Fifty Shades Trilogy (Fifty Shades of Grey / Fifty Shades Darker / Fifty Shades Freed)

8.12% into the book: It's not hard to see Christian Grey is a geeky sort of guy, brilliant, business savvy, young billionaire, stunningly handsome, social, with ever so dark a side but Ana unravels him. He's had 15 women in his high-end S&M leather room but he's not woman savvy, he couldn't detect Ana was a virgin telling me women use and have used him, he's rich, so gold diggers would gather, those who think sex is the key give his brand of kink a try though I think money is still the moral of that story telling me more in that he is an innocent not the worldly womanizer. Enter Ana, a bone-head giving naive a whole new meaning. After incredible sex, passion beyond passion, intimacy like nobody's business, she can't talk to him without being self conscious? Each encounter is new? Seriously? interestingly enough it's evident intimacy doesn't live here, it's not personal it's business though Ana has him doing things he said he wouldn't like make love, but she's so self conscious with him, embarrassed, uncertain, after the first night that bond that should've been there ain't. There are secrets most likely, but I'd rather Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba's Madding Crowd. I began skimming through sex parts, his erection, her orgasm, kinky things we say in the heat of and made a decision. I'm putting Shades of Grey on the shelf. Maybe some other time or not and we don't need to have Paris. I got to page 151 of 1859: It occurred to me if I skimmed through all the sex parts to pick out the story, I'd probably be done with Book 1 in 30 minutes.

It's ok - I have no qualms with leaving it on the shelf.

September 15, 2018 – Started Reading
September 15, 2018 – Shelved

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY: When college student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly Ana realizes she wants this man, and Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian’s secrets and explores her own desires.

FIFTY SHADES DARKER: Daunted by Christian’s dark secrets and singular tastes, Ana has broken off their relationship to start a new career. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and while Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana is forced to make the most important decision of her life.

FIFTY SHADES FREED: 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. Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to turn Ana’s deepest fears into reality.

THE ABOVE IS FROM THE BOOK COVERS, and I copied them to give readers of this review a brief synopsis of each book in the trilogy.

First, these books are for adults. They have a lot of explicit content. This does not bother me, but some may not be comfortable reading some of the scenes.

Overall, I think I enjoyed the books. I read them quickly, and read all three, and found them hard to put down. Not sure my inability to put the books down were for the reasons the author would appreciate. Let me explain.

First the graphic sex scenes captured my attention in a "passing a car accident" sort of way. There are toys, several apparatus, and an entire room in this series devoted to BDSM. BDSM is not my preferred genre of books or sex, so this was a new world for me, and it had a hold of my attention, much the same way that passing a terrible car accident might. I wanted to see what had happened to cause the accident, completely out of morbid curiosity, all the while I hoped that no one died and that I didn't see blood as I passed.

There was a story hidden in all of the gratuitous sex though. The story did not seem like the focal point of of the story, so it seemed mildly lacking, as it appeared the sex scenes had more effort put into them than the rest of the story. The plot/story, if read on its own and skipping the sex scenes, may not have been able to stand on its own, or may be completely empty and boring. I would not suggest that the reader skip the scenes, no matter how gratuitous, as they are an integral part of the story.

I gave this series three out of five. I enjoyed it. I learned things that I was not looking to learn. There is whole other lifestyle out there that I have zero experiences in, and these books showed that love can exist even in these lifestyles, despite what so many believe. I could not give this book a four or a five star rating though because the story line was so empty when the sex scenes were removed. The story should have still been good with or without the BDSM, but this one, in my opinion, could not have stood on its own.

