Book Review: Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest pleasures. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to. He was my addiction...my every desire... mine.
My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We'd never work. It was too hard, too painful... except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity.
We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession. 

Gideon and Eva's story continues in Reflected In You. Eva's past come backs to haunt them both and Gideon offers Eva a few glimpses of his devastating history. They are still deeply in love and unable to keep their hands off each other. Gideon will do anything not to lose Eva but even she perhaps is unaware as to how far he will go.
I found Gideon infuriating in this book; it feels like he expects a lot from Eva but isn't prepared to give as much back. Sylvia Day alludes to his past experiences but there were times when it felt as though he purposely antagonised Eva, spent ages apologising only to go and do it all over again.
Eva and Gideon are bad news for each other in so many ways but they are also each others' saviour. This interests me most in the book; they are almost wary of each other yet can't bear to be apart.
Toward the end of the book we learn a little about Gideon's past. I did kind of wonder why it has taken him so long to share it with Eva when she has been so honest from the beginning.
I think and hope we will discover more about Gideon in the next book. I will definitely continue with this series; the relationship between Gideon and Eva is fascinating and leaves you wanting more.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 3.75/5

Pages: 357

Publisher: Penguin

Many thanks to Penguin for sending me a copy of the book to review, it is out now! 

Book Review: Bared to You by 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 others 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..
Intensely romantic, darkly sensual and completely addictive, Bared to You will take you to the very limits of obsession- and beyond.

Bared to You is the story of Eva and Gideon and I think it is one of the better books in this genre because it does actually have a story. Yes there are some aspects that are very similar to other books; multi-millionaire businessman, young girl, power games and lots
of sex. However, Sylvia Day brought more to her story, Gideon and Eva have seriously troubled pasts. We discover a lot about Eva's in this book but not so much about Gideon's. The author delves into the murky world of child abuse and its devastating consequences. Sylvia Day does not hide the brutality of such experiences so we do literally get the characters stripped bare, we know their darkest secrets and memories.
I liked the independent streak in Eva; she has her own money and career. She respects Gideon and his success but she is not in awe of him and the world he inhabits.
There is a lot of sex in this book, I did questions how quickly Gideon and Eva's relationship progressed considering her past. Regardless of that, the tension between these two is palpable. Gideon wants to protect Eva but he is not suffocating as so many other male leads in this genre can be.
Bared to You is the first book in the Crossfire series. I shall definitely read the others as I want to discover Gideon's secrets and watch their relationship develop.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 368