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Diana's Reviews > Bared to You
Bared to You (Crossfire, #1)
by Sylvia Day (Goodreads Author)
by Sylvia Day (Goodreads Author)
Diana's review
bookshelves: erotica, romance-contemporary, author-pubbed-ebook, copycat, thanks-to-fifty
May 16, 12
bookshelves: erotica, romance-contemporary, author-pubbed-ebook, copycat, thanks-to-fifty
Read from April 29 to May 02, 2012
UPDATE II. I'm deducting the star I added for the erotic encounter that I mistakenly thought was original because I've just read the scene in Fifty Shades Darker that, um, "inspired" Ms Day the copycat. Shame.
UPDATE. Now that I have read Fifty Shades of Grey I'm even more unimpressed with Sylvia Day's book. Can you say "BIG ASS COPYCAT?" Sheesh.
Touted as the 50SOG for the more discriminating romance reader, I say...Ms Day probably shouldn't believe her own PR. Eva and Gideon are the glitterati of Manhattan, impossibly wealthy and beautiful. Sadly, they fight and have jealous snits, generally behaving like high schoolers in a tediously predictable pattern. The make up sex is frequent and over the top. Their love is the greatest most neediest emo love ever, so special that Gideon can't even say "I love you" because it's just not enough to convey the depth of his all-consuming passion. Greatest most specialist love evah. *jaw-cracking yawn* If either one of them had even the tiniest sense of humor they'd be laughing at their own melodrama. But no.... both are too damaged by their pasts. Do I think the author used childhood sexual abuse as a cheap shortcut to make her characters more sympathetic? Why yes, yes I do.
I'm tempted to give one additional star for chapter 16 in which they briefly behave and converse like adults but in the next chapter those darn kids go back to breaking up and making up. Chapter 16 also boasts the only truly inventive and original erotic encounter in the book. Very hot and imaginative so I tacked on the extra star for a sex scene I won't soon forget.
I haven't read 50 and don't plan to. I have read enough to know that this book is a blatant knockoff. I can't imagine this book setting the world on fire the way a book written by an outsider to the world of NY publishing has. Day is an insider in the NY agent/publisher sameness mold. I wish they'd all move outside the box and dare to be different. It would be more productive than making fun of that Brit who did set the world on fire.
UPDATE. Now that I have read Fifty Shades of Grey I'm even more unimpressed with Sylvia Day's book. Can you say "BIG ASS COPYCAT?" Sheesh.
Touted as the 50SOG for the more discriminating romance reader, I say...Ms Day probably shouldn't believe her own PR. Eva and Gideon are the glitterati of Manhattan, impossibly wealthy and beautiful. Sadly, they fight and have jealous snits, generally behaving like high schoolers in a tediously predictable pattern. The make up sex is frequent and over the top. Their love is the greatest most neediest emo love ever, so special that Gideon can't even say "I love you" because it's just not enough to convey the depth of his all-consuming passion. Greatest most specialist love evah. *jaw-cracking yawn* If either one of them had even the tiniest sense of humor they'd be laughing at their own melodrama. But no.... both are too damaged by their pasts. Do I think the author used childhood sexual abuse as a cheap shortcut to make her characters more sympathetic? Why yes, yes I do.
I'm tempted to give one additional star for chapter 16 in which they briefly behave and converse like adults but in the next chapter those darn kids go back to breaking up and making up. Chapter 16 also boasts the only truly inventive and original erotic encounter in the book. Very hot and imaginative so I tacked on the extra star for a sex scene I won't soon forget.
I haven't read 50 and don't plan to. I have read enough to know that this book is a blatant knockoff. I can't imagine this book setting the world on fire the way a book written by an outsider to the world of NY publishing has. Day is an insider in the NY agent/publisher sameness mold. I wish they'd all move outside the box and dare to be different. It would be more productive than making fun of that Brit who did set the world on fire.
