Fayeth

Hi Fayeth,

I don’t think that Gideon would have stolen Elizabeth’s engagement ring.  I just wondered what he may have said to his mother to get his hands on it.  I don’t think that he would have asked her when he and Corinne were engaged.  Gideon describes that time in his life with a lot of distress and panic.  Somehow I don’t think that if what everyone has said is true and that that ring represented a really positive time in his life with his mother and father, I don’t think that Gideon would have given Corinne that ring.

 

Whether Gideon was willing to admit that to himself or not, on some level, he knew that a marriage with Corinne would have been a disaster and in the end he would have lost himself and a very precious rare memento of a happy time in his life.  What do you think?  What does everyone think?

 

 

I completely agree, he would never have stolen the ring or given it to Corinne.  That is the point that I was making, Elizabeth seems shocked and if it was not (which I am positive it isn't) one of those two situations, than most likely he asked in general for it or it was given to him and yet she (Elizabeth) is so surpised to see it on Eva. 

I'm still surprised Elizabeth even had the ring .... that the Feds didn't seize it along with every other auctionable valuable she and her now-dead-husband owned. As Gideon noted, she'd already faced financial ruin once. Based on what happened with the real-life Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, the government seized practically everything of value both Madoff and his wife owned, auctioning the stuff off to go toward the victim fund.

 

Perhaps some sort of special exception applies to engagement/wedding rings. Even by hard-nosed government standards, ripping the engagement and wedding rings off the hand of a crook's wife (widow in Elizabeth's case) is cold. Or perhaps the ring was some sort of family heirloom from Elizabeth's side of the family. It's uncommon but not unheard of for a woman to wear an engagement ring that's an heirloom from her own family instead of wearing a brand new one bought by the fiance.

 

In any case, it would appear that ring was perhaps one of the sole valuables left from the Cross marriage. I envision Elizabeth setting it aside after she married Vidal, telling Gideon it would be his some day to pass on to his wife. Gideon became estranged from his family in his early teens, so it kinda made sense that when he got engaged to Corrine, he bought Corrine a ring himself instead of accepting Elizabeth's to use .....

 

..... and so what incredibly powerful message it did send that Gideon chose perhaps the only heirloom left from his parents life together to give to a woman he clearly means to spend the rest of his life with.

 

 

May I add one more thing too...

 

It is a VERY powerful message that Gideon sent to Eva and his entire family that the ring he gave her was the same ring his Father gave his Mother.  I have seen a few posts on here saying things like Eva shouldn't have accepted it or asked for another ring.  What we need to realize is that this ring, even if we know it was tainted by a Ponzi scheme, it represents something very important and special for Gideon and that is why he gave it to her.

 

As the wife of a man who does not have any sisters, I can honestly tell you that I would be honored to receive pieces of jewelry from my Husband that were his Mother's or even if my Mother-In-Law shared her jewelry with me.  Jewelry cares stories, sentimentality and something that is precious.  I am sure throughout their marriage Eva will receive not only a wedding band (maybe not though) and anniversary rings, just like her promise ring which was brand new, but this engagement ring was probably the most important thing that Gideon has from his childhood with his Dad, which he has happy memories of. 

Hi Kirsten, 

Do you think that it was Elizabeth Vidal seeing Eva wearing her old engagement ring that set her off?  Which would lead me to my next question; how would Gideon get his hands on that ring?  Usually women keep their engagement rings and only pass them down to their children way later on in life (or if a child specifically asks for said ring) but usually the mother would be aware of whom her child was going to propose to?  It seemed like Elizabeth was blind-sided when she saw that ring on Eva.  What do you think?  What does everyone think?

 

 

I too have asked this question (I posted at least 6 questions and would LOVE some help in the thread titled Crossfire Series Questions for SYLVIA) and wondered why Elizabeth was so shocked to see her original engagement/wedding ring on Eva's hand.  Gideon would have either been given the ring by Elizabeth sometime in the last 6 or so years (after he and Corinne were dis-engaged) or he asked for it from Elizabeth, which one would assume she would have asked why he wanted it.   Either way she GAVE him the ring.  I do not take Gideon for a stealer and even if he was I am sure she would have noticed something like that missing. 

Hi Julie,

You make a good point.  How do you think Gideon convinced his mother to sell Ireland’s shares in Vidal records?  Do you think that there was any arm-twisting involved?

 

Julie,

 

I took Gideon's explanation to Eva at face value, Vidal Records was in financial turmoil and he didn't want to see his Mom be hurt by financial problems again.  Ireland was young enough that her shares were not actively being used/managed and it would be a lot easier for him to take them over at that time.  However I have wholeheartedly felt that although Gideon was  a little standoffish with Ireland, that he really did care for her and always had intentions of giving her, her shares back whenever she would legally receive them, either 18 or 21 or after college...whenever.

