Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

I was such a sex novice before reading this book and even this book turned me on and want to try new things.

This book will get most people's heart going and sexually aroused.

Loved every moment of this book and I've read this book at least 9 times.

I could read this book a few more times hopefully I won't get red while reading it in public, so people won't realise what I'm reading but still get that arousal.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have read it again and again.

It definitely keeps you hooked. As I read through each chapter I needed to keep reading on as I came to the end of the book, and it kept you wanting more, to find out where and what was going to happen. That's when I had to buy the next book.

The characters of Christian Grey and Ana are brilliant, very well portrayed. Two total different expectations in life.

I will warn you immediately - I am professionally biased in this review, so read on with trepidation... or not, lol, because that is one of the reasons why I love the 50 Shades books.

I won't even touch on the controversy... in my experience, controversy can always be found everywhere, and there are very few cases out there where there is a good reason for it.

So I'll just talk about this book and my own impressions, and not get into a crazy rant of any kind. :)

Love it or hate it, I will say this for James - she did her homework on psychology. Grey (and Ana) are definitely people who are subject to their environment, their interaction, their own strengths and weaknesses, and for me, for all that there are some pretty dark moments in there, that is the main appeal of the book, because the characters are and remain highly realistic.

(As I said, I am professionally biased here... :) ).

To me, this trilogy is about love. About change, maladaptive responses being shifted because of someone you love, and the realisation that everything is ok (bondage included) insofar as both partners enjoy it. Ana does not sway Christian from using BSDM into perceived "normal". They're just a couple figuring out what they want and how far they feel comfortable going, and that under the burden of quite a lot of personal baggage. Neither is the bondage practised too extreme or too vanilla - what people often forget is just how personal this is. Sure - if you like to do very violent things to your partner or vice versa, or use very specific toys, everything else will be vanilla... but don't forget, there are couples who think that going for the girl on top is kinky, so don't waste time laughing at them, simply accept that that's how they feel, and live and let live.

That's precisely what is so great about this book - the live and let live aspect is strongly there throughout the series.

The first book, while somewhat dark in places, also doesn't go nearly as dark for me as the third... I'd say my personal fav is the second, because I am very uncomfortable with some aspects of the play for personal reasons (and that means I just skip along, lol).

Tip - we used the sensory deprivation as in the book (without the fancy sound system, though :) ) and it was fabulous, I can't think of why we never got to that idea before!

I also like James' style. Sure, it's a bit fanfiction (it was a fanfiction once, remember?), but it grows in time, and it definitely grows on the reader. I'm not a lover of first-person experience style... thus far, there have been only three writers who have made me like their work, and James is one of them.

Is it slightly awkward? Well, Ana is the person speaking, and she IS awkward, about a lot of things.

So I find it almost endearing.

These are good books to read. I haven't read the newest book (Grey) yet, but I do hope she hasn't changed anything or taken him out of character, which can happen all too easily. I will definitely read it in the future, though... :)

The first book is a book of learning to know each other. And the film just doesn't do it justice. Not for me, anyway, or my partner. What I really love is the ending, with Ana realising she can't try that far, and leaving... just to realise that they need to figure things out a different way (as does Grey). I think everyone can find a bit of something to like in this series, so I ask you to read it, without bias, and make your opinion then. I was sceptical at first too... but then I loved them. :)