Bared to you - book discontinued by Berkley Publishing Group - review by anonkitty

Let me prelude this by saying that I'm a snob when it comes to erotica. I read them. A lot. So I have a pretty clear idea of what works for me and what doesn't. I like my writings the way I like my kisses- lush, steamy, and powerful. And I like my plots the way I like... well, I like them trim and tight. Subplots and scenes that serve no purpose have no business being in the final draft. That said, Bared to You struck one of the two sweet spots.

Get out your checklist for a classic set up of erotica, and Bared to You hit most of them. Drop-dead gorgeous main characters- actually, every character. Check. (Barbie World Syndrome- but hey, it's erotica, eye candies are appreciated.) Filthy rich main characters- actually, again, every character. Check. (Again, Barbie World Syndrome.) Powerful and dominant male protagonist. Check. Spirited female protagonist. Check.

In fact, the whole checklist was so checked off that I was craving a twist somewhere. And there is one. Eva and Gideon share a Troubled Past.

It is a typical set up. Millionairess Eva Tramell,(who is oh-so-independent and wants to work her way up the corporate ladder as opposed to landing a cushy job) on her first day of work, literally trips over herself and into the arms of the devilishly handsome millionaire, Gideon Cross. Sparks flew, of course. And she resisted it, of course. But he's persistent, of course. And she gave in eventually. Of course. At breakneck speed. One minute it was "no, no, no" (for few dozen pages) and the next she was all but mounting him (literally).

But the sex is good and oh-so-hot. (Yes. Sylvia Day knows how to write sex scenes.) Everything went on swimmingly for a few pages. Then the Troubled Past came spouting up and all hell broke loose. Gideon, who was a jerk, but charming in that jerk-ish way, turned controlling and possessive. And not the "jealous boyfriend who must posture a lot" type of possessiveness. Scary, get-a-restraining-order type of possessiveness. Meanwhile, Eva, who was not a little high-strung, but overall likable, turned into a ball of raw nerves. The story devolves into a series of "oops, I messed up?" followed by an explosive fight, and finally ending up with hot, steamy, make-up sex. The general feel is that Day remembered halfway through the book that there needed to be some sort of character development, which led to the book finishing with a premature feel. I understand that this is part one of a trilogy, but I feel that any book in a good trilogy should be able to be read as a stand alone.

But onto the good points: Day can write, and write well. Seriously, some of those scenes were swoon worthy and there are plenty of witty quips and banters. There's also definitely a sense that the author took a cursory look through Fifty Shades of Grey and tried to put in some qualities of that into the book, but she does it so much better. I sped through the book within 3 days. While I didn't do the "how-many-pages-do-I-have-left" counting that I do with really good books, I made it past the first few pages with ease, which is more than what I can say about Fifty Shades of Grey. It's just too bad that the plot was almost there as an afterthought and the characters were a few steps beyond the functionally-dysfunctional scope.

I've put off on the follow-up for this since I neither had the urge nor the time to re-read it in again. I did re-read it again yesterday and have found that with appropriate expectations, it's a fast, relatively entertaining read. If you like Fifty Shades of Grey, you will probably enjoy this.