Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James: Book Review!
First, I will say that I was a little hesitant about reading and reviewing this book. For one, it's a bit of a controversial topic, which I tend to stay away from. I didn't know how I would feel about it previously being fan fiction. By that, I mean I wasn't sure if I would be constantly comparing it Twilight. Then, I wasn't sure if it would be my type of book. I'm read some romances, even some with BDSM themes, but the hype surrounding this book made me feel like it was too far from my sensibilities. And to be fair, even the book cover is intimidating.
But I changed my mind when my roommate decided that we were going to spend our Valentine's Day with heart-shaped pizza, pink moscato, and Fifty Shades of Grey. I knew that I couldn't see the movie without first reading the book, and thus the reading began. And what do you know, I was pretty surprised.
First things first, I did find myself comparing the characters to those in Twilight. I started to assign them roles, and I remembered them by their Twilight name more often than not. For me, it seemed like some of the characters were more extreme versions of their Twilight counterparts. But, I did find a little redemption with little character traits that really set them apart. One of my favorites is Ana's love of weak tea. I've never seen that, and now I'm always going to associate that with Ana.
I really do enjoy Ana's character. She's curious about Grey's extracurricular activities, but she knows that there are limits (both sexually and emotionally). She doesn't push the idea out completely, but she knows she has to tread carefully. She walks a fine line, and sometimes she crosses it, to her detriment. I also like how she knows that she's going to need more in a relationship than just sex, and then she tries to do something about that.
Christian has problems. That's evident from the first time the reader meets him. It's not even about his sexual preferences, it's about his need to control everything and how those needs are presented in everyday life. He does things that no one should be okay with. He stalks her. He tries to dictate where she should go. He wants her to act in a certain way. Sometimes the way Ana reacts to him makes me want to throttle her, but she does recognize that his manner and her reactions are a problem. I'm hoping it's something that is addressed in the later books.
This book also has a slow start. There's not a lot of action (no pun intended) that keeps the story going. Most of the time, it's just the two characters in emotional turmoil or them in relationship limbo. The sexy bits are, for a lack of a better term, titillating, but they are the only thing that's really pushing the story forward.
I will say that with all of it's faults, this book has made me curious enough to read the rest of the series. It did make my heart do cartwheels, leaps, and falls. So for that, I'm going to give this book three fancy ties out of five (and yes, I'm totally stealing it from the cover).
That's it for this post! Comment down below on some books that have surprised you, in a good way. Subscribe to the blog by adding your email to the Subscribe Box down below or off to the right. Add me to your circles by clicking the Google+ button off to the right. Follow me on twitter @KK_Donna_Blog for ridiculousness about my life and up to date information on the blog. Follow the tumblr dedicated to the blog, which you can find at this link. Read on, lovelies! I'll see y'all next post!
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