Bared to You

A Crossfire Novel, Book 1

By: Sylvia Day

Narrated by: Jill Redfield

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Day comes the first novel in the Crossfire series - a provocative masterstroke of abandon and obsession that redefined the meaning of desire, and became a global phenomenon.

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness...

He was 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...

©2012 by Sylvia Day. (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“If I were to recommend any book today to readers who enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey… this would be the first one I would offer… Scorching love scenes.” ( Dear Author)

"An erotic romance that should not be missed.” ( Romance Novel News)

“Hot… page-meltingly hot.” ( Darhk Portal)

Story as good, narrator better than Shades

I am a huge fan of the 50 Shades stories. Bared to You is written better and is narrated MUCH BETTER than 50 shades. Even though there are huge similarities between the two stories, the narrator seals the deal with regard to the better choice on audible. She is AWESOME. She keeps the narration separate from the character's voices, she animates when necessary and keeps your attention throughout. I am looking forward to the next installment of the Crossfire novels.

Heartbreaking

Bared to You is an erotica book and not for the faint of heart. But, the shocking aspect is not the sex (though the scenes are definitely steamy). The story(ies) of Eva and Gideon, separately and together that make this book memorable and very hard to put down.

Though many might disagree with me, I believe Bared to You and the whole "Crossfire" series is better than Fifty Shades of Grey. Don't get me wrong, I loved the interaction of Christian and Anastasia, but Gideon and Eva are more vibrant and more alive. And though they live in the lofty world of the rich and famous, they are very relatable.

If you are into erotica, this is a book that you should read/listen to. In fact, you should read the whole series. I first got this book via my Romance membership. I enjoyed it so much that I ended buying the whole series, though they are available to me via the Romance package.

This book is Rated M for Mature due to sex and violence.

Good book but...

Love the writer. She's very talented. But the female lead of this book has WAY too many insecurities. At times I wanted to smack some sense into her! The passionate love scenes were the book's best redeeming feature. Very descriptive and it draws you in.

Mr. Cross is as Hot as Christian Grey!

Where does Bared to You rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great read!

What did you like best about this story?

The story and narration is wonderful!

What does Jill Redfield bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The words glide from her tongue.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither.

Any additional comments?

This book is as hot as the Fifty Shades trilogy. I can wait for the second book to come out on Oct. 2, 2012.

Jill Redfield Gives Good Sex!

4.9 Stars

Narration - Jill Redfield - Kick Ass with a Capital Kick! Jill Gives Good Sex! Really! Seriously the best Sex Scene Narration I've ever heard. She should get the Naughty Audie!

I guess I should finally review this since I just listened to it for, oh, I don't know, the 17th time???? ha ha!

Love this book. When I first listened to it, It really bothered me because it seemed that it was Sylvia trying to re-write 50 shades only moving them across the country to New York and making them a little more mature and worldly (oh and with better writing) I was annoyed that I wasn't getting a new fresh story. So, it really is the same, but different.

She made Ava an intelligent, knowledgeable, sexually experienced woman instead of the Virgin, made Gideon's apartment warm and inviting instead of a museum, made Ava tough and in shape so she could hang with her sex fiend. (in fact it almost seemed like those details were written as little digs) Both call their Dad's "Daddy". Someone is nearly killed in both series and our female MC's must sit vigil while their men are amazing.

There's so much that is the same, and yet so much that is different. This is a much better written book. Not all the repetition. A lot more character's and character development.

The only thing I wish she would have left out of the series is the whole "Dom" element. I'm really flying fast and loose with that term because he never says he's a Dom, but there's just unnecessary conversations about some of that lifestyle/safewords and to me, those scenes are poorly written and make Gideon seem kind of dumb about that whole thing. Oh GAH! and the one I hate the most is when Ava sincerely asks him what he sees in her - and she's not fishing for compliments etc. His reply? (I'm paraphrasing here) If you don't stop treating us like we're temporary, I'm going to put you over my knee and make sure you like it!" That was just - ack! I have no words. ANSWER her!

He threatens to spank her continually and never does...so just leave it out!

OK, Geez! Got it off my chest...So that's my 1/10th of a point deduction from a 5 star series!

This is just one of those books that I can start at anytime when I'm between books and thinking I just want to listen to something for a little bit before I get to my computer & Goodreads to decide what I'm going to read next and before you know it, I've listened to the whole book and don't really care what was next on my TBR. Not kidding about the 17 times. I'm sure it's close!

SO! Love the Book. Love the Series. Love me some Gideon!

That is all!

Surprised by the negative reviews

I loved this story!
A strong woman who is not begging fur a man a affection. A damaged Alfa who is smitten with the her.
If the roles were revered I would have hated this story!
Excited to read the next book!

Smoking Hot!

I thought 50 SOG would be the only story that had this dramatic erotic sexual couple with issues to fall inlove with. BUT this is another JACKPOT!!!

Far from Fifty Shades

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I was time spent to get through the work day. It only helped to drown out the catty chatter of my peers.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not sure what I will come up with as my next listen.

What didn’t you like about Jill Redfield’s performance?

The performance was good for the type of book it was. Gideon's voice did not give him the strength that was outlined in the book. Ava, was good as far as giving her a voice for her character. All of the other characters where ok.

Was Bared to You worth the listening time?

It was really hard to get through the first few chapters, there was nothing that grabbed my attention. I am on chapter 15 and only listening to it now to finish the book. Not sure book 2 will be worth it.

Any additional comments?

After listening to Fifty Shades, this book was a "fifty shades knock-off". It was as if the author was reading FS and decided to put her own spin on it. It was a plagiarism gone bad from the book cover to the story line. If you have ever read the Gideon series, when you here his name you want that character to capture you the same, you want the strength and power Gideon held in his books. Ana and Ava must have been twins, they have same characteristics just one was sheltered and the other had a not so good life. There was TOO much similarity in this book to FS. Sorry, the author should have stood on her own and not rode on the book cover of other authors.

Gideon and Eva are the sexiest couple of all time.

enjoyed all 5 books, phenomenal read! narrators performed superbly. Brought life to characters. listened to all books back to back more than once.

Hot, hot, HOT!

Would you listen to Bared to You again? Why?

I would listen to this again. The narrator, Jill Redfield is EXCELLENT. She will be the first narrator that I will look for titles based on her narration. The story is easy to follow with enough drama and WTH moments to make it difficult to stop listening.

What other book might you compare Bared to You to and why?

There is the ubiquitous comparison to 50 Shades of Grey, but the characters are messed up in different ways. Different hangups, different neurosis. It's a darker story in a way, but the writing is hotter.

Which character – as performed by Jill Redfield – was your favorite?

Jill is a fantastic narrator. Ava is wonderfully portrayed. Three dimensional, emotional - Jill, you ROCK. Her talents allow her to paint a full cast of characters in her narration. Very well-done.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Can sexual chemistry make you a prisoner in a truly ****** up relationship?