Just an Illusion - Unplugged - D. Kelly

I've been with this series since the beginning, and with each book, I love them more and more. I dig that Dee is continuing with the "book within a book" format. It works so well, and allows the conceit of fast forwarding and rewinding the story whenever necessary.

This is Sawyer's perspective on the events that occurred in the original trilogy. I'm gonna let you guys in on a secret... Sawyer is my favorite character, so Unplugged is a special treat for me.

Sawyer is adapting his journals into book form as a gift to his OTP, Mel. I use that abbreviation because there is truly nobody else for him but her. Their romance does not play out in this story though, here it is the telling of Sawyer's willingness to make his twin happy by allowing him to love Mel.

Don't get me wrong, it's not because Mel is not the right person for Noah. I truly believe that there's not just one person out there for each of us. Here, the tragedy is that Mel's soulmates happen to be brothers. In Unplugged, it's Noah she falls for, and Sawyer (for the most part) is happy when his brother is happy.

Now, here's the frustrating part. I should've seen this coming because DEE. It's got a cliffhanger. Although for the people that read the first three books already know the main story, we don't know it from Sawyer's perspective. I'm still gritting my teeth because I WANT IT NOW.

The storytelling vibe is amazing, the insights into Sawyer's character are fascinating, and seeing the love between him and everyone else in the JaI family is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I desperately want to see what's coming next, and I'm dreading it with the very next breath.

Dee, you always take me on a breathtaking journey, and you leave me wanting more.

I give Just an Illusion - Unplugged FIVE pop tart stealing stars!

Jamie Howard has a way of creating deep, dynamic characters that reach from the pages. Juliet is a sought after actress and Felix is a rocker who is wheelchair bound. They meet by chance on a photoshoot. Its insta-love.

Juliet's stalker adds some suspense and danger to the building relationship. As if a relationship between an actress and a rock star isn't already difficult enough, once you add the stalker, it becomes nearly impossible. But, Felix isn't giving up and I loved that about him! Juliet tried to push him away to keep him safe (Not my favorite plot device) and I was thrilled that Felix saw through that.

In the end, I think the ID of the stalker and how it would all play out was predictable, but it didn't really dampen the story for me since the stalker was more of a sub-plot. For me, the real meat of the story was Juliet and Felix. What Howard has written is a very character driven story about 2 people in difficult professions with difficult histories making love a priority!

Juliet hated nothing more than planes but she did believe in science. Juliet had just been told by Ally she had just won “Sexiest Woman  Alive”.  Ally was Juliet's’ personal assistant and best friend. The past year had been a blur to Juliet who was an actress. Juliet had been running herself in the ground for several years and wanted some  her time. Felix had  been voted the “Sexiest Man Alive” for Celeb Magazine but the public didn't know there had been an accident and Felix was now in a wheelchair. Felix was part of a band called Downfall, Felix was the drummer. His band mate Ben said they could use the publicity. Felix had avoided women since the accident other than the nurses at the hospital and his physical therapist. Juliet was a nice person but she also felt Felix was still hot even in a wheelchair that didn’t matter to her. Felix was attracted to Juliet also. Juliet had left her phone at the photo shoot and the next day Felix showed up at her apartment to give it back to her and Juliet invited him in to eat. Juliet had a  stalker that had been put in jail but he just got out and Juliet got a note from him through the mail. Felix made Juliet feel better and she let him know she was interested in being more than friends. Felix told Juliet he wanted the same. Juliet had a sister with Juvenile Huntington Disease it was difficult for Elle- her sister- to walk or anything that required any fine motor skills even speech and now her stepfather had the same disease. Juliet felt guilty taking some time for herself. Then Juliet found out her stalker had been in her  apartment then later on pictures were sent of her and Felix and a threat was made to Felix. Juliet said she needs space.

An excellent story and I loved it. A lot of action but romance also. It definitely kept your interest as you wanted to see what would happen next. I loved how Felix's band mates  would not leave him behind and were there for him. I also loved how Juliet seen the man  and not the wheelchair. This is one of my new favorite stories. I loved the characters and the plot and  the ins and outs also how the author brought up about a little known disease at least by me. I highly recommend this

Bianca had just graduated from law school but her parents were to busy to come- her dad was a senator. They had sent the head of her father's security detail. Renee was Bianca’s best friend and roommate and stood on a chair to wave Bianca to her. Renee and her mother Victoria invited Bianca to lunch with them. Bianca had the same hairstyle since she was twelve Victoria took her for a new a short hairstyle. For twenty five years Bianca had tried to get her parents approval no matter what she did it wasn’t good enough. Renee went out that night to a party and wanted Bianca to go but she didn’t want to and the next morning the guy across the hall woke Bianca up to let her know Renee had been ‘a cab that a drunk driver hit and hadn’t made it. Bianca was crushed but knew Victoria would be worse. Bianca stayed to help Victoria any way she could. Victoria had paid the rent on Renee’s apartment for six months gave Bianca the key and told Bianca to stay and use it and gave Bianca the key. .Bianca said she was to turn to Texas on Monday and Victoria asked her if that was what she really wanted to do. Bianca decided to stay it was only six months and also decided she would finish Renee’s bucket list since she would never get a chance to now. One of the items was on the list was to buy the person behind you a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. When Bianca did this it ended up being a hot guy named Ian and not the business man she had originally seen when she turned around.

I loved this story. It was a story that grabbed you right from the beginning and held on until you read the last page. At times it was very sad and tears slid down my face- tribute to author. I felt like i was there with Bianca and Ian. But this all added to the story even the sadness. Bianca being a lap dog for her parents who really didn’t care for her but then she finally rebelled if only in a small way at first. Harley becoming Bianca’s new best friend was great too she needed Harley like she had needed Renee almost like a sister. Then the broken Ian who suffered so much. To see him come back too life was just outstanding. I loved the plot. I loved the characters, I loved the ins and outs of this story. I highly recommend.