Fifty Shades Freed by E L James

(Fifty Shades trilogy, book 3)
When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees.

Now, Ana and Christian have it all – love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.

Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.

WARNING: This book contains very graphic sexual situations, and frequent profanity.

I really wanted to love this book. I have been on the fence about this whole trilogy since I started reading the first book, and I can honestly say that I’m not really impressed. I think my favorite part of this book were the bonus chapters at the end where it takes you back to him meeting Ana during the interview, and visiting her at Clayton’s…only it’s narrated by him. Now THAT was enjoyable!  

You know, I think I just got annoyed with their whole relationship by the middle of this book. I know it was designed to be tumultuous and clearly they both have to find a middle ground if they want to make it work, but I found myself irritated. I got tired of watching Ana constantly run around trying to discern if he was angry with something she did. They are married, and yet she is walking on eggshells around him. Not only that, but when Ana did stand up for herself (which was incredibly rare) she never stood her ground. Christian would immediately resort to using sex in an effort to distract her from the argument, and he’d have her under his spell hook, line, and sinker. It just frustrated me. One of the most overused lines by Ana in this whole trilogy: “Please don’t be mad at me.” He says over and over he didn’t marry a submissive, but honestly…I think he kind of did. Ana didn’t bother me much in the first two books, but she wore on me in Freed. I got sick of hearing how absolutely, breathtakingly, beautiful Christian was. I get it...he’s smokin’. I already had the emblazoned in my mind after reading the first book, and yet I’m still constantly being reminded how she just can’t believe how gorgeous this man is. Once again…I get it. Oh, and the amount of times Ana cried in this book was about five too many.

I was never sold on Christian throughout the first two books, and Freed didn’t really do much to change my mind. His possessiveness and over-the-top controlling ways just grated on me to the point where I almost didn’t want to finish this book. The incident with the hickeys on their honeymoon, for example, pissed me off just reading about it! Oh, and the way he lost his marbles all because Ana went out for drinks with Kate while he was out of town. Are you kidding me?! I could go on and on, but I digress. The main reason I have never really rooted for Christian, is because I don’t care for guys that treat their wives like their property. He feels like his opinion should be the “end all, be all” and it doesn’t really matter what Ana thinks.  I didn’t even mind the controlling Christian when it was in regards to him being a dominant in the Red Room of Pain (those scenes were always pretty hot) but the way he feels the need to control every aspect of her life is just tiring.

A couple positives: The ending was good, the epilogue was fantastic, and the bonus chapters at the end with Christian as the narrator were great. I liked them because they are from Fifty Shades of Grey when he was still looking at Ana as a possible submissive, and it was fun to see the effect Ana had on him in his own words. Overall, the trilogy was alright but not as great as I expected and this book in particular was kind of a hot mess and almost exhausting to read.

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Fifty Shades Darker by E L James

(Fifty Shades trilogy, book 2)
Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Ana cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Ana learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

WARNING: This book contains very graphic sexual situations, and frequent profanity. 

Well, I think I like this book better than the first; however I’m not sure I’m sold on this trilogy. It just seems a little hard to buy, in my opinion. This book goes more in depth to the demons Christian is battling, and explains more of why he is the why he is…mentally and sexually. I know I mentioned in my review of the first book, Fifty Shades of Grey, that I didn’t really want Christian and Ana to end up together. My mind has been swayed slightly after finishing this book, but I still don’t find him all that likable. I like that you get more of a background on Christian in this book, and honestly I did start to feel for him after hearing of all the trauma he sustained throughout his childhood. However, it seems like every time I started to pull for him and Ana’s relationship, he would do something that just flat out irritated me and made me revert back to my original opinion…that 70% of the time I don’t really care for him. The incident involving Christian and Ana’s job at the publishing company just flat out made me want to smack him!

I appreciated that the author let us know a little more about Christian and Mrs. Robinson’s past relationship, because I was intrigued by it after reading the first book. You finally get to see her through Christian’s eyes, as opposed to Ana’s view point, which is obviously not positive. The storyline regarding the other submissive that you are introduced is a little whacko. Maybe E.L. James felt there needed to be another antagonist, but I didn’t really buy into that part of the story.

Christian and Ana both take big steps in their relationship in this book, and you really get to see how his feelings towards her have changed. The end of the book was slightly predictable, but overall I’d say it was a smidge better than Fifty Shades of Grey. I’m not in love with this trilogy, but I feel like I have to read the last book just to see how this ends. 

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Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

(Fifty Shades trilogy, book 1)
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.

Fair warning: This book contains very graphic sexual situations, and profanity.

Whew…talk about a book that shouldn’t be read in public! There are some exciting, erotic, racy parts of this book that would make any woman get a little hot and bothered. I was actually surprised at how much I did like this book, mainly because I had heard that it wasn’t written very well and tended to lean on the ‘cheesy’ side. It was an easy read, and didn’t feel like a 500+ page book, but I thought it was pretty well written. Don’t get me wrong, there were some parts of the book that made me roll my eyes because of the ‘cheese factor’, but those parts were few and far between.

The relationship between Ana and Christian is really rather intriguing. Here you have a 20-something year old virgin getting involved with a man who just so happens to be into some serious S&M-type stuff. The idea that she is willing to try that kind of sexual relationship with no prior experience is just so strange to me. Honestly, the way E.L. James describes Christian’s Red Room of Pain, even I would probably run for the hills after seeing that and I’m no virgin. I think that’s one reason why I enjoyed this book so much; the idea of a completely innocent girl being thrust into a very sexual world full of pleasure, pain, punishments, and contracts. Oh my goodness, the contract! It is written out in detail, and to say I was shocked at what it entailed is an understatement. I think my jaw was on the floor during that entire part of the book. That’s the whole thing; even after Ana read the contract, you’re still not sure whether she’s going to walk away from him or not. She wants to be with this man so badly that she is willing to entertain the idea of being his submissive; of being flogged or whipped or spanked when she does something he doesn’t approve of or simply so he can get his rocks off. In a sense, she’s willing to consider becoming his sex slave. To me, that shows just how completely infatuated with Christian she really is, because no matter how much I was into a guy, I could never commit myself to being his submissive. Not in a million years…then again, I’ve never really taken well to being told what to do :)

I also really like the outside relationships involving Ana, which give the reader a chance to see other people’s take on Christian. The only one I really want to touch on is her best friend and roommate, Kate. She clearly is not sold on Christian, and her concern for Ana is really heartwarming. With that in mind, I’m not entirely sold on Christian either. He is obviously a man who is used to getting what he wants, no questions asked, but his domineering ways constantly had me questioning whether or not I want Ana to end up with him. I also really don’t like his stalker tendencies, which include but are not limited to, tracking her cell phone. Call me crazy, but that wouldn’t fly with me no matter how gorgeous the guy is.

Overall, I thought this was a good read. It reads pretty quickly, and leaves you wanting to immediately start the second book to find out exactly what happens between Ana and Christian. I would recommend this book to any adult, but the content would be inappropriate for teenagers. 

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