Stacia in Progress

You know how there's a first time for everything? Today might hold one of those firsts for me. Generally, if I give a book a 2 star rating, it means 1 of 2 things :1. I mildly disliked the book as a whole.2. I enjoyed parts of the book and hated others. Most often, my 2 star ratings fall under this category. There are so many books out there which might have been great but one or two issues/plot devices ended up skewing my entire perspective.Bared to You does not fit into either category above. I did not dislike the book, nor did I have any big issues with specific plot points.So why the 2 star rating? I really couldn't say. If I'd read BTY a year ago, I probably would have enjoyed it much more because it might have felt different, given that I hadn't yet read other similar types of stories. As I was reading, I found myself nodding along and making notes of points which I agreed with. The sex was verrah nice and the characters weren't all bad. This could have been a win. For whatever reason, I just didn't find myself clicking with the story. It took me 4 days to read a book that should have taken me a day or two max.If I had to guess my reasons for checking out, this would probably be why :1. I've read more adult contemporary romance and mainstream erotica in the past two months than I have during my entire 2 year period on GR. At some point, I was going to hit the wall of "enough for now." I should have known to pace myself by breaking things up with some fantasy or historical books.2. Office romances and white-collar men are my least favorite types of stories and heroes to read about. This type of book has to really catch my attention in order to get a high rating from me. I simply prefer blue-collar heroes and grittier real-world settings.Because of my personal biases, I'd ask anyone who's considering this book to take my review as the rare fly in the ointment. Go read some reviews from people who loved the book before making the decision whether or not to read this one. They might be able to show why Bared to You would rock your world.Since I don't really have anything negative to say about the book, I will now skip to a huge positive :FINALLY it happened. I got to see messed up characters take legitimate responsibility for their problems.Abby and Travis, this is how it's done :"We just have to make you feel secure." He ran his fingers through my hair. "How do we do that?"I hesitated a moment, then went for it. "Would you go to couples therapy with me?"He kissed me. "I'll do it. I'll go."Dominant or not, Gideon and I were going to have to work on which lines crossed over into my freak-out zone.Okay, there actually was another positive. Even though I wasn't a fan of some of the stalking and controlling issues outside of the bedroom (which I will excuse because of the point above. Flaws rarely bother me when people are willing to work at them), I did turn into a giddy schoolgirl at dirty talk and control inside of the bedroom...His hips ground against mine, prodding as if to say, Feel me? I'm in you. I own you."I'm an animal with you," he murmured. "I want to mark you. I want to possess you so completely there's no separation between us."