With all the media hype of late I
thought I would put to the test the Fifty Shades of Grey
Trilogy by E L James – Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shade Darker,
Fifty Shades Freed. This is the first time I have ever read
an erotic romance, not usually my cup of tea, so was hesitant as to
how I was going to feel. Well my hesitation and uncertainty was soon
put to rest as I turned page by page with anticipation.
“Romantic, liberating and totally
addictive, this is a novel that will obsess you, possess you and stay
with you forever” is written on the back cover of book one, Fifty Shades of Grey, and how correct it
is. As soon as I finished the last page I was rushing out
to buy the next two in the trilogy. No one dare disturb me as I sunk
myself into the wild and seductive, yet romantic, world of Anastasia
Steele and Christian Grey.
As a liberated and open minded person I
did not find the dominant/submissive sexual fantasy of Christian Grey
overwhelming or hard to deal with, nor did I find them sexual
stimulating, but some may. Hey each to there own I say, it takes all
sorts to make the world go around. I find the human mind and lifestyles of
others interesting and intriguing and although fiction this trilogy
gives you a brief insight into the reality of the sexual world of
others.
My page turning interest in this
trilogy was the romantic story of Anastasia Steele, a women who finds
herself falling in love with a rich man who has a life totally
outside that of hers. Her struggle to understand his wealth and find
acceptance and a place in a lifestyle that engulfs her. Then there
is Christian Grey a man that turns heads as he walks down the street
and has every women gushing and going weak at the knees. Hurt by a
past of confusion, loss and trauma, seeking in Anastasia a
submissive to meet his sexual desires yet finding a young beautiful
women who turns his world around. E L James takes the reader on a
journey of love, lust, desire and commitment in an unconventional
way, that at times, could be sexually arousing yet is sweet, romantic
and heart touching.
I did feel that the amount of sex in
the first book could have been lessened, as it did become that
of total disbelief and unrealism as one got halfway through the book.
Sex every day, every moment, reaching constant orgasm, lusting and
desiring one another is not a piece of reality for most and the fantasy soon became boring and repetitive. I know the book is fiction but for me fiction must contain a little bit of
believability or one soon starts to loose that of being able to live
in the world of the characters. One must be able to take one self
from the believable world to the one of fantasy knowing there is a
little bit of possibility.
For me Fifty Shades Darker ( book two )
was the one that was most enjoyable. Less sex, more real romance and
twists and turns of deceit and betrayal left me wanting more each
page. At times the suspense was so invigorating I found myself
fighting sleep in order to turn the page. Book two ends with a cliff hanger and here it should have stopped. I love a book that
leaves me wondering for weeks what happened, who it is or who did
it. I love to be left floating forever with questions hanging over my
head and this is what E L James manages to do with Fifty Shades
Darker.
Then the reader moves onto Fifty Shades
Freed.....in my opinion E L James should have stopped at book two. I found
Fifty Shades Freed slow and a little hard to get into. Whether it was
that I had already read two in the series and was a little over it or
the storyline was weak I am really unsure but I feel it was the
later. Still a romantic love story, book three was just missing that
little thing that wanted me to read more. It all became a little
boring and I felt E L James struggled to continue building her
characters and their life. There was little sex, for the reader who sex was the draw card, as after all how much can one do. It was as
though the characters had finally come down to earth and became a
little more “real” but this seemed to cause change in the flow of
story telling and style of writing which lost me as I had become
familiar with the writings of E L James.
So do I recommend the Fifty Shades of
Grey Trilogy? Of course. Enjoyable, stimulating, erotic and romantic
they have something for everyone. I question whether the media hype
really is worth it but it boosts sales and I am sure E L James in not
complaining. One needs to remember that they are just a set of fiction
books and that whilst reading them leads to entertainment and conversation we need to question if they really will change the sexual
relationships of everyday man and build a place of happier, more
loving relationships? In reality I think not.
Jennifer Deaves
No comments:
Post a Comment