Reflected in You
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I agree with you. And I have the same thoughts in this series!!! I dont agree with the obssessive way that Gideon controls Eva it is not normal!! Okay the abuse thing,but come on serious?? This is an abusive relationship and I dont care if he is rich,beautiful or whatever,he has serious problems and they NEVER will work out!! NEVERRRR!!!!!!! Gideon is very brutal with her sometimes in sex and as you said!!! I really love this series,but I think the author should make them workout not making them be together forcing the situation.
Eva is more boring and weak in this series,I mean what woman in really life will acepted the one you love not saying the same words back?? "crossfire" really Gideon, if a man say that kind of thins to me instead "i love you" i will totally hit in the face.
now this is really discouraging... I was actually planning to read the series but after this review... I'm now having second thoughts... My sister started reading the series for awhile, I asked how was it and she says she stopped reading cause she hated Gideon's abusive ways towards Eva... really hate these kinds of people... I don't know if I'd be able to read this series...
well i am currently in the middle of it and stopped reading it.Dunno just lost the interest because there are so many irritating facts that i can't accept .You don't need to have PhD. in psychology to know that isn't not possible to happen and haven't even started discussing Gideon's personality
The brutal masturbation in his sleep is indeed a bit disturbing. Lol. I agree with Geri^^ I do not have any background in Psychology but I don't think being a rape victim would allow you to have a very active sex life either. I read the three books some time ago and I originally liked it but when I read them a second time, I realized how dysfunctional (an understatement) it really is.
Gideon's personality is very intrigue.I like him more than Eva through the series and the author are making right away,just Eva needs to change. Dont give up on the series!!!!! Actually reading the series again open my eyes to some crazy things in this series or good too!!!!
i like that you guys have different opinions from those of us who straight up enjoyed it - since i really like to have the open debate about it. what i think i found though is that when i read this series, each time a new installment comes out i go back and re-read so that i'm fully caught up and i think that i find different things and different perspectives es of scenes each time. so while i agree that there's a lot of confusion in the sense of what Eva is willing to accept from Gideon in contrast from what she's established as a result of her past - theres still a lot of good there.what you'll see as you continue is that this is a story about 2 very strong people with haunted pasts that are trying to find a way to heal themselves and each other. they are both clearly afraid of what they've gone through in the past and have all these walls up because of the issues, but i think that when we complete the journey with them in the next 2 books, we'll get to see if they have healed of if they'll self destruct and things will come down in the process. i feel like we'll get that in book 4 - that's just the expectation i have based on how things are going.
what we need to really get to the bottom of though is what the truth behind Gideon's past is - how that's really influencing and affecting his present, and how Eva will cope with that since she's already started to get past her demons.
Ilana wrote: "i like that you guys have different opinions from those of us who straight up enjoyed it - since i really like to have the open debate about it. what i think i found though is that when i read thi..."I love the series. I agree with you. I also have re read the series and find more and more the book works towards a very good relationship. I don't think Gideon is the wrong person for Eva. I think they work together. There are some comments I don't agree with. I don't believe Gideon is brutal with Eva. I think he believes he's doing what's best for her and he knows how to make her happy. I don't believe he's abusive either, and it's also not true that a rape victim can never enjoy sex. Some of us like stronger men who are very macho, like Gideon and some of us don't. Those of us who enjoy the series probably like a man to take charge in bed.
I also liked this series much more than FSOG, and I loved that series. I'm anxious to see how it finishes.
Er mah gerd. Seriously people, paragraphs do WONDERS in getting your point across effectively. So does proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. Just sayin'.Anyway, I agree with Ilana and Erika. It is nice to see people who don't love the book as much as I did. I also found myself rereading the series only to find more things that I loved about them as a couple. How much of an impact Eva really made on Gideon. In the beginning he made it very clear that he separated the women he befriended and the women he sleeps with. It's all very cut & dry. But then he meets Eva and all that goes out the window. There's something about her that makes him want MORE. Not only does he tell her this but his actions back it up. I definitely admired that he really was trying to make a relationship between them work.
Eva is hard-headed sometimes. Like going back to old habits when she can't handle the situation. But in the same sense, she realizes what she is doing is WRONG and I can see her wanting to make amends for always "running away" when the going gets tough.
I never saw Gideon as abusive to Eva in any sense. If anything, he's tried hard to show her the affection she craves to feel significant and not just a piece of ass. The only time he did get overly aggressive with her was when he was having those nightmares but it was never intentional. You have to understand that they're both pretty new at handling a relationship they WANT. He's also very used to getting what he wants and never really having to compromise with anyone. What he says goes. It's not that he's being an asshole, he is just tough and the way he says things may come out harsh.
Eva had a string of one night stands or booty calls. The way she viewed her "relationship" with Brett was that she was a piece of ass and was having fun.
The way Gideon viewed his relationship with Corrine was that it was distant and "safe". She never knew the real him.
Together, I feel they are still so new at how to handle the dynamics of another person they want to be with intimately and more. This is both of their first times ever WANTING more with another person. So of course they are going to have hardships and they're going to learn that the shit they've done in the past may not work for them now.
