Captivated by You: Gee, I really wish I could say that I was “captivated” by this book, but… (My thoughts on book #4 in the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day)

Let me start out by saying that originally I wasn’t planning to read and review Captivated by You any time soon. However, I ultimately decided to go ahead and read it now because I wanted to have a book to read while I was working on my review for the second book in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series, Scarlet. Since my reviews for Bared to You, Reflected in You, and Entwined with You, have all gotten a lot of page views and the fifth and final book in the Crossfire series, One with You, will be coming out in a few weeks, I decided that now would be a good time to read and review Captivated by You; that being said, here are my thoughts on the book.

Right off the bat, I have to say that I unfortunately hated this book for the most part. If you’ve read my review for Emma Chase’s book Appealed, the main problem that I’ve had with this series as a whole, but especially when it comes to Entwined with You, is that it really feels like Sylvia Day is trying to cram as many sex scenes into the books as she possibly can, at the expense of having good character and story development in the books. I wish that I could say she did a better job of providing character and story development in this book, and to be fair, she did in some ways, which I’ll get to later; but for the most part, believe it or not, the whole issue of Day focusing more on having lots of sex scenes in the Crossfire series than she is on having good character and story development is even worse in Captivated by You.

Honestly, there are so many sex scenes throughout the book that the writing for Captivated by You as a whole felt extremely repetitive in the end. Despite the fact that the sex scenes are pretty steamy and well written, they actually become rather boring after a while due to the high number of sex scenes in the book. The way this book is written, it’s like Sylvia Day was thinking about the expression, “sex sells” as she was writing it, and she just went completely and totally overboard when it came to incorporating sex scenes into Captivated by You. If I had been reading a physical copy of the book instead of listening to the audiobook version like I did, there’s a really good chance that I would have started skimming through the sex scenes after a while. I think if I had done that, I might have been able to read this entire book in just a day or two, because that’s how many sex scenes there are in this book.

I’ll give Sylvia Day credit for not making Eva and Gideon’s relationship feel like one giant never ending angst fest in this book like I feel she has in the past, especially when it comes to Reflected in You. Eva and Gideon did seem happier together in this book compared to how they’ve been other times in the past. Plus, it was definitely interesting to see them deal with the fact that they’re secretly already married, while everybody else thinks that they’re currently just engaged and in the process of planning their wedding. However, the fact that Eva and Gideon are constantly having sex with each other really made me question how much depth their relationship actually has. The way Eva and Gideon act with each other most of the time makes it seem like they can’t be alone together for more than five minutes without them having sex. That really makes me wonder if their relationship really has what it takes to last for the rest of their lives. After all, once they’re old, their sex drive could quite possibly diminish, or it might become physically challenging for them to have sex with each other. If that were to happen, I honestly don’t know what they would do when they’re spending time together since sex has always been such a huge part of their relationship.

I’ve always thought that one of the biggest mistakes that a writer can make when they’re writing a romance novel is to write the book in such a way that the reader is left having doubts about whether or not the characters genuinely like or love each other, and also whether they, as the reader, should actually be rooting for the couple’s relationship to last. Eva and Gideon have faced numerous threats to their relationship throughout the series, and they faced several challenges to their relationship in this book, with one of them being that Corinne was planning to publish a tell-all book about her relationship with Gideon. What I thought was especially interesting about the scene where Gideon confronts Corinne about the book and he also talks to her about what their relationship was like compared to what his relationship with Eva is like is the fact that he tells her that while she might believe that his relationship with Eva is all about sex and nothing else, what they have is real and meaningful. I thought his comments about that were very interesting and kind of ironic, given the fact that that’s exactly what their relationship seems like to me, as the reader, and someone who has read every book in the series so far. In case you haven’t already figured it out, that’s especially what I found myself thinking A LOT as I was reading this book. The fact that Gideon said that to Corinne really makes him come across as someone who’s seriously lacking self-awareness, especially in regards to his relationship with Eva, as far as I’m concerned. Despite Eva and Gideon’s constant proclamations of how much they love each other, their feelings for each other seem to have less depth to them than the shallow end of a kiddie pool in the grand scheme of things.

