Review ~ My Name is Not Isla by Eliza Freed

Book Description:

A man can’t set you free—only you can.

Backstage and in front of the world, a vicious record executive rules over his kingdom and the perfect little doll he’s created. He pulls the strings and poses her under the lights, and in the cage of the public eye, she’ll remain, until one day . . . she takes flight.

Where she lands, only one man will know—the one who’s being paid to watch her. He’s a killer by trade, a lonesome soldier for hire. Clearly not a fan, he begrudgingly follows her. 

From the streets of New York to the coast of North Carolina, through the center of the country to a pot shop in Portland. The assignment is elementary and completely beneath him, until he finds himself teetering between love and obsession.

The public devours her.

Friends betray her.

Men try to possess her.

Every single one of them underestimates her.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/2nSzyJ0

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2nGt5Sb

Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 stars

“A man can’t set you free – only you can.”

Thanks to one of my fellow bloggers I discovered Eliza Freed last year and have been in love with her writing ever since, this is my fifth book by this author and I still have a few back-catalogue books to read too.

My Name is Not Isla is more a romantic suspense, action packed, fast paced and totally unputdownable. Our heroine, Isla is a singer at the top of her game, the worlds darling but all that fame comes with a huge cost. Our hero is ex-military and now in the field of protection and investigation, a trained assassin, his past is painful but this man is the consummate professional and is a man that never gives up.

“I feel like this is all a dream that I’m going to wake up from…and when I do, the reality is going to be a nightmare.”

Isla Monroe was brought into the celebrity world as a child, pushy parents and an even pushier, abusive manager. For years, her life has been front page news and directed by PR consultants who of course always know what is best for her, style, tours, stalkers, press, relationships…nothing is sacred and Isla is losing herself. Isla is drowning in the trappings of fame, a life that is no longer her own, she feels like a puppet and she has no control of the strings. Off the back of a world tour and with her life showing no signs of changing, Isla is determined to take her life back…but at what cost?

“Be careful with that, though. I’m all smoke and mirrors.”

Isla leaves it all behind, she is on the run, under cover, but her past is never far from her mind and it seems some people just never give up, especially when their meal ticket disappears and stalkers are not stalkers for nothing. This is a journey in more ways than one for Isla, a journey for independence and for taking control, of her life and her body but for what sacrifice?

Dalton is the man hired to find Isla, to bring her back, but Dalton is a man with a good nose. For Dalton, the situation he finds himself is not wanted, at all, but the more he sees of Isla, the more he knows nothing is at it seems. Dalton listens to his gut, he becomes Isla’s greatest ally but what happens when the lines blur between professionalism and love and could either of these two broken souls be capable of love anyways?

“I was paid to follow Isla Monroe…I was hired to follow her. I fell in love with Ida Malone.”

Eliza Freed delivers a heroine that you will be rooting for from the very beginning, her tenacity, inner strength and will to be herself were commendable and this was a heroine that I desperately wanted to see succeed. Eliza Feed delves into her past and it is not pretty, with snippets from the past cleverly woven into the present the picture being painted slowly starts to make sense and suddenly you the reader are drawn into the perilous situation that Isla finds herself in. I adored Isla in every situation, but the carefree Isla was a character that you definitely wanted to see more of. The slow build between Isla and Dalton was intoxicating and these two were a couple that you desperately wanted to make it. Both had been dealt a shit hand, but together they were invincible.

“He was beautiful braced above me, and I’d taken him for my own. He was my first mistake.”

This book had me frantically turning pages a mile a minute, the suspense was prevalent throughout and you always had that deep seated ill feeling within. I loved the way that this story slowly unravels and as an outsider looking in the build-up to the grand finale was heart stopping. Totally loved this one and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I’m not hiding. I’m seeking.”