Fifty Shades as Told by Christian Trilogy: Grey, Darker, Freed Box Set

Here are reviews from all three books I love this book! I've read it before, but wanted to read it again. It was just as good the second time. Anna's roommate is sick with the flu. Kate has attempted to get an interview with Christian Grey for 9 months for the student paper she works on. She can't pass up this chance, so she begs Anna to do the interview for her, because she is sick. Anna is nervous, and literally falls into Christian's office. Anna reads the questions that Kate has prepared. One of the questions was, Christian are you gay? She was so embarrassed, and explained that she was reading the questions that her roommate wrote down. After the interview Christian wants more time with Anna. He ask if he can show her the building. Anna says no, that she needs to get home to study. Christian is torn. He knows he needs to stay away from Anna, but he is drawn to her. He goes to her work and shops. He agrees to a photo shoot to go along with the article. Before long Christian is attempting to talk Anna into being his submissive. He gave her rules, and a contract to read and go over before she makes up her mind. Anna is so innocent. She doesn't know what half of it means. I love how Anna's subconscious is almost like another character in this wonder story. The subconscious will sometimes cheer Anna on, or at times make snide comments. My favorite parts to the book are below: Sample from chapter 10:"What's vanilla sex?" I ask, if anything to distract myself from the intense, burning, sexy look he's giving me. He laughs. "Just straightforward sex, Anastasia. No toys, no add-ons," He shrugs. "You know...Well actually you don't, but that's what it means." "Oh." I thought it was chocolate fudge brownie sex that we had, with a cherry on the top. But hey, what do I know?" Sample from chapter 11: The only man I've ever been attracted to, and he comes with a bloody contract, a flogger, and a whole world of issues. Well, at least I got my way this weekend. My inner goddess stops and smiles serenely. Oh yes... She mouths, nodding at me smugly. I flush at the memory Sample from chapter 26: This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost...Somewhere in his darkness. His eyes are wide and bleak and tortured. I can soothe him, join him briefly in the darkness and bring him into the light. The sample from chapter 26, sums up the book. Anna is so full life, so innocent. Christian however is a darker soul. Has had a bad childhood before he was adopted. When he is around Anna we get to see glimpse of him laughing. Anna, and Christian share many first together in this book. I loved the book, but didn't care for the end. It does however end perfect to set up for the next book in the series. ********************************************* This is a series of three books and should be read in order starting with 50 shades of grey. This part of the review is for fifty shades darker. In this book I loved how Anna's and Christian's relationship grew. I really enjoyed their fun email, and text banter. The suspense to the story will keep you holding your breath. In this book Anna has to deal with her boss who is a pervert. Christian and Anna have to deal with Christian's crazy exes. The romance between Christian and Anna is off the charts Hot and steamy. This is an adult book for 18 and older. In the past Christian never did romance or love. He had subs to satisfy his needs. He met Anna in the first book. Anna took his breath away. He asked Anna to be his sub. Anna left him before she signed his contract. The second book starts out with both being miserable. They both want more. Christian offers Anna a relationship. This is new to both of them, so they experience a lot of first together. Anna is afraid she can't be everything Christian needs. Christian assures her, she is everything he will ever need. Sample from chapter 9 - "Do you have any idea how exquisite your scent s, Ana? It's irresistible." His words do what they always do, Flame my blood, quicken my pulse, and he trails his nose down my throat, across my breasts, kissing me reverentially as he does. "You are so beautiful," He murmurs, Sample from chapter 12 - "Anastasia, It's not like that. I don't like talking about this shit. I've lived in a bubble for years with nothing affecting me and not having to justify myself to anyone. She's always been there as a confidante. And now my past and my future are colliding in a way I never thought possible." I glance at him and he's staring at me, his eyes wide. "I never thought I had a future with anyone, Anastasia. You give me hope and have me thinking about all sorts of possibilities." He drifts off. ************************************************** This is a series of 3 books that should be read in order. Fifty