Review: Bared to You - Sylvia Day

Our journey began in fire...

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily...

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds... and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...

Crossfire Series:
Bared to You (2nd Read Review)
Reflected in You
Entwined with You
Captivated by You
One with You

Visit Sylvia Day's website for more information.

Review:
I don't normally like to compare books in my reviews because I prefer to look at them on their own merit but because this was recommended for fans of Fifty Shades of Grey I'm going to make a comparison this time. I'm one of those people who ended up completely addicted to FSoG, I had a lot of problems with the writing style - the constant repetitions, the bad grammar and the poor editing to name a few - but I could not put it down and devoured the entire trilogy in record time.

I needed something to fill the FSoG shaped hole in my life and Bared to You was highly recommended. It is another book that was originally self published by the author and has now been picked up by a major publishing house after it became a big hit on Amazon and there is no doubt in my mind that it will appeal to FSoG fans. In my opinion Bared to You is a million times better that FSoG in a lot of ways - Sylvia Day's writing is so much better, there are no conversations with the inner goddess that made me want to scream, I liked Eva a lot more than Ana and the sex scenes are much hotter. So you'd rightfully be thinking that I'd recommend the story to FSoG fans.

However, I can't say I found it quite as addictive as FSoG. Yes, I devoured Bared to You. Yes, I stayed up until 5am in the morning because I couldn't but it down. Yes, I am definitely going to be reading the next two books in the series. Yes, I did fall for Gideon but I don't love him quite as much as I love Christian. Perhaps that will change as I get to know him better throughout the next two books but we'll have to wait and see. I still can't stop thinking about FSoG even though it has been nearly two months since I finished reading it and I don't know what I would have done with myself if the next two books hadn't been available for me to devour immediately afterwards. While I'm excited that I only have to wait until October for Reflected in You that wait isn't going to kill me. I have to say that I love both books as much as each other but in different ways, neither FSoG or Bared to You is perfect but they are both compelling and not to be missed.

One of the things I liked most about Bared to You was the fact that Eva and Gideon are both as messed up as each other. They both have terrible issues from their pasts that have deeply effected the way they behave in the present. This seems much more realistic to me and I like the fact that they are both going to have to deal with their past and make changes to their attitudes if they want to have a chance at a successful relationship. This isn't a case of one person having to "fix" the other, it's a case of two deeply hurt individuals who might have a chance at healing each others pain and working towards a happy future together.

As much as I loved the email exchanges between Ana and Christian in FSoG I loved the banter between Eva and Christian even more. I love the way she is adult enough to stand up to him face to face or over the phone. She is no simpering virgin but rather someone who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. Gideon is very possessive and should come with a stalker warning, especially at the beginning of the story, but Eva won't put up with any of his crap and in her own way she behaves just as badly at times with her own jealousy problems. Gideon is rich, powerful and successful, sexy as sin as well as dark and dangerous - I don't know many women who wouldn't find themselves attracted to him. The chemistry between him and Eva is intense and the pages literally sizzle when they are in a room together. Their journey may not be an easy one but you feel like they have something worth fighting for.

If you're looking for a scorching hot contemporary erotic story with a gritty romance between two damaged people then I'd highly recommend Bared to You. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next instalment and in the meantime I'm definitely planning on checking out some of Sylvia Day's other books.

Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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