Book Review: Denial (Careless Whispers #1) by Lisa Renee Jones

Title: Denial (Careless Whispers #1)
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: November 24, 2015
Pages: 336
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

           

Ella Ferguson awakes alone in Italy, unsure of who she is, and a gorgeous man has claimed her as his own. He’s tall, dark, and sexy, with money and power, the kind of man who makes a girl want to be possessed. And he does possess her, whispering wicked wonderful promises to her, stealing her trust and her heart. Soon though, the past finds her, yanking her from a cocoon of passion and safety. Everything is not how it seems. The truth will shatter her world, but it can set her free, if it doesn't destroy her first.

Another great one from Lisa Renee Jones.

I've read the first few books in her Inside Out Trilogy, and just like those, I found Denial to be a quick and easy read. Lisa Renee Jones is fantastic at drawing the reader in from the first page.

I was a little worried that I would not be able to follow along with this book because I had not read the whole Inside Out series, and I am glad that I was wrong. You do not have to have read any of the Inside Out series in order to read this new series, despite that it says it's a spin off.

You can 100% read this series without having read the other. The only spin off part, that I am aware of, is that the main character, Ella, is the best friend of Sara, who is the female lead in the Inside Out series.

After reading the book, this image sums up how I perceive Ella...

Ballerina with a gun.

Are you intrigued? You should be!

Here's the thing, I feel like the blurb does not do this book justice. At all. I wanted this baby for myself because I remembered Ella from the Inside Out series and because I love Lisa Renee Jones's writing.

So here is what you need to know...

Ella has amnesia. She doesn't even remember her own name. The book opens with her waking in an Italian hospital, with a strikingly handsome man at her bedside. We soon find out that she was attacked and suffered a concussion. We also learn that this gorgeous man, Kayden, was her savior. The doctors explain Ella's amnesia as her brain's way of protecting her from the events of her attack, they believe that her memory will return, in full, in time. 

Through Kayden, we learn that the men who attacked Ella work for a very powerful Italian mob boss, and Kayden has appointed himself Ella's permanent protector. Ella knows that Kayden is keeping secrets from her. She feels that she knew him before the attack, though he denies this. It also concerns her that he would know that her attackers work for an Italian mob boss. Ella becomes even more suspicious when the lead police detective on her case continues to warn her against trusting Kayden.

Despite her suspicions, she feels that she can trust Kayden, so she entrusts herself into his care.

As the story progresses, Ella begins to piece back together her past through some expertly timed flashbacks. What I especially loved about these flashbacks, was that they gave you just enough to whet your appetite, but not enough to satisfy your hunger.

I really liked Ella's growth over the course of the book. I liked that she was strong from the start, but that she was not confidant in her strength. As she learns more about herself through her flashbacks, she learns to become confidant again, and by the end of the book, she embodies the picture of the ballerina with a gun. I cannot tell you how much I adore that juxtaposition!