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Reading Progress
| 04/30/2012 |
|
50.0% | "I don't know anything about these people except what they discuss in the context of negotiating sex, having sex, and recovering from sex. Oh yes they are hot for each other. I am bored. I heard that other book has funny emails. I would welcome, embrace a funny email." 3 comments | |
| 04/29/2012 |
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30.0% | 1 comment |
Comments (showing 1-30 of 30) (30 new)
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Diana
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rated it 1 star
Apr 29, 2012 07:43pm
Gideon is moody broody.
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I should have read more reviews before buying it. Looks like it's a knockoff of a knockoff. I feel so used :-) It's getting silly angsty now and the cliches are killing me.
Dhympna, you're starting when, tomorrow is today? Can't wait to get your take. I liked 50Shades, I wonder how that will affect my reading (I bought it too, on a sea of recs). One thought that I can't help wondering: if friends and foe alike of 50Shades compliment the neutral, classy cover and the intriguing but not romancy-title*, why did Day go with same old for the cover/title? * and said E L James's title/cover helped sales
Janet, I wondered that about the cover, too. (When) will we start to see a 50-cover trickle-down effect? I think the impulse to signal content in very conventionally coded was on covers is hard to overcome.
Interesting. This really does have buzz like 50SofG. My friends who liked 50shades are lovin this one too. I won't be reading it anytime soon. I had an allergic reaction to 50SofG. I am allergic to all over-rated crap.
But Gideon is the new Christian, it seems. Thank you for the heads up. :)
This is slightly off-topic, but romance novels are making me hate the name Gideon. I have never met a Gideon in real life, but I've read a lot of romance novels with heroes of that name. Why is this name so popular in the romance genre?
I don't know why the name is so popular but I checked with my mum (80+) and me ... very plus! We've never met a Gideon in real life. Not a one. Mum did say that at least it's a real name :)
Janet wrote: "I don't know why the name is so popular but I checked with my mum (80+) and me ... very plus! We've never met a Gideon in real life. Not a one. Mum did say that at least it's a real name :)"My BIL named his first kids "normally", the last 2 with the second wife Wren and Gryphon.
I think you'll find all kinds of names coming up.
I've never known a Gideon either, nor did I ever meet a Rafe although I always wanted to. :)Brittany, strangely enough I'm starting to think I need to read 50. I'll be looking to you to hold my hand as I make my way through it.
This cover doesn't appeal to me. I'm not a fan of headless cover models but it's a bummer when I don't find the model sexy. A big deal is made over Gideon's long hair (yes! works for me) and this guy is shorn. Also, the lighting is poorly set making both models look harsh and angular. Cover fail.
But then you know we'll all be laughing when the copycat necktie covers flood the market.
I don't expect covers to match up with my mental image of the characters, but I hate it when the cover gets something important wrong. I recently read a book in which the hero had long dreadlocks with gold and amber beads. This was important to the story for several reasons; the beads held specific meaning for the hero, and they also helped the heroine identify him when he was otherwise unrecognizable. But of course, the cover model had short hair. Bah!
Diana wrote: "Brittany, strangely enough I'm starting to think I need to read 50. I'll be looking to you to hold my h..."You might like it. I listened to the books, and it made a really awful impression. Book one is annoying but still very hard to put down. The other two deflate in intensity. As you can tell with my comments, the "aftertaste" didn't sit well with me. It just wasnt worthy of the hype, IMO. I was actually really excited to read part one, and bitterly disappointed in the immaturity of the writing.
But lots of people like it, so don't pay attn to me. Im sort of biased: I know someone very much like Christian (without the BDSM). The reality of that type of rich, controlling, compelling, powerful and sexually perverse personality is so awful and destructive. And there's no "fixing" a person like him. When girls go on about Christian, I don't understand what they like about his character.
I liked this one a lot better than you did Diana! :) I haven't read Fifty either (and don't plan to) but I loved the mutual obsession shared by the MCs in this one. I don't think BtY was a copycat of Fifty - there are certainly similarities, but I think there are many differences as well (eg, Eva is sexually experienced and isn't afraid to call the shots). Still, horses for courses and it clearly didn't work for you.