And I have to disagree with the whole being a rape victim you can't have a very active sex life. People cope with tough situations very differently. To one woman, she may be traumatized by her rape and will not want to have sex ever again without feeling like she is being attacked. But on the other side there may be a woman who was sexually attacked that will lash out and fuck every single guy she encounters just to rid herself of that feeling of being powerless during her rape and to be able to control her future sexual encounters.
From personal experience as far as being a sexual abuse victim, I reacted in the latter. When I was being sexually abused, I was very young. I felt I had no control. That if I said no, he wouldn't listen because he was the adult and I was only a child. When I told other people about it, they didn't believe me and thought I was lying. After that, I sort of lashed out when I became older. I had meaningless sexual encounters because it was something I initiated and I HAD the upper hand. Those encounters happened because I had that control to make it happen. Needless to say, my sex life was VERY active. But it was also destructive to my already hurting self-esteem. That's how I valued myself; giving my body away at my own will.
Then I met my Husband who completely changed my life. He cherished me like the most precious thing and because of that, I learned to cherish myself as well. I also learned to trust him and that opened us to a very fulfilling and satisfying sex life that's filled with exploration and tenderness. So I think that's what Gideon and Eva are striving toward. To become the solace of the other. To earn the trust of the other so that there are no walls, no boundaries between the two. That they can have a fulfilling and loving relationship. That they can have that AND have a very passionate sex life as well.
I really love this series as you can see. I'm always cheering for Gideon and Eva. I hope that these next two books don't disappoint!
Samountha wrote: "Er mah gerd. Seriously people, paragraphs do WONDERS in getting your point across effectively. So does proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. Just sayin'.Anyway, I agree with Ilana and Erika. ..."
Wonderful point. While I do find some of Gideon's behaviors a bit off-putting, I'd say they're growing to trust each other. We're halfway through the tunnel guys, so he can't be perfect yet. And I like a novel that explores the sexuality of abuse survivors. It makes for good conflict. Because Gideon knows Eva so intimately he tries to give her what she actually wants from him, even if it's not what she's communicating to him. Sometimes he's wrong about what she wants, usually he's right, but yes, he does screw up. As does Eva.
It's his dominating personality. He wants to be the one to give her everything, which is a little bit of a caveman mentality, but I feel it'd only be sexist in Eva always surrendered and let him, or was unable to take care of herself without him. She's a big girl. When she lets Gideon take care of her, it's because she trusts him and wants him to, not because she can't function.
Though I do find the methods he takes to monitor her a bit intrusive, the fact that it's a running conflict makes me feel that it will be resolved. He means well, in his fucked up way. Hell, a detective directly stated Nathan had intentions to harm Eva again, even kill her, and if you had the means wouldn't you try and protect then from 1. having that happen and 2. having them fear that happening?
I would never model a real relationship on theirs, but they're two fucked up people who found something that makes them stronger. If this is what it takes to make them feel safe, hell, go for it.
eva, being a therapy seeking troubled personality that she is, seems to be areal immature in so many instances..few that i can recall are:1.she cannot differentiate between lipstick marks and blood stains( i am an outdoor girl and bloodstains are splotchy in appearance, whereas lipstick are waxy!sheesh she is that stupid)
2.she claims that no one can understand her soul the way gideon does but still does not bother to be patient with him and stupidly believes anyone who gives information to her about him without much questioning and doubt
3.the same applies to the fact that her ex-rockstar- boyfriend basically made a fuck-toy of you and you still feel his "sexual heat wave" despite having a force-of-nature boyfriend with you who makes you feel loved despite everything is plain stupid!
4.as mentioned before, she is a psychological therapy abiding person and still she defies its golden rule of think before you act and becomes immature and kisses that same douche-bag of ex-boyfriend to make Gideon jealous!
5.how come no one notices that eva claims to want to work from the bottom and managing everything on her own, she still wears everything designer and top-dollar her millionaire mother and stepfather provide her everyday to work.she makes these cute-gestures of buying expensive flowers and jewels for her boyfriend and spill off money on night-club hoping.yeah she is gonna save a lot of money on her own(dumb attempt of independence)
despite how everyone allude Eva better then Anastasia of fifty shades,u will think differently once you come face to face with them in real life.trust me!
[also i noticed in book 1 or 2 of the series-can't remember specific-that Eva thinks writing e-mail thank you letters is low standard!(letter writing-electronic and mostly in papers were always considered classy and decadent by everyone) i mean is Sylvia bitter with e l James success and making a petty remark in her books like that!shame.]
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The other thing that worries me is their sexual relationship .Not that i don't like sex of reading about it but as a victim of rape she will definitely need control in that aspect too (just as Gideon is right now-haven't read it till the end but i assume that his case is the same),so as i was saying even the small fraction of hint about dominant-submissive relations or action she would have had the panic attacks which in the book are randomly chosen to be expressed. Yes, many victims of rape have this copy mechanism either to fear intimacy with other human or the opposite to lure into the physical interactions just convincing themselves that this might help them copy. However in the second case the dominant power would be applied totally but themselves and they would never let be submissive no matter how much they lust after their partner, it's just subconsciously mutually exclusive.