shades of gray, fifty shades darker, and fifty shades free. This series is for adults 18 years and up for it is an erotic romance. The sex is red hot, and the romance is sweet. This part of the review is for the book fifty shades free. Here are some samples of my favorite parts of book three. Sample from chapter 7 - I kiss his chest, and we lie silently watching as the x-files finish and the commercials come on. "It's been a heavenly three weeks. Car chases and fires and psycho ex - bosses notwithstanding. Like being in our own private bubble," I mutter dreamily. Sample from chapter 8 - "You've got to let me make my own decisions, take my own risks, and make my own mistakes, and let me learn from them. I need to walk before I can run, Christian, don't you see? I want some independence. That's what my name means to me." There, that's what I wanted to say this afternoon. "You feel railroaded?" He whispers. I nod. He closes his eyes, agitated. "I just want to give you the world, Ana, everything and anything you want. And save you from it, too. Keep you safe. But I also want everyone to know your mine. Sample from chapter 10 "What do you need?" ask Mrs. Jones, stepping forward. She's recovered her composure. "Something to restrain him, cord or rope," Ryan replies. Cable ties. I flush as memories of the night before invade my mind. Reflexively, I rub my wrists and glance quickly down at them. No, no bruising. Good. "I have something. Cable ties. Will they do? All eyes turn to me. "Yes ma'am. Perfect." Sawyer says, serious and straight faced. I want the floor to swallow me up, but I turn and head to our bedroom. Sometimes you just have to brazen things out. Perhaps it's the combination of fear and alcohol making me audacious. Sample from chapter 13 - He tips my chin up with his finger, leans down, and kisses me tenderly. "So are you." I smile. "Though I feel like I cheated. I didn't have to wait for you at all." He grins. "Am I that much of a prize?" "Christian, you are the state lottery, the cure for cancer, and the three wishes from Aladdin's lamp all rolled into one." He raises a brow. "When will you realize this?" I scold him. Sample from chapter 23 - "Oh ana," Christian whispers, his voice anguished and pained. "I thought I'd lost you. Then I thought I'd lost you again. Seeing you lying on the ground, pale and cold and unconscious, it was all my worst fears realized. And now here you are, brave and strong...giving me hope. Loving me after all that I've done. "Yes, I do love you Christian desperately. I always will." Gently taking my head between his hands, he wipes my tears away with his thumbs. He gazes into my eyes, gray to blue, and all I see is his fear, and wonder, and love. "I love you, too," He breathes. And he kisses me sweetly, tenderly, like a man who adores his wife. ******************************************** After reading all three books I can't help but smile on thinking back to how Christian and Ana got together. Ana's roommate was sick, so Ana was volunteered to interview Christian (Mr. Gray) for Kate that worked on the student newspaper. After graduation Ana got drunk for the first time ever, and drunk dialed Christian...And this is how the story begins. Ana and Christian is a beautiful, and erotic romance.

My husband heard about this trilogy on a morning radio show and recommended I read it. I looked it up, read the product description, and decided that it didn't sound like "my kind of book." Over the next few weeks, several friends mentioned it to me. A very close friend told me, "It's about bondage. But keep an open mind. And JUST READ IT!" So I downloaded it and began doing just that... The first few chapters of book one set the scene...naive, bookish girl meets attractive, billionaire CEO and lust ensues. The rest of book one was sex. Explicit sex. And at first it was "steamy." But I quickly found myself wondering when it would end. I read it all, though in reality, I could have skipped entire chapters and really missed nothing. Books two and three got more into the actual story line and made me glad I stuck with it. I quickly realized that the descriptive sex scenes in book one were necessary to fully develop the two main characters. On the exterior, Christian is a powerful, worldly man but through his interactions with Anastasia, the reader begins to see his immaturity and "damaged" side. And Anastasia's oblivion over the fact that every eligible bachelor in her life is fawning over her betrays her presentation of herself as an ordinary, bumbling recent college grad. It was exciting to see the evolution of Christian and Anastasia throughout the trilogy. To say that this is "a book about bondage" is wrong. Yes, there are a few select scenes that depict sex with restraints or spankings or floggers. But in the grand scheme of things, they