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.
