BARED TO YOU

TITLE: BARED TO YOU

AUTHOR: SILVIA DAY

Pages: 300 (approx)

Date: 23/07/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 1 Crossfire

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“To call either of us virgins would be ridiculous, yet emotionally that was 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.”

Eva Tramell is in her twenties and starting a new job and new life in New York City. The very first time she enters the building where she will be working Eva runs into Gideon Cross, a handsome, powerful and intriguing man. A run in that has the atmosphere between them sparkling and leaves Eva breathless and worried.
It isn’t long before it becomes clear that Gideon is equally intrigued by and attracted to Eva and their very first night out together starts with a hot and passionate love-making session in his car. Unfortunately the evening ends with Eva leaving the function they were visiting together alone, in a hurry and without an explanation.
Both Eva and Gideon carry scars from the past; scars that seriously affect their day to day life and especially their ability to have meaningful relationships. They bring out the worst in each other; opening wounds that should remain sealed and drive them apart as much as they can’t stand to be separated.
Every time the two damaged individuals get together there is heat between them. They know how to satisfy each other in ways neither of them knew were possible, while at the same time the depth of their feelings for each other and the emotions their relationship unleashes scare them because of its power to destroy them.
Both Gideon and Eva will have to make adjustments, change long-standing habits and allow a new level of intimacy if their relationship is to stand a chance. Yet their pasts and fears are so close to the surface that a happy ending appears unlikely, if not impossible.
I really enjoyed this book. It is another work of erotic fiction but it is also more than that. Yes, there is a lot of sex in this book and it gets described in quite a lot of tantalizing detail. But those descriptions don’t get in the way of the overall story. A story about two damaged individuals struggling to come to terms with traumatic pasts in order to facilitate a happy future.
While Eva’s past is described in the book and explains a lot, if not all of her behaviour, the reader only gets small hints at what may or may not have caused Gideon’s pain. I guess that is a mystery that may be revealed in a future book. Both their pasts cause our two protagonists to behave in ways that are frustrating and infuriating. There were times I felt like screaming at them when one or the other was once again doing or saying something that was sure to undermine their relationship. Yet, because of the knowledge of their traumatic pasts I found myself able of cutting them more slack than I usually do with characters in romances.

Yes, there are obvious similarities with E.L. James’ Fifty Shades books. The (sexual) theme in this book may not be a BDSM relationship, but there are definite domination related overtones in this book. And, as in the James’ books we are dealing with protagonists who have issues that make a “normal” relationship hard to imagine.

On the other hand, the writing in this book is better and smoother than that which can be found in the Fifty Shades books.

And, I love what I found in the acknowledgements at the end of the book:

“To E.L. James, who wrote a story that captivated readers and created a hunger for more. You rocked it!”

In short I would call this a hot and intriguing love story with characters that are as fascinating as they are infuriating. A sure-fire way to get this reader hooked.