Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Book Tour for His Secrets by Lisa Renee Jones (Review & GIVEAWAY)


Today I'm honored to be hosting Lisa Renee Jones and the next installment in her Inside Out series, His Secrets.  Keep reading to get a glimpse into this series as well as my impressions of the latest installment.  Make sure to fill out the form below for your chance to win 1 of 20 $10 Amazon/Paypal GCs!

THE BIG NEWS........
The Inside Out series is in development for cable television with the fabulous producer Suzanne Todd at the helm. Suzanne has worked on projects such as Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp, Must Love Dogs, Austin Powers, Lethal Weapon and many more!
So where does the show stand?
I was just in Hollywood and I had the pleasure of meeting with many of the brilliant minds involved in the process. It was pretty surreal to sit there and talk to these talented folks and have them know my characters the way I know them. Truly amazing.
It’s been fun learning the process of a cable TV show in development. There is no pilot. There is simply the process of someone writing the first 8-10 episodes. If those scripts are approved, then a staff of writers to carry on the show will be hired, and casting begins for the first season. Also, unlike movies, as we’ve seen with 50 Shades, casting isn’t something that is talked about for a year and then finally happens. In general, when a cable station orders a show to production, things move fast. So once you hear the news, it will get exciting at lightning speed. I hope to be able to share that news VERY soon!
That said, I am beyond thrilled that the producers of the show, Team Todd, are excited to engage fans in the process. They watch my Twitter and Facebook and enjoy seeing the fan suggestions for casting. They even watch fan-made videos! When I was in Hollywood, they shared their excitement about involving readers and fun ideas like VIP casting chats for readers.
They’ve set up an email newsletter list to better connect with the fans. To take part, just email REBECCA@TEAM-TODD.com and say I WANT TO BE AN INSIDER.
And yes, feel free to post your casting ideas on my Facebook page. The producers LOVE seeing them and I'll repost them to my main page. I look forward to taking this exciting journey with all of my readers!

IF I WERE YOU
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.
EXCERPT:
We are almost to the gallery, and a knot has formed in my stomach at the prospect of an awkward goodbye, when he suddenly grabs me and pulls me into a small enclave of a deserted office rental. Before I can fully grasp what is happening, I am against the wall, hidden from the street and he is in front of me, enclosing me in the tiny space. I blink up into his burning stare and I think I might combust. His scent, his warmth, his hard body, is all around me, but he is not touching me. I want him to touch me.
He presses his hand to the concrete wall above my head when I want it on my body. “You don’t belong here, Sara.”
The words are unexpected, a hard punch in the chest. “What? I don’t understand.”
“This job is wrong for you.”
I shake my head. I don’t belong? Coming from Chris, an established artist, I feel inferior, rejected. “You asked me why I wasn’t following my heart. Why I wasn’t pursuing what I love. I am. That’s what I’m doing.”
“I didn’t think you’d do it in this place.”
This place. I don’t know what he’s telling me. Does he mean this gallery? This city? Has he judged me not worthy of his inner circle?
“Look, Sara.” He hesitates, and lifts his head to the sky, seeming to struggle for words before fixing me with a turbulent look. “I’m trying to protect you here. This world you’ve strayed into is filled with dark, messed up, arrogant assholes who will play with your mind and use you until there is nothing else left for you to recognize in yourself.”
“Are you one of those dark, messed up, arrogant assholes?”
He stares down at me, and I barely recognize the hard lines of his face, the glint in his eyes, as belonging to the man I’ve just had lunch with. His gaze sweeps my lips, lingers, and the swell ofresponse and longing in me is instant, overwhelming. He reaches up and strokes his thumb over my bottom lip. Every nerve ending in my body responds and it’s all I can do not to touch him, to grab his hand, but something holds me back. I am lost in this man, in his stare, in some spellbinding, dark whirlwind of…what? Lust, desire, torment? Seconds tick eternally and so does the silence. I want to hold him, to stop whatever I sense is coming but I cannot.
“I’m worse.” He pushes off the wall, and is gone. He is gone. I am alone against the wall, aching with a fire that has nothing to do with the meal we shared. My lashes flutter, my fingers touch my lip where he touched me. He has warned me away from Mark, from the gallery, from him, and he has failed. I cannot turn away. I am here and I am going nowhere.
LINKS:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Were-You-Inside-Out-Series-ebook/dp/B0095VKZUK
BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-were-you-lisa-renee-jones/1112622048
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15717721-if-i-were-you