were isolated, fleeting events. Instead, I would say this book is a love story. It's about the concessions we will make for the one we love and the "hard limits" that keep us true to ourselves. The author has created two very memorable main characters and a laundry list of amazing supporting characters, including "the inner goddess" who honestly was one of my favorites! And I especially liked the last chapter (following the epilogue) which was told from Christian's perspective. I would have liked to have had more of his point of view sprinkled throughout the books. What's interesting to me is that these books have received such a wide array of ratings by Amazon users. Clearly the author has done her job of presenting a controversial theme and getting readers talking. I notice a few unifying comments from the reviewers who did not like the book (or gave it a low rating).... 1) The ebook is too expensive. - To this I say that it's unfair of readers to low ball their rating of the author's work simply because they're unhappy with the publisher's price. As a consumer, you have the option to buy or not to buy. You also have the option to buy hard copies rather than ebooks. If you don't want to shell out the extra few cents to buy the trilogy instead of the three individual ebooks, then don't. If you'd rather buy the paperbacks, then do. If you'd rather borrow a friend's hard copy or check it out of the library, go for it. But don't hold that against the author! 2) There was no story line. - To this I say, "You must have stopped reading at the end of book one." 3) There was too much repetition. - To this I say I think Anastasia's inner dialogue includes a lot of "holy crap" and "oh my" for a reason. Despite her personal and professional evolution, she's still a bit unsure of herself and her ability to adapt to her new lifestyle. No matter what, she's still young, naive Ana on the inside.

Like some others have said, you are either going to love it or hate it. And I loved it! And to think that I almost didn't give it a chance. When I had turned to the first page and saw that it was written in first person, I groaned and immediately closed the book, because I normally cannot get into novels written from this perspective, but then I thought, well, I paid almost $30 bucks for this set, so I'd better read it! After I got through the first chapter, I was hooked. If you only read the first book, you will think that this is just about BDSM, especially after reading through the "Contract", but if you were to read all three, you will see the big picture. This is basically a romantic story about Christian and Ana's journey, which of course, has its ups and downs, as well as surprising twists and turns that are tied to Christian's past. There was actually more to the story than I had expected, which was evident after getting to the end of the second book. Although the main focus was on Christian's character and his baggage, what they both shared were similar inadequacy issues. Christian does not think that he is worthy of being loved due to being abused as a child, while Ana constantly questions what Christian sees in her, as she does not believe that she is capable of holding the attention of such a gorgeous and successful man, especially when he has specific needs that she felt she could not fulfill. There is more romance and less of the BDSM in the second and third books, but always LOTS of sex. I did find myself skipping over some of the sex scenes, as it did get somewhat repetitive. This however, did not take away from the story. The complex characters of Christian and Ana were developed at the perfect pace, not too slowly or quickly, which made the story believable. Although the ending was a happy one, it was not the cheesy "Hollywood" kind. The only thing that really bothered me was the overuse of the word "murmur" in the first book. However, I found this word to be virtually absent in the second and third books, but possibly replaced by the word "whisper", which did not annoy me as much. There were two scenes that stuck out in my mind in this book. Without going into too much detail, the first one was the "Submissive Christian" scene when he thought Ana was going to leave him. I found myself just as shocked as Ana. Another significant scene for me was a pretty ironic one. The one and only time that Ana had used a safeword on Christian was when he was pleasuring her and then depriving her of an orgasm out of revenge, which caused her not physical pain, but emotional pain. I also enjoyed the email exchanges between Christian and Ana. They were amusing, witty, and sometimes romantic! I felt like this was when the characters' personalities really came out, which I fell in love with. I just wished I hadn't finished the books so quickly! I can't wait until the movie comes out!

