Bared to You – Sylvia Day

 

I must’ve wished for you so hard and so often you had no choice but to come true.

Summary
Eva Tramell, tired of her turbulent and traumatic past, starts a new life in New York. Living in a luxurious apartment with her best friend and starting a job she know she’s going to love, she’s excited for the future that looks easy and peaceful. All of that becomes much more complicated when she stumbles into a handsome stranger in a hallway.

Writing
I actually enjoy Day’s writing style a lot. It’s very light and easy to read, but something about makes me unable to call it “simple”. It’s very eloquent. Also, she manages to write sex scenes in a very erotic way, that’s at the same time not cringy at all. Which is very, very hard to accomplish.

Characters
This is definitely a character driven novel. And I am totally biased saying this, but the characters are absolutely amazing. But you have to give them time. I have never said this in a review before (because I have never reviewed a series I have read probably like 10 times. Yes, that many. This book helped me through some really bad stuff and I have been using it as a crutch ever since), but if you feel like the characters act irrational in this book, give them time to explain themselves. They need time to open up. It will all make sense later. I promise.

I don’t want to give a lot away, because since this book is all about the characters, getting to know them is going to be the most fun part. But it’s a story about two survivors of sexual abuse trying to create a healthy relationship. And making a shit-ton of mistakes along the way – but actually learning and growing from them. Eva and Gideon’s relationship seemed very draining to me at the beginning, maybe almost toxic. But watching it develop into something they can both drew strength on feels very satisfying. It still has a lot of flaws, but hey – there is still  4 more books in this series and they have to be about something.

My least favourite thing about this book is Cary. I mean, I adore him. But the way he’s portrayed is very hurtful and I actually feel like a lot of people see bisexual that way – unable to be faithful, to create a relationship. In the book he says that he can’t be in a monogamous relationship with the guy he loves, because giving up on women would be like cutting off half of himself. That’s not how it works. That’s a very, very bad portrayal of a bisexual person.

Plot
Ummm… not really? If you want an interesting plot I would recommend picking up the next book in this series. This one is just a lot of talking. And a lot of sex. Like A LOT of sex.

Overall
It’s definitely not a perfect book. But it’s very near and dear to my heart, so I really wanted to share that with you. It’s a beautiful story about two people who experienced terrible trauma, trying to build a healthy relationship, a safe space, a shelter. But this book is not about them succeeding. It’s about them failing a lot. And trying again and again. And again.

Content warning: mentions of sexual abuse

You can find this book on Goodreads and Book Depository