ARC Review: Damage Control by Lisa Renee Jones
Amazon
Wall Street meets the Sons of Anarchy in Damage Control, the smoldering, scorching next novel in the explosively sexy Dirty Money series.
The only thing more dangerous than a dark secret is a damaged heart…
Shane Brandon has been pushed to the brink, torn between his corrupt family and his explosive, all-consuming desire for Emily Stevens, who he now knows is not who, and what, she seems. Has he trusted the wrong person? Will she, not his brother Derek, be the ultimate destruction of his family Empire?
Emily tries to run from Shane, but he will stop her, confront her, force her to reveal all — one hot touch and kiss at a time, under every intimate detail of who this woman is, and what she wants, is exposed. But as he tears away the dangers of the unknowns with the woman in his bed, and in his heart, The Martina Cartel has set their sights on his company, his family, and the one piece of leverage they believe he won’t gamble with: Emily.
The only thing more dangerous than a dark secret is a damaged heart…
Shane Brandon has been pushed to the brink, torn between his corrupt family and his explosive, all-consuming desire for Emily Stevens, who he now knows is not who, and what, she seems. Has he trusted the wrong person? Will she, not his brother Derek, be the ultimate destruction of his family Empire?
Emily tries to run from Shane, but he will stop her, confront her, force her to reveal all — one hot touch and kiss at a time, under every intimate detail of who this woman is, and what she wants, is exposed. But as he tears away the dangers of the unknowns with the woman in his bed, and in his heart, The Martina Cartel has set their sights on his company, his family, and the one piece of leverage they believe he won’t gamble with: Emily.
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Damage Control started out with an elevated sense of tension and suspense. The first few chapters had me completely engaged; so much so, I found myself consuming the pages. All I could think was, "finally answers!" Then—everything fizzled out into a mellow, low key read. It was quite the shock in change of pace, which greatly impacted the story, for me anyway. At this point, I found myself stepping away from the book, often. It was hard finding the enthusiasm to dive back in once my curiosity was explained.
What kept me from DNFing? The best answer to that is Shane. I'm fricken infatuated with this dude. He is rough around the edges, but when it comes to those he cherishes, he has a heart of gold. He's commanding, yet tender when he needs to be. He is loyal and protective. Not to mention, he has quite the effect on a girl's panties. God, I could go on and on.
Emily was still a fun character, but her pull wasn't as strong in this one. Once her story began to unravel, it just wasn't as compelling. I know that sounds bad, and I don't mean it to but she lost some of that magic. I guess I was expecting more from her secrets. If I take a hard look, this is probably more of an me not you issue.
Overall, the book was good. And I did get some of my questions answered, such as who the hell Emily was and why was she a complete mystery? Why was she using my Shane...oops, I mean her Shane? Thankfully in this area, Jones didn't leave a stone unturned when it came to Emily confessing her past. Beyond that though, Emily was still wrapped up in cloak and daggers. When it comes to her, I have a feeling the complete package won't be revealed until somewhere close to the end.
Upon finishing, I noticed this was a four book series, the last book called End Game. That title speaks volumes!! When I started Hard Rules, I didn't realize I was signing on for a series with four books. If I had I would never have started it, because I know myself, I hate waiting—and cliffhangers, especially ones that take close to two years to finish out. I much prefer to buy and read all together. With that said, I will be reading book three and book four as they release. I'm already invested and my need to know always outweighs my need to binge everything together.
If you are like me, I suggest waiting until the last book is released in Feb. 2018, if you haven't already started this series.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series, which is now in development for a television show to be produced by Suzanne Todd of Team Todd (Alice in Wonderland). Suzanne Todd on the INSIDE OUT series: Lisa has created a beautiful, complicated, and sensual world that is filled with intrigue and suspense. Sara’s character is strong, flawed, complex, and sexy – a modern girl we all can identify with. I’m thrilled to develop a television show that will tell Sara’s whole story – her life, her work, her friends, and her sexuality.
In addition to the success of Lisa’s INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is presently working on a dark, edgy new series, Dirty Money, for St. Martin’s Press.
Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women’s Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at www.lisareneejones.com and can also find her here:
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