REVIEW: Bared to You by Sylvia Day

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Series: Corssfire #1
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: May 24, 2012
Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository

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…

WARNING: 

Due to the nature of the story, this book is intended for mature audiences only (18 and up).

I am picky about my erotica reads because this genre delicately straddles the lines of art and porn. Sex after all is one of the most basic acts and it depends on one’s preference but I like mine romantic and primal with a touch of dirty. At the same time the story has to pull me in, it has to be well-written and I should be able to have an emotional connection with it. BARED TO YOU by Sylvia Day is

Wow. Just… Wow

Using her own words, this is how I’d summarize this novel. But first let me set some expectations before you put this side by side with Fifty, the current benchmark for Mommy Porn. If you have an aversion to BDSM themed novels, breathe easy because it’s nonexistent in this. There are references to Dom/Sub but it’s in relation to the dynamics of the relationship than the sexual act. I guess the only “shock factor” is the menage the quatre somewhere but it doesn't involve the main characters.

Going back to the story, this is MY kind of smexy, it’s smart, sensual, emotionally jagged and brilliantly written, a tender erotic romance as one Teresa Medeiros said in her review. The sex is as good as the story and THAT’S how I like my brand of dirty served, and if there’s a story or a heroine that I want to hijack it would be Eva's!

All your needs, Eva, are mine to fulfill. Whatever it costs me. 

First of all the names Eva and Gideon, to me, connotes primal and biblical and incidentally that’s an apt description for their attraction and relationship. These two operated on basic instinct without any inhibitions, just a pure surrender to their feelings and the call of their loins! Eva and Gideon are everything that’s good and perfect on paper: the former is a millionaire, the latter a billionaire (14B to be exact), genetically gifted, intelligent, young and virile and deliciously damaged! These two combined with the setting and jacked up secondary characters make one perfect storm that can only end in gut-wrenching emotional conflicts and earth-shattering make up sex. 

Are you kidding? I scowled. Listen to yourself. Why even call it a fuck? Why not be clear and call it a seminal emission in a pre-approved orifice? 

Go spend time with a woman who salivates at your feet and makes you feel like a god. Fuck her until neither of you can walk.

Eva Lauren Tramell is a freak and she’s my kind of girl! She is cunning, strong headed, brazen, a go-getter and refuses to be dominated and her world doesn't revolve around Gideon. I love that she speaks her mind and doesn’t easily surrender despite her history of abuse. What really impressed me was when Gideon first propositioned to her, my reaction would've been the exact same thing given the same circumstances. I would tell Gideon to shove it, ask a million questions, process it before I throw all caution to the wind. Eva is her own woman, she will play but not on his terms but under conditions they both agree on, she will submit to him only if she gets her end of the bargain.

Well, duh. You’re gorgeous, sexy and very well-hung 
I’m glad you approve. I’m also extremely worthy.

As for Gideon Cross he reminds me of the legendary Samson with his flowing black hair and alpha stance. Garbed in custom tailored suits and signature casual looks that can make any girl's knees go week, he is a FORCE and even the most frigid of women will not be able to resist his pull. He is sexy and a giver in bed, he oozes sex from his pores and I believe only a fictional woman can measure up to him. As Eva describes him: he was the kind of guy that made a woman want to rip his shirt open and watch the buttons scatter along with her inhibitions. But Gideon has some effed up ghosts of his own which I surmise will top Eva's back story. I am anxious to discover what demons lurk in Gideon's dreams that elicits such strong reactions from him and had him put up walls against his family, I'm guessing trauma will be an understatement.

Oh, Eva. He rubbed his cheek against my damp face. I must’ve wished for you so hard and often so you had no choice but to come true.

Eva, don’t let me blow this. Don’t let me chase you away.

But what I found truly captivating is the way Gideon worships Eva both literally and figuratively and how Eva doesn't let him get off his errors easily. This story feels so organic to me, despite the ridiculous amount of money these two shared between them and their impossible good looks, their connection is intense and something most of us can all relate to, there is a good sense of balance in their relationship that feels familiar and transcendent. Even the secondary characters have their own brand of damage to bring to the table from Eva's bisexual friend, Cary, to Gideon's brother, Christopher Vidal Jr., and every other person that crossed their paths. We are in for a ride with this story!