REVEALING US
The third installment in the sexy Inside Out erotic romance series—in the seductive tradition of Fifty Shades of Grey.
You've discovered Rebecca's secrets. You've discovered Sara's secrets. Now Sara will discover "his" deepest, darkest secrets...but will those secrets bind them together--or tear them apart?
EXCERPT:
I twist around to find Chris standing in the doorway, his hair a damp mess, droplets of water clinging to the black Harley jacket he wears with the same ease he does his power. The en- tire room seems to suck in a breath at the same moment, waiting for what will come next. Waiting for him.
His attention fixes on me, and it’s as if no one else were in the room. He sees me. He’s dismissed them.
“I told you I was close, baby,” he drawls, seemingly unaffected by the situation. He saunters into the room, and while he’s all casual coolness and sexy swagger, there is a lethal, primal quality just beneath his surface. I might be trying to take control myself, and I want to, but it’s a beautiful thing watching Chris be Chris.
LINKS:

HIS SECRETS
An Inside Out story, Chris's POV
In a world where my only escape has been my art, Sara has been the light in my darkness. And there is darkness, the kind of inky black that can bleed from my life to hers.
She doesn't see it. She doesn't understand what I've shown her. And my biggest fear is that soon...she will.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

The Inside Out series continues with the road to HEA for Chris and Sara still in limbo because of a vindictive and manipulative woman from his past.  From the very beginning of this short story to the very end guilt and obligation weighs on Chris as he tries to protect a woman from his past and the woman of his future.  There's an unrelenting sense of foreboding as he tries to be worthy of Sara and as events spiral out of control in this fast-paced, emotionally draining read.  Both of them have something to prove as both Chris and Sara are stronger than they appear and must believe in each other to reach their HEA.

This is a must-read for fans of the series as the added insight it offers makes for a more compelling series overall.  It shows the evolution of characters as well as the deep connection between the protagonists.  For those unfamiliar with the series, the sensual mood created is intriguing and makes for an exciting afternoon diversion.  The impact won't be quite as intense but it is entertaining.

The pain the characters are going through is palpable.  The line between pleasure and pain blurred in a read full of conflicted emotions.  The actions of some of the characters is a bit over the top and distracting though, but for fans of the series who have watched these characters carry-on, this is no surprise and won't impede their reading enjoyment.

My rating for this is a C+

*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

LINKS:   Amazon   |   BN

MY HUNGER
Master............
Being that person, that man is how I define myself, how I allow the rest of the world to define me as well. And now, with a terrible loss shredding me inside out and someone trying to destroy my family to punish me, control is more important than ever. It is everything. It is what I need. It is all I need. Or maybe I just need…her.
LINKS:

