Ever since recently discovering how well done Lisa Jackson's mystery/thriller/suspense novels are, as soon as I saw this advance reader copy of "You'll find Out" available by request on Netgalley, I was so eager to get to read it, that I didn't fully read the description, so when I started reading it, I was quite surprised to find out that this wasn't what I was expecting. Instead, this is a compilation of two of her earlier novels, The Shadow of Time and Gypsy Wind, which are both second chance at love romances with a bit of mystery thrown in, so I'd classify them as romantic suspense novels, both of which I'd give 2 stars.

The Shadow of Time features recently widowed Mara, and her adorable, outspoken daughter. She, married her late husband when she was pregnant by the man she loved, Shane, whose death overseas she'd been mourning for the past 4 years. Mara is about to get the surprise of her life when Shane shows up at her door, and as soon as he learns that Mara's daughter is also his daughter, he wants her, however, Mara first wants an explanation of where he's been for the past 4 years, and why, if he was alive, he didn't come back to her--warning: you've got a very long wait before you find out the reason. To say that I disliked Shane from his first appearance to his last in this novel is putting it mildly. I found him to be selfish, pigheaded, manipulative, short-tempered, and overbearing. I find it very hard to enjoy a novel when I dislike the supposed hero, who was no hero in my eyes.

The second novel, Gypsy Wind, also brought up issues for me. I love horses, and Gypsy Wind is the name of the titular horse in this novel. She's a thoroughbred race horse, sister to her owner's previous thoroughbred and Triple Crown winner, Sentimental Lady, who had to be put down after being secretly drugged, falling, and shattering one of her legs beyond repair. Becca, Gypsy Wind's owner also had a surprise coming because coming back into her life is her previous lover, multi-millionaire, Brig Chambers, who waffles back and forth about whether or not Gypsy Wind, a filly, should try to run against the colts, the same situation that cost Sentimental Lady her life. I found Brig Chambers to be just as emotionally manipulative as Shane is the previous novel. The mystery here is who drugged Sentimental Lady 6 years earlier? It was no mystery to this reader, who nailed the "who" in whodunit immediately. Combining that with my belief that horseracing is a cruel way to treat any animal, saying that I was not a fan of this story is putting it mildly.

If you're a fan of romantic suspense novels, you may enjoy this duet more than I did, but if you're looking to be deeply involved in one of Ms. Jackson's excellent thrillers, I advise against reading this one.

As stated, I read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated here are my own.

Not for me.. which was disappointing. I was really intrigued at the beginning of the first book, but the back and forth between Mara and Shane was just awful. I thought this was going to be different than what it was and I just felt miserable reading it.

I still don’t understand what happened in this first story. I ended up skimming through the second story, which is not something I’m proud of or like to do. 1/5 stars, I’m just glad it’s over.

The Shadow of Time: Mara has just buried her husband and now must deal with the company that he owned, Inspiration Toys. The company has been losing business and she is also concerned for her mother-in-law’s health. When a man from the company that is pressuring her to sell arrives at her office, she is stunned to see Shane Kennedy. Shane is the father of her daughter Angie, but she was told that he had been killed four years ago. She understands Shane’s anger that she had married someone else, but why hadn’t he let her know that he was alive? He explains that he did send letters, which she never received, but why didn’t he approach her before now? I felt no sympathy for Shane’s character as I found him to be too argumentative and unreasonable. I felt empathy for Mara’s character as all the pressure was on her to make things right. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

This reprinting was not to my taste. Lisa Jackson one of my favorite authors but these stories just didn’t click for me. My tastes are more mystery thriller and these stories were more romance with a mystery element.

This is a pair of older and fairly short novels of romantic suspense. They aren't really mysteries or thrillers but if you haven't read them, they're entertaining (if a bit dated.) Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book is a pair of Lisa Jackson's short stories.

In The Shadow of Time, after four long years, Mara has come to accept losing Shane, her boyfriend, in a tragic bombing overseas. She finds out that he is alive and he’s back, mad that she didn’t wait for him, and determined to claim his daughter. But Mara isn’t the only one shocked by his return, and someone will do whatever it takes to make sure things do not go well for them.

In Gypsy Wind, since the scandal that almost destroyed her family horse farm, Becca has tried to keep her feelings for Brig Chambers in check. His accusations have already cost her so much. There is as much desire between them as there is distrust, which blinds them both to an enemy that’s never gone away.

Great short stories b y Lisa Jackson.
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This is two books in one of previously released Lisa Jackson novels - and I had never read either of them. It's a bonus to get both! Lisa Jackson

Description:
Just when you think you’re safe from the past, it finds you. It’s as true in life as it is in fiction, and it’s been a favorite theme of mine from my earliest novels, including these two classic novels, The Shadow of Time and Gypsy Wind, now gathered in one volume with a gorgeous new cover and title. Mara Wilcox and Becca Peters both tried to leave danger behind them. And both thought they’d succeeded . . . until now.

After four long years, Mara has come to accept losing Shane in a tragic bombing overseas. Inexplicably, he’s back, mad as hell that she didn’t wait for him, and determined to claim his daughter. But Mara isn’t the only one shocked by his return, and someone will do whatever it takes to make sure there are no new beginnings.

Ever since the scandal that almost destroyed her family horse farm, Becca has tried to keep her feelings for Brig Chambers reined in. His accusations already cost her so much. Yet there’s as much desire between them as there is distrust—enough to blind them both to an enemy that’s never gone away.

