Bared to You

by Sylvia Day

Crossfire (1)

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Day comes the first novel in the Crossfire series—a provocative masterstroke of abandon and obsession that redefined the meaning of desire, and became a global phenomenon.

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness...
 
He was 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 show more 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...
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PaulineMontford Both books share the same erotic intensity and life-affirming sensuality.

Member Reviews

203 reviews
This one completely pulled me in. I gave it 5 stars because it had everything I love in an intense, emotional romance. It’s messy, passionate, complicated, and honestly? I couldn’t stop reading. The chemistry between the characters is insane. Like, from the second they meet, the tension is off the charts, and it doesn’t let up.

What I really loved about this book is that it’s not just steamy for the sake of being steamy. There’s so much emotional depth. Both main characters are dealing with heavy stuff, and their relationship reflects that. It’s not perfect, and it’s not always healthy, but it feels real. You can tell they’re trying, even when they don’t know how, and that made it way more impactful than I expected.

This show more book is for anyone who loves romance with edge, where the love story is intense, raw, and a little chaotic, but full of heart. It’s not light or fluffy, but if you’re into emotional rollercoasters, complicated people, and stories that make you feel a little wrecked in the best way, definitely read this. I’m obsessed and can’t wait to dive into the rest of the series. show less
Oh this book....so many different thoughts and feelings. Eva and Gideon are so screwed up. But that is what makes you want to root for their relationship so much more. They both bring issues from severely messed up family situations into the relationship. It is a wonderful experience to see them work through these issues in their own way. Sometimes I found myself wanting to reach through the book and smack them at times. However, that is what makes me drawn to the characters even more. At times I hated them...hated the choices they made, what they said. But at the same time, it's what made me drawn to them even more.

A lot of the sex scenes are unrealistic, but hey, it's a fantasy novel...what do you expect.

There are some qualms I had show more with this book, but overall I found myself not being able to put it down. show less
An erotic romance between two people with trauma in their pasts who find some kind of solace in each other. Someone described this (negatively) somewhere as *relationship drama* *sex* *relationship drama* *sex* over and over, and my reaction was, "Yes? Is erotic romance? What were you expecting, a jewel heist?" But now I've finished it, I sort of see what they mean. It's not, maybe, that I wanted more than the sex and relationship drama (I mean, don't order Cheerios and then be peeved that they aren't Corn Flakes when they come), but maybe that there could have been more to it?

Some romance novels I read and I feel like the author is really getting at something about human beings or love or sex or relationships in the story, that the show more reader will come away from the book knowing something they didn't know before or understanding something in a new way. And others feel a bit, okay, "I'll take this problem for the heroine from Column A, and that issue for the hero from Column C, and let's make the sex kinky, and right, the mother's controlling, and hmm I'll give the hero this high profile profession from List 12, and the heroine this related but not at all glamorous profession from List 7, toss, and go!" Which, hey, is probably a pretty effective way of getting the bones of a story down and carrying on. But I don't want it to feel that way when I read it. This is personal preference more than anything else, I guess, but I like stories to feel like discoveries, like the characters revealed themselves to the author, not like the author picked a bunch of traits and stuck them together and ran with it. Whatever the process actually was, I'm happiest when it feels like discovery to me when I read. And this didn't.

Don't get me wrong--it was entertaining enough, and it does what it does pretty well, and I *am* probably going to read the next one because I *do* want to know what happens. But I'm a little bit grumpy about it.
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½
So I needed a little mindless reading, and this fit the bill.

It is definitely similar to 50 Shades of Grey, except that there are no inner goddesses doing the samba or whatever nonsense. Plus I liked the character of Eva more than I liked Ana. And there was even more dysfunction, which is normally something that I like.

This book was a train wreck romance in every sense. Eva was repeatedly raped by her stepbrother when she was younger, even getting pregnant, though she didn't realize it until she was having a miscarriage. Gideon was apparently raped as well, although there are few details and neither the reader nor Eva know who is responsible.

