When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.
My Thoughts - C+
No recommendations of this book were made to me directly, but I gave into all the hype that surrounds it. First I got it on my audible app and tried to listen to it, but the narrator makes Anastasia Steele, the main character, sound like such a ditz that the book seemed so immature. So I only went a few chapters in before I had to borrow the book and actually physically read it, which made it more tolerable but not much. The subject material and plot and characters are all alluring, but the author is a poor excuse for a writer. I want to send this woman a thesaurus so she can expand her descriptive vocabulary. Every intimate scene was describe with the same adjectives, and it made me feel almost bored; even though each encounter was different, the authors repetitive vocabulary diminished her imaginative variety scenarios. She also needs to venture out into the world and listen to how real people converse because her dialogue sounds like she has not left her home since the 20s. Every character talks like they have been raised in etiquette school or have had grammar teachers for parents; normal people don't speak in the manner she is portraying and it hindered most of the conversations, cracking my belief of this story being a possible reality. I don't know who edited this book and thought that she shouldn't rewrite it from scratch but they need to start doing their job; or maybe E L James just needs to good back to school and get a writing degree of some sort before she hastily writes another literary mistake like this.
Now as for the actual story, it is intriguing and sexy and delicious. The main character, Ana Steele, is a strong, independent, career driven women fresh out of college, and she meets this magnetic, mysterious, beautiful young man, Christian Grey, who just so happens to be a BILLIONaire bachelor. (Don't we all at some point wish something like this would happen to us?) For undisclosed reasons these two are drawn to each other and embark on a dark and light relationship that will blow their minds (and ours!) and change both their lives completely. The sex scenes are painstakingly detailed, (aside from the fact that the same words and phrases are used over and over again to describe them) and they pull you right into the bed with them (or the shower or the elevator or the couch or the "Red Room of Pain" or the...well you get the picture!). So far I don't really see a plot though. Where is all this sex and lovemaking going to take us? I don't know if we are going to keep following these two into the bedroom for sex-capades or if there is going to be some actual substance to this series other than the erotic adventures they indulge in; I hope so because I am beginning to believe that this is just soft porn for [insert various non-offensive adjectives] women.
Quotes
"Unbidden and unwelcome tears pool in my eyes. Why am I crying? I sink to the ground, angry at myself for this senseless reaction. Drawing in my knees, I fold in on myself. I want to make myself as small as possible. Perhaps this nonsensical pain will be smaller the smaller I am." -Anastasia Steele
"Tomorrow, he says, and the word is pregnant with an unspoken promise." -Ana
"That was about as emotionally enriching as cotton candy is nutritious." -Ana
"The electric charge zapping beneath my skin under the gentle pressure from his thumb, firing into my bloodstream and pulsing around my body,heating everything in its path." -Ana
"The pain is indescribable...physical, mental...metaphysical...it is everywhere, seeping into the marrow of my bones. Grief. This is grief..." -Ana
Fifty Shades Darker
Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James
Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.
But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.
While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.
My Thoughts - B+
Now that I am actually entwined in these two lovers' lives, the terrible quality of writing has shifted towards the background, distracting me less and less as I read further and further; it is still there and pulls my attention only half the time now. (Hey, maybe the author just learned more while she was writing the second book...maybe not...) The mistakes are still there, I just don't notice them as much anymore. The thing that bothers me the most, is the way she wrote Ana's dialogue. She will say ridiculous phrases like, "holy cow" or "oh my, what the heck?" or "jeez" or "oh crap," but then in the very next sentence she's cursing left and right. It drives me crazy! Maybe it's just me?
The plot is starting to thicken as I had hoped. Ana is starting her new job and has a creepy boss that Christian doesn't approve of, and so he begins to interfere with her career. Christian also reveals some darker secrets, his ex's keep surfacing to cause trouble, and Ana has to cope with all these things and her chaotic feelings that surround Mr. Grey. I think this is one fastest times that I have read through a book; I could not put it down. The author has a bad, teasing habit of ending the chapter when things start heating up between Ana and Christian, usually during foreplay, resulting in me turning the pages non-stop. I am actually getting REALLY into this series, and I am tingling for the next (and last, awww) installment. I'm glad I pushed through the first one so I could get used to James' writing style and staert enjoying the story behind literary mista
Quotes
"My heart swells with joy but also pain for his suffering. And I know in this moment that my heart is big enough for both of us." -Ana
"Christian groans and encircles me in his arms, holding me as if I am the air he needs to breathe." -Ana
"I whisper, my throat hoarse and aching as it closes in, choking me with unshed tears." -Ana
Fifty Shades Freed
Third Book of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James
When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees.
Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.
Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.