My Thoughts:
This was categorized as "thriller", but I found both books to be more of the romance type of book. There was some mystery to each story, but nothing I would call a thriller, and Lisa Jackson is well-known as a mystery and thriller writer. Both books were good and filled with lots of drama. Both books portrayed love, loss, betrayal and second chance romances. I enjoyed both of them and would recommend them to my friends who like romance.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing | Zebra through Netgalley for an advance copy.

If you are looking for a relaxing mystery to dive into this isn't it. It is two shorter stories (each about half the book). Both stories are about a guy and a gal and there is a great deal of emotional tension between them. They had each met before and something went wrong and they have been separated for a couple of years. They have been reconnected and have to figure out what went wrong and do they have a future.

It isn't relaxing, it isn't a whodunit, both are pretty good stories.

You’ll Find Out contains two seperate stories that were published in the 80’s. Shadow of Time and Gypsy Wind. They both were pretty good, but weren’t my favorite. They both were definitely not thrillers and were mainly romance. I’ve read a lot of Lisa Jackson’s books and have loved most of them, but I prefer thrillers more than romance. They both had a pretty good storylines, but I liked Shadow of Time a little more. Gypsy Wind was about horse racing and I found it a bit boring.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

It was a mostly quick read. It is 2 books wrapped into one and neither having anything to do with the other. The writing is good but these weren’t favorites for me. It was like reading a hallmark tv show but in a story. Very predictable…

You'll Find Out by Lisa Jackson is a recommended collection of two of her previously published romance novels, The Shadow of Time and Gypsy Wind. This is probably better suited for and will be appreciated more by readers who enjoy romance novels. When I see Lisa Jackson's name I'm looking for one of her suspense novels. For me she is a go-to author for novels of suspense, mysteries, and thrillers. These are well-written, but not one of my usual genres.

In The Shadow of Time, Mara, a new widow, has her true love Shane reappear. When she was pregnant, she had been told he was dead and ended up marrying another man. Now Shane is back and still wants her and his newly discovered daughter but someone is determined to sabotage their reunion.

Gypsy Wind follows Becca and her family's horse farm. Becca and Brig Chambers have a history and still both desire and distrust each other equally. This creates a tense atmosphere when he is back in her life and the past and present clash.

Romance readers might want to give this a try. Those looking for one of Jackson's thrillers can skip it. Thanks to Zebra for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

40/100 or 2.o stars

I was hoping this would work, since Jackson is a popular author with a lot of books out, but it absolutely did not work. I really can't read books where the main female protagonist has no agency and gives into a man just for the sake of the plot. I read other reviews on Goodreads to see what the reviews were saying, and all the two stars showed the same problem I was having while reading this. I did my best to read as much as I could of the first story, but I just couldn't do it. I DNF'd at 12%
The writing itself and the writing style was good, so I would be interested in giving Jackson another chance in the future.

~2 books in 1~
~This review is for both books~

I did not enjoy these books at all. There were also different plots happening within the main plot of the story. This combined with the narrators frequently changing disturbed the flow of the book. Jewell’s depiction of the female main characters in these stories is cause for concern. They are written as weak women that are unable to “save themselves” and need the help of the male main characters (whom often leave a lot to be desired, bordering on abusive). They give in easily to their physical desires without holding their male counterparts accountable for their behavior or speaking their truth. I don’t think this is the message we should be sending to women let alone young female readers. There were also enough spelling and grammatical errors within the stories that it was distracting while reading. Unfortunately, these are not the type of stories I would recommend given the depiction of women and men. In the past, I have enjoyed Jewell’s books but this is not one of them.

Known for her mystery and thriller novels, I wasn't expecting a romance novel from the author. In You'll Find Out, the book is a compilation of two different romance novels. And I didn't see the point of combining the two into a single book.

The narratives follow the second chance romance trope, and they didn't give any warm and fuzzy feelings. It just felt too sterile for me. And the characters were not at all likable. They were all so wishy-washy which was a little frustrating for me.

Maybe this was a one off for me so I'll still continue to seek out other novels from this author. Two okay stars for this particular novel.

I received a DRC from Kensington Publishing through NetGalley. This review is my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

No I won’t find out because I didn’t finish reading it. Lost interest early on my add might be to blame lol

I couldn’t even make it through the first story in this set. The characters didn’t feel like they had that much chemistry and frankly this story did not age well. MMC felt like an aggressive asshole and the MFC was acting like she was in the 50s not the 80s. This does make the style of the romances written in the 80s but at this point we should leave them there.

Thank you NetGally for an early copy.

I didn't realize this was a two story collection of previously published works. The stories involve second chances. There were a good many highly detailed sexual scenes that I started to skip through because the didn't add to the story at all. I honestly felt a dislike for a few of the characters. The main character females are completely caught up in the past, lamenting losing the one that got away.

This might be more for people who really enjoy romance. While I felt they were as good as any other romance book, they really weren't for me.

You’ll Find Out is really two older books brought back in one volume, The Shadow of Time and Gypsy Wind. Both are good reads about second chances and the complexity of family.

This is a combo book of two previously published short stories! Being short stories, there isn't a lot of story to either one, but you get enough to enjoy and try out this author's excellent writing style. Definitely a recommended duo!

This is a republish of two short stories previously published. Not too much to write about, was ok. I generally like this author and I should have looked into it more before requesting.