One Chapter A Day - Re-Read Of Bared and Entwined

[sscrph]

Oh Gideon Gideon Gideon!

Chapters 6& 7 things went from bad to worse. Poor Eva, how could it go so horribly wrong so quickly.

My favourite passage is I swallowed pass the lump in my throat. "You have a wonderful speech, Gideon. It was the highlight of my evening"

He sucked in a sharp breath at the implied insult, then shoved a hand through his hair.

Then to top it, Eva was ambushed by the delightful Magdalene.

Bet Eva wished she had stayed at home and washed her hair!!

Yes I love that speech line too...

[LN Cronan]

Are we all on the same page, that the redhead who speaks to Eva, after Gideons speech is indeed Anne Lucas. I think it was mentioned in a previous post. This is the only time she pops up personally, but a later mentioned in NC.

 

I've already read Chapter Seven and have already drafted my reader's guide (which I'll post tomorrow, after everyone else has had a shot at getting through the chapter themselves today.

 

I went back and forth on whether to add the redhead as a character, but I held off for now. The reason why is that we never do learn   her identity later in Bared (nor in Reflected either). This is vastly different from Gideon's driver, barely mentioned when he first appeared in the story. Soon, we will learn the driver's name -- and learn he is a major character.

 

But yes, I believe that redhead who approached Eva at the fundraiser is a red flag -- she was Anne Lucas, and we'll learn more about her in Entwined as we learn more about the role Anne's husband, Dr. Terry Lucas, likely played in the child sex abuse cover-up.

[LN Cronan]

Oh Gideon Gideon Gideon!

Chapters 6& 7 things went from bad to worse. Poor Eva, how could it go so horribly wrong so quickly.

My favourite passage is I swallowed pass the lump in my throat. "You have a wonderful speech, Gideon. It was the highlight of my evening"

He sucked in a sharp breath at the implied insult, then shoved a hand through his hair.

Then to top it, Eva was ambushed by the delightful Magdalene.

Bet Eva wished she had stayed at home and washed her hair!!

 

It saddens me how Eva woke up Sunday morning firmly convinced every nasty thing Magdalene said was the truth.

 

In Magdalene's defense, she had every reason to believe it was true Eva already was on the reject pile. Because up to that point it was true, given how Gideon never kept around any woman he f******. The only women who got any respect were his female friends, especially the ones he took out (like Magdalene). Plus Magdalene would have watched the pair of them like a hawk that night, able to see how cold Gideon was and how miserable Eva was.

 

I actually came to like Magdalene in Reflected, because of what Magdalene did the morning after Gideon yet again made Eva miserable in front of a high society crowd (his having spent all dinner sitting between Corrine and Eva, giving all his attention to Corrine and not even looking at Eva.)

 

Magdalene eavesdropped the whole time, so she knew Gideon was trying to defuse the possibility Corrine would further upset Eva -- but poor Eva ended up walking out on Gideon, and Magdalene was shocked Gideon actually ran after Eva.

 

The next day, Magdalene called Eva at work to explain everything she witnessed. Yes, on some level Magdalene was siding with Eva purely to thwart Corrine, the person Magdalene believed was the real romantic rival. But mostly, Magdalene was defending Gideon. Doing so proved Magdalene actually is a real friend to Gideon -- she sincerely wants him to be happy, even if that means it's with someone other than her (Magdalene). Magdalene is what Corrine should be but isn't -- selfless enough to wish Gideon happiness, instead of desperately chasing Gideon down to keep him for herself.

[julie54]

Poor Eva. Her fragile self esteem plunged into the basement, after her car crash date. It's a good job she has Cary to stand by her, he always seems to say the right things at the right time. I would love to know what he said to Gideon , in his big brother chat.

Chris "I'm a weasel" Vidal jnr, probably thinks he has a shot at Eva. Huh! Wrong!!

