Monday, January 9, 2012

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

My Thoughts:
Fifty Shades of Grey is a dark, intense, moving love story about two very different people who are attracted to each other from the start.  Christian has some pretty awful things in his past, although we don't have the whole picture.  He knows Ana is too innocent for him, but can't seem to stay away from her anyway.  There are some BDSM elements and this is an erotic story, but the focus is on the relationship.  Can they make it work?  Can she give him what he needs and still be true to herself?  There are some lighter moments as well.  I enjoyed the e-mail banter. I could not put this down and need the next book immediately. 


My Rating:  *****
Steam Factor: !!!!!
*Notes:  Strong language 

Where to get it:



Barnes & Noble



Where to find the author:
E.L. James
Twitter


Update 4-13-12 ***spoilers***

I originally wrote this back in January, before Dr. Drew, before it was sold to a big publisher, before the movie talk. Since this is my most popular post, I thought I would update with a few more thoughts.

Let me just say that the "mommy porn" thing drives me crazy. Yes, it has kinky sex in it. A lot of books do. You can find plenty of recommendations for them if that's what you are looking for. Not here, though, because it's not really my thing.

Dr. Drew's comments really irritated me because it was clear that he hadn't read the book. Ana has all the power in the relationship. Their relationship is not violent. Ana is a strong-willed character.  Too strong-willed, really, to be the sub Christian is looking for. When she thinks she can't handle what Christian needs, she walks away. Christian even tries to be more vanilla for her.

Yes, Fifty Shades started out as a Twilight fan fiction story called Master of the Universe. I was one who waited patiently for updates. Does it have anything to do with Twilight? Not really. Character names and descriptions. Vague things like hero things he is too dangerous to be around heroine but can't stay away. I am not one who has a problem with authors using fan fiction as a starting point for an original work.

Is the writing perfect? No. But if the story is told well enough, the writing can fade into the background and not be that important. I happen to like a story about a tortured hero who figures out he is good enough to be loved. I don't need everything to be realistic, that's why it's fiction. What can I say? I am a sucker for a Happily Ever After.

Here are links to my reviews of Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, the other two books in the 50 Shades Trilogy. 

4 comments:

  1. Love your review of this book and I agree with you. It wasn't kinky sex that kept me reading this book. It was the relationship between Grey and Ana. Yes, Ana has all the power in the relatinship and Grey, well you feel for him. He's a tortured man/child who has made something of his life, but still deals with the demons from the past. If you like dark heros, you will love this book regardless of what Dr. Drew thinks. Actually, I thought the second book in the series was even better than the first. Now I'm savoring the third book for a good long weekend read.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I couldn't agree more! Enjoy the third!

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  2. I couldnt put it down. What an awesome break from reality to a fanticy situation in my mind. It is something to think about and keep me smiling all the way to the end of the third book. Just fun reading!!! Dont overthink it :)
    Inrigued!

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