CAPTIVATED BY YOU (Crossfire #4) by Sylvia Day-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

RELEASE DATE: November 18, 2014

Gideon calls me his angel, but he’s the miracle in my life. My gorgeous, wounded warrior, so determined to slay my demons while refusing to face his own.

The vows we’d exchanged should have bound us tighter than blood and flesh. Instead they opened old wounds, exposed pain and insecurities, and lured bitter enemies out of the shadows. I felt him slipping from my grasp, my greatest fears becoming my reality, my love tested in ways I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to bear.

At the brightest time in our lives, the darkness of his past encroached and threatened everything we’d worked so hard for. We faced a terrible choice: the familiar safety of the lives we’d had before each other or the fight for a future that suddenly seemed an impossible and hopeless dream.

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: CAPTIVATED BY YOU is the fourth installment in Sylvia Day’s contemporary, adult Crossfire erotic romance series focusing on Gideon Cross and Eva Trammell. Told from alternating first person points of view (Gideon and Eva) CAPTIVATED BY YOU follows immediately on the events of book 3-Entwined With You. If you have not read the series, be aware there may be some spoilers in my review. The series must be read in order for cohesion and understanding. The entire series, to date, covers but a few months in real time.

The storyline focuses on the continuing relationship between Eva and Gideon-two broken and wounded souls whose earlier years were destroyed by betrayal and abuse. Secretly married in an island ceremony, our couple returns to civilization where revealing their ‘engagement’ is anything but a happily ever after. Events will set into motion a destructive path that may be too difficult to overcome.

CAPTIVATED BY YOU will see secrets revealed, heartbreak and betrayal for one family when the past comes crashing down. Eva and Gideon’s relationship is as destructive and unhealthy as it is strong. Gideon’s need to protect and control forces an ultimatum from Eva that will shatter all semblance of Gideon’s self discipline. He is a man possessed; haunted by his past; and broken by the demons who continue to destroy his soul. The chaos that ensues finds Eva and Gideon on the verge of sabotaging their own relationship-one ex at a time. Eva is Gideon’s weakness, his strength and his heart. Eva continues to push Gideon’s buttons; and they equally manipulate one another’s emotional fragility and strengths.

We will revisit with Cary’s love triangle of Trey and Tatiana although there is very little closure for Cary or the reader. Gideon’s dysfunctional family dynamics is a major stumbling block in Gideon’s recovery and some issues of the past will be confronted. Brett Kline remains a point of contention between Eva and Gideon-one that is slowly tearing away at Gideon’s control. And some questions will be answered as to the who, what and how.

CAPTIVATED BY YOU is an intensely personal and in depth storyline. The sex scenes are numerous, aggressive, continuous and erotic. As Gideon begins to lose control in his personal life he sets into motion a diverging set of controls in the bedroom. A different and previously unaddressed side of Gideon will emerge.

Sylvia Day’s CROSSFIRE series and CAPTIVATED BY YOU is a compelling read. There are moments of intimacy, seduction, arousal and love juxtaposed with heartbreaking betrayal, painful confessions and destructive realizations. Eva and Gideon’s relationship is intensely seductive and alarmingly toxic to everyone and themselves.

Bared To You: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

Reflected in You: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

Entwined With You: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

Captivated by You: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy