Crossing the Fire

The Crossfire series by Sylvia Day consists of two books so far: Bared to You and Reflected in You. In my opinion they are both great books, and when compared to the literary train wreck that is Fifty Shades, the Crossfire Series is the quintessential demonstration of this genre.

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Our journey began in fire...

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. 

I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily...

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds... and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...

Bared to you: My sister already did a wonderful review on this piece, and you can view that here, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on it as well. And I wanted to do a little compare and contrast with the characters of Fifty Shades. The main character of Bared to You is Eva Tramell. She, unlike miss Anastasia Steele has her shit together. She moved from California to New York City, the place where every young upstart dreams of making it big. And with tenacity and dedication she found herself a productive place in NYC. She was not inexperienced and scared of life like Steele and for that reason, she makes a much better role model for women. She is fearless. 

It has always been a dream of mine to move somewhere foreign and brave the world with my best friend. Eva gets to experience this change with her long time bestie Cary Taylor. Who is amazing and gorgeous and just as emotionally odd as she. I think in life as well as in fiction you need a good sidekick, Cary made the most perfect one. He was her foil but also an iron clad keeper of not only her heart but her sanity. He would be a welcome addition to my life. I think every girl wants a really close guy friend that has their best interests at heart but doesn't want to be repaid sexually for it. It works. 

Now for the star of the show Mr. Gideon Cross. A very wealthy and deliciously attractive businessman. He is the love interest of Eva and I've really never read any two characters that deserved each other more. They both have terribly spotted pasts but their spots are similar enough to blend into a perfect pattern of sequined bliss. His name means destroyer, but all he does is repair Eva in the best way he can. They have their issues like any couple however. He is a sex addicted control freak. But Eva is cut in such a way that his brand of crazy fits right into her mold. Upon reading this book it is extremely easy to get lost in the characters and their lives. I went to sleep dreaming of sparking my own fictional relationship with Mr. Cross. When compared to Mr. Grey from Fifty Shades, Cross is much less crazy. He doesn't want to hurt Eva like Grey wants to do to Ana. And I think that Cross is a much more in depth character. He's just better on paper than Grey could ever be. 

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. 

He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn’t stay away. I didn’t want to. He was my addiction… my every desire… mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful… except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity.

We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession…

Reflected in You: This is the second book in this soon to be trilogy. It picks right up where book one leaves off. It exhibits more of the same reckless sexual behavior that the two seem to be drawn to. It also chronicles more of their rocky misunderstandings and relationship woes.

In this second book it offers an even deeper analysis into these characters that the first book has forced you to care about. And it is much more focused on the reasoning and useful nature of Gideon's controlling nature. The book has an acceptable ending, and frankly I really cannot wait until the next one is out to see what kind of trouble they get into.

I found that with Fifty Shades that the writing was atrocious and simple and I could not focus enough on the characters and plot to care. I think there should be a book where Eva meets Grey and see how that turns out. Of course Day would have to write it because she is obviously a better writer than the author of Fifty Shades, in this reviewers humble opinion anyway.

Have you read this series yet?
If yes, what did you think?
If no, you really need to!