Book Review: If I Were You by Lisa Renee Jones

If I Were You

By Lisa Renee Jones

Release Date: August 24, 2012

Source: Publisher

Summary: 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.

Review: Seeing as I could not stand Fifty Shades of Grey, I was a little hesitant going into this novel because of all of the comparisons. I did not want another annoying main character who falls for a guy who is so beyond awful and not at all attractive in my eyes. I'm so happy that Lisa Renee Jones was able to create a story that blew Fifty Shades out of the water. 

Sara McMillan is an English teacher who is used to playing it safe in life. But when her friend buys an abandoned storage facility and finds very descriptive journals of a girl named Rebecca, Sara finds herself invested in this girl's life. Scary things go on in the journal, and Sara wants to know why Rebecca has seemed to disappear without any of her belongings. So she decides to investigate and finds herself taking over Rebecca's job in an art gallery, a job Sara has only dreamed of having since she was in college. But with the jobs comes a very demanding, overbearing boss that Sara fears is the same dangerous man in the journals. When Chris Merit, a very talented artist who also happens to be crazy attractive, comes into the picture, Sara can't help but fall for the guy. Relationships are put to the test and Sara doesn't know how much she can open up to Chris, or how much she can get Chris to open up to her about his mysterious, dangerous past. 

Like I said, Lisa Renee Jones manages to create a main character that I really actually adore. Sara is a girl who has been afraid to go after what she wants and doesn't know how to let a guy in after her last disastrous relationship 5 years ago. I loved how Rebecca's journals led Sara to putting herself out that and finally getting a job in art, which is a field she loves. And the hot artist that falls into her path isn't too bad either. Chris, no matter how much of a bad guy he claims to be, is so sweet and I love the fact that he's an artist. I swooned when he drew a picture of Sara and gave it to her. How much more perfect can you get?

The only annoying part about this book was how Sara found herself maybe/sort of attracted to her boss, who was just an arrogant, demanding jerk. He ordered her around and said really weird things that she just accepted because he was showing his power over her. I'm not sure if things are going to happen there in the next two books of the series, but I really hope they don't. With this book, I feel like we only got an introduction into Sara's life and her journey towards becoming more confident and finding out what happened to Rebecca. And the cliff hanger ending definitely left me begging for the next book. 

In the end, If I Were You had great characters, a great storyline, and a great steamy relationship. There was substance to Sara and Chris, and there were no overused and abused actions/words/characteristics like there were in Fifty Shades of Grey. If you want the whole package, definitely go with this book. You'll find yourself loving every second and begging for more answers when it's all over.