While I’ve always really liked Eva for the most part, she sadly really annoyed me at times in this book with how she was constantly going on and on about how hot she thinks Gideon is. Eva constantly talking and thinking in her internal narrative about how hot she thinks Gideon is was just another way that this book came across as being very repetitive. It also made Eva seem like she’s an incredibly shallow teenage girl, instead of coming across as being very grown up and mature as an adult, in my opinion. Much like the constant sex scenes throughout the book, Eva constantly talking about how hot Gideon is got very old, very quickly. Sure, Gideon talked and thought about how he thinks Eva is attractive in his chapters, but at least he didn’t do it excessively like Eva did.

While I’ve always thought that the Crossfire series was A LOT better than the Fifty Shades books, and I’ve also always thought that Gideon Cross was a much more likable character than Christian Grey is, reading the chapters that were written from Gideon’s point of view definitely had a similar effect on me as reading Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian did when it came to how I viewed Christian Grey as a character. Most of the time, Gideon seems like a fairly nice and likable character for the most part, however, there were quite a few instances throughout this book where being privy to Gideon’s thoughts really tarnished how I viewed him as a character. When I read Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian, there were times in that book where Christian honestly came across as not being as bad as I think he is when I’m reading Fifty Shades of Grey. However, whatever progress E.L. James would make in terms of making Christian seem likable and sympathetic was always eventually ruined by him either thinking something truly creepy and disturbing, or something that was simply rather elitist.

The main thing that Gideon did throughout this book that definitely tarnished my view of the character to a certain degree is the fact that he seemed to be even more possessive of Eva than he did when I was reading chapters that were written from Eva’s point of view. I thought it was rather ridiculous that he actually got rid of one of Eva’s dresses, simply because he thought men would be attracted to her if they saw her wearing it, and replaced it with a new dress. As long as other men aren’t actively hitting on Eva, I honestly don’t think he has the right to be upset about how other men might or might not feel about Eva’s looks and what clothes she’s wearing.

The fact that Gideon made Eva’s boss, Mark, a very lucrative job offer where he would pay him twice as much money as he makes at his current job, so that Eva would pretty much have no choice but to come work at Cross Industries if Mark accepted the job offer, all without telling her what he was doing, was also pretty messed up. I honestly don’t blame Eva at all for being furious with Gideon for doing that. Gideon really came across as trying to strip Eva of her autonomy in this book, which just seems absolutely wrong considering how much he says he loves her, especially in this book.

Shifting to a more positive subject regarding my thoughts on Captivated by You, I love that Sylvia Day decided to write this book from both Eva and Gideon’s points of view. The fact that Sylvia Day did that made this book remind me of both Emma Chase’s Tangled series and her Legal Briefs series since both series are written primarily from the guy’s point of view. Writing this book from both Eva and Gideon’s points of view allowed Gideon to finally get a decent amount of character development, (A decent amount for a book written by Sylvia Day anyway) which is something that I think he’s desperately needed throughout the series. However, as I said earlier, this book really tarnished the way that I think about Gideon as a character in some ways, but I was still able to enjoy the chapters that were written from his point of view to a certain degree. While I did enjoy the chapters that were written from Gideon’s point of view, unfortunately, the writing for a lot of those chapters could have been better, though.

Maybe other people who’ve read this book will disagree with me, but whenever there was a scene in the book that really started to feature some great character development for Gideon, the scenes often seemed to end abruptly, either because the chapter was over, or Day simply switched to a new scene. Whenever this happened throughout the book, there was rarely ever any actual follow-up on those scenes, which was incredibly frustrating to me. Day was constantly starting to scratch the surface of who Gideon is and what his deal is, but she rarely really dug deep and fully explored and developed those plot points and aspects of Gideon’s life, as far as I’m concerned. The issue that I have with scenes in the book feeling like they ended abruptly isn’t limited to scenes that focused on Gideon, though. This was also a problem that quite a few scenes that focused on Eva’s life outside of her marriage to Gideon had as well, such as conversations that Eva had with Cary throughout the book regarding his problems, or when she was hanging out with her coworkers.