If this trilogy were meant to be a serious work of fiction, written to portray life inside a dangerous relationship, and how to come out of it healthy and intact, I could overlook the terrible writing style, but it isn't. This story is intended to glorify mental, emotional and physical abuse.
Anastasia Steele is a 22 year old virgin who is days away from graduating from college when she meets Christian Gray. Ana has a weak personality and serious self esteem issues and absolutely no serviceable life skills. In spite of being a fourth year English literature major on the cusp of college graduation, she doesn't own a computer, an ipod or even have an e-mail account, and, apparently, she has never had a real boyfriend. I'm not sure how an English Lit major made it through four years of college without having a computer or an e-mail account, but that's our girl.
Then....She meets Christian Gray, a "self made bazillionaire who is only a few years older than she is. Mr. Gray is quite proud of the fact that he has gotten where he is financially by being a bastard...an overbearing, controlling bastard.
Christian is instantly attracted to this lovely young thing who thinks she is mousy and unattractive. His control freak radar goes berserk, and he instantly zeroes in on his target.
Since Ana is such an innocent little lamb, she is obviously too naive to see that she is about to be led to slaughter. Naturally, because she has absolutely no self esteem, she is flattered by this handsome, rich and powerful man's attention. Although she is wise enough to know that something about the way he stalks her is a bit off, she is, none the less flattered by the attention that she doesn't think she is worthy of...
Aaawww.....isn't that cute? No, it's not cute. It's sad. It is also hokey and unbelievable, but it's still sad.
FIRST: HE STALKS HER: How romantic is it that he shows up at her place of employment (a hardware store that is only a three hour drive from where he lives), he shows up at the bar where she is having drinks with friends, he shows up at her mothers house, he even direct deposits money into her checking account....all without ever being given any information or without being told where any of these places are, or, for that matter, that she would even be at any of these places. This man even buys the company that she eventually goes to work for so that he can control her every move. (remember that she has, at no time, provided any information to him telling him where she lives, banks, works or dines, yet he knows everything there is to know about her, and every move she makes. He accesses her checking account? Romantic? No. He is a stalker. Stalking is illegal, not romantic.
THEN HE THREATENS HER: Isn't it sexy how he tells her that he wants to beat her so badly that she won't be able to sit for a week? Why does he want to beat her so severely? Because she went out for drinks with her friends..keep in mind, these two are not even dating at this point. He does actually beat her with a belt because she "defied him", and he tells her, frequently, that he wants to hurt her. He does frequently hurt her, because she does so many things to make him angry, that he honestly believes he has the right to punish her. This behavior is not sexy. It is abusive and it is illegal, not sexy.
AND HE CONTROLS HER. Isn't it sweet how he is continuously badgering her to become his submissive? He really want's her to sign his "contract" that pretty much states that he is in total control. That she has no rights and her needs and feelings don't count. She even has to get his permission to get out of the "contract" should she sign it. A contract that says that he is legally allowed to do whatever he chooses to her, and she is not allowed to tell anyone, for fear of severe punishment. He tells her that she is not allowed to talk to her friends about their relationship, that she is not allowed to visit her mother, This isn't sweet and endearing. It is frightening.
BUT MOSTLY, HE ABUSES HER. Bruises are a sure sign of true love, right? This man deliberately hurts her during her first sexual encounter, telling her that he wants her to hurt so that she will remember that she belongs to him. He beats her with a belt. He gets his pleasure from causing her pain. He has to be in control. He has to own her. This is not a healthy loving relationship. It is abusive and it is illegal.
Sure he stalks her, belittles her, rapes her, abuses her, and hurts her, and she knows that maybe this isn't normal behavior, but she also knows that he really does love her. How does she know this? Because he buys her things, that's how. He buys her an expensive book (just to show you that I know more about you than you expect) an Apple computer that hasn't even been released yet (because I AM that powerful that I can get Apple to sell it to me first, right). He gives her a fancy cell phone (all the better to track every move you make my dear), he upgrades her seat to first class (I know you didn't tell me you were going away. After all, I said NO when you first mentioned that you would like to visit your mom, didn't I? But hey...it's First Class, right? See...I know everything you do) He sells her car and buys her a new one (No, I didn't ask if you wanted a new car, or even what color you like, but remember, what you want or need doesn't matter. It's all about ME, remember? ) Heck...he even though she never told him where she would be working, or what her job would be, he still manages to buy the company she works for so that she can become an editor, fresh out of college. (No, you didn't study journalism, you studied English literature, but what the heck. You work for me now)
Through many great stretches of the imagination, Anastasia and Christian end up married. They have a few kids and live happily ever after...at least till one of the kids defies him and he beats the child unconscious and breaks Ana's nose when she gets in the way, trying to stop him...
No...that isn't the way the story ends, but it is the way real life ends with a man who has an emotional and mental disorder as severe as Christian Gray has.
BUT WAIT! We all know that women who are treated with no respect, women who are stalked, beaten, belittled and abused always live happily ever after, right? That is the message these books send to the hapless reader. My fear is that somewhere along the way a sweet young lady will read this stuff and think that just because her boyfriend has knocked out a tooth or two doesn't mean that he is a bad guy, it just means that he really really loves her and just doesn't know how to handle his intense feelings of love for her. Maybe having a baby will make things all better. Maybe if I stop being so stupid and doing things to make him angry. Maybe if I love him enough he will change. Maybe....
It's a frightening thought, but it is the message this book presents.
The 50 Shades trilogy is a work of fiction. It is not a well written work of fiction nor does it have a single literary redeeming feature. The story glorifies dominance, intimidation and abuse, and it does not, in any way give the reader an accurate depiction of the way a "healthy" BDSM relationship really works. A realistic BDSM love story could be a truly sensuous story, if told properly...but this...not so much.
E L James obviously knows nothing about abusive relationships. Perhaps she should have Googled mental abuse, physical abuse, stalking, sexual abuse and most importantly, BDSM, just once, and taken a few notes. Maybe, if she had any idea how to tell the behavior patterns apart, she would have been able to write a book that was a lot more entertaining and a whole lot less disturbing.
I have to confess, I didn't buy these books for my reading pleasure. I own a bookstore and I wanted to know why every woman in town wanted to, no, they NEEDED to read all three of these books. I didn't read these books because I enjoyed the story. I didn't read these books because I found them sensuous, sexy or exciting. I read them because I was curious. My curiosity has not been satisfied, because now I am curious about why any woman with an ounce of self esteem could possible enjoy reading a story about a young lady who is so misguided and abused. Perhaps my view of these books is tainted due partly to the fact that I lived through an emotionally and verbally abusive relationship. I felt trapped and saw submission as the only way out....until I got lucky, and he left.
Wouldn't it be nice if the popularity of these books is an indication that twisted, abusive relationships like Christian and Anastasia's are rare, and that is why so many normal, healthy, intelligent women could read these books and not be bothered by the underlying message of abuse that these books give the reader. I would like to hope so.
Wouldn't it be nice if 50% of the proceeds from the upcoming film would go to women's shelters to help educate women on how to avoid becoming involved in, and how to safely and successfully end these dangerous, abusive relationships.

