Review Wednesday: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

*This is a book meant for adults due to some inappropriate content for people younger than 18.*

Title: Fifty Shades of Grey
Author: E.L. James
1st Date of Publication: May 25, 2011
ISBN: 9781612130286
# of Pages: 512
Genre: New Adult, Adult Romance, Erotica Romance
Age Rating: 17+ (Language, Violence, Sexual content)

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Book Description:

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.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

Setting: Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington

Point of View: 1st Person- Anastasia "Ana" Steele

Goodreads Rating: 3.68

My Rating: 3.75


Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Title
View on the Cover: Why a tie and why so detailed?
View on the Title: Why is the word grey spelled this way rather than gray?

Pros:

•  It is not your typical mother's sort of romance story, which is the reason why I started reading this book.
• I could not put this book down because it keeps you hooked and wanting to read more. The book is over 500 pages and I finished it in 3 days when I had to work all 3 days with each a 10 hour shift, That's crazy in my opinion and I read a lot.
• The characters are pretty good and seemed consistent throughout the book.
• Ana is pretty great. She is smart and very sassy, but very innocent. She really grows in this book as she learns more about Christian Grey. Plus, she's an English major which makes her more lovable in my eyes.
• Christian is a bit different and hard to like at first because he is so detached from the world, which is what his character truly portrays.
• I really liked the ending and it would have been even a great stand alone book despite a cliffhanger for the next book.

Cons:

•  I felt that the writing was a bit too simplistic, and I felt like some parts were lesser intelligent than young adult books. There could have easily been more depth with each character.
• It seemed to be a little cliche as Ana becomes a damsel in distress in her recklessness, which forces Christian to come save the day and be very controlling.

Critics' Reviews:

"In a class by itself." —Entertainment Weekly

 E.L. James's Website:

http://www.eljamesauthor.com/

Other Recommendations:

 Easy by Tammara Webber
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire