ARC Review: Behind Closed Doors by Lisa Renee Jones

Book Title: Behind Closed Doors
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Series: Careless Whispers #2.5
Release Date: October 17th, 2016
Genres: Mystery/Suspense, Romance

From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones comes a brand new gripping and provocative novel that ties into her bestselling Careless Whispers and Inside Out series. You can enjoy this as a standalone, but fans of Careless Whispers and Inside Out will get an exciting glimpse of who Ella really is and some of the secrets she's been hiding from everyone she knows.

Desperate to pay for law school, Skye tries her hand at auction hunting with her friend Ella, only to find a poker chip and a note leading to an offsite locker. The next thing she knows, Jason “Red Bull” Wise—a famous, millionaire poker player—is at her door, accusing her of blackmail. Innocent, she swears he’s wrong. He rolls the dice and believes her, impulsively inviting her along to Las Vegas. And remarkably, cautious Skye takes a risk, finding herself seduced by this dangerously alluring man, on his private jet, and finally living life to the fullest. But there is more than passion waiting for Skye and Jason in Vegas when blackmail takes a deadly turn.

When I heard that there was a spinoff novel based on the Careless Whispers series, I was excited to jump into it while waiting for the final book in the series to come out. You don’t need to read the series to start this book as it can purely read as a standalone.

This book features Skye, who is a friend of Ella (from Careless Whispers series) and both women were taking part in a storage unit auction. With the help of Ella, she won a storage unit with hopes of earning more money but ended up with a vague note and a locker key. Soon after, her path collided with a mysterious man called Jason, a professional poker player who has an interest in the contents of the locker.

The chemistry between Skye and Jason was done just right for me, you can tell the undeniable attraction these two had. It was interesting to see their interactions as they both were strong individuals on their own and had a need for control over their lives. I really enjoyed that their romance was a slow burning one and they didn’t jump onto each other with all that attraction. Instead, Jason was really patient with Skye when it comes to her emotional/trust issues.

Apart from that, this book had a really good mystery suspenseful vibe to it by allowing the readers to figure out who was behind the blackmailing incident. It definitely had its twists and surprises which makes the read rather unpredictable and quite a page-turner. 

Overall, Behind Closed Doors is a nice filler read in between the wait of the final book in the Careless Whispers series. If you’re looking for a quick, less dark yet sexy romance read, this book is definitely for you.

ARC received by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT SERIES, and is now in development by Suzanne Todd (Alice in Wonderland) for cable TV. In addition, her Tall, Dark and Deadly series and The Secret Life of Amy Bensen series, both spent several months on a combination of the NY Times and USA Today lists.