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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James


★★★★

Four stars.

This review contains swears. Be warned. Don't like it? Don't read.

Oh dear. Where should I begin?

Christian Grey is a hardworking, arrogant CEO who enjoys control in every aspect of his life. Ana is a naive college student. When Ana must interview Christian for her school newspaper, it sparks a life that she could have never imagined, including horrible mood swings, bondage, punishment, and submission. But is Christian what Ana wants, and is Ana what Christian truly needs?

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So, I know people love and hate this book. I give my own opinion alone, and I hope that you respect it, as I respect yours.

First, the negatives.

- Ana's use of the phrases oh my/holy cow/damn. I understand that she's supposed to be innocent, but it's tiring after awhile

- Use of the words murmured/muttered/breathed. Again, I understand the need for intimate words, but, these were used all the time. I'm pretty sure no one ever spoke at full volume.

- Kate. So, she's worried about her best friend Ana being in an abusive relationship. So what does she do? Purposely riles him up and angers him. That's friendship, right there. Letting the abuser get angry so, what, he could beat the shit out of your friend so you can be proven right? Please.

- The constant lip biting of Ana. If she bit her lip that much, it would be rough and bloody, and no one would ever want to kiss her.

- The actual "scenes" in the playroom. I don't think this book deserves the scandal. Is it sexy? Definitely. I don't deny that. But, as a member of this subculture, I was disappointed. This BDSM was rather vanilla for me. It makes me a bit concerned about my own definition of "normal", and sad for those who truly do have vanilla sex lives.

With all that being said, there are positives.

+ Use of the word "there". I've seen a lot of complaints about it, but would you rather just hear pussy or vagina constantly? This is a classier route, keeping it at an erotic level as opposed to pornographic.

+ Christian. I would like one of him to keep in my closet. Preferably with the face of Ian Somerhalder. He's broken, but aren't we all? I think he's an interesting amount of professional, moody, and caring. I wasn't expecting to like him, but I'm pleasantly surprised.

+ Overall plot and story. I'm glad that this book has opened a door for sexier novels. It's about time that people started to ease out of the "sex books are dirty" mind set, only if a little bit. This plot had me confused at parts, but drew me in to the point that I did not want to stop reading, so that I could see why Christian was "50 shades of fucked up."

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I recommend this book to housewives with dull sex lives, those who are interested in the BDSM lifestyle, and anyone who just wants a bit of spice in their romance. If you're a serious Dom/sub, or one of those girls who think broken men don't deserve love, this book is NOT for you.

My rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up.

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