Literary Review: Bared to You, author Sylvia Day

Surely you've heard of the "Crossfire" series? The next big (read erotic) trilogy since 50 Shades of Grey last year. Yes, this series (published June 2012) reads like a soft porno and will have a few conservative readers blushing at intervals.

But is it good?

Naturally a story line around such purely sexual behaviour can only be so dramatic, needless to say if you are after an insightful or thought provoking novel, this one is NOT for you.

One can't help but notice the similarities between the two series, almost to the point where the reader wonders if Sylvia Day copied EL James' scripts and changed some of the details? As the 50 Shades series was published first (May 2011) it is assumed to be the original. I'm not pointing fingers but rather making an observation.

Here are some of the keynote points:

Similarities

• Both Christian Grey (50 Shades) and Gideon Cross (Crossfire) are hugely successful corporate billionaires, that seem to possess the business acumen of Donald Trump and Richard Branson combined. They are both under 30 years of age and have troubled backgrounds.
• Ana (50 Shades) and Eva (Crossfire) have similar sounding names. Both women have recently finished varsity and are entering the working world in a city far from what the call home. The female and male lead characters are introduced at (wait for it)...their places of work. Ana and Eva's parents have both separated, and both women feel a strong connection to their fathers as their mothers have moved on and remarried. The two women strongly rely on their roommates for emotional support.
• The plot: girl meets boy. Girl likes boy, but feels inadequate/unequal/undeserving of him. Boy likes girl too. Boy fears his tortured past may ruin their relationship. Enough said?

Differences

• Gideon is not as experienced as Christian in the S&M field, and the bondage/dominant/submissive bit is downplayed largely until the last few chapters of the book.
• Eva is more street wise than Ana. Being older than Ana (24 vs 21), she isn't a virgin but has her fair share of demons.
• Gideon doesn't propose marriage to Eva (a la Christian) when he fears he may lose her.
• Gideon and Eva are turning out to be the more mature couple for their willingness to attend both individual and couples counselling.

Read the book, and let's compare our thoughts. Until then, I'll continue with book two in the series "Reflected in You"

Happy reading!