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My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Trilogy Review-The Necklace Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones

by | Apr 19, 2022 | Book Reviews | 4 comments

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

What If I Never

A necklace delivered to the wrong Allison: me. I’m the wrong Allison.

That misplaced gift places in a man in my path. A man who instantly consumes me and leads me down a path of dark secrets and intense passion.

Dash Black is a famous, bestselling author, but also a man born into wealth and power. He owns everything around him, every room he enters. He owns me the moment I meet him. He seduces me oh so easily and reveals another side of myself I dared not expose. Until him. Until this intense, wonderful, tormented man shows me another way to live and love. I melt when he kisses me. I shiver when he touches me. And I like when he’s in control, especially when I thought I’d never allow anyone that much power over me ever again.

We are two broken people who are somehow whole when we are together, but those secrets—his, and yes, I have mine as well—threaten to shatter all that is right and make it wrong.

Because I Can

To the world, Dash Black is famous, wealthy, wildly good-looking, and intriguing. To say that he came into my life and shook my world is an understatement. He looked into my eyes and I swear our souls connected, but then, I saw what no one else was ever allowed to see. I saw a complicated man with secrets, a man who hides behind a persona that tells only part of his story. And ultimately, I felt his pain and he felt mine. He told me I belonged with him. I believed I did. But in the book of life, the pages don’t turn with a simple flip of a sheet of paper. In life, sometimes the page won’t turn. Sometimes we discover that what is right is more terrifying than what is wrong.

I love Dash Black, but he terrifies me.

I believe he feels the same about me.

And I’m not sure where that leaves us or what comes next.

When I Say Yes

I believe that there is one person in this world that can both break us and make us whole. One person who can love us more than life can hurt us. With this comes deep, intense passion, and a burning connection. But in turn, that person can destroy us, cut us, make us bleed in ways no other ever could. They have power over us.

For me, that one person is Dash Black.

He walked into my life in a rush of sunshine, in the darkness of heartache and uncertainty. We were broken apart, and whole together. He healed me. I believed I did the same for him. Until the past became the present, and every moment of suffering in his life consumed him. Instead of seeking refuge in me, he pushed me away. As the famous quote from an unknown author says, “If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours; if it doesn’t, it never was.”

I’ve set Dash Black free. Now, I wait.

Read An Excerpt

Dash carries me to the bedroom and lowers me to my feet at the end of the mattress. I reach for him, and I can feel his need to feel my hands on his body, but instead of caving to that burn, he catches my wrists again. “Not until I say you can touch me.”

Defiance rips through my body and my chin tilts. “And if I touch you anyway?”

“Then you won’t feel my hand on your ass, baby. Or anywhere else.” He drags me closer, aligning our bodies. “You know what I want. Tell me. What do I want, Allie?”

“Control,” I say without hesitation, but there’s a hint of vulnerability in my voice that I cannot tame. Just as I know I will never tame Dash. And the thing is—I don’t want to. In fact, I want the opposite. I want him unleashed. I want him wild and free.

“Are you going to give it to me?” he presses. “Can you trust me that much, Allie?”

Trust.

That’s the monster that torments each of us in our own minds and yet, we want it from each other, we demand it be given blindly, irrationally perhaps, but it doesn’t seem to matter. So much about how Dash and I approach each other is irrational and yet somehow, we make sense. And so I say, “I already do.”

He turns me to face the bed, one hand cupping the side of my neck under my hair, the other on my waist, his hard body at my back. Dash leans in close and says, “I can be demanding, Allie.”

My mind flashes to the night of our fight back in Nashville, when my hands had been pressed to the front door of our apartment, his hand on my throat, him behind me, thrusting into me. “I know,” I whisper, my skin flushing with the memory and because it’s the truth, now I dare add, “I like it.”

“Do you?” he challenges.

“Beyond reason,” I whisper.

His fingers flex on my neck, seconds ticking by before he replies with, “I used to think I wanted to scare you off, Allie.”

“And now?”

“Now, I pray I can’t.” His teeth scrape my shoulder, rasping roughly.

I suck in a breath at the rough, erotic nip that borders on a bite. He cups my jaw and drags my head back to his shoulder, just enough to angle my mouth to his and lower his to mine. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t try,” he adds. “Nice guys are gentle, Allie. You need to know that I’m not a nice guy.”

“If I’d wanted nice, I would have walked away before we ever started calling me cupcake which was almost the moment I met you, Dash.”

It’s a joke about the nickname I’ve earned with him, but he doesn’t laugh or smile. He brushes his lips over my lips. “You taste like you don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“And you taste like you talk too much, Dash Black.”

He lingers there a moment, his breath rushing over my lips with a promise of a kiss that doesn’t come. Instead, he says, “No more talking. Knees on the mattress, baby.”

“We’re all flawed, Dash. And inside those flaws is everything that makes us stronger.” “And vulnerable,” he adds softly. “A very famous writer once told me that being vulnerable is not weakness.”

My Review

What If I Never

What If I Never is the first book in the Necklace Trilogy and this book will instantly pull you into the story here. Our heroine is delivered a gift, a priceless necklace, but waws delivered to the wrong Allison. When Allie goes to find the real Allison, who works at a neighboring business, she finds there is a missing Allison, and a sexy stranger in a elevator whom she is instantly attracted to. When she finds herself working another job through a set of events, and working with her sexy stranger, who also happens to be an infamous writer, and a mystery that she can’t solve, she is intrigued by the way her life has curved. She is determined to find Allison, who is missing, but no one can give her a real answer on her whereabouts. She and Dash are starting something that excites her to the bones but she also wonders what can never have that is only temporary, with her real home in New York. As Dash and Allie explore this new relationship, there is also a mystery to solve.