Speaking of Cary, Cary’s subplot and everything that was going on with him in the book was definitely one aspect of the book that I really liked. It definitely proved to be a nice commercial break from the virtually nonstop orgy that Eva and Gideon call their relationship. Cary’s subplot really added a hint of emotional depth and substance to the book that I feel this book otherwise really lacked for the most part. Unfortunately, Day didn’t do much with it, aside from having Cary tell Eva that Tatiana was apparently very difficult for him to deal with now that she’s pregnant, presumably with his baby, and having him worry about how things with Tatiana and the baby might impact his relationship with Trey, especially if the baby is indeed his.

Personally, I would have loved to see Day do more with the whole thing about Eva discovering that Cary was cutting himself as a way of coping with his problems and the stress that they were causing him. I think exploring that more could have given the book a little bit more depth, and being somebody who has actually used cutting as a way of dealing with emotional problems in the past, I would have really appreciated seeing a writer explore the subject of cutting and self-harm through a male character. I’ve pretty much only seen the subject explored through female characters in the past, which really bugs me since men can end up engaging in self-harm, too. Sure, it may be a problem that’s more prevalent among women, but it’s unfortunately something that men can struggle with as well.

Without giving too much away, I don’t really like the way Captivated by You ended. A lot of things were left unresolved at the end of the book, which I’m guessing Sylvia Day did because she decided to write a fifth book for the series. From what I’ve heard, the Crossfire series was originally planned as a trilogy, but for whatever reason, I’m guessing that money was probably a big factor; Sylvia Day decided that she wanted to write two more books for the series. Regardless, maybe I’m being unreasonable, and maybe people will think I’m nitpicking, but it really bugs me that Tatiana, has been pregnant for the past two books in the series. Plus, it sounds like she’s still has a ways to go with her pregnancy, meaning it’s still going to be quite a few months before Cary will be able to find out if he’s indeed the father of Tatiana’s baby.

Admittedly, I’m not a medical expert, but I did some research on the subject of paternity tests while I was writing this review, and I read that it’s possible for doctors to do paternity tests on babies before they’re born. I don’t understand why Sylvia Day wouldn’t have written into Entwined with You, or this book, that the doctors did a paternity test in order to confirm whether or not Cary is actually the father of Tatiana’s baby. Maybe Sylvia Day is simply ignoring that fact in order to drag out the drama and tension for Cary’s subplot. Regardless, Cary’s subplot with Tatiana possibly being pregnant with his baby has dragged on way too long for my taste.

The way Sylvia Day left things between Eva and Gideon at the end of the book was also a bit of letdown, and somewhat of a weird way to end the book, if you ask me. Much like Cary’s subplot, things between Eva and Gideon were left on a bit of an unresolved note at the end of the book when it comes to the problems that they’re currently having with their relationship, which I’m guessing is due to Sylvia Day deciding to write a fifth and final book for the series. The way the book ended didn’t exactly leave me feeling entirely satisfied, or with an overwhelming desire to read One with You as soon as it’s released. However, I will still read One with You at some point, and when I do decide to read it, the timing of that decision will most likely be rather spontaneous like my decision to read this book at this particular point in time was.

All things considered, as much as I hate to say it, I didn’t enjoy this book very much at all. Sure, I’m glad that we finally got some much needed character development for Gideon, but the way it was executed still left a lot to be desired. While I did enjoy the chapters that were written from Gideon’s point of view, they also kind of made me hate Gideon to varying degrees at times, too. Sylvia Day continued to raise a lot of questions for me personally about whether or not I should actually be rooting for Eva and Gideon’s relationship to last with this book. While the sex scenes in this book were well written and pretty steamy, the fact that Eva and Gideon had sex with each other practically nonstop throughout the entire book got incredibly old and boring rather quickly. It also made Eva and Gideon’s relationship seem incredibly superficial and lacking in depth, despite their constant declarations of love for each other.

As I said earlier, I really enjoyed the parts of the book that dealt with Cary’s subplot. I just wish that Sylvia Day had developed Cary’s subplot and the friendship between Eva and Cary a little bit more than she did in this book, especially since it proved to be a nice break from the tediousness of all the sex scenes between Eva and Gideon, and the rather repetitive nature of the writing for their relationship. I know that people say that “sex sells”, but Captivated by You definitely proves that there can also come a point where too many sex scenes in a romance novel can end up being truly detrimental to a book.

That being said, my final score for Captivated by You is 2 out of 10.