For years, fans have watched Eva Trammel and Gideon Cross fall in lust, in love and fall out with one another. We’ve cried with them, loved with them and watched in anticipation of their next chapter–now, it’s time to say goodbye. One with You promises to be a lot of things: steamy and romantic, new and charming, dramatic.

In so many ways Sylvia Day crafts the perfect final chapter for our lovers and wraps up some story-lines from the past, as well as one final blockbuster mystery. They’re all changing and growing completely as the story wraps itself up nicely.

If you were to crack open the first novel and skim through it, even for a moment, before picking up this last one you’ll see quickly how much growth has happened. Whether you’re talking about Gideon, or Eva, or Cary–so much has changed and developed, it’s hard to believe the story takes place for only a small frame of time.


As we say goodbye to the past, we also have to say goodbye to one character in a shocking death. For the most part, One with You is full blown romance and lust–the correct end piece to the series. Day, however, takes things up a notch and not only keeps the emotional drama she is known for, she turns us on to a small (but highly important) thriller subplot that promises to tie up loose ends.

She does so seamlessly.

One of the things that I’ve always liked most about Sylvia Day’s writing is that it’s of the erotic variety but, as in life, there’s so many more layers to it. You never get bored during her novels because of so much possibility!

But back to the plots:

Preparation for Eva and Gideon’s wedding for their family and friends is well underway. A lot of people are not too pleased at the fact that they went off and got married in secret, so the two have a lot to do when it comes to pleasing their loved ones; this includes one final bachelor/bachelorette weekend (although the point is rather moot, now, isn’t it?) and the constant buzz of the media.

Which, speaking of, has the desire to get in between Eva and her beloved. There’s a lot to put up with when you’re a fixture in the gossip blogs and rags, but Eva handles it all smartly and to her advantage, as does Gideon. Eva’s mother, however, is becoming increasingly more frustrated and “you should value your privacy” about it.

Then there’s Cary; heartbroken still over his breakup with Trey and in a whole new place due to his upcoming gig as a parent. Not to mention the fact that his best friend is getting married, his modeling career is changing for the best–everything is changing and so is he.

And with Corrine writing a tell-all with Deanna about her relationship with Gideon, and expressing her wish to have him all too herself, things can’t get any worse. Right?

Right?

Okay–so maybe that’s not entirely true.

You see, in One with You we wrap up a lot of plots but we also open up new ones. Gideon’s mother makes her reappearance and it goes exactly as you assumed it would. She is such an… an intolerable woman that I just cringed anytime she popped up in the series. Gideon’s other family members come about as usual, too, but in a better way.

I loved his relationship with his step-father, first of all. And how at least he has some sense about the entire situation of Gideon’s abuse. Gideon desperately needed that in his family and after years of not receiving it, was shocked to find that Christopher Vidal Sr. had simply not known any of itt because Gideon’s mother kept it from him.

Cue the divorce plot! I did feel bad for Ireland, though. I have a soft spot for Gideon’s little sister; she’s just a sweetie and full of life and totally steals the scenes when she’s around. I still wish for a spin-off of her, to be honest.

She isn’t in the novel for long, but we do get a solid idea on what’s going on with her, how she is feeling about her parents splitting up and what’s going on with her romantic life. At 17 it’s not surprising that she has had a bad experience with a guy who is a player–I have to say, I loved that Eva and Magdalene concocted a plan with her to make the guy jealous via Cary.

It worked splendidly and made me want more of them together.

(I like to imagine that years from now, when Ireland is properly grown up, she and Eva become awesome badass sisters and have long chats Ala Sex and the City with Megumi and Shawna and Magdalene and other ladies. Oh, and Cary and Mark and such. Basically, all the friendships!)

The most important plot comes not from Gideon and Eva’s second wedding/vow renewals. Instead it comes in the form of a long lasting feud we’ve seen spark up (between Gideon’s abusers family) and just how far these creeps will go. Indirectly, it ties in with the second suspenseful plot in this installment.

Which is the backstory of Monica Trammel. Now, now, we all have our opinions on her and her overbearing techniques and I have not liked her on some occasions in the past. In One with You, we learn more about her and that mysterious air she carries as well as why she acts the way she does.

Boy, is it intense and unexpected! A total twist that I would not have seen coming but upon further inspection it makes sense and makes things all the more heartbreaking. I’ve found a new respect for Monica and was so surprised by her identity and backstory, I’ve been sitting here thinking about it all morning and it’s taking a lot in me not to spoil it for the readers.

I will say that I wish we had more of it. That we could have read her diaries or that Day would publish a prequel to the series about Monica, her family and life and how she met Eva’s father. It would be an incredible read.

That being said…

One with You is shaky at times and towards the end felt a bit rushed, but is a solid endgame for such a fun series. It’s quite long but the format and suspense makes it a quick read–I finished it in just a little over one sitting and couldn’t put it down.

I even brought it with me to get my hair and nails done. But that’s not entirely unexpected. Sylvia Day does it again with her explosive romance, intriguing characters and smartly laid plots–I’m going to miss the world of Crossfire, but I’m so pleased with it.

The fans are going to love it.Visibly more mature than the last installments (meaning, all that growth of the characters) and highly heartbreaking, heartwarming and suspenseful, the series ends with a promise and a whole lot of heart. I loved it!