NO IN-BETWEEN
The fourth in the Inside Out erotic romance series by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones, this steamy novel resolves Chris and Sarah's relationship and leads into Mark's story.
EXCERPT:
(Unedited) Another man in an expensive fitted suit much like Mark’s gray one, steps to Mark’s side, his features ruggedly male, whereas Mark’s are classical male beauty. And where Mark’s classically clean shaven and handsome, his short blond hair is always neatly groomed, this man’s thick, light brown hair is long enough to be tied at his nape, and the stubble on jawline far more than a shadow.
The man says something to Mark and I don’t know why, but I am certain the stranger is his attorney. Mark barely acknowledges what is said to him, stepping forward, closing the distance between us, and I cannot seem to move. He moves with absolute predatory grace, beautiful, powerful, impossible to ignore and I am his prey.
I am not immune to Mark’s certain flavor of power and masculinity, but then, I have never denied that fact. But being affected by his larger-than-life presence and wanting him are two different things. It's also a way Rebecca and I differed and I cannot help but remember her words. He was magnificent. Really, truly the most gorgeous man I’ve ever known. Instant lust exploded inside me. I wanted to feel him close to me, to feel him touch me. To touch him.
She’d started out infatuated and then fell in love, and suddenly, I am angry at Mark for not seeing what he had with her before he lost her. Even more so for trying to push her away by involving Ava and Ryan in their intimate moments, and who knew who else, that I never discovered.
Intending to tell him so, I step forward, closing the distance between us and stopping when we are toe to toe, but he speaks before I do. “Ms. McMillan,” he says in that low baritone of his that is both sultry suggestion and hard steel.
I lift my chin and meet his stare, and when I do, I see the barely masked heartache in the depths of those steely gray eyes. I see love lost, and my anger is ripped right out of my chest. “Mark,” I whisper, bleeding for him, with him. “It’s good to see you.” And without any conscious decision to do so, I wrap my arms around him and press my cheek to his chest. He doesn’t hug me back but I don’t care. It kills me to realize that Rebecca finally taught Mark what it is to love, and she’ll never even know.
“Ms. McMillan,” he warns tersely. “Now is not the time for affection.”
I step back, choosing to ignore the deep seductive quality of those words, and press my hands to my hips. “Why don’t you return your phone calls?”
His expression is unreadable, the pain I’d seen minutes before carefully banked. “I just arrived into town and I’m certain you’re aware, I’ve had my hands full.”
The stranger joins us, his piercing blue eyes finding mine.
“This is “Tiger”,” Mark says without ever looking at the other man. “My attorney.”
“What is it with you men? You have a problem using a person’s real, God-given name?”
“Confirmation of what I suspected,” Tiger comments. “You have to be Sara. And it’s not my God-given name. It’s the one I earned and that means it’s the one I favor.”
Taking the bait, I ask, “And how exactly did you earn it?”
“I’ll rip your throat out if you cross my clients,” he replies, and I do not like the subtle threat in the words, be it real or imagined.
I narrow my eyes on Tiger. “You said ‘confirmation you’re Sara.’ What did that mean?”
Mark answers for Tiger. “I told him your propensity toward too much conversation.”
“Does he know your propensity toward arrogance?” I challenge.
“He does,” Mark confirms, without hesitation, a muscle flexing in his jaw.
I cringe at the realization that I’ve hit the nerve of self blame in Mark, a nerve I know has to be as raw and ripe as it gets. “I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “It slipped out. I was just doing that banter thing we do.”
He gives me on of those heavy lidded looks of his and says, “Not a problem, Ms. McMillan. I also warned Tiger that you tend toward being painfully honest.”
Now I’m the one with confirmation. I did hit a nerve. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with honesty,” Tiger comments.
I cut him an irritated look. “There is if it hurts someone.” I step closer to Mark. “Can we talk alone for a minute?”
“No private conversation,” Tiger replies, rejecting the idea.
I gape at Tiger. “You’re protecting Mark from me?”
“I’m protecting you both from prying eyes,” Tiger assures me, his tone all business. “Save the hugs and personal conversation for elsewhere.” He glances at his watch. “It’s 3:00. We need to get to our meeting room.”
LINKS:

MY HUNGER
I have lost the man I once was, letting guilt and heartache define who I am. Darkness has controlled me, and one woman has seen what no one else has seen in me, what I do not wish to exist. My hunger for her has driven me to the edge of sanity, but no more. She's about to find out that the Master has returned.
LINKS:

I BELONG TO YOU
TO BE RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 2014.

AUTHOR INFO:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT TRILOGY which has sold to more than ten countries for translation with negotiations in process for more, and has now been optioned by STARZ Network for a cable television show, to be produced by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland).
Since beginning her publishing career in 2007, Lisa has published more than 30 books with publishers such as Simon and Schuster, Avon, Kensington, Harlequin, NAL, Berkley and Elloras Cave, as well as crafting a successful indie career. Booklist says that Jones suspense truly sizzles with an energy similar to FBI tales with a paranormal twist by Julie Garwood or Suzanne Brockmann.
Prior to publishing, Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by Dallas Women Magazine. In 1998 LRJ was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her through her website and she is active on twitter and Facebook daily.

**********GIVEAWAY**********

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments: