Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones Series: The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #1
Published by Julie Patra Publishing on 22 July 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller, Romance, Suspense
Pages: 250
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
ESCAPING REALITY
Infinite possibilities....
Infinite passion.....
Infinite danger....
His touch spirals through me, warm and sweet, wicked and hot. I shouldn't trust him. I shouldn't tell him my secrets. But how do I not when he is the reason I breathe? He is what I need.
At the young age of eighteen, tragedy and a dark secret force Lara to flee all she has known and loved to start a new life. Now years later, with a new identity as Amy, she's finally dared to believe she is forgotten-even if she cannot forget. But just when she lets her guard down, the ghosts of her past are quick to punish her, forcing her back on the run.On a plane, struggling to face the devastation of losing everything again and starting over, Amy meets Liam Stone, a darkly entrancing recluse billionaire, who is also a brilliant, and famous, prodigy architect. A man who knows what he wants and goes after it. And what he wants is Amy. Refusing to take "no" as an answer, he sweeps her into a passionate affair, pushing her to her erotic limits. He wants to possess her. He makes her want to be possessed. Liam demands everything from her, accepting nothing less. But what if she is too devastated by tragedy to know when he wants more than she should give? And what if there is more to Liam than meets the eyes?
*I received a free ARC of Escaping Reality from Julie Patra Publishing via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
I am completely blown away by Escaping Reality! A red-hot thriller/suspense novel with a great main character in Amy. She has no idea if there is anyone she can trust, and a secretive handler has just made her leave New York and her new life behind. At the airport, she finds the right locker, with a small carry-on, new ID and an address in Denver. Shockingly fast paced, there is never a dull moment, as Amy runs, and finds herself next to a very sexy and hot man on the plane.
Escaping Reality has Amy on the run, a mysterious man leaving her a message in her new apartment, and of course, there is Liam who is bigger than life. There is an immediate attraction between the two of them, but Liam seems a little controlling, and he tells her he’s a reclusive billionaire architect. For one who has been on the run for the past six years, Amy is certainly trusting Liam very quickly – even if she doesn’t really tell him anything real about herself, and they make fireworks when they come together!
There is a lot of mystery in Escaping Reality, as the reader does not know a lot about Amy, either, it comes in little drops of information when she can’t keep the past and her monsters at bay. I am so excited about this book that I had to click over to amazon to buy the 2nd book in this series – Infinite Possibilities – while writing my review. I have to find out what will happen next. Between the sexy neighbor across the hall, who triggers some long-buried memories in Amy’s mind, and Meg, the slightly pushy secretary who works at the place she rents her apartment from, it is impossible to know if there is really anyone who can be a friend to her or if they might rather be the death of her.
It is a little strange that she takes everything Liam tells her at face value, though, even if he shows her some internet links about himself, everybody knows that wiki is not the most accurate place on the wild, wild web to find information about someone. But I can understand why Amy acts this way, she has this strong feeling of being connected to someone for the first time in years, and she really needs that connection, Liam really does help her Escaping Reality – when he is around, she can forget about everything else.
The characters are likeable, secretive, and seem very real. Amy is both confused and focused at the same time, and she decides to finally take her life into her own hands, try to figure out what really happened in her past, and face her demons. And that, my friends, is how Escaping Reality ends – with Amy’s resolutions, and my immense need to know how she will go about this all.
“You’re you. That’s what counts.” He turns away again and I don’t stop him. You’re you, he’d said. Only that’s the whole problem. I’m not me.”
Crazy for him. And I’m selfish. So very selfish because I have been alone and now he is here and I don’t know how I can walk away from him. I don’t deserve him and he absolutely does not deserve me.
“I say,” Liam continues, “we order room service, watch movies, and get naked so I can be barbaric in approved territory. Actually I think I’ll call that side of me ‘the beast’. Let’s go set him free.”
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
I first heard about this book from Laura + Books (she loved it too). I love all the running away to be someone else business and then being trapped in the show. The quotes really got me, especially the “crazy for me” one. Sheesh! Happy reading, Lexxie!
I need to check out Laura’s review, Robyn 🙂 And this is the kind of book you’d enjoy, too. There is a lot of intrigue 🙂
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I’ve seen this book around before, but for some reason I haven’t really paid much attention to it…now I;m wondering why?! Amy sounds like such an interesting character and now I really want to know what her tragic past is…will definitely be checking this one out soon! 🙂
I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did, Amy 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
I liked this book, too (although not as much as you), but I thought the sequel was terrible. Have you read it yet? I’m interested in hearing what you think.
I didn’t think the sequel was terrible, but I certainly didn’t like it as much. Amy really should ask more questions. We should find someplace we can chat about it without spoiling it for other people…
Thanks for stopping by, Kate.
I’ve read this book months and months ago. Sadly, it didn’t work for me because it reminded too much of FOSG. Hahaha. Amy and Liam were like Ana and Christian in a new setting.
I am happy that this one worked for you, my friend. I hope book will deliver the same performance for you. 😀
Have a happy Tuesday!
Hmm… I have never read FOSG, so maybe that’s why I enjoyed this one? What I enjoyed the most was the fact that Amy was hiding, and that her memory was coming back little by little.
Thanks for stopping by, Charlotte 🙂 <3
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
Sounds like an interesting read. 🙂
Yeah, I really enjoyed this one 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Stormi!
Reading your review was rather thrilling, Lexxie. 😉 You know I’ll be one-clicking both #1 and #2 simply because you like them so much. 🙂 I like the story line here. Amy sounds fascinating and I’m interested in her immediate trust of Liam, too.
I’m going to have to slow down with the one-clicking, Lexxie. There’s no way I can read all these books as fast as I’d like. 😛
Hope your day has been great. It’s snowing here. 🙂 *HUGS*
Actually, the 2nd book is not as good as the first… but it was still good 🙂
Yeah, I know what you mean about the frantic one-clicking! I have enough books on my kindle to last me for over a year… but do I let that stop me? NO!
I’ve had a good day, and it’s even better now! I love chatting! *HUGS*
I read this book a few months ago. It is really intriguing and mysterious. I want to know what is up! 🙂
Did you review it as well, Pamela? I’m gonna go check it out on your blog 😀
I did in fact review on my blog. It was back in the day, when I used GoodReads to post reviews and I didn’t really know what I was doing! This was the invite ARC I was given when I signed up for NetGalley. There are so many memories attached to this book! I signed up for NetGalley, so I could get advanced copies of Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch! 🙂
http://www.readingisfunagain.com/2013/07/review-escaping-reality.html
LOL that’s a funny story, Pamela. You signed up specifically for Scott Lynch, eh? I agree, his Gentleman Bastards series is really good.
Thanks for linking me to your review:) Happy reading.
I did! I remember the moment. I was reading a discussion thread on GoodReads, and someone mentioned that he had just read Republic of Thieves. Someone asked how he did this and he mentioned NetGalley. Well, I immediately got on NetGalley website, filled out my information and put in a request for it. Soon after or at the same time I requested the new Naomi Novik book in the Temeraire series and the new Tad Williams book in his Bobby Dollar series. Luckily, I got accepted for all three books even though my blog wasn’t much back then (the blog was more of a way to track my reading more than anything else, no one was reading it). I should mention that I really haven’t gotten invitations to read such big name books since then! 🙂
Great Review Lexx! I enjoy a lot of mystery and suspense in stories where you only get clues little by little. I like the quotes you picked 🙂
Yeah, the mystery and suspense is very well done in this one, and so is the romance ans smexiness 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Lindy.