REVIEW - CAPTIVATED BY YOU (Crossfire #4) by Sylvia Day:

TITLE: Captivated by You
SERIES: Crossfire
SERIES PLACEMENT: #4
AUTHOR: Sylvia Day
AGE GROUP: Adult
GENRE: Erotic Romance
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 18, 2014
PUBLISHER: Berkley
FORMAT: eBook and Paperback
PAGES: Approx 368

MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: ★★★★
CLIFFHANGER: Yes!

BOOK BLURB:
Now the #1 international bestselling author returns. The new Crossfire novel by Sylvia Day.

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... 

REVIEWERS NOTE: This is book four in a series. It would be better to read books one through three first.

4 Sexy, Sultry Stars!!

The Review: 

Loved LOVED this book! Gideon and Eva are just as complicated as ever but I love how their relationship battles always resort in growth and forward moving. And damn those OMG-smokin’ scenes! They get me every time...

I will say there were few things I didn’t like in this book but the overall read was excellent!

Story/Characters... 

Gideon and Eva are back!! This book is filled with sexy, steamy, lascivious moments that are hot enough to scorch your insides and melt your circuits but there is also a lot of angst and emotional turmoil as it seems the only people who actually want Gideon and Eva together, are Gideon and Eva.

They are continually hit from all sides by people who trying to find ways to weaken their bond or break them apart completely. Vengeful associates, scorned lovers, traumatic pasts and Gideon and Eva’s own self-destructive patterns are just a few of the obstacles in their path to a happily every after.

There is a lot going on in this book. A lot of upheaval, a lot of negotiating and a lot of alpha male hotness which is so incredibly hawt! Gideon is just too yummy for words!

Alongside all the upheaval is a solid story of two people who are made perfect for each other. They are slowly healing past wounds through love and understanding. Gideon’s past is finally being dealt with but things are not easy and Eva’s strong willed and self-reliance along with Gideon’s dominance is a real power struggle in their relationship. They clash but they also love.. passionately and absolutely.

Points to Make... 

Loves...

1) Gideon’s POV! Oh my...how I love getting the male POV and Gideon’s was a real eye opener. I won’t lie. Gideon goes through hell in this book and it’s mostly due to Eva and her stubborn side. Having all that happened in this book from only Eva’s POV would have been too closed off so I’m glad the author gave us Gideon as well. The author did an EXCELLENT job with it and delved deep into Gideon’s psyche, his feelings and his convictions. In “Entwined With You”, we start to see a slightly different side to Gideon. He’s gone through all this pain and hurt in the past and added on top of that, the actions he took in “Reflected In You” to keep Eva safe, his strength but also his fear took him from this mysterious, all consuming alpha male to a more substantial, connectable human male. I loved seeing that but it was incomplete without his POV. In this book, we get that and more! I loved it!

2) Gideon is always one step ahead and as controlling as ever. He goes to sever lengths to protect what is his. And trust me, it’s all kinds of alpha HOT! And it was also good to see him work through getting to a healthy place even though he was really resistant at first. His mind is a minefield and finally, in this book, we see those disastrous and heartbreaking feelings come to the surface. We see him break completely and start the process of being put back together again. It was mind blowing to read!

3) The love scenes! Wowza! These two are scorching hot together and that swing?? Gah!! I need one of those pronto! Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read the book. You will NOT be disappointed.

Not Loves...

1) I really didn’t like Eva having indecisions about Bret. In my opinion, Bret shouldn’t even have been a consideration. She felt conflicted and I realized it was because of her past and seeing attention from someone she craved it from so desperately long ago finally being realized but after what Gideon did for her and after what he’s still doing for her, her heart and soul should have been firmly on Gideon’s side. Eva, in this book, seemed a bit off. She was all about her independence but what she didn't understand was she can have that independence and still be with the man she loves. She didn’t want her “wants and needs” to be overshadowed by his “wants and needs” and I thought that was both respectable and selfish. No one is an island and he needs her just as much as she needs him and though Gideon is a strong, capable man, everyone... EVERYONE... needs their other half and in the first half of this book, Eva felt distant and off. I’m glad later on she came to the right conclusion but it felt like she deviated for no reason at all other than to carry the story into two more books.

2) I adore Cary and I absolutely love his and Eva’s relationship/friendship but I NEED to see him stand on his own a little more. His and Eva’s co-dependency is unhealthy and it’s scary. One can’t seem to function without the other and with Cary having a new addition to his family, he really needs to find himself. I hope he gets that in the next book. 

The Wrap Up: 

There really isn’t much to dislike about this book but there were some moments that derailed me from giving it a full five stars. As with the first three, it was well written and though I think this series could have stopped with three books, I’m never going to complain with more Gideon. That man is yummy on two legs and I’ll take whatever I can get!

Buy the Book!

      

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