[sscrph]

Poor Eva. Her fragile self esteem plunged into the basement, after her car crash date. It's a good job she has Cary to stand by her, he always seems to say the right things at the right time. I would love to know what he said to Gideon , in his big brother chat.

Chris "I'm a weasel" Vidal jnr, probably thinks he has a shot at Eva. Huh! Wrong!!

Our girl knows how to bounce back though because her sat nite crashed and burned but she gave it back to Gideon(BFE) with that great line about his speech being the highlight of her evening. Cross may be a tsunami as Cary later puts it but Eva sure is a tornado at the very least!!!

[sscrph]

It saddens me how Eva woke up Sunday morning firmly convinced every nasty thing Magdalene said was the truth.

 

In Magdalene's defense, she had every reason to believe it was true Eva already was on the reject pile. Because up to that point it was true, given how Gideon never kept around any woman he f******. The only women who got any respect were his female friends, especially the ones he took out (like Magdalene). Plus Magdalene would have watched the pair of them like a hawk that night, able to see how cold Gideon was and how miserable Eva was.

 

I actually came to like Magdalene in Reflected, because of what Magdalene did the morning after Gideon yet again made Eva miserable in front of a high society crowd (his having spent all dinner sitting between Corrine and Eva, giving all his attention to Corrine and not even looking at Eva.)

 

Magdalene eavesdropped the whole time, so she knew Gideon was trying to defuse the possibility Corrine would further upset Eva -- but poor Eva ended up walking out on Gideon, and Magdalene was shocked Gideon actually ran after Eva.

 

The next day, Magdalene called Eva at work to explain everything she witnessed. Yes, on some level Magdalene was siding with Eva purely to thwart Corrine, the person Magdalene believed was the real romantic rival. But mostly, Magdalene was defending Gideon. Doing so proved Magdalene actually is a real friend to Gideon -- she sincerely wants him to be happy, even if that means it's with someone other than her (Magdalene). Magdalene is what Corrine should be but isn't -- selfless enough to wish Gideon happiness, instead of desperately chasing Gideon down to keep him for herself.

I hope Magdalene does not let us down in the next book because I am really starting to like her...As I said maybe Magdalene+Arnoldo TLA

[LN Cronan]

Up until Eva slammed Gideon (by implying the lovemaking in the limo meant nothing) Gideon had been in snarky mood himself: bickering with Eva as they danced, getting confrontational with Cary when Cary stepped in.

 

But as soon as what Eva said hit Gideon and it dawned on him just had badly he'd hurt her, his snarkiness stopped in its tracks. He tried gently saying good-bye (by then, he had to rush off to answer yet another Corrine-in-crisis phone call.)

 

He promised to call Eva, and he displayed tenderness by touching her face and looking in her eyes.

 

He did call the next day -- almost incessantly. Too bad for him Eva had reclaimed her self-respect and avoided answering the phone or even listening to messages. Monday morning, she planned to drop the plans they'd set Friday afternoon to have lunch together on Monday. Eva set protective boundaries -- a sign that she has as much, if not more, self-respect inside as she does terrible insecurities.

[sscrph]

Hi LN, can you pre order the audiobook for Entwined? Thanks in advance...

[gabri]

Are we all on the same page, that the redhead who speaks to Eva, after Gideons speech is indeed Anne Lucas. I think it was mentioned in a previous post. This is the only time she pops up personally, but a later mentioned in NC.

Hi July! 

I think you're right. The only red-heads I can remember are Steve his sister, the bartender, who are not likely to show up to such a high profile-venue.

[julie54]

Up until Eva slammed Gideon (by implying the lovemaking in the limo meant nothing) Gideon had been in snarky mood himself: bickering with Eva as they danced, getting confrontational with Cary when Cary stepped in.

 

But as soon as what Eva said hit Gideon and it dawned on him just had badly he'd hurt her, his snarkiness stopped in its tracks. He tried gently saying good-bye (by then, he had to rush off to answer yet another Corrine-in-crisis phone call.)

