Re-read of Bared To You (Crossfire) by Sylvia Day

In preparation to read Reflected In You (Crossfire #2) I read Bared To You again. I read Bared To You the first time in April 2012. It was actually one of the reasons I started this blog. I wanted to tell everyone how great I thought this book was. All the women who needed more Fifty Shades of Grey needed to read this book, and I wanted to let them know!

Since then, I have read so many books. So many trying to be the “next Fifty Shades” but this book still stands out as one of the best, and it is just as good as Fifty Shades, probably better. In the beginning, when the Grey books were fresh in my mind, I couldn’t help but compare the books, but now that distance and 100 other books have come between the first reading and now, my tune has changed.

Eva is in her early 20s. wealthy in her own right, and she has just moved to New York with her bisexual, male model best friend, Cary. The first day she checks out where her new job is housed, she literally bumps into the gorgeous young billionaire, Gideon Cross. Immediately sparks are flying and the attraction is incendiary. Gideon is clearly hot (Eva lets the reader know, often, throughout the book)

“He wasn’t just beautiful; he was….enthralling. 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.”…………

……….”The way he moved, with animal grace and arrogant economy, was a major turn-on. I couldn’t imagine him not fucking well and being aggressive about it, taking what he wanted in a way that made a woman wild to give it to him.”

Eva has had a fucked up past, but has been working through it with a therapist for a long time, in fact, that’s how she met Cary, her best friend.  With her past experiences she has a lot of hot buttons, and when Gideon hits them, Eva’s first inclination is to run. But Gideon follows. He is determined to get what he wants, and there is no escaping a man like him.

Gideon is the ultimate Alpha. Totally in control at all times, except when Eva makes him lose it. He is master of his universe, and totally fucked up as well. Though we never find out in this installment what his demons are, we know they are pretty bad. He is used to having women fall at his feet, but has never found himself willing to open up to any of them.  Until Eva. Gideon is gorgeous, tortured, controlling, jealous and totally in love with Eva. She has him completely undone.

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

“What do you want, Gideon?” I asked softly.
He caught me to him and cupped my cheek in one hand. “I want to keep feeling the way I feel when I’m with you. Just tell me what I have to do. And give me some room to screw up. I’ve never done this before. There’s a learning curve.”

The fact that they both have had a horrible past gives them an unbreakable bond. They both seem to get each other very well. Despite the fact that Eva tends to run, they have a very functional relationship when it comes to working things out. They are both willing to compromise (on many things, but not all) and look at how the other may see the situation. They even go to couples therapy together when the relationship is quite new.

“{This relationship} is going to be a lot of work, Gideon.” I warned him.
“I’m not afraid of work.” He was touching me restlessly, his hands sliding over my thighs and buttocks as if caressing my bare skin was as necessary to him as breathing. “I’m only afraid of losing you.”
I pressed my cheek to his. We completed each other. Even now, as his hands roamed possessively over me, I felt a thawing in my soul, the desperate relief of being held – finally – by the man who understood and satisfied my deepest, most intimate desires.”

Gideon is so fuckin hot, I swear I can feel my phone heating up as I read about him (or maybe that was me from the hot as hell sex scenes?) Yes, there is LOTS of great sex, Gideon is Dominant, Eva is submissive, but those themes were only touched upon. There was no bondage or pain, just control and trust. Gideon, despite my reading about 100 other swoon-worthy alphas since then, has remained at the top of my list (see my Facebook or pinterest to see my Gideon photos)

Likes:

• Gideon was WOW.
• Eva was very likable, and I enjoyed reading about a strong character like her.
• I liked Cary a lot.
• The sexual tension throughout the entire book was off the charts.

Dislikes:

• Too much use of the word “cleft” and “spurting” (eeew, I hate that word)

Rating: 5++++++ Stars, 5 for Heat One of the best of the year!

Though Gideon and Eva’s relationship is a highly sexual one, and they solve a few too many problems with sex, their sexual connection is almost how they communicate their thoughts, feelings and intense connection. Their dark pasts and crazy chemistry give them a bond that I can’t wait to read more about in Reflected In You.

Please see my original review of Bared To You here.

Please see the Crossfire series reading order here.

Purchase Bared To You by Sylvia Day at: Amazon || BN.com || iBooks

Purchase Reflected In You (Crossfire #2): Amazon || BN.com || iBooks

Other posts with this book:

• My Favorite Books of 2012
• What to read after Fifty Shades of Grey
• Favorite Dom/sub romances
• A Dozen Top Books for Summer
• Top 6 books of the first 6 months of 2012

What do you think? Have you re-read this? Was it better the second time?