Reflected in You

Gideon and Eva went on to being my favorite of the latest trend (started with 50 shades) with this volume.

Dear god this book. I was probably 60% through it and I was like this is fucking ridiculous. It’s getting a 3. HOWEVER, things got a LOT better by the end which earned the .5.

Considering I loved the first book so much, I kinda wasn’t sure what to expect. I had to re-read some paragraphs because I was dumbfounded. That being said, Eva was being a brat, petty, immature, and overall self righteous, the majority of this book.

I get her frustrations, anger, betrayal, and fear. Giving your all to someone, the good, the bad, the ugly, the pure and extremely raw vulnerability she had, it would make sense to crash-out if still in the dark about your partner. But I couldn’t handle the pettiness.

MEGA SPOILERS BELOW

To expand on the statement above, the whole thing with her ex that they saw in concert. I was getting secondhand embarrassment. I didn’t like the method Gideon used to get the truth; at first, I thought he was using a point to be on his high horse and ‘gloat’ about her kissing another man, while accusing him of cheating. Though, their dynamic makes as to why that was the route taken, and in the end (somehow) successful to get her to admit the truth.

GO EVA WHEN SHE WENT TO CORRINE AND CONFRONTED HER. GOD I WAS SO HYPE.

IMO, I thought it to be predictable when her mom was doubled over after lunch in the street, I knew immediately she had seen her daughters rapist and knew Gideon would kill him. However, the plot was good to get there. Like actually pretty good. I LOVED her development when she broke up with him, grieved (valid), and grew as a person, living in a new place, not being co-dependent on him. They were genuinely so toxic throughout the book but I’m really liked that the characters didn’t deny that, they spoke it into existence, acknowledged it, and TOOK ACTION with couples therapy.

The pediatrician, Gideon’s mother, his step brother, can all go to hell. They infuriated me. But their part in his upbringing made much more sense about his hesitancy. Also, finding out Gideon saw videos of her as a child taken by her rapist I think was a crucial aspect in the book, but I didn’t realize it until later on. Both of them struggling with themselves and their fears of losing the other person based on traumatic events out of their control, speaks volumes to the eventual growth and development between them.

There are parts of this story are really off/weird/disturbing, but I was already invested and I hate not finishing a book/series. Overall, pretty good story line, but I won't be continuing the series.

This book took me way too long to read because I was way the fuck over it by the time I got halfway through it. Eva was very annoying for a lot of this book. Yes I understand why she has the insecurities she does. Yes she is proactive about therapy. But this was too much for me. My heart didn't break for her this time. How she handled anything in this entire book seriously annoyed me. If Gideon so much as turn his head an inch to the left or right it was all I'M JEALOUS. I CAN NOT. LOOK AT ME. ARE YOU FUCKING HER. I CANT DO THIS. COME BACK. I LOVE YOU. YOU HAVE TO SHARE SHIT WITH ME. I CAN'T DO THIS. I LOVE YOU. IM NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU. I NEED YOU. OH LOOK THERE'S MY EX IMMA MAKE OUT WITH HIM IN FRONT OF YOU. There was many pages of this.
Gideon was the same as the previous book, really. Stopped going to therapy. Did sneaky shit and would just say TRUST ME. But then disappear. If I had any attraction to him it's gone now. It was a lot of the same. Just the same but also somehow worse.
Also....the sex wasn't even sexy. It was this weird, desperate, clingy fucking. No fire. No nothing but two people so desperate to prove to each other that one loves the other that whenever they are remotely alone they try the hardest to fuck harder than the time before. ANYONE WANT TO GUESS AS TO WHAT THEIR THERAPIST SUGGESTED THEY SHOULD NOT DO FOR A BIT?
The only thing that stopped me from giving this book 2 stars was the last few chapters. It seriously saved the book for me. Am I going to read the next one. Yes. Right now? Fuck no.

Actual rating: 2.5

Copy/past the first book of the series and you get this one. Which means that every thing that I didn't like about the first one is still there, but the things that I did like are now deluded because of the redundancy of it all. I will not go for the third one. Enough is enough...

another reread for me.

With eager anticipation and a healthy dose of curiosity I began Reflected in You. I read the whole book in one sitting. Reflected In You grabbed me, sucked me in, pulled me along an emotional roller-coaster, and left me in awe. Readers, if you sit down with this book hoping to walk away with that blissful, romantic feeling then this series may not be for you. Gideon and Eva struggle. Their relationship is plagued by their individual insecurities, communication breakdowns, and the demons of their pasts. However, the rawness of the emotions between Eva and Gideon is striking. One minute I was convinced that they would never be able to make it work.


Reflected to You is a book that stands out in it's genre. I am convinced that part of the reason this book is notable is because of the realism of the story. This book, this series, does not read like a fantasy romance. The issues the characters face feel real, the emotions they deal with and turn to feel real. The characters actions are understandable, in their own way. The attraction and chemistry between Gideon and Eva heats the pages. There is no question that this book is a smoking hot read with powerful, emotional, dominating sex. However, Sylvia Day makes it clear, there is much more to this mesmerizing story than sex. Gideon and Eva both have to deal with the ugliness that has plagued both of their lives and deal with harsh realities and nasty truths that they would rather stay hidden. The powerful, emotionally-charged sex between them can bring them together, but it could also push them apart.

I had been totally swept away by Sylvia Day's first instalment of the Crossfire series, loved the story of Eva and Gideon and their torrid an passionate love affair. I couldn't wait for more in instalment 2.

At points this book really lived up to the first, it was sensual and romantic and wonderfully erotic but then in others it read like a teen romance novel. It was on, then off, then on, then off again. Eva and Gideon blew hot and cold and then lukewarm. It would sizzle for a chapter then the heat and pace would stall and fizzle for a chapter.

It is more a book to drive a plot but instead of doing so openly it is all about Gideon telling Eva to trust him and wait, which we do so until almost the very last page and then it stops abruptly, book over. Thanks for waiting Eva & reader but we are all done here it's time to wait for book 3.

Don't get me wrong I am still loving these more than Fifty Shades and find the romance and erotica much more real than James's constant references to Anastasia biting her lip as Christian thinks about sparking her. This is more sensual, less obvious and better for it. The middle book of Fifty Shades had more pace though and left you truly begging for the last instalment, with this I am a bit more ‘meh, I need more action next time'

Worrying thing is I've read reviews on book 3 and they appear to have dipped on book 2 so I'm hoping that I'm not going to be disappointed in it?

Short review: Read it over the long weekend (along with the first book). Not bad. Nothing out of ordinary with the genre.

But it made me decide to write a (long) post on thoughts about reading trashy novels as a Christian.

http://bookwi.se/thoughts-on-reading-trashy-novels/

This book was definitely not as good as its prequel. I found myself being really annoyed with Eva through most of the book. She was just really infuriating with her crazy mood swings.