So I am normally all for two damaged people getting together and discovering sexual healing, but show more Gideon is a creep. He stalks Eva repeatedly. He knows her roommate's name, the gym she attends, etc, etc. At first Eva is understandably repulsed by this, but then she just kind of shrugs and dismisses it as him being protective of her. Umm how about no. That is not being protective. That is being a creepy asshole.

They are both insanely jealous when the other is talking to someone else. They are completely obsessed with one another, and this entire book takes place over the span of two weeks. By the time the book is over, they are saying they love one another and buying each other promise rings and all sorts of crazy shit. Oh honey, no.

And yet this book is so damned readable! I just kept wondering how much worse the "romance" would get. And it did get worse.

I felt much like I did when reading "Beautiful Disaster" - the romance is creepy as hell, but I just couldn't look away.
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Good god, how can Groundhog Day with abs go on for 300+ pages? I was snorting with laughter for most of the bumpy journey, but the icing on the cake was the readers' discussion guide at the end. Excellent beach or rainy day read.
Sex is simple. Affection is dangerous. And love... all kinds of trouble. And Eva & Gideon have all but cornered the market on trouble. They're two sides of the same double faced coin & can go rounds on the issues train. They pushed & pulled each other like it was sport. Triggers & defense mechanisms with a huge dose of cut & run. As a reader, I loved them but damn it if they weren't exhausting!

I very much liked Eva as a character. She's a woman I can root for. She was witty, comfortable with her sexuality & even when she was making mistakes, she was honest enough not to delude herself that she was wholly right. She had no problem setting boundaries with Gideon but she also owned her physical attraction & wanton lust for him. Fantastic. show more Nothing annoys me more than a heroine that is wishy-washy & confused about her wants & needs. Eva had no problem calling Gideon an asshat & flipping him off as she walked away. She loves Gideon but it's not to the exclusion & eclipse of herself or her emotional well-being. She also displayed her own deep & overwhelming vulnerabilities, so she had my heart. Though, she could have stood to have mentioned his perfection of looks a lot less. It struck me as a bit juvenile an obsession for an otherwise aware woman. Especially since she is seeking more than a physical & surface connection with Gideon. I don't mind her acknowledging his hotness but reiterating it every time they had a moment together was a bit tedious.

Gideon initially struck me as definitely hiding behind a facade. I was sure he was a hot mess of insecurity wrapped up in some wicked crazy. I know he's supposed to be all "alpha" but those types generally offered in popular fiction translate in my mind as overcompensating & insecure when they break out the stalker behavior & veiled (& not so veiled) threats to the object of their obsession. Desperate doesn't register as sexy & infinitely shaggable to me. And I also don't find that "heroine in actual fear of hero" thing a trope that hits high on the hot quotient. So I needed more time to see if Gideon would be that type. Happily, he wasn't that guy, though he definitely was insecure & bringing his own Cross brand of crazy to the party. Lucky for him, Eva matches him in the epic mood swing department, so I didn't mind watching them unfurl on each other. He also displayed real affection for Eva & seemed to freely admit when he messed thing up. I can't hate a man who is willing to apologize for his stupidity.

They both have for real problems of the life-time scarring & sometimes emotionally paralytic variety. I just loved that they were going to give a real relationship a go, even with their own private, unspoken trepidation. I'm a sucker for hope against the odds. Together they're emotional, damaged, desperate, jealous & needy. What is infinitely fascinating is watching them try to be better than those aspects of their personalities & overcome them to be better people. Because in the end, they do want to be the best person they can be for themselves & the other person. I love that. There's no "I'll fix you" from either of them. It's more a "I'll help you". No matter what else is going on they have a parity that I very much like.