 

I believe that Gideon has always had a fairly good relationship with Chris (Sr.) and wouldn't want his family to suffer.  If he didn't buy Ireland's and a majority of the public shares, than the family business would be less family and I believe that he wanted to help keep the business in the family as well as guaranteeing a future for not only Ireland by Christopher (Jr.) which we know, from what he has told Eva, that he has tried to help Christopher many times, including giving him money.

Hi Fayeth, 

What you just theorized could have some devastating consequences for all parties, but my one question would be that if Gideon didn't know about Anne Lucas and her brother, do you think that maybe Anne Lucas knew about Gideon and his possible connection to her brother?  Did Anne Lucas possibly bed Gideon in revenge but the plan backfired when she fell in love with him.

 

Although by outsider standards, it doesn't seem like Anne was the least bit affected by her fling with Gideon.  That woman is one cold character.  What do you think?  What does everyone think?

Gigi,

Since we don't know if Anne was the therapist working with Elizabeth while her brother work with CVJ and Gideon than I cannot say if she knew. If Anne was, then I would think that she did know and maybe her intentions with him as an adult were more demented. If she was not the one working with Elizabeth, I would think she would have no clue about her brother's actions. Since her husband was "consulted" on Gideon, as a Dr., I am not sure if patient doctor confidentiality is mandated. So she could have heard about what happened to Gideon and put 2 and 2 together. We have to remember though that Gideon was a boy when he was raped and probably at least 21 when he and Anne had the affair. That is a really long time for her to have harbored something. With all that said, she could have also just been bored wife and wanted a young, rich and powerful man to rock her world and when she saw him at the event she went after him.

I realize that we are all trying to keep our posts on the correct threads and not re-post things that were posted else where, however I think that one of the questions that I posed on the thread that has some questions (I urge you all to read because many of us, myself included, have a lot of questions and we could use your thoughts) for Sylvia on it, might fall into play about Eva's younger years and her growing up.  Here is the question.

 

-Where was Eva born and raised? For some reason I always thought it was NY however she talks about being in NY now and it being her adopted home. So if she was not born and raised in NY I would assume it would be CA, which is where her parents met. Although she doesn't talk much about her childhood it is made to sound like Victor was not around often, including but not limited to when Nathan was raping her. So the question again is where was she raised and will we ever learn more about her childhood and relationships with her parents in her formative years? 

 

We know that Monica left home when she was pregnant, but where to.  We know that Eva was a four (I believe) when she married Mr. Barker so between birth and then, where were they?  Again Victor seems like he was kept away from Eva, so what are we missing?

This is a question on a different topic.

I've been re-reading the part of the book where Gideon tells Eva about his abuser being Anne's brother-in-law, and I'm confused about the time line. So Lucas lied and Anne's brother really had done what Gideon said. And I get that's why Gideon had an affair with Anne, to pay him back. But when did Gideon threaten Anne's brother with exposure so he couldn't practice and committed suicide? Was this after his deal with Anne? Did Anne know about what her brother did? Could someone explain?

 

Nrock, 

 

I could be wrong but something makes me believe that Gideon didn't know that Lucas' BIL was in rapist until her was older and AFTER he had the affair with Anne. In RIY he states that he was not interested in Anne until he found out that she was Lucas's wife. I think for Gideon he knew what Lucas did to him and wanted to hurt him by having the affair with Anne. I am assuming at some point after he and Anne were over that is when he realized Anne's connection to his rapist and that is when the threat, etc. was made. Make sense? Does that help?

As silly as this sounds I want to say how PROUD I am of Gideon.  That man has changed for the better and really made himself into a man who not only is capable of accepting but also giving love, a man that has proven that is his word is solid and that he truly whole heartedly cares about Eva.  At the beginining of the book it still frustrated me that everytime Eva said "I love you," which in my opinion she said a lot, he never said it back.  Yes, I know how he feels about the phrase, but his response was something similar, most of the time to "I know" and that irked me.  However the way he really opened to her, turned his back on Corinne and changed make me so proud of him.

 

With that said I was really disappointed in Monica and Victor, I know that most everyone here loves the, but I have a real problem with cheating and I hate that Monica cheated with Victor.  I also think that their cheating was important for Eva to see before she got married, so she could see the pain caused by their actions.

This is the perfect thread for me. I have so many questions and thoughts, some are basic and others are more specific. If I had Sylvia's ear for a while, these are SOME of the questions I would ask her. I would love your input (obviously), so here goes.

 

-Where was Eva born and raised? For some reason I always thought it was NY however she talks about being in NY and it being her adopted home. So if she was not born and raised in NY I would assume it would be CA, which is where her parents met. Although she doesn't talk much about her childhood it is made to sound like Victor was not around often, including but not limited to when Nathan was raping her. So the question again is where was she raised and will we ever learn more about her childhood and relationships with her parents in her formative years?

