Bared to You- Sylvia Day (book 1)

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...

I was a little hesitant to review this book, I requested it on Netgalley and was turned down by the publisher, but when I received it as a gift for my birthday I thought what the hell, I'll read it.   Yes, I've heard the rumors & read the reviews that this book is so much like Fifty Shades of Grey, but let me tell you it's better.  I read all three Fifty books and all I could think of was Oh My (lol if you read Fifty you get that) this book is nothing but characters from Twilight with a little Pretty Woman thrown into it. Back down ladies that's MY opinion only!! Oh I can see a few small similarities between these two stories but beyond that I think this book & the storyline is the better of the two. Don't get me wrong I had a couple problems with this book but when do I not have a few with a book or two- lol. 
Gideon by description alone is what my dream guy looks like, how could I not fall in love with this fictional character?  The man is a billionaire workaholic but still struggles with his personal life and past events that would take any man to his knees. I could feel the connection between Gideon & Eva while reading this book, ever had a book you could NOT put down, well this was one of them for me.
Eva is actually a strong woman who has her own demons from her past that she fights with daily to overcome.  He's a strong self-assured man in his business life but once he meets her he knows he can't live without her and becomes a little (haha) possessive of her, while at the same time she becomes just as possessive with him but when things turn ugly she runs. Having suffered abuse she doesn't always know how to deal with situations that could possibly break her heart even more.  They fall fast and hard for each other, with the sex pulling into the forefront of the relationship but that is not the strongest thing in their budding relationship- emotions run deep for both of them. He is a dominate and wants her to submit but she is not willing to submit to anyone willingly. They have a tug of war in the beginning and both end up giving in to each other but only a little at a time. When this man opens his heart just a little to give her some control is an awesome thing to read. His emotions are just so raw. Oh and before I forget, the sex is great but you can read little hints here and there about how much control he has to have during sex.  The nightmares he has about his past are super emotional and a little difficult to read without letting your mind guess to who and what happened to him. In this book, Eva tells her story of past abuse but we don't read about Gideon's yet but it doesn't take much to guess what happened to him as a boy.
There are other characters in this book, Cary, Eva's bi-sexual roommate is just as gorgeous as Gideon & Eva (I guess everyone in the book is hot). Cary has serious demons of his own that he is constantly fighting but hopefully he will wake up soon and see what good he could have in his life if he just opens his heart.  Eva's mother is a nut job, seriously!, she is way to over-protective for her 24 y/o daughter. Eva's dad is pretty normal though, but he doesn't know about Eva's past yet. Stanton, Eva's step dad allows her mother to stay nuts- haha, but he does love Eva like a daughter.  There are a few more, Gideon's brother, Christopher, and a few woman but I will let you read about them on your own.
My Rating: 4.5 to 5    Wendy
Author's website: http://www.sylviaday.com/books/bared-to-you/