I left reviews for each book separately but here are all of them combined in one review! Fifty Shades of Grey “Anastasia,” he whispers. “What are you doing to me?” “I could say the same to you,” I whisper back. This book will always hold a special place in my heart, it was the book (or trilogy rather) that about 3 years ago reignited my love of reading. In my teens I used to read quite a bit but in my 20s I sort of fell out of it and would only read occasionally. Reading this book opened up a whole new world to me and made me realize what I’d been missing all those years when I wasn’t reading. It also was the catalyst for forming one of my closest friendships, having bonded over this book and our shared love of reading, my friend and I embarked on a wonderful reading journey that’s still going strong after 3 years. Together we’ve read close to 200 books since the first time we read this book. Having so many awesome books under our belt, I was a little worried going back to re-read it that it wouldn’t live up to the memories of the magic it created for me the first time around. After only the first chapter I was happy to see that my worries were unfounded and I loved the book just as much, maybe even more, the second time around. Say what you will about the writing (which I agree is not exactly fine literature) or some of the cheesy lines, no matter how many great books I’ve read since or will read in the future, Fifty Shades of Grey will always hold the honor of being “my first” and therefore will always be up there in my top favorite books! The first time I read the book I remember not being Christian’s #1 fan, in fact I downright hated him at the end of the first book. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the BDSM lifestyle and I couldn’t understand how inflicting pain on someone is in any way an acceptable thing. I found Christian’s mood swings to be fatiguing and I thought for the most part he was a controlling jerk. As the series goes on though and more is revealed about how truly damaged he was and what his motivations were, my feelings towards him started to soften and I was firmly Team Christian by the end of the trilogy. So it was interesting reading the book again knowing all that I know now, I think the first time around I had my “this guy is a jerk” blinders on and it prevented me from seeing all the subtle things he said or did that showed just how deeply Ana was affecting him. I could also see that much of his moodiness could be attributed to these feelings and him not knowing how to process them, rather than dealing with it he would close down. Had I been able to look past my hang ups with his lifestyle the first time around I think I would have ended the first book with a different view of Christian. The second time around I just felt sad for him and I think despite his power and controlling tendencies, you could really see and feel his vulnerability and how much he actually was willing to try for Ana. Her Inner Goddess and Subconscious notwithstanding, I also found Ana to be less annoying the second time around. She was actually a pretty strong heroine. As naïve and inexperienced as she was, I give her a lot of credit for sticking herself out there and being as open minded as she was to try out the lifestyle Christian was offering her. And it takes a good deal of bravery to challenge him like she did, she was continually pushing her boundaries and didn’t often back down. I was surprised at how much I remembered as I went through the book again, there was a lot of little things I had forgotten but overall I found that I still had a pretty good recollection of the events. And I loved reliving some of my favorite parts. My very favorite things in this book, the first time and again the second time, were the emails between Ana and Christian. They are so adorable and funny, I loved the subtleties of the subject lines and when Christian would change his email signature. I loved when these moments of playful Christian would peek through. Like Ana said, it was times like these when you realize he is just a 27yr old man because so often he seems so much older that it’s easy to forget just how young he is. We decided to re-read this book to refresh our memories before the movie comes out next week, and I have to say it was a lot of fun reading it with the actors in mind and I liked matching up scenes that I’ve seen in the trailers to the events of the book. I was already excited to see the movie, but reading the book again has really kicked up my anticipation for the film! And of course I can’t stop my re-read at just the first book, I’m going to have to keep going and read the second and third books again. I’m looking forward to reliving the rest of their journey! “I’ve never wanted more, until I met you.” ~Christian Fifty Shades Darker “What have you done to me, Ana?” he murmurs. “Whatever it is, don’t stop.” I just recently re-read this book. With the FSOG movie just a few days away my friend and I decided to read that one again, but of course you can’t just stop there so we decided to keep going and re-read the entire trilogy. I remember when I originally read the series about 3 years ago Fifty Shades Darker was my favorite of the three and now reading it again I have to say that still holds true. This is the book where I really fell in love with Christian Grey and with this story. The first book really does a great job of setting things up but this is the book, for me, where things really happen and their relationship is taken to a whole other level. There are some huge breakthroughs and it’s really something to see how far both Christian and Ana come in terms of personal growth and also as a couple. In FSOG you