No te escondo nada

I'd read all the FSOG novels last year and in anticipation of Entwined With You coming out I decided it was time to try Crossfire.

Yes lots of comparisons can be drawn between the two series, two strong and intoxicating male leads and which is best. For my money I'd be Team Cross but only because I felt Christian became a bit too tortured and all the contracts and red room of pain was a bit much.

Eva is a good lead and much more interesting than Anastasia and I liked the idea she had her own independence from Gideon that meant she didn't seem so needy.

A great book - can't wait to read Book 2 because I did find this ended at an odd juncture in the story's

Oh. Em. Gee. What did I just read? I think this book has made me realize that I have officially outgrown heavily erotic romances with toxic relationships at the forefront. The book itself wasn't bad, it's just that the erotica genre and the characters in this novel were really not my cup of tea. I remember when I read 50 Shades of Grey, back a long while ago, I enjoyed it somewhat more but in general I wasn't as psyched about it as many others were. It could be because after being in a long term relationship for almost 8 years, this relationship is just not the basis for a strong bond in my opinion. It was just too much and man was it laid on thick. Again, this is just my opinion.

To begin with, the plot had a lot to be desired. There wasn't much going on besides seemingly unimportant relationship drama and I prefer books with some more excitement and twists then that. And even after the relationship drama, the resolution wasn't really a resolution, it was just roll in the sack and not much more than that. Now, that's a sure way to just put a temporary band-aid on the situation and you couldn't never realistically convince me that a relationship like that will work for the long haul, so I will not be reading the rest of the books in the series. It was just a book about a lot of nothing. It's probably the cynic in me or the realist but I couldn't get on board with this or any other aspect of this novel.

In continuation, the characterization rubbed me the wrong way. The characters were mediocre but Gideon, in particular really didn't sit well with me. Some of the dialogue that was spoken by him just didn't fit with the situation at hand and was rather majorly on the cheesy side. The heroine, Eva, didn't annoy me as much but she also wasn't anything special and I had a hard time seeing what Gideon found so irreplaceable about her. I also can't believe how similar this novel and 50 Shades are, I mean maybe if I would've read this one before 50 Shades, I would have liked it more but I just felt like I was rereading 50 Shades. Although truth be told, if I would've read 50 Shades nowadays, I am certain I would have hated it just as much.

Further on, the writing style is the only thing that I found likeable about this novel. It was easy to read and even though I made myself finish this novel, the writing style helped get through it faster. I am usually not one to give books two stars but this book just had way too much nonsense for one book and I couldn't stomach it. I need an aspect of reality in my novels and this one had none whatsoever.

In conclusion, this was probably the worst book I have read all year and I will be staying away from heavy erotica that's too much like 50 Shades of Grey. This book might be suitable for readers who love an unrealistic and barely believable romance full of smutty scenes and nothing else. Guess I'll stick with my other beloved genres.