Seriously. I wish I hadn't. Okay, I'm a bandwagon type of girl. I hop on when I hear about these "must-read" books. I have young two kids and limited reading time so I don't want to waste my time on reading books that suck. And I especially love reading the books that I know they are making/have made films for. Harry Potter? LOVED it. Hunger Games? First two books were awesome... third book was a bomb. My inner tween even enjoyed Twilight though I wished one-expression-Stewart hadn't starred in it. The public hadn't let me down so you can imagine my surprise and immense disappointment while finishing up the second book. I wished I had read the reviews before I bought the trilogy (which I normally do... stupid stupid!).

"Pull the trigger, Leila!!!" That's what I was screaming in my mind. I mean, wow.... Here I am wishing that the main character in this book, read in the FIRST PERSON, died. First off, it's incredily poorly written. The author, James, uses the same phrases OVER AND OVER... AND OVER AND OVER.... AND OVER AND OVER. Holy F#%@ and Holy S%^* can be found on every third page. And Ana seems to whisper a lot. I think the only parts that I kinda enjoyed were the emails written between Grey and Ana because she wan't actually talking. Then there's the subconscious and the inner goddess. At first, I thought it was cute. Then James, as it seems to be her usual fashion, killed it by working those two aspects into every other paragraph. It started to feel like Ana had multiple personality disorder.