get a sense of Christian’s depravity and his issues but this book really cracks them open and deals with his demons head on and I loved it. Seeing him so vulnerable and unsure really brought him down to a human level and it was hard not to feel for him after his horrible childhood and the long term damage that caused him. I could feel his pain and Ana’s pain as she attempted to help him see that he was a good man and worthy of love. There were so many intense moments between them as Ana was able to get through so many of his walls, healing him with her love. We really get to see what a strong woman Ana is and how much she’s come into her own since meeting Christian. She challenged him at every turn in the first book, and while that doesn’t really stop in this book, she really begins to understand Christian on a deeper level and their connection was just wonderful! In spite of all the dark issues this book explores there are a surprising number of light and fun scenes and we get to see our beloved Fifty acting carefree and playful. I love his boyish delights in the simple things, like the gifts Ana gives him. It’s so adorable and while it made me grin it also made me a little sad thinking of all he missed out on growing up because of the things that happened to him. But it was great seeing him get to experience some of those things now with Ana. “You make me look at the world differently, Anastasia. You don’t want me for my money. You give me… hope,” he says softly. “Hope for what?” “More.” There was also some suspense and drama in this book as the overall plot of the book starts to heat up. While I loved the focus on their relationship, it was nice to have a little more thrown in to up the overall ante! I do really hope that the 2nd and 3rd books are turned into films, this in in particular because I think that Jamie and Dakota would do wonders with the material in this book! In the meantime I’m off to relive the conclusion of their story in Fifty Shades Freed! “You own me,” he whispers. “My fate is in your hands, Ana.” Fifty Shaded Freed “I love philanthropic Christian,” I murmur. “Just him?” “Oh I love megalomaniac Christian, too, and control freak Christian, sexpertise Christian, kinky Christian, romantic Christian, shy Christian… the list is endless.” “That’s a whole lot of Christians.” “I’d say at least fifty.” He laughs. “Fifty Shades,” he murmurs into my hair. “My Fifty Shades.” I just recently re-read Fifty Shades of Grey in preparation for the release of the movie, and of course you can’t just stop at one so I went on to read Fifty Shades Darker (which is still my favorite of the trilogy) and then just wrapped it up by re-reading Fifty Shades Freed. Book one was really the groundwork for Christian and Ana’s relationship, book two really explored Christian’s demons and how Ana’s love transformed him and while book three continues to advance and strengthen their relationship this is the book where things really start happening in the bigger picture. The secondary characters play a bigger role and things start falling into place to explain the suspicious activities that started in the second book. It added a certain level of suspense and danger that made for an exciting end to this series. For much of this book Christian and Ana are in a good place. Christian exorcised a lot of his demons in the last book so he was much more open and freer with showing his love for Ana throughout much of this book. One of my favorite “shades of Christian”, playful Christian, made many appearances in this book so that was a lot of fun to read. Of course ever the mercurial one, he still dealt with his control issues and these extreme controlling tendencies become even more extreme in this book when Ana’s safety is at stake. This naturally results in some drama and several fights between him and Ana, who is ever the independent one. But I think for the most part they dealt with their issues well and continued to grow and learn each time. There were a lot of light and fun parts in this book, more so than the other two, it was nice seeing them happy and being young and in love. But it was not without its fair share of difficult or heartbreaking parts, some that I remembered from my first time reading and some that I didn’t remember until I got to them again. They hurt just as much the second time around, but at least this time I knew what awaited me on the other side! I loved how it all wrapped up and I think that Ana and Christian earned the ending they got after all they’d been through. The epilogue was great and again brought tears to my eyes because it was so perfect. I also loved re-reading the Shades of Christian bonus at the end, it was so awesome getting in his head during their first meeting and when he showed up at Clayton’s. You really get to see how much Ana affected him right from the start and how confused he was by this attraction and infatuation. I’m really curious to see how much of that is portrayed in the movie! Now I know these aren’t the greatest books ever written, but at its heart is a wonderful love story between a damaged man and the one woman who can bring him into the light. And as I mentioned in my review of the first book, this was the series that reignited my love for reading and send me on an incredible reading journey over the past few years. For that reason alone this will always be one of my favorite series and it will always have a special place in my heart! “You turned my world on its head. My world was ordered, calm, and controlled, then you came into my life with your smart mouth, your innocence, your beauty, and your quiet temerity… and everything before was just dull, empty, mediocre… it was nothing. I fell in love.”