What am I forgetting? Oh, yes. The sex. They have it. They have a lot of it. They talk about it like adults. It's explicit & not even close to kinky. It's hot. They have good banter. While they often used sex as a sedative & reliable means of communication instead of opting to use their words for important conversations, I was just glad they were getting moments of mind-numbing, coma-inducing sex. It gave them breaks between obsessing, self-loathing slips & other states of mania. I have to buy into both the characters singly & as a couple to care about the sex they're having & this book didn't disappoint. Oddly though, the things I highlighted on my Kindle weren't their sex scenes. I was most moved & intrigued by their other interactions. I'm hoping there's more of them working through their issues with Dr Petersen & verbally with one another in the next installment.

Rounding out the inner-sanctum looped group in Eva's life are her mother & bff Cary. Cary has some of the best lines in the book but the way we're left with his story has me worried that when we resume, he'll be found in some derelict part of town or a dumpster. I'm a bit anxious for him.

I know this is a high recommendation for fans of the formerly Twilight-fan-fiction, Fifty Shades series, but as a chica who has not read that series (but loves a good romance/erotica), I can say without reservation that Bared to You was a great read & fascinating glimpse at these characters. This was totally worth stepping out of my usual historical fiction romance/erotica genre & into a contemporary. I definitely look forward to the next installment in this series as I quite need to know how they'll fare & I'm desperate to get more into the depths of these characters. I'm so rooting for them.
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Book Nook — Young Adult book reviews

The first thing I noticed about Bared to You was that the writing is phenomenal! This is one of those books where I feel like I need to quote every other line because they're all loaded with power, meaning, and intensity! And on top of that, the dialogue was hilarious! The main character Eva is brilliantly witty and her lines in particular had me cracking up!

Since the synopsis doesn't really tell you much about the plot of the book, I'll go over it briefly. The story is about 24-year-old Eva. She moves to New York City to be closer to her wealthy mother and stepfather. She starts a new job and that's where she meets Gideon—an extremely wealthy, young bachelor. At first, he's only interested in show more sex, but he becomes so captivated by Eva that he wanders into the unknown: an exclusive relationship. But both Eva and Gideon have demons and traumatic pasts that threaten to tear them apart.

So it sounds very Fifty Shades of Grey, right? Well, it's about a million times better. I feel like Bared to You is what Fifty Shades of Grey should have been. It has the same plot elements: controlling billionaire changes his playboy ways and falls in love with girl. But Bared to You is hot, passionate, sexy—NOT disturbing—, emotionally devouring, beautifully written, and all kinds of incredible... everything Fifty Shades wasn't (for me).

You know what my favourite part is about Bared to You? Eva isn't a blubbering idiot. She's not some silly naïve girl who says two words and just lays back while some controlling guy fucks her. No. She takes control. She's witty, extremely intelligent, funny, and has a controlling interest in the relationship. Hell, the first time they had sex, she was on top. She initiated it. And even from the way Eva speaks, you can tell she's intelligent. She certainly knows how to hold her own amidst some playful banter.

"I'll be sure to clear my schedule by five." He resumed eating, completely at ease with the fact that we'd both just penciled mind-blowing sex into our mental day calendars.
—Page 121, Bared to You


Eva and Gideon had both the most dysfunctional and most functional relationship I've ever read. Both these people are broken. They have dark, hidden pasts that haunt them day and night. For Eva, it means her self esteem is broken and shattered. For Gideon, it means he craves control and power. Put these two broken beings together and you get an intense, passionate chaos. But on the other hand, this is one of the few relationships I've read about where the couple actually communicates. Imagine that! They don't play games with each other. If one of them is pissed off, they'll say, "I don't like seeing you with another girl. It makes me jealous and uncomfortable." If Eva gets frustrated and leaves, Gideon gets upset and says, "I don't like it when you run away. It makes me feel broken and alone." PEOPLE, THEY'RE COMMUNICATING!!