No, diamonds and gifts do not bring happiness, nor do they substitute for love. And they absolutely do not erase the sins of betrayal.

I will say that I fell for this book so quickly. I had grabbed the first book when I saw it as a freebie, but yeah I just had to read this series, and so I bought books 2 and 3. There is a unique quality to this author’s style of writing that seems to work for me in such perfect ways. I was so involved in the relationship that Dash and Allie start to build together. There is so much mystery that surrounds our couple both inside and outside of the relationship. On the outside, we have the mystery of Allison and what has happened to her Then we have the mystery surrounding Dash, he has many layers that Allie has to work into peeling one layer at a time.

Elevators are truly tiny boxes where strangers crowd inside and end up ridiculously close while pretending we are not close at all.

Because I Can

The people we love are the sunshine on even the rainiest day. We need them. They are bonds that hold us together in the stormiest of days.

In book two we get the continuation of the series here, it kicks off right where it ended and we get back into the world of Dash and Allie and their adventures together. There is a cliffhanger at the end of What If I Never? and I just loved how quickly its resolved at the beginning of Because I Can. There is more added mystery surrounding Allison. Allie has found Allison’s Instagram account, and found so many relatable connections to Allison and to herself. Allie is having to come to terms with her past, There is more secrets revealed about Dash’s past. There is also confrontation in dealing with her boss and his relationship with Allison that only intrigues Allie about their relationship with each other. As Allie works her job, and is building her relationship with the famous author, and also learning to face up to what their future will be with each other.

His mouth comes down on mine in a searing kiss and allows me to do just what I want to do. Forget all the bad. And focus on the here and now, with Dash. That’s the good.

I had such a blast with book two in this trilogy and seeing this pair come together even more deeply, and seeing them become more transparent with each other. It was quite fascinating to see what they reveal to each other, and the relationship that they are building with each other. The mystery behind Dash is becoming more clear, and you as the reader become more gravitated the more you read their story. Dash is not your typical hero, and I adored having his facets revealed and seeing the “man” behind the mystery of what you first perceive him as. The connection that Dash and Allie have together is beyond beautiful. They have these quiet simple moments together that is pure perfection. And you won’t be able to put their story down, no matter what life delivers to your door.

When I Say Yes

Sometimes closure is truly accepting there is nothing you can do to change a situation.

This was such a fascinating tale, and I loved every single moment that brings us to the conclusion. Just like book one, book two ends with a teaser, and you just know that you need to continue on with book three. The first half of this book is wildly intense, as Allie and Dash come to a conflict within their relationship and it will take some craftiness of our heroine to bring our hero back from the brink. Dash has some dark demons that haunt him from his past, he has a scary addiction to fighting, and Allie will need every friend they both have to save him and we see what it almost costs Allie, but as she endeavors to save the man that she loves, there is a danger just lurking that could destroy them all.

“You chose,Dash, and it wasn’t me or us.”

“I was trying to save you, Allie, from me”

This BOOK had so many depths to it and I was so hooked on its conclusion. This author definitely knows how to break a heart yet can heal it all at the same time. I was so entranced by this story and seeing our couple really find such a beautiful love and learn to fight for it, even at such a personal cost to themselves. We have a conflict that builds between the relationship and man my heart just broke for these two and it worked out in a way I NEVER expected. This author definitely knows how to keep me on my toes here. And we also see the mystery that has been teased since page one of book one, actually be revealed and man my heart. I really didn’t know what I expected or who the villain would turn out to be ….it was NOT whom we see be revealed. And now I need the next trilogy that is connected to this one because dang it, this author really worked me so well .

He wants, needs, and even demands my submission. Because submission is trust and tonight tried to tear away the new and fragile trust between us

Overall I would have to say I ADORED this trilogy so much, it kept me eager and waiting, I couldn’t put these books down and I read the trilogy in ONE SITTING!! I adored every part of Dash and Allie’s journey and I can’t wait to delve more into the magic of this author’s writing. If you haven’t picked up this author, I can’t recommend her enough to you!!

“It just means that in the end, the monsters are slain when a mighty battle is fought, but we survive.”

Title: Necklace Trilogy

Author: Lisa Renee Jones

Genre: Romantic Suspense Contemporary

Format: eBook

Source: Purchased

Length: 799 Pages

Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 5

Story Itself: 5

Character Development: 5

Writing Style: 5

World Building 5

Feels + The Romantic Heart 5

Pacing 5

Plot 5

Cover Art 4

Ending 5

Book Ratings

Overall Rating of the Book

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Steam Level

Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy

Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

Series Order

The Necklace Trilogy

What If I Never-Pub 2021 #1 in the Series

Because I Can-Pub 2021 #2 in the Series

When I Say Yes-Pub 2022 #3 in the Series

About The Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series. Suzanne Todd (producer of Alice in Wonderland) 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.

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 she is active on Twitter and Facebook daily.

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4 Comments

  1. anovelglimpse

    I love when an author gets me this invested and then surprises me. I hope the next trilogy is just as good.

    Reply
  2. Stephanie

    Oooh la la! This sounds super spicy! The concept behind it is very creative. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where a misplaced gift is what causes the protagonists to meet. I’m glad you found a new series you enjoyed so much on a whim! It’s always exciting when the first book in a trilogy makes you really want to just dive in and binge the rest.

    Reply
  3. Carole

    This sounds really good! It is good to know that this is a series that really needs to be as a whole to get the complete story.

    Reply
  4. ratmom

    I haven’t read this author but the series sounds good.

    Reply

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