If only there were real Christian Greys out there to satisfy us nonfiction women who are deserving of such lascivious love and affection! I enjoyed the sex parts as much as the next gal (C'mon, we all knew this was freaking erotica before picking up the book!), but the main reason I succumbed to the desire in the pages of this book was Christian. His baggage and Ana's awkwardness were primary to their story and I am a freaking sucker for hearts and flowers and dark desires. It would not surprise me at all if some of the women that deprecate this book in their reviews do so out of denial of their own suppressed, carnal concupiscence. In fact, it would make my eyes roll! In a still, relatively, conservative society there are those who abhor what they fear and refuse to relish in fantasy. Which, is what this entire trilogy is: fantasy! So, if you blatantly (or secretly) take pleasure in fantasy, read these books. They are interesting and well written for the average-slightly above average reader. I will openly admit that I did have to use the dictionary feature in the Kindle reader for some of the words, but, for me that is part of enjoying a book: taking more from it than what I had before. Books should help expand your imagination, attention and vocabulary at the very least! There are definitely parts of the book which I felt were repetitive, but, really I was too enthralled by the story to notice ... until I came across other reviewers' stinging recounts of how much they disliked this or that citing various reasons from technical things like repetition of situations, lack of variety, inconsistency of characterization, lack of realism and just plain criticism toward the books. Oh, my! (Biting my lower lip) Essentially, if you're an uptight control freak, you will relate to one character; on the converse, if you're a shrewd innocent who enjoys a little excitement you will definitely relate to another character. This book may help you discover hidden pining you never knew existed latent within you! If you are not interested in any way in erotica, this may not be the best place for you to start as there is a lot of sex. A lot. Of sex. Hot, vulgar, libidinous words for miles. So, if that makes you uncomfortable in a bad way, but you're still tingly for a little dirty reading, start with a Danielle Steel and work your way up from there, see if you really want to delve into erotica some more, maybe it's just not for you. But, if you're sated by lusty youth and a luscious storyline, jump right into the Red Room of Pain and kneel before E.L. James' intriguing characters and their torrid lovemaking in myriad situations, places and surfaces! I identify with the latter group. Voraciously. Thanks for reading my review, I hope it helps you decide on your O face or your Oh, My! face };-)

Just finished the FSOG trilogy and it has eaten up my May... Don't get me wrong I will forever love FSOG and it is my first , yes first, book love. One thing I have come to realize is the same book from the other POV is ....not for me. The epilogue is FSOG is all I need. I don' want a CG POV of the entire trilogy or any other books I have read. I know I am in the minority but it almost feels like "filler". If the story is moving forward like The Opportunist, Dirty Red, I am all for it. Just , kind of boring..IMO. This should save me some time and money. OK I digress...but re reads not my thing either with one exception eeek Thoughtless and Effortless. Maybe because there was so much emotion and so much happening in that series but I will probably not re read a book or series again. FSOG not as exciting as the first time, probably because so many alpha male stories have been released since then. Book 1 was worth the re read, some of book two , and the epilogue of book 3 with CG POV. I still love the books and they are still my favorite but there are so many alpha male books to feed that addiction, no they are not CG but they minimally satisfy the need. The characters since Fifty just can't replicate, they fall short and do not have the depth of CG. This series is my first book love and will never be replaced, no NEVER EVER EVER. So for now I close my final chapter of FSOG with a bittersweet satisfied fulfilled heart. I will forever miss my CG and FSOG and will forever be grateful of the day I found this loving story. Thank you E.L James for writing a "different" book that made me realize my love for reading and the Alpha male. Reading bored me and besides the occasional popular book I just never enjoyed it. I am not a wayward reading fan and my life, along with many others, has forever changed because of your fan fiction story. Reading has become a passion for me and a place for me to unwind and re energize after a long day of monotonous work. Critics can say what the will but what you alone did for reading, Goodreads, and Contemporary romance will never be duplicated. Notice I use Contemporary Romance and NOT Erotica or BDSM. Since Fifty I have read some Erotica and BDSM and Fifty does not belong in either category. Yes it hints at it and yes the sex scenes are explicit (THANK GOD!) but it is a story about two consenting adults in the privacy of their own bedroom (or playroom,elevator, piano, boat, plane). There is shock and awe in book one for those of us who knew nothing about non vanilla sex. The non vanilla sex borders on erotica but BDSM...hardly. Even some of us Vanilla couples have been tied up now and again. My biggest pet peeve or biggest misconception of FSOG: this story does NOT in any way shape of form demean women. If that is what you get from this story you skimmed or did not read the entire series, heck or book 1. Anna has complete control and Fifty is fifty because he has baggage, like the rest of us. Any way, E.L. thank you for spicing up sex lives and emails around the world and for the witty banter that is now found in so many books. You have opened up my life to so many independent authors, friends, and all sorts of stories that if not for you steering me to Goodreads I would not have found. I will forever be grateful for FSOG.

