Received from NetGalley

Oh Lisa Renee Jones. I don't remember how I found your books but I was hooked from the very first word. And now you give me more Chris Merit? An insiders look at his beautiful mind? Sigh. After wiping the drool from my Kindle, I got it together enough to read this quick short story that gives the reader a glimpse of what Chris was thinking while he and Sara were in Paris. In all honesty, it just made me that much more impatient for the next one in the series. So kudos to you Lisa Renee Jones, you've done it again! I really should get a Chris Merit bib... ( )

To be honest, I wasn’t enthralled by any of these characters. I suppose a big part of that comes from not having read the other books in the series. Despite my lack of background, I did not find myself confused; there was nothing subtle, nothing that wasn’t plainly spelled out for the reader. I thought the dialogue stilted and the inner-workings of Chris’s mind forced and obvious. I was fully prepared to jump right in and buy the rest of the series, but there was nothing here to hold my attention. ( )

I've read all of the Inside out books, read all of Rebecca’s lost journals, and now I've read
His Secrets (Inside Out #3.1) by Lisa Renee Jones . Unfortunately, I have to say this novella (page count unknown, but its short) was my least favorite.

I found the story line disjointed, the flow of the writing stiff and mechanical, and the character portrayal disappointing. These are character’s I've spent time with, they are far from perfect, they have problems, some more than others, but if this was my first exposure to them – I’d run. Even moments that should have or could have been touching between Chris and Sara had no feeling. I found the little snippets of sex between the couple very mechanical and unconvincing. The novella was just plain boring. The level of drama was high though, Chris feeling like he’s responsible for Amber’s need for the whip, Tristan not being able to control Amber, Isabel claiming Chris still needs to punish himself and will never escape that need, and Sara saying that she and Chris will overcome it all together.

I seriously can’t say much about this novella except it was disappointing. For me a 1 star read.

My thanks to NetGalley who provided the ARC on behalf of Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books , Pocket Star, for an honest review.

Sold by:Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc with expected publication date of Pub Date Feb 24 2014
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Contemporary, Paris, France

Chris Merit has always found his art to be his escape until the day he met Sara McMillan. She has proven to be a light in the darkness of his life. Unfortunately that darkness bleeds from Chris’s life into Sara’s. Now Chris needs to show Sara everything about his life. He is afraid of what will happen once he does because he is sure that Sara doesn’t understand or really sees everything that he has shown her so far.

This is another great installment in the Inside Out series. This one is done from Chris’ point of view. With every novel or novella that is added to this series makes the series even better. It also gives readers more chances to visit some favorite characters and see just what else is happening. It also gives readers more to whet their appetite and keep them coming back for more. This is one series that once a reader is pulled in they will find it very hard to leave and will have them wanting more. While this series has flavors of Fifty Shades of Grey it has proven to be its own with a story line that keeps on building with each story. ( )

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
Chris and Sara ..review to come. ( )