"We don't fight, angel. We just have to learn not to scare the hell out of each other."
—Page 248, Bared to You


Eva and Gideon voice their opinions, fears, hopes, dreams, frustrations, and anything else on their mind! If they're feeling it, they say it. They talk about going to couples therapy to work through their issues together. They sit down and have heart-to-heart talks. They work out the kinks in their relationship. So sure, Gideon may be a bit of a crazy, power-hungry control freak and Eva may have severe jealousy and self-esteem problems, but they know they have those issues and they work them out like a proper couple. Most of the time in books, the couple just plays mind games with each other and expects the other person to be a mind reader. This is not the case in Bared to You! Talk about refreshing.

And if it wasn't obvious, this book was HOT. Freaking hot. Unbelievably hot. One of the most intensely hot books I've read in a while.. and that's saying something!

Romance isn't in my repertoire, Eva. But a thousand ways to make you come are. Let me show you.
—Page 42, Bared to You


Despite my intense enjoyment of this book, I do have two issues, both centered around the fact that Bared to You felt more like a "part one" of one book rather than the first book in a series. There were a few things that were introduced in the book that never really got resolved. We meet Gideon's family, but nothing develops with them. We learn that Gideon clearly has some abuse or trauma in his past, but he never comes forward about it. It would have been okay if at least Eva made some sort of official declaration of acceptance of the fact that Gideon wasn't ready to talk about it, but I felt like the whole issue was just ignored. And finally, I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. It wasn't bad, but I feel like it literally just got cut off mid-book. There wasn't an epic showdown or a huge resolution of some kind.

I'm sure all my issues will be addressed in the second book, but I feel like there still should have been more of a wrap-up in Bared to You.

Even so, this book was absolutely phenomenal. It was hot, sexy, emotional, intense, gritty, dark, and absolutely mind-blowing! It's safe to say I'm running out to buy the next book—Reflected in You—immediately!
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Author Information

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83+ Works 19,009 Members
Sylvia June Day is an American writer who grew up in Orange County, California. She also writes under the pseudonyms S. J. Day and Livia Dare. Her novels span the romance and fantasy genres. Her work has appeared on multiple bestsellers lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington show more Post. She is the author of the popular Renegade Angels Series and the Crossfire Series. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Sylvia Day is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.

Some Editions

Boide, Alexandre (Translator)
Redfield, Jill (Narrator)

Awards and Honors

Series

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Bared to You
Original title
Bared to You
Original publication date
2012-04-03
People/Characters
Gideon Cross; Eva Tramell; Cary Taylor; Magdalene Perez; Mark Garrity; Christopher Vidal (show all 9); Ireland Vidal; Parker Smith; Corinne Giroux
Important places
Manhattan, New York, New York, USA
Dedication
This one is for Dr. David Allen Goodwin.
My love and gratitude are boundless.
Thank you, Dave. You saved my life.
First words
"We should head to a bar and celebrate."
Quotations
(page 106)

I'M STILL THINKING ABOUT YOU.
GIDEON
(page 173)

NOON. MY OFFICE.
(page 174)

Sorry. Have plans.
(page 206)

THANK YOU, EVA. FOR EVERYTHING.
YOURS, G
(page 267)

In celebration of red dresses and limo rides.

LET'S DO THAT AGAIN. SOON.

In honor of black & white garden party dresses
and being dragged into libraries . . .

I'LL BE DRAGGING YOU... (show all) TO THE
FLOOR IN A MINUTE . . .

(page 268)

In gratitude for all the jungle sex.

SKIP THE KRAV MAGA. I'LL GIVE YOU A WORKOUT.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)At least for a little while . . . .
Publisher's editor
Sares, Hilary
Original language
English

Classifications

Genres
Romance, Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
813.6Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English2000-
LCC
PS3604 .A9875 .B37Language and LiteratureAmerican literature
BISAC

Statistics

Members
3,485
Popularity
4,729
Reviews
196
Rating
½ (3.73)
Languages
22 — Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil)
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
77
UPCs
1
ASINs
27