At first I didn't want to buy into the hype and I'm definitely not a woman who thought she would ever like the thought of another woman, let alone myselself, being "dominated" by some ego-maniacal man. I received the books first as kindle editions via a friend of a friend who said after his wife read the first book he had the best sex of his life! Then he told me to tell my boyfriend "you're welcome!" I wasn't sure about them, but my sister-in-laws both said they were well worth the read and there was a love story underneath it all. I still wasn't sure. So, one cloudy Friday evening I decided to stay in and read. I threw my kindle down on my bed three times, yelling about how I would NEVER in my life let some MAN do anything like that to me or anyone I knew if I could help it...but I still wanted to see where it would go. After all, this is a story about two consenting adults. I have never even read one of the Harlequin romance novels my Mom used to read when I was younger. My friend and I would take them and scroll threw to find the sex scenes and read them and laugh and giggle until we were blue in the face, but never really readng the story. So this was all new territory for me in more ways than one!! Wow! That's all I could say for hours...Wow! I think I began reading after dinner around 7:30pm, and the next thing I knew it was 1:45am Saturday morning!!! I thought it best to finally go to bed, hopefully dreaming of Christian Grey...I woke the next morning to use the bathroom, still quite groggy and in need of more zzz's, but I decided against going back to bed and made some coffee so I could find out what happend next! And so, at 12 o'clock noon on Saturday I finished the first book! I forgot to download the other two books, and they weren't on my cloud, so I had to go all the way to my office (in my PJ's, no less!!) and get them, for fear of being without Christian and Anastasia the rest of the weekend! Needless to say, I got absolutely nothing acomplished that weekend. I think I may have showered once, I'm still not sure. I didn't even pause to make dinner. We just ordered take out all weekend so I didn't have to leave the confines of Seatle and Mr. Grey! Once I finished all three books, I was left with such an emptiness, I thought my heart was breaking, literally! WTF? These were just some smutty books I was supposed to be reading for fun, right? I got so wrapped up in their world, I really felt like it was all ok...the contract, the punishments, the rules, the authority he had over her...all of it and I wanted it! I wanted it all and MORE! I bought the paperback set so I could proudly display them on my bookshelf. Yes, I am a fan. Yes, It made my loins ache. Yes, I purchased the soundtrack. Yes, I can't wait for the movies. And Yes, I can't wait to see if there's a book 4! Please do read them, not because I said so, but because you have come this far, and if you're this curious, you might as well read them...YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!!!

