Reflected in You by Sylvia Day | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

Sylvia Day’s bestselling Crossfire series continues in the second installment, Reflected in You, picking up right where the first book left off. Where Bared to You explores the physical attraction and obsession our leading couple have with one another, this one explores the emotional aspects of it all and leaves us begging the questions: are these two meant for each other? Or not?

And is it all too much?

We know one thing right away: Eva and Gideon are as hot for one another as ever, so the sex is mind blowing and the chemistry reaches an all time high. These two are wild, pure passion and it’s so indulgent to read. If anything, if one is looking for a spark filled erotic story, Sylvia Day’s steamy series should be at the top of your list due to its delicious chapters and encounters.

But beyond all of that, the novel itself promises to explore their dynamic on an even deeper level; toying with our emotions, bringing us the knowledge of past trauma (trigger warning: sexual abuse and such) as well as the reappearance of people from their past and an event that threatens to tear the two apart for good.

We’ll see just how far one will go to keep the other safe. After all, if the one you loved was in danger – how far would you go?


Overall, Reflected in You is a decent read and perfect for a light treat in the summer sun. It’s not as fun as the first book in the series, and can be a bit repetitive, but it’s still worth the read. Sexy, fun, smart and dramatic, Sylvia Day has a way with words and toying with the fantasy for our pleasure.

Onto other points and/or thoughts: Eva and Gideon’s obsessive, all consuming, love is as vivid as ever and the plots seem to take on new life in some ways. The bad news? Even though the plots are different, their relationship downs parallel fights we’ve already heard a dozen times.

It gets repetitive, as I already said and I do hope she pulls herself out of the “same story, different book” she’s put herself into.

We are introduced to a bit more, including the appearance of former lovers/flames and that of course stirs up some drama for the two. Especially if there’s still something of an attraction there.

(Double especially if they wrote you a song. Just saying!)

Aside from the fluffy and smuttiness of the otherwise good old fun novel, Day shines light on the darker parts of our beloved couples lives from the time before each other. It develops them both greatly but is still painful to read. It’s raw and undeniably heart wrenching.

Both have struggled their way through the aftermath of abuse and handled it in different ways. We knew that both Eva and Gideon were survivors of sexual abuse, but in this one we find out so much more and it’s definitely not an easy subject to read. I don’t recommend picking up this book if these things will trigger you.

Sadly, for Eva, her abuser makes an appearance in the city and although she remains unaware for some of the time, things sure go downhill when he attempts to blackmail her. Strange things begin happening and there’s not much else that can be said. Gideon, though I won’t spoil you, decides to take matters in his own hands when it comes to this creep.

My biggest complaint about the novel is surprisingly not about the unhealthy nature of their relationship. I can overlook a lot of flaws in this series because it’s simply a story. However my complaint…

It’s about Cary and the development of him: Eva’s normally glorious, fun, bisexual roommate/best friend.

He is cliched and underdeveloped in this one, it’s thoroughly disappointing and signals lazy writing for him. While he was shining bright in the first book, and remained interestingly complicated, it seems he’s lost the spark and turned into something of a stereotype of bisexual people. And it’s very frustrating, as a bisexual.

I still love him, in some ways, but well readers will know what I’m talking about when reading the story. It irked me and turned me off of an otherwise fun book.

That being said, if you are in need of a quick and steamy read to hold fast to your fantasies, this is definitely for you. As with the first book, you cannot take it too seriously. You’ll enjoy it so much more if you don’t think about all the flaws or expect too much from it.