story there, sure, maybe it's a simple story, but I love the spin Lisa Renee Jones has thrown on it.

The characters in IF I WERE YOU are so captivating and well fleshed out, these are people I felt like I knew as I read their tale. Sara isn't a timid person, but she's been hiding from herself. Finding these journals opens her up to discovering what she gave up, when she decided to choose a stable job instead of following her dreams and her love of art. There were other factors that played with her choices, and I love how her character grew from the beginning of this story to the end. Chris is HAWT, he has some control issues, his moods can flip in a heartbeat, and there is the dark secret that he uses to keep his distance from Sara, and I absolutely adored him. Sara and Chris scorched the pages with there sizzling passion, I had to turn the air up and eat a popsicle as I read their love scenes, as I'm fairly certain I was about to melt more than once! I think that Lisa Renee Jones has done a phenomenal job developing there relationship, there is no rush to love here, though you can see it as it takes shape.

Not only were the main characters well developed, but so where the side characters, Amanda was such a sweety, Ralph is a card, Ava has some spice, and Mark is a controlling dick—though he seems to be willing to help Sara, the question is why.

I can't wait to see where Lisa Renee Jones takes this series, and I can't believe I have to WAIT to see where it's going! But I will be EAGERLY awaiting the next installment, because there are so many unanswered questions I have.


*NOTE: I have started reading 50SoG and so far the only thing I can say, is that Ana and Sara are NOT that much alike, neither are Christian or Chris.

I'm finding Ana to be whiny, immature, weak, and ridiculously naive--all traits that I find extremely annoying. Sara starts out a bit shy, but we never mistake it for weakness, she has a backbone that she isn't afraid to use, and she grows out of her shell as the story moves on. There is no whining from her, she sets her course and is determined to follow it, and she isn't taking any crap from Chris or anyone else in her life.

Christian and Chris are both strong alpha characters who suffer from moodiness, but that is it. Chris wants control of Sara in the bedroom, but isn't afraid to allow her to live out her life the way she wants/needs to, while Christian isn't happy unless he can control EVERY aspect of Ana life--FAIL.