I have read widely since a child and there have been many books I have loved, books that I have read and reread, and that became part of who I am. Almost without exception they have been love stories and they have seldom been great works of literature, with some exceptions of course, like “The Great Gatsby”. The Angelique series, “The Clan of the Cave Bear” series, Helga Moray’s “Untamed” series, Ayn Rand’s books, some of Wilbur Smith’s and Bryce Courtenay’s novels, come to mind. Some have required a suspension of disbelief, like the Harry Potter books – I have never liked fantasy, and have no belief in magic and witchcraft, yet I loved the books and the films and Rowling created a world that has become almost real to so many people, and very much part of our collective consciousness. 50 Shades required a similar suspension of disbelief and even of dislike, initially, as I abhor violence of any kind and have no interest in BDSM and its manifestations, and was a little put off by the publicity I had read. Nonetheless, James created a trilogy that, true to the blurb on the back was “romantic, liberating, and totally addictive, …that will obsess you, possessed you and which will stay with you forever”. She created in Christian a flawed, charismatic hero, redeemed by love, who I was fascinated by, intrigued with and fell in love with. The same holds for many of the other characters in the book. I liked the author’s sense of humour, I wept frequently in all the books, and that ability to move me deeply did not diminish with repeated re-readings – I still cry every time in some of the scenes in which Ana tries to banish his demons. They are so powerfully written, and the love story is so beautiful, so full of passion and emotion that I found myself totally swept away – something that happens only rarely. In that respect perhaps only “Wuthering Heights” comes close. And then there is the sex. I think it is very difficult to write a good love story that is not soppy. It is even harder to write about sex so that it is erotic, passionate, but not prurient or off-putting. To write about sex for page after page over 3 books is a gift, from which millions of women, and men, around the world, are happily reaping the benefit. Some of the other books that are currently trying to cash in on the trend, claiming to be better than “50 Shades”, like Sylvia Day’s “Bared To You” and various others, are totally derivative, humourless and very crude by comparison and none of them that I have read have the enormous pull of love that underlies every scene. For me, reading the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy has been a joyous, profoundly moving and arousing experience. It has reminded us of emotions and feelings we experienced and things we did years ago and still feel and do, and taught us a few new ones. It is my belief that anyone in a loving relationship, both men and women, would benefit from reading it.

Fifty Shades is full of extraordinary characters. I enjoyed a lot the story of Anastasia and Christian. At 22 Anastasia is able to face a great challenge by going forward with her relation with Christian, she is very strong and so candide at some levels but that's what I love about her. Christian looks like THE guy you want to meet and never let go but going thru those 50 shades and his world you need more than just wanting. the author leads us in this other world of dominants and submissives with finess. I love it.thanks you for those lost moments in 50 shades

The book is so beautifully written that one can't stop reading. There's an urge to continue reading it. You fall in love with the characters. Only issue with the single trilogy book is that page numbers don't go further beyond page 515. The second part has an abrupt ending. Probably three pages are missing in the trilogy book.

This was a 2014 bundle set. Still editing issues as well as minor plot errors in Freed (same as the original edit). What a fun journey it was though to read them as one continuous story. That's the way I like to read it. Fifty Shades of Grey really needs Darker (2nd book and my favourite) to complete the story and Freed is all icing on the cake. I love the constant action in the book. It picks up in Darker and never stops. It's great to have CPOVs at the end of the trilogy. I think E.L James writes a really interesting story from his point of view. It gives great insight into his character. She has written him so well. There is no way you could confuse Christian Trevelyan Grey with anyone else. He's our Fifty Shades. I have to admit that I see a younger E.L James as our Anastasia Rose Grey ne: Steele. Especially in Freed. I love the relationship glimpses we get between Christian and his mother Grace. They ring so true ad endearing. His mothers struggle to show love and protection to the untouchable boy, powerfully moving. No, it's not the best written piece of literature out there. It was never meant to be. Yes, it's the most passion inducing, reaction creating, character driven book in our recent history. Even if you don't like it and its not the book for you, you just can't forget 50 Shades. Any author that can stir you like that without laving you wounded from the narrative is a genius in my book. What more do you want than the pleasure of turning the page, sharing a story, arguing of the action? I say, well done Miss James. Well done Icy. Well done author girl. And thank you for writing. SQ It's been a journey, this story. I'd recommend a reread before the move release in February 2015. SQ

Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of psychological abuse and the strength of the survivors.

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