TBR Challenge: Steamy Reads – Entwined with You by Sylvia Day

I had intended to read something from my TBR shelf for this month, but then my library request for Entwined with You by Sylvia Day was filled so I decided to read this book instead of something else.  Which is good because I don’t actually have anything on my shelf (physical or Nook) that really fits this category.  I don’t read a lot of erotic romance/erotica (yes there is a difference) so I really lucked out that my turn for this book came up so I didn’t have to deviate from the theme and pick something else (although one of Victoria Dahl’s contemporaries would have worked…).

I should preface this post by saying this is the third book in a series so if you haven’t read this book or the series and are planning to, I suggest you stop reading.  I’m going to do my best to avoid spoilers, but things happen.  First up, the blurb:

The worldwide phenomenon continues as Eva and Gideon face the demons of their pasts, and accept the consequences of their obsessive desires…

From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn’t resist. I saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside–so much like my own. I was drawn to it. I needed him as surely as I needed my heart to beat.

No one knows how much he risked for me. How much I’d been threatened, or just how dark and desperate the shadow of our pasts would become.

Entwined by our secrets, we tried to defy the odds. We made our own rules and surrendered completely to the exquisite power of possession…

This is probably the least helpful blurb ever.  But this is also the least helpful book in the series (so far).  Not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, but for the most part it is just a continuation of Eva and Gideon’s melodrama.  I happen to enjoy melodrama and angst (to a certain degree) in my books, so I didn’t really have a problem with Entwined with You like a lot of reviewers did.

Yes, the same issues that Eva and Gideon battle, both separately and together, are still present, but I feel that the author does a good job of justifying the reasoning behind it.  They are both jealous, possessive, and mildly selfish people; they’re working on their issues but people don’t change overnight.  The time frame for this series is not very long so I think it would bother me more had Eva suddenly decided she trusted Gideon 100% and he could gallivant with ex fiances all he wanted without it bothering her in the least.

As someone who can be jealous and possessive, I understand Eva’s feelings and the internal struggle she goes through every time Gideon does something stupid (which is a lot).  She knows he loves her, he tells her and shows her repeatedly, but it’s hard for her to believe it when he does something that’s “for her own good” without consulting or even telling her.

Is it Gideon’s past and intense need to keep Eva safe that cause him to act secretive and often inappropriately, or does he not love and trust her as much as he says he does?  If he loves her why does he act like such an alphole (alpha asshole hero)?  Like Eva, I find myself questioning Gideon’s motives for a lot of things.  But I also get that when they’re together, no matter what is going on in the outside world, everything will be okay.  Then he leaves and it all goes to hell and she’s confused, hurt, and a little pissed.

There is a small chance that I identify a little with Eva and certain things in this book.  Ahem.

Anyway, the book expands their sexual relationship (all good stuff, I promise) and exposes a little more about Eva and Gideon’s pasts.  A few questions are answered, a lot more are introduced, the reader is left a little agog at everything that goes down in the last 30 pages and stuck wondering why the author picked that moment to end the book.  So basically, it’s just like every other middle-of-the-series book.  Stuff happens, more questions come up, more stuff happens, and nothing is resolved.

Despite the repetitiveness of Eva and Gideon’s arguments and feelings, I found this to be a good entry in the series.  The sex was well written without being gross or boring, the sexual tension was scorching as usual, and the secondary characters got enough screen time to make me happy.  I did read it in mostly one sitting so that’s always a good indication of my feelings for a book, but this isn’t a keeper for me (can’t be because it’s from the library!) and I doubt I’ll read it again.  I am definitely going to finish the series and am anxiously awaiting the release of Captivated by You.

Final Grade: B 

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