 

-With Gideon owning the building that Cary and Eva live in, does Richard still pay rent or did Gideon just take over the lease or not charge them?

 

- Why was Elizabeth so surprised to see her original engagement/wedding ring on Eva's hand? I am assuming that Gideon got it from his Mom and that Elizabeth would not just have given it to him without asking or caring why. She obviously knew that he never gave it or asked for it when he and Corrine were engaged, so why would she be so surprised?

 

- It seems pretty obvious that Ireland adores Eva, how does her Mom who she is close with feel about it since Elizabeth doesn't care for Eva much? Chris seemed to really like Eva so will he also be a a supporter of Eva and Gideon with his daughter?

 

- What is going on with Megumi? She is sick for multiple days, which seemed to come out of no where but is also not returning Eva's calls which is really strange. It would lead you to think that something happened between Eva and Megumi.

 

- Who really thinks that Cary is Tatiana's baby daddy?

 

 

OK I think this is enough for now

I am happy and sad, it's bittersweet, to say that I finished EWY last night.  I took my time and read the book over the last three days.  I am excited to read what every has to say, but I am afraid by the time I leave work and get home that the boards will have blown up and it will take me all weekend to read it all.

 

I hope everyone has a great Friday and I am excited to hear what everyone though.  Just out of curiosity, I have some questions I would love to ask Sylvia.  Do you know if there is an email address or somewhere we can write her?  I looked on FB and there is no option to Message her. 

@foxfire40cm50: @SylDay I don't care if you get this or not but with the third crossfire book you may have lost your tough. the first two where better

 

I think the sad part about this, is that I would bet that had this reader read EWY months ago and not been waiting so long, they would have liked the book a whole lot more. 

 

I am still reading EWY for the first time, but I personally think that Sylvia was set up for some failure by Penguin and we were set up for some level of dissapointment, making all of us Crosslovers wait so long and stringing us on.  Most of us know what it is like to wait forever for our favorite singer's new CD, author's book or favorite actor's movie to be released and after all the mass anticipation to be let down.

 

I hate that Sylvia fell victim to her publisher's timeline. 

I hope my question isn't too random, but I was wondering about something.  Do you think that Gideon knew about Eva and Brett's relationship prior to the concert on Friday night when the two men got into the big fight?  Also if he did know about Eva and Brett, did he know that Golden Girl was about her?

Just curious...Is anyone going to go through the Chapter snapshots, after the book is released and read, and do an explanation of each of them. From what we know from Chapter 1, the snapshot seemed to be pretty loosely based. I am just interested, since I didn't keep track of all the snapshots and I know a lot of people did.

 

 

I am interested to see what you think of this book.  I became a huge fan of Raine Millers when Naked first came out.  I anxiously awaiting the third book in the series, much like I am anxiously awaiting the third book in this series.  Raine and Sylvia have a lot in common, both started writing period pieces in the romance genre before starting to write more modern books.  I prefer the modern set books than the older setting, however I have heard that Raine's older set books are fantastic and after I read EWY and a couple other books, I plan to go back to Raine.

 

Enjoy, Ethan and Brynne.  I hope you fall in love with them as I have

I too have become a fan (obsessed LOL) with this new (If you can call it that) romance Genre.  I have really enjoyed Raine Miller's Blackstone Series, the third book was released recently.  Emily Snow's book Devoured, there are more coming out in that series, there is a prequel to Devoured called All Over You.  H M Ward writes short little books but there are many in each series.  Sydney Landon is great, there are four books in her Danver's series and it starts with Weekends Required.  Ruth Cardello has a good series also, the fifth was recently released.  I hope that helps.

I suppose you could be right Julie, maybe they are only filming the scene in London for the honeymoon

 

I would like to think that just the honeymoon scenes are being filmed in London.  Although I love London, I live in Oregon and would love to see all the beauty that Oregon and Washington have, properly displayed in the movies.  I too met EL and thought she was very lovely.  I have never even though about comparing FSOG and the Crossfire series, they are both enjoyable and fun to read in their own rights. 

 

As for the filming, with all the buzz around the books and the possibility of a movie being made and the casting, etc., I am surprise that it has not been made more public that filming began.  Maybe I am just off the grid (with my nose in a book) but on this page is the first I heard.

The non-official picture, the rings, did remind me of something, though --

 

Corrine proposed to Gideon all those years ago.

He'd have been around 20 years old at the time -- already rich enough that he could afford that year to hire Angus away from the Vidals.

Did Gideon go pick out an engagement ring on his own and present it to Corrine in some romantic way?

OR ...

