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Fifty Shades
The Fifty Shades Trilogy & Grey
All three books in the phenomenally bestselling Fifty Shades trilogy, plus Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian.
Fifty Shades of Grey
When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man, and excited when she realises that Christian wants her too. As they embark on a passionate love affair, Ana discovers more about her own desires, as well as the dark secrets Christian keeps hidden away from public view …
Fifty Shades Darker
Daunted by the dark secrets of the tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Ana Steele has broken off their relationship. But when Christian proposes a new arrangement, she cannot resist. Soon she is learning more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades than she ever thought possible.
Fifty Shades Freed
Anastasia Steele always knew that loving Christian Grey would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them had anticipated. But, finally together, they have love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of infinite possibilities.
Then just when it seems that they really do have it all, tragedy and fate combine to make Ana's worst nightmares come true ...
Grey
Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty – until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?
Fifty Shades of Grey
When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man, and excited when she realises that Christian wants her too. As they embark on a passionate love affair, Ana discovers more about her own desires, as well as the dark secrets Christian keeps hidden away from public view …
Fifty Shades Darker
Daunted by the dark secrets of the tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Ana Steele has broken off their relationship. But when Christian proposes a new arrangement, she cannot resist. Soon she is learning more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades than she ever thought possible.
Fifty Shades Freed
Anastasia Steele always knew that loving Christian Grey would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them had anticipated. But, finally together, they have love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of infinite possibilities.
Then just when it seems that they really do have it all, tragedy and fate combine to make Ana's worst nightmares come true ...
Grey
Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty – until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?
2260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2015
46 people are currently reading
1107 people want to read
About the author
E.L. James
61 books58.5k followersAll you need to know should be on here:
http://www.eljamesauthor.com/
Please come talk to me on twitter: @E_L_James
If you are interested in the play list from either of these books - please visit my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/eljamesau...
http://www.eljamesauthor.com/
Please come talk to me on twitter: @E_L_James
If you are interested in the play list from either of these books - please visit my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/eljamesau...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 16, 2015
Overall I thought this series was ok, definitely not as bad as I was expecting but still not great. Would I recommend this to anyone? No I dont think so, I enjoyed some aspects of it, seeing the relationship unfold and the sub plots but the sex aspect and how it was written just dominates (no pun intended) the series and to be honest theres only so much 'kinky fuckery' you can take before your brain switches off and you just ignore all that and read the rest. I have split my views on each book below.
Fifty Shades of Grey
----------------------------
I read this book expecting the worst and not expecting to read the rest of the series, in many ways I was pleasantly surprised. Its not a great book by any measure, the writing is a bit wobbly in the first half but does improve and the characters take a while to evolve beyond the black and white. The story is fairly straightforward and though it hints at bigger deeper things to come these dont emerge until towards the end of the book. The eventual banter between the two main characters and especially their email correspondence are what saves this book from just being a tawdry romance novel but its still skirting that border very closely.
Now the key issue with this book (and to some extent id imagine the rest of the series), the sex scenes. I have no issue with the BDSM side of things, I dont go in for it in any way but i'm not prejudiced against it but that is not my complaint with this book.
The sex scenes are utter cheesy rubbish, they are so over the top you could imagine someone writing them as scripts for a porn movie or some such rather than an erotic novel.
If you took these abysmal and gratuitous scenes out then the books would be better by a long long way. Yes you could portray the sexual relationship of Christian and Ana but it really doesnt need to be done in this way and I feel just cheapens the story down to its reputation as 'mummy porn'.
Oh and I really want to slap anyone who talks about an 'inner goddess' seriously?
Fifty Shades Darker
--------------------------
This continues on directly from the first novel picking up many of the deeper themes which just started to come through in the first book. Ana and Christians relationship is explored in a more interesting way and whilst the gratuitous sex scenes are still present they have been toned down a little and are usually shorter, either that or i've just learned to ignore them more.
The sub plots make this book a lot darker as the title suggests and while its more interesting to read there are a lot of 'havent they done this bit already' moments where it very closely rehashes a scene from earlier/a previous book.
That said the story does shine through more and the characters are a little more interesting so you do find yourself wanting to find out what happens.
