Title: Because I Can
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Publisher/Year: Julie Patra Publishing 12/14/21
Length: 200 Pages
Series: Necklace Trilogy #2
Overview
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.
My Thoughts
We left book one in a very scary moment for our leading lady Allie. She’s hiding in the wine cellar of the house that she’s staying in (which Tyler her ‘boss’ owns) and someone has disarmed the alarm and is in her house. The lights have gone out and she hears steps above her. To make matters worse, she’s not able to call 911 and she’s had a fight with Dash because of his self destructive behavior so she’s basically on her own. Until she’s not.
Thankfully Dash comes to her rescue and she can leave the house unscathed. What we don’t know is who the intruder was or what they wanted, but as a result of this scary moment, Dash and Allie are on more sturdy ground and they go back to his apartment together.
This second installment is about obsession. That’s really the only way that I can level set here. Allie is obsessed with finding Allison, the girl that’s gone missing that has put her in this new world in Nashville. Dash is obsessed with Allie and while it seems like a great thing at times (their chemistry is off the charts) we know that they both have such troubled pasts that there’s no way that it can work out. Then there’s Tyler who’s obsessed with bringing Dash down, and as this story goes, we learn of others who have similar motivations.
While all this insanity is going on, we watch a few great things happen. We see Allie thrive in her role pulling together a winning auction, however it means that she has to come to terms with what that means for her future at RipTide. We watch the relationship between Dash’s sister and Allie grow, and we see how Allie’s mother grows to appreciate Dash as well.
On the flip side we see what Allie’s past can do to haunt these two, with her ex fiance scheming a way into her life in a bad way. All the progress that’s been made throughout this story with obsessing over what happened to Allison, what that means for Allie and what the future holds if and when they find her is nullified at the very end through a series of unfortunate events.
There’s heat and passion throughout this story that keeps us intrigued and there are mysteries that we only get hints to and not full clear insights to carry us to to the finale. If you’ve read In and Out by LRJ, then you know that there’s not always a happy ending with the missing person, and I fear that’s what we’re going to find in this series as well. I”m positive that one of the men that we’ve met is the one that made her feel like she had to disappear, and I am pretty sure that i’ve guessed it. What I wonder though is the motivation given that there seem to be so many men that care about her.
Thankfully we only have to wait until next month to see how this all resolves, but I will say that the sexual tension here was enough to keep a reader engaged, but I wonder if it’s enough to keep the couple together. Dash and Allie know what they’re capable of, but don’t trust each other enough to see it play out. Hopefully identifying who sent the necklace and why he needs to be forgiven will not only lead us to Allison, but to a happy ending as well. Enjoy!