And of course, there's the "You're mine!", "Yes, I'm yours!", "Don't leave me!", "I won't leave you! Ever! I won't! I promise, I won't!", "Do you really promise you won't leave me?!", "I promise so much because I'm so yours!", "MINE!!" (Cue barf) Then there's the controlling Grey (whom Ana also calls "Fifty".... not even a remotely cute pet name) who belongs on an episode of Maury called "My boyfriend is too controlling!" He's the type of man that NO woman should be involved with. She's ALWAYS afraid of overstepping her boundaries and is constantly walking on egg shells around him. AWESOME relationship! Two thumbs up!!

And lastly, the sex. These two kids are unable to have an honest conversation but they're able to bunny it up every other page. Because we all know, a solid foundation of any relationship is.... kinky sex? After a while, I started just skimming over the sex and looked for the parts where they found their release and started reading from there.

Wanna know why I finished the second book? The craziness from the crazy ex-girlfriends. It was the only exciting drama in the entire book.

I think this trilogy had a lot of potential, but needed a different writer (or editor). I also think that this story could have very well been wrapped up in a tidy ONE-booker instead of a trilogy. Had I bought the books in this series individually, I would definitely not have purchased the 3rd book. Quite frankly, I don't give an $%^& what happens to either character. I'll just hold onto this 3rd book in case the zombie apocalypse happens and I need burning material to start a fire.

Fifty Shades of Grey-The Trilogy

Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed make up the trilogy written by E L James. At this point, the reviews are numerous, merciless, angry and seductive. I had planned to write a review based on the storyline, but I think I shall divert down a different path. But I must say that without a doubt, the media hype and categorization of the trilogy as `mommy porn' is what brought these books to the forefront of reader curiosity and at the time, I hadn't thought about reading any or all of the books. But a couple of emails from a marketing director, and an agent (requesting my thoughts) brought me up short. Maybe I should read the books and see what all the fuss is about? So $30 and 3 nights later, I had completed the trilogy and now I offer my opinion-because yes-everything I have read about the series is strictly an opinion based on personal views. Descriptions from erotica, erotic romance, soft to hard core porn and BDSM have been used to categorize the genre, but in my opinion, the truth may very well lie somewhere in between or in a combination of descriptive titles and subjects.

Many reviewers opposed to the storyline content have attacked the quality of the writing comparing it to fan fiction and drivel. I will not address quality, as many other books I have read and reviewed, have been of a much poorer quality than this particular series, and yet the storylines have been interesting.

Erotic Adult Fiction: Erotic adult fiction is now a female driven genre both as a reader and an author. Once the domain of me, women writer's usually under author pseudonyms or initials only are pushing the envelope of erotic fiction. Once considered written porn, the genre of erotic fiction is fast becoming main-stream adult literature.

Why the rise in popularity? Several reasons.

The popularity has increased with the advent of ebooks. The anonymity for the reader, hidden behind the electronic age of virtual books, allows for anyone to purchase a book, without the fear of retribution, side-long glances from the 18 year old store clerk or 60 year old librarian, and instant gratification (so to speak) for availability. Similar to the days of Playboy and Hustler wrapped in brown paper on the upper shelves in the magazine section at the local corner store. Women and men no longer have to fear being judged by a stranger for their choices in reading material.

Society's Moral Values

Over the years, society has eased up on what they perceive to be a `more'. What was once considered `deviant' are quite diverse and can range from murder to rape, too fat to too thin, etiquette faux pas, and fetishes to perversions. Fetishes are usually harmless-an odd attraction -voyeurism e.g.. Many people believe as long as no one is hurt or being forced, and everyone is over 18, who are we to judge. But there is always the fine line.

But if a fetish escalates into perversions or something illegal e.g. whereby voyeurism leads to sexual assault, rape or murder, then society has laws and treatments for people with this kind of deviant behavior. Once thought as deviant behavior, especially for women.....reading erotic literature was considered immoral and in some cases, a sin (for those who follow religious dictates)....they would have hidden an erotic novel, tucked the book away in a sock drawer. But many of society's mores have become the norm. What was once unacceptable as reading material, is now a main stream best seller.