 

He promised to call Eva, and he displayed tenderness by touching her face and looking in her eyes.

 

He did call the next day -- almost incessantly. Too bad for him Eva had reclaimed her self-respect and avoided answering the phone or even listening to messages. Monday morning, she planned to drop the plans they'd set Friday afternoon to have lunch together on Monday. Eva set protective boundaries -- a sign that she has as much, if not more, self-respect inside as she does terrible insecurities.

Fortunately for Eva, although what Gideon did to her, resurrected her insecurities. She got the reassurance she needed at the end of the chapter, that he valued their lovemakng and that she meant something to him. Something that he had never done before.

[LN Cronan]

Hi LN, can you pre order the audiobook for Entwined? Thanks in advance...

 

Yes, Audible.com has it already available for pre-order (which I have already done). I've already reserved a copy of the actual book (i.e. paper copy) through my local indie bookstore, to ensure one is set aside for me. If God forbid, the shipment doesn't arrive on time or someone sells inadvertenly sells my reserve copy, my reading back-up will be to download to my Kindle.

[gabri]

Hi everybody, these speech lines are what I liked most in Chap.7:

 

1) You gave a wanderful speech, Gedeon. It was the highlight of my evening.

 

2) I wanted the reassurance that he valued what we'd shared, that it meant something to him as it had to me.

 

3) The whole exchange with Magdalene on pg 105.

[LN Cronan]

Hi July! 

I think you're right. The only red-heads I can remember are Steve his sister, the bartender, who are not likely to show up to such a high profile-venue.

 

The three redheaded women we know the identities of are:

1. Shawna: Eva's new gal-pal, who for all intents and purposes is also Mark's sister-in-law (because Mark's long-time partner is Shawna's brother.) It was through Mark that Eva met Shawna.
2. The main receptionist for the top floor of the Crossfire, the first person anyone (including Eva) approaches to enter the headquarters of Cross Industries. She's a minor character whose name we don't learn, but she appears in several scenes.
3. Anne Lucas. By name, she's never appeared directly as a character in a scene. She does, however, appear by mention. We know she's a redhead because Eva saw an online picture of the Lucases at some noteworthy social function.

 

One more redheaded woman appears directly in a scene, in Chapter Six of Bared, but we never expressly learn her identigy later, and she doesn't appear again. However, this woman approached Eva at a noteworthy social function (the advocacy dinner) and was keenly interested in the fact Eva was Gideon's date. Connecting the dots, many of us believe that woman was Anne Lucas.

 

Hopefully, we'll find out for sure one of two ways:

1. Anne will appear again in Entwined, and Eva will recognize her from that night of the fundraiser.
2. Sylvia will give us a spoiler-question answer the redhead who talked to Eva in Bared Chapter Six was Anne.

[gabri]

There's such an emotional rollercoaster in Chap. 7 that by the end of it I felt dizzy.

They are obviously turning to their old habits in order to protect themselves against the 'learning curve' they are both facing. And Eva has the plus of having to confront Magdalene. Something Gedeon has to make up for as well!!!!

[gabri]

OMG Gabri I luv these labels BFF and BFE so entertaining and yes passing the baton-you nailed it!!

 

HI sscrph!

what does OMG stand for?

[sscrph]

The three redheaded women we know the identities of are:

• Shawna: Eva's new gal-pal, who for all intents and purposes is also Mark's sister-in-law (because Mark's long-time partner is Shawna's brother.) It was through Mark that Eva met Shawna.
• The main receptionist for the top floor of the Crossfire, the first person anyone (including Eva) approaches to enter the headquarters of Cross Industries. She's a minor character whose name we don't learn, but she appears in several scenes.
• Anne Lucas. By name, she's never appeared directly as a character in a scene. She does, however, appear by mention. We know she's a redhead because Eva saw an online picture of the Lucases at some noteworthy social function.