Did she have to take it upon herself to drag Mr. Doesn't Do Romantic Gestures to Tiffany's in order to pick out a ring?

 

If I had to guess ....

 

She probably waited and waited and waited for him to get her a ring, and when she figured out he wasn't going to do it on his own, dragged him to the jewelry store. His heart really wasn't in this engagement, wasn't in this relationship. The only reasons he said "yes" was because he figured that she'd be the only one who would even want to marry him and he didn't want Corrine ending up with some other guy. A combination of settling and insecure possessiveness, in other words -- not love.

 

 

I have often wondered about this.  Some couples never get engagement rings or other symbolic signs, but normally get married rather quickyly.  I do not recall the mention of a ring ever, either Corrinne to Gideon or Gideon to Corrinne.  I guess I just assumed that their engagement was more of a verbal thing.

I hope that this book is a happy book.  The book I am reading right now has been bawling and I need some happy romance not sad romance

Since we are discussing pronunciation of names, does anyone know how we are supposed to pronounce Magdalene? I've wondered this since is first started reading the stories and it kills me every time I come across her name. Thanks for any help with this.

 I have listed to the audiobooks and read the books.  Both the Eva in this book and Eva Mendez pronounce their names the same way.  It is Aaava not Eeeva, I believe that was discussed a long time along and we were told which pronounciation is correct.  Magdalene is pronounced MagdalenA. 

I wanted bring something up and put out some feelers...One of the things that I have been most excited about with the snapshots is to see how they relate to the chapters. The first snapshot was of the front page of a newspaper with the word "Press" (I believe) written up top and a pen. We all speculated as to what it could mean and after reading the first chapter we find out that the snapshot is in reference of a reporter than came to Eva's apartment building.  It has been mentioned before that their snapshots are canned photos, meaning they were not taken for the purpose of this book, but instead are just general pictures that were found that symbolize a part of each chapter.  The fun for me will be after I have slowly (I like to make it last) read this book to go back to all of the snapshots and see how they fit in.

 

I think some of us are reading a little too much into each of snapshots, I admit I have been too, however after seeing the first snapshot and how it represented nothing like most of us thought it would, I think it best to take the snapshots at face value and see them for what they truly are. 

 

Just a thought.

Right now I'm reading the bad boy series by M.leighton. I just finished up to no good by Carl weber (very good book) in between book I listen to BTY and RIY on audible..! I have seven years to sin on audible but I can't seem to get into it..!! But yea I'll take suggestion to.!

 

 

I really liked the Bad Boy Series, I have read that as well as others by M. Leighton and I enjoyed the books a lot for what it is worth.  I have found quite a few authors that I have also enjoyed reading their books.  KA Robinson, J Kenner, Sydney Landon. Cora Carmack, Raine Miller and Maya Banks (the 2nd of 3rd in the series I am reading is being released on Tuesday) just to name a few

I am a member of Audible and own both of these books and have RIY pre-ordered already.  I listen to Audiobooks on my iPhone all day at work and try not to blush too much.  My hubby teases me because I like to read a book and then listen to the audio, I tell him that it gives me a 3D vision of the books that I just read.  Anyway I am hooked on audiobooks.  I personally think that an audiobook is better after I have read the book, because then I know what is internal thoughts and not verbalized thoughts. 

So maybe I am REALLY far off and being sick and staying home from work is making me a little loopy.  However I am assuming that the pen and paper have something to do with them writing something in the paper or maybe something was written in the paper.  Originally my mind went to the crossword puzzle in the paper, because whatever do you need a pen for when reading the paper.  Then I thought again and didn't take it so literally, again I am home sick today LOL. 

 

Maybe Gideon decided that since he is always so good at manipulating the press with pictures, that this time he would do it in writing.  No I do not have any kind of idea as to what was written, but maybe he gave an interview about Nathan to the newspaper in hopes of getting their story to the press before the press starting speculating. 

I like the line of thinking that Angus stayed with the Vidals knowing that he could do more for Gideon, continuing to work for them and training Gideon how to protect himself and be more of a solid man.  I never thought of that as a reason why Gideon would hire him away from the Vidals. but if Angus filled the void of a "Father Figure" to Gideon than it makes sense.  There is a lot of love and respect, as well as loyalty between Gideon and Angus.   

 

As for Angus knowing that Gideon would know when to stop the fighting, that fits well in your theory of Angus training him.

Just a thought and maybe I am way off...Do you think that maybe the snippets are like a "pre" story to EWY. Meaning that EWY picks up a couple weeks after RIY not immediately and these snippets are about their sneaky ways of seeing each other and then when EWY starts they are able to be back together.

 

Sylvia has said that these snippets/teasers are not necessarily going to be in EWY. So I keep reading these as if they are snippets and a little view of how those couple of weeks went when they had to sneak around.