Many erotic storylines involve explicit sexual descriptive narration. The language is graphic and there is virtually nothing off limits except children and familial relations. Many women are now reading novels or series of novels featuring homosexual storylines. And of course, many of today's erotic fantasy novels involve MMF storylines-with multiple partners at one time. Again...fantasy is the operative word. Some of the Harlequin Romance novels are considered tame with their `suggestive or implied' sex as compared to most of the romantic/erotic adult storylines released today.

Television and the film industry have long had a rating system for what is perceived as appropriate for different age groups. Now the `rating system' has been applied to many of the different books and novels, due to the `graphic nature' of the content. And saying that....the ebook revolution does not discriminate against the virtual shopper. Identification is not required when ordering a book online from most of the websites.....all that is required is a valid charge card and an email address (for ebooks)

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy

Yes, there is some BDSM (BDSM is a term that stands for such patterns in sexual behavior as Bondage and Discipline, Domination and Submission, Sadism and Masochism. -bdsmguide.org). Like everything in life, there are degrees and valuations, and varying shades of grey (pun intended). Like a sliding color wheel, the BDSM content is revealed in shades and degrees. But the author never crosses the imaginary `hard-line' into true hard-core savagery. The `heroine' is never forced or coerced, she is aware at all times and enters into the relationship wholly aware. The storyline Dom/Sub relationship is never carried over into a public social context and the practice is always safe and consensual. Yes, there are times when a soft-line is pushed, but it is addressed throughout the story.

Now to backtrack slightly-this series is NOT about BDSM. This story is about addressing the truth, acknowledging responsibility, the loss of power and control, and the fight to gain it all back. This story is also about finding love, losing and making steps towards recovery. The BDSM content is minimal, but has apparently caught the interest of the public, as does anything that goes against the `norm'. The practice of BDSM is wide ranging and is often misinterpreted by the lay-people not involved in the practice. BDSM has been labeled everything from a fetish to a perversion, but when the people involved are consenting adults, wholly aware of the circumstances and the situation, the behavior or role-playing is acted out according to a specific script of behaviors and actions. There are rules, agreements, safety words, consequences and varying degrees of pleasure (all safe and legal)-to which a question must be addressed-Who are we to judge a lifestyle that is different from our own?

The Fifty Shades series is about a man with demons buried so deep he turns to BDSM for control. But the underlying current of BDSM becomes blurred when the title character of Christian Grey, at 15years old, becomes the submissive to a woman several years older. As a sexual predator, the woman holds power and control of the teenage boy, shaping him into the man who would one day run a billion dollar enterprise. And it is this relationship that directs and controls all of his future endeavors and needs. Even in the world of high finance and business, power and control is the ultimate aim.

The series is written from the `heroine's' point of view. We are privy to Anastasia Steele's intimate thoughts and ideas, as well as her fears and worries about the man she has fallen in love (with). And she is NOT without some power of her own. As the story progresses, the lines of control slowly blur, until it is Ana who has the ultimate control - of a man's heart and his soul.

see all of my reviews at : thereadingcafe.com

Ok. Yes, it was a good reads but for this series to published in three books is really redundant. If the author has taken the ridiculous dialogues, the sex scenes which are over the top this book would have been published in one book. But NO. It was already ridiculous enough that Ana subjected herself to some kind of humiliation by hooking up with an unrealistic character (he's 27y.o., very good looking, has enormous penis and a billionaire which he acquired by himself). On top of that, who would have believed that this girl is a virgin? Also the writing was so bad, e-mails, text messages are poorly written (which I understand, given the generation we have right now) but the story? It's literally scattered, like the main characters are talking about one thing then don't resolve the issue but have sex instead, then have another issue on top of the other. Every page, I read Ana either say, "Oh," "Oh my," "Oh crap," "Holy s***," "S***," "Jeez." The sex scenes? They're ok, only that in the end, the author put so many that I was literally scanning through the book just to get to the main points. Yes you can read this book, but don't buy it. It's not worth the money. Just go to your local library if they have it or borrow it from someone else you know who unfortunately owns it.