 

One more redheaded woman appears directly in a scene, in Chapter Six of Bared, but we never expressly learn her identigy later, and she doesn't appear again. However, this woman approached Eva at a noteworthy social function (the advocacy dinner) and was keenly interested in the fact Eva was Gideon's date. Connecting the dots, many of us believe that woman was Anne Lucas.

 

Hopefully, we'll find out for sure one of two ways:

• Anne will appear again in Entwined, and Eva will recognize her from that night of the fundraiser.
• Sylvia will give us a spoiler-question answer the redhead who talked to Eva in Bared Chapter Six was Anne.

But Eva did see a picture of Anne from her Internet search and did not connect the dots at that point...

[sscrph]

HI sscrph!

what does OMG stand for?

Hi Gabri it means oh my God or oh my gosh whatever works for you!!!

[gabri]

Hi Gabri it means oh my God or oh my gosh whatever works for you!!!

THANK YOU!!!  I'm having quite a hard time with acronyms in the book, and now I can tick this one off.

[julie54]

There's such an emotional rollercoaster in Chap. 7 that by the end of it I felt dizzy.

They are obviously turning to their old habits in order to protect themselves against the 'learning curve' they are both facing. And Eva has the plus of having to confront Magdalene. Something Gedeon has to make up for as well!!!!

Thinking about it, our hero has quite a tough time sorting out problems that other people create, all leading back to Eva. That Friday lunchtime in his office, after lunching with Stanton, when Gideon said to Eva "you're too much trouble" boy if only he knew!

[julie54]

THANK YOU!!!  I'm having quite a hard time with acronyms in the book, and now I can tick this one off.

hi Gabri

You are doing very well with your English. By the time we have finished analysing these books, which maybe never if Sylvia keeps writing about our favourite lovebirds, your command of English will be perfect. Perhaps you could teach us Italian. A challenge for you!

[gabri]

As for the baton-thing, who's standing behind Eva and gets her in his arms in almost a wrestling-move? Who's collecting the shawl when Eva decides to leave the dinner? Cary

[LN Cronan]

But Eva did see a picture of Anne from her Internet search and did not connect the dots at that point...

 

It's not easy, based on seeing one photo of a person, to immediately recognize him or her in person. Much depends upon the quality (or lack of) the picture, and it also depends upon how much of a close-up (or not) the picture is. If Eva later saw a close face shot of Anne, she might connect the dots and say, "Hey, she approached me that night and talked to me." Or maybe not even that, given how much of a miserable daze Eva had been in at the time and how many people had been approaching her. And the picture we know Eva did see was a couple shot of Anne and Terry Lucas at some function -- pictures like that tend not to be close-ups, because a lot of those pictures are taken in a way to show the people's outfits, not just faces.

[gabri]

Thinking about it, our hero has quite a tough time sorting out problems that other people create, all leading back to Eva. That Friday lunchtime in his office, after lunching with Stanton, when Gideon said to Eva "you're too much trouble" boy if only he knew!

He knew, the only thing he has still to realize is how much Eva is worth having in his life.

[gabri]

hi Gabri

You are doing very well with your English. By the time we have finished analysing these books, which maybe never if Sylvia keeps writing about our favourite lovebirds, your command of English will be perfect. Perhaps you could teach us Italian. A challenge for you!

you are welcome anytime!!

[gabri]

It's not easy, based on seeing one photo of a person, to immediately recognize him or her in person. Much depends upon the quality (or lack of) the picture, and it also depends upon how much of a close-up (or not) the picture is. If Eva later saw a close face shot of Anne, she might connect the dots and say, "Hey, she approached me that night and talked to me." Or maybe not even that, given how much of a miserable daze Eva had been in at the time and how many people had been approaching her. And the picture we know Eva did see was a couple shot of Anne and Terry Lucas at some function -- pictures like that tend not to be close-ups, because a lot of those pictures are taken in a way to show the people's outfits, not just faces.

 All the more so because Eva must be in a whirlwind of new faces she has to get accustomed to, what with her new job and her new life-style!