Review: If I Were You

If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Romantic suspense lovers who enjoy a bit of kink, where are you?  For the vicarious kinky lover, this book is for you.  Ms. Jones is a new to me author who captured my attention within the first few pages.  If I Were You is the first of a kinky suspense trilogy.  There are sexy bad boys cranking up the sensual tension and heat in this lovely story.

Originally this was billed as a "Fifty Shades of Gray meets Basic Instinct".  With a recommendation like this, I immediately flagged it as a do not read and passed on it.  I went to look for a real book to read, not some knock off fan fiction of a fan fiction based off an unoriginal story series.  I should have ignored that description.  This book is a delight!

Sara is a high school English teacher who threw away her hopes and dreams.  She loves art and wanted to be in the art world.  Due to circumstances which are revealed later in the book, it's pretty clear, this twenty-eight year old has serious unresolved Daddy issues.  I'm not a fan of head cases going into BDSM looking for a Daddy figure.  Fortunately, in this instance, the book does not come across in this manner.  Instead, it's a clever teasing story about a woman's journey to recapture her dream.  Along the way, Sara falls down the kinky rabbit's hole into a world more than Vanilla.

The catalyst to a new possible life comes through journals written by a mysterious Rebecca.  Sara wants to find this person and ensure she is okay.  The journal entries are very smexy hot yet carry an undertone of danger.  Combined with the unanswered questions of Rebecca's current location, Sara is determined to do the right thing.  On this journey, she meets two very authoritative and powerful men - Mark and Chris.  Both men exude confidence granted through their wealth and power.  These two alpha men definitely caused my knees to weaken and my panties to dampen.

Ms. Jones weaves a tale of mystery in not only the missing Rebecca, but the private lives of Sara, Mark and Chris.  As the reader learns more about each character, the lust to learn more increases.  How much of a Dom is Mark?  What is Chris's preferred role in the BDSM lifestyle?  What is Sara's experience with kink?  It doesn't seem Sara's past contains anything but hurtful memories and experiences.

The BDSM in this book is light.  It's kinky and enjoyable rough sex.  At one point, there is an introduction of a private exclusive BDSM club, hence the glitterkink designation.  I enjoyed the BDSM snippets in the journals.  The build up between Sara and the men is hot.  The double entendres and hints of ownership, punishments and rewards all hit my kinks.  I'm left panting and unsure which of the men I'd want to submit to more.  Then again, why not have both?

The world building in this book is good and I really enjoyed the flow.  There are questions that aren't answered yet, but the reader implicitly understands these will be revealed in later books.  What is disappointing is the ending.  A cliffhanger is fine at the end of a book.  However, in this case, it's more of an abrupt cut off than an actual ending to a book.  This is why the book remains at a 4 star rating.  This book is highly recommended to kinky readers who enjoy a plot, captivating characters and smexy hot sex.

provided for a review by Net Galley

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