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

Book Review: Release Me by J. Kenner

He was the one man I couldn't avoid. And the one man I couldn't resist.
Damien Stark could have his way with any woman. He was sexy, confident and commanding: anything he wanted, he got. And what he wanted was me.
Our attraction was unmistakable, almost beyond control, but as much as I ached to be his, I feared the pressure of his demands. Submitting to Damien meant I had to bear the darkest truth about my past- and risk breaking us apart.

Release Me is about the relationship between Nikki and Damien. Nikki met Damien 6 years ago when she was competing in a beauty pageant and she has never forgotten him. They meet again when she moves to Los Angeles to pursue her career. Their attraction is instant but Nikki has some secrets from her past which she doesn't feel ready to share and Damien is clearly hiding something too.
I enjoyed Release Me and I was pleased to discover that it is the first in a trilogy. There are many comparisons to be made with Fifty Shades of Grey, if you enjoyed those then you will love this too.
Damien Stark is a very enigmatic character, he has some infuriating traits but it is easy to understand why Nikki is drawn to him. I found Nikki a little more complicated, she ha
s these secrets in her past and I felt that they were really built up even though we didn't learn that much about their cause. Maybe we will discover more about Nikki and Damien in the next book.
Release Me is a quick, sexy, escapist read. J. Kenner keeps the plot going and the reader wanting more.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 3.75/5

Pages: 352

Publisher: Headline Review

Many thanks to the lovely Veronique at Headline for sending me a copy of the book to review, Release Me is out now!