For whatever reason amazon didn’t allow me to post my first five star review. They sent me a letter which I’ll attach. I have not seen the movies and the reviews didn’t paint a lovely picture, but I am bored and decided give them a chance. Great price, nice box set, no damage, crisp and fast. Once I read the stories I will update if they’re ghastly, my review is based off the seller and the product I received

I am not sure why this was a best seller In my opinion it was opinion ir was a lame and tame attempt at fetishes and erotica.

OMG...you can feel your brain cells self-imploding as you read these books...1st one was "ok"..2nd made me want to poke my eye out....3rd one....i still can't get through it and it been months since i purchased it....bad, bad, bad...just simply bad...i can feel my level of intelligence dropping with every chapter. Books are limited on vocabulary, no creativity, no humor, no cleverness....no substance.
I think if you are a horny teenager or sheltered missionary position housewife than you may find it interesting but those of us who been there done that find it dull and boring.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a book critic (this will become more clear as you read)... I enjoy just about everything I read and I've never gotten so disgusted with a book that I've just put it down and not finished it. I also have very eclectic taste: everything from crime, mysteries, romance, classics, foreign language... about the only books I eschew are biographies as I never feel the need to delve into someone's dirty laundry -- just reading the news I get plenty of that from the Kardashian's latest antics. That said, I generally don't take risks in my reading... apart from my penchant for a quick Harlequin read here and there, I usually only read books that have been recommended to me and am pretty much guaranteed to like... which is why, after getting these books, they languished on my bookshelf for more than two years. So with the upcoming movie, which I thought looked good, I decided to brush the dust off these things and give them a try.

Okay, these are not going to win a Pulitzer Prize for literature. The versions I have are rife with grammar and spelling mistakes, the dialog is trite, and about 2 chapters in to the first book, I realized the author wasn't American. My husband and father are British so I am familiar with many of the colloquialisms that they use. Americans don't say "arse". We don't even think it. I grew up in Oregon. We don't call it "the I-5"... it's just I-5. And we don't offer people tea. We might offer you coffee... if it's cold: hot chocolate... more likely we'd just say, "Would you like something to drink?" But never tea... unless you are in a finer restaurant and have just finished your meal and then it's: "coffee or tea?" I found that a little irritating because it didn't jive with the character, Anastasia, who is purportedly American, but that is a pet peeve of mine.

I also didn't notice, until reading an article later, that this was originally fan fiction based on the Twilight series (which I have also read and enjoyed) and that the characters were originally named Bella & Edward. Picture someone parodying Twilight in a virtual universe, taking out the supernatural aspect and making it more... "realistic". It was only then that I realized that there was a distinct similarity in the characters in both sets of books. Hey, if you can make $95M rewriting someone else's book... more power to you! It's not like Stephenie Meyer has a corner on the romance formula. Although toned down for the teen market her books follow the same outline I've seen countless times in romance novels: couple meets, instant attraction, obstacles to overcome, happy ending.

I did enjoy the books and I couldn't put them down. My husband would say they are romance novels on steroids and he would be right. More pages, more graphic, more steam... just "more". I will admit that at times it got a little monotonous. There is only so much explicit intimacy I can read in one chapter before I am craving more story and I also admit that on a couple of occasions I glossed over some of the more vanilla scenes in order to get back to the storyline. It would be fair to say that some of the intimacy could have been condensed without losing any of the plot. I can't see men, in general, enjoying this book, though some might -- I would definitely put this in the "chick book" genre. The backstory is honest and realistic, it has enough suspense and action to keep it moving, and overall a very fun read. If your are looking for something substantial with deep, socially significant overtones, this is not it. If alternative lifestyles make you uncomfortable, this is probably not the book for you. If you just want to flirt with the darker side of romance all the while enjoying an easy read and pretty good story, then I recommend this book.