Can't wait for Crossfire two!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I am a HUGE fan of E.L James Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. It seems Fifty Shades and Christian Grey were the only things I liked to tweet about since I finished reading the series. You could say that reading James’s erotica series opened the flood gates to my recent obsession with reading more erotic novels. Since finishing Fifty Shades Freed in March, I was on the hunt for the next book that would satisfy my need for a thrilling and overtly sensual read. Well, I am happy to report to you that THIS.IS.IT. Sylvia Day’s Bared to You was extremely well-written, passionate, engaging, and kept me up till the very early morning hours. 

“He’s hot, rich, and wants to jump your bones. What’s the problem?” 

I’ve read a few of Sylvia’s short novellas in the past but by far this is my favorite from her catalog of work. Sylvia Day is a magnificent storyteller and she had me blushing and biting my lip after reading some of the sizzling love scenes in Bared to You. This book was dark, gritty, emotional, intense, compelling, overtly sensual and I loved every bit of it. I was so blown away by how she kept the story compelling from beginning to end. The passionate love story between Eva and Gideon was such an emotional roller coaster that I did not want the ride to end. These two were a serious HOT MESS but I couldn't help myself from being enamored by their presence.

“To call either one of us virgins would be ridiculous, yet emotionally that’s just what we were. Fumbling in the dark and too eager, completely out of our depths and self-conscious, trying to impress and missing all the subtle nuances.” 

The characters were raw, intense, damaged and complicated which is what makes this Bared to You such a great read. Without giving too many spoilers away I will state that both the hero and heroine lived through and survived serious physical and sexual abuse during their younger years. Those tragic events definitely had a major impact in their lives and they both still suffer from the lingering emotional effects. They each struggled with their own personal demons, insecurities, and pain from the past. Both being victims of sexual abuse, Eva and Gideon both desired to have as much control as possible. These two were seriously effed up in the head that it makes sense that they found each other and some ways heal each of their wounds.

“This is what I’d wanted from the moment I first saw him – 

to possess him, to climb up his magnificent body and take him deep inside me.”

Eva Tramell was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting her to be comfortable in her skin and well, not be a virgin. When I'd read forums and threads suggesting Fifty Shades of Grey fans to read this book, I was expecting some virginal heroine who would have her world turned upside down by the addictive billionaire. Even with Gideon's huge presence I appreciated the fact that Eva wasn't average girl plucked obscurity and thrown in the world of champagne and caviar dreams. She's a woman who grew up with money so I didn't have to sit there and read about how she was blown away by Gideon's money and extravagant lifestyle. But even though she lived a privileged life she wasn't some whiny rich girl. It was refreshing see a heroine know what she wanted in a relationship in and outside of the bedroom. 

“He was pure primal male, the embodiment of everything I coveted, 

fantasized about, and wished for.”

Now to my favorite part of the book, Gideon Cross. All I can say is that the man is an enigma and a calamity. He's the type of guy that women should run away from but just can't help themselves to be attracted to him. If you're a Christian Grey fan and thought he was one fucked up piece of work then I'd like for you to meet Gideon Cross. He's seriously some stiff competition against Christian Grey when it comes to being obsessive, domineering, volatile, and stalkerish. As much as I should have been offended by his crude and offensive approach, that guy just oozed sexy Alpha male. His domeneering personality didn't overshadow his vulnerability and insecurities. Even though he could be such a crazy hardass, Gideon adored Eva and tried his best to make her understand that she just wasn't some f**ck buddy. I could gush on and on about his bedroom skills and his desire to give his partner the best sexual pleasures. Just thinking about him right now is making me blush and squirm in my seat. I LOVE YOU GIDEON even though you're one sick bastard who has some really effed up dreams. 

For Fifty Shades of Grey fans, Bared to You is definitely one book you must read. Eva and Gideon's story does bare similarities to Christian and Ana but the setting and incredible well rounded and equally damaged secondary characters gives this story an edge. I liked that fact that Eva wasn't scared to be in bed with Gideon. No fears of flogging, whipping, caning or anal fisting.  With Fifty Shades, Ana always had that lingering fear of Christian physically hurting her. With Gideon and Eva, it is was all about fulfilling their intense sexual desires. These two simply sizzled together. This book was more than a 5 Star read. I feel awful saying this but Christian Grey, I've been cheating on you with Gideon Cross and I don't know if I ever want to leave him. Book two in the series seriously needs to come out sooner.