Kaetrin, I had not read Fifty when I first wrote this review but now that I have, I'm shocked at how far she went in mirroring James. And even though Day is a more experienced and polished writer her characters suffer in comparison. James ' Ana and Christian are vibrant where Day's came off as very HP -like and flat. I feel pretty strongly that these publisher-trained writers are too tied to their formulaic ways and BTY is a prime example. Since this book is promoted as a thinking woman's Fifty, I definitely prefer the unpolished enthusiasm and passion of Fifty.
It felt flat, quite often, to me as well. Some parts were fresh -- Eva's delight in being in the Big Apple, sorting out how long it would take her to walk to work, the endless partying -- but you put it so well: unpolished enthusiasm and originality worked very well for the readers of Fifty Shades.
Diana wrote: "Kaetrin, I had not read Fifty when I first wrote this review but now that I have, I'm shocked at how far she went in mirroring James. And even though Day is a more experienced and polished writer..." Ah, well we will have to agree to disagree I'm afraid. I have some issues with the book but flatness of characters was not one of them. I found it compelling reading. It palled a little in the last 100 pages for me but otherwise, I loved it.As to the similarities/differences between 50SOG, like I said, I haven't read 50SOG so I can't directly compare but I've read many posts about the book and given that Ana was based on Bella, I thought the characters of Ana and Eva were very different. I detailed what I thought those differences were in my own review (if you are inclined to read it at some stage), so I won't re-hash them here. Besides, you clearly didn't like the book and your experience is as valid as mine is, so I'm not going to try change your mind. It is interesting how varied opinions can be though. :)
(iPhone cut me off!) continued... but I chose not to argue with your incorrect assumptions about Fifty.
Well, that's the nub of it isn't it Diana? Ultimately, I liked it and you didn't. Which, of course, is fine. :)
Wait... Fifty Shades is a rip off of the characters in the Twilight series. It was originally written as a fanfic... isn't it a little hypocritical to call this a copy of a book that was a copy? Just a thought
I find it funny that people say Fifty is based on Twilight. I read the original fanfiction, and the ONLY thing that gave any resemblance to Twilight, was that James used the names, and the looks of the characters. Apart from that, fanfiction was just a step ladder to get her story out to the readers. Ana is nothing like Bella, and Christian is nothing like Edward. After reading reviews of this series here, I don't think I'll be reading it. I loved Fifty to much and will probably just get annoyed.
Heidi, well said. I haven't read Twilight but people who have tell me that the Fifty books are vastly different from the Twilight books. I still don't understand the virulent internet hate directed at at James when copy catting in romance is as common as dirt. Oh, well. I enjoyed James' books but I've moved on and I certainly don't begrudge anyone the pleasure they derive from whatever they choose to read. There's something for everyone and that's a good thing.
It depends on the person, which book they champion. James's books not well written but I was entertained by the story line, the characters. It was a love story, a mystery that I had to read all to find the answers, why, why and why, well, omit holy crap/my innergoddess/my subconscious, the idea was great for a new writer. I read FSOG completely and like other women, felt for Grey fictional character. I read (borrowed) Day's books but I was so disappointed, as if she copied from fifty, there're too many similarities between the books. I don't read Jackson's book. On Day's and Jackson's books, there's a little sticker : if you like fifty shades you'll love this. So, I agreed with you that some well-known authors took advantages of FSOG popularity and women are still craving more Grey's effect.
"Their love is the greatest most neediest emo love ever, so special that Gideon can't even say "I love you" because it's just not enough to convey the depth of his all-consuming passion. Greatest most specialist love evah. *jaw-cracking yawn*"One word for this; perfect.
Heh, thanks, Katrina. You and I may be the only two people in the world who are able to see the humor here. This book could be subtitled When Narcissists Find Each Other.