I still want to slap Ana's 'Inner goddess'. And she thinks Christian has issues!
Fifty Shades Freed
--------------------------
This book sees the Greys continue their lives with more rehashing of scenes and arguments from prior books alongside a continuation of the plotline shown at the end of the last book.
This is where this gets more interesting but you still end up annoyed as the author gives some not subtle clues along the way as to whats going to happen then suffers from premature plotjaculation and after a lot of build up its all over in seconds and you're left thinking...oh that was it.
The relationship between Christian and Ana is as turbulent as ever but due to their storylines they do resolve many issues and seem to get along much better, its also good that you see more of the other characters in this book as the Grey argument show gets tedious.
And yes MY palm is still twitching about the goddess rubbish.
Grey
------
I was concerned about reading this as to how much it would add to the story and quite frankly I was correct to be concerned. Whilst the occasional insight into Christians activities at work and away from Ana is nice generally you're just getting a rehashed scene from the first book the same OTT sex scenes the same speech just with Christians thoughts and lots of use of the word 'cock'.
I thought the first book was the worst written in the series and this revisited view doesnt improve things any, not to mention she doesnt even bother to finish the book from his perspective!
to-never-read
May 5, 2021| Reader Fox Blog |
"Please don't hit me," I whisper, pleading.
I think the absolute funniest--and subsequently most depressing--thing about fans of Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James is that so many of them make the baseless and uneducated claim that it doesn't promote abuse. And I think that says a lot more about society and it's woeful lack of education regarding women, consent, and sex in general than it really does about the people reading this book. But at the end of the day, its popularity was enough to result in one of the very few books that is widely known to romanticize deeply problematic and abusive behavior from men toward women. It started a conversation, it's been called out, and I do hope that there are some people out there who are better for the increased discussion of abusive behavior as a result of how many people came to read this novel. I, myself, picked it up once upon a time to see what all the fuss was about. Safe to say, I DNFed this book about half-way through, throwing it as far as I possibly could away from me the very moment he started sucking her toes. I still cringe to this day just thinking about that disgusting scene.
But I digress.
You see, when I read Fifty Shades of Grey, I had already been introduced to several of the criticisms surrounding the novel. Ultimately, I decided to pick it up so that I could criticize it with an actual understanding of what happened in the book. And the truth of the matter is that a part of me did understand why this book had quickly gained massive levels of popularity. It was an easy read, though this was largely due to its poor writing quality and absolute lack of literary merit--grammar mistakes everywhere, dismal characterization, substantially pathetic plotlines, and the writing style of a 12-year-old--and it was new.
At first, a part of me wanted to give James some credit and hope that she was going to write a story about a girl who stumbled into an extremely abusive relationship, grew to see the relationship and the despicable excuse for a human for what he is, and eventually get herself out. Now that would have been a story I could have respected. Unfortunately, James doesn't have the intelligence or education for that and it should have been readily apparent to me simply from the fact that she couldn't write to save her life. So, instead, the world was saddled with a poorly written, utterly damaging account of a woman falling into an abusive relationship and never getting herself out.
You really don't have to look far to see this fact proven, though the novels really should be enough to prove the claim alone--again, I despair at the complete lack of education women are given on the matter of abuse in this world, but I suppose that serves the men who want to abuse them so I doubt they're in any hurry to see it change--but, in case you don't see the abuse in the books, here are a few quick links that shed a bit of light on the truth:
Actual quotes from the book that show signs of abuse.
I cringe, I cry, I vomit.
Fifty examples of abuse pulled directly from the first book and half of book two.
Honestly, if you read any of these I would suggest reading this one because it's incredibly detailed and the most revealing that I've read thus far--I'm sure there are others I haven't found--but I always somehow seem to keep coming back to this one when I need to explain to someone why I fucking hate this book and the degradation it represents.
10 reasons Fifty Shades of Grey is abusive.
A list of signs that show you're in an abusive relationship and how they relate to Christian Grey...shocker.
Five lies about abuse that fans often perpetuate.
This one kind of breaks my heart a bit.
More examples.
Also, just FYI...a broken person acting abusively because they were "broken" does not make their behavior less abusive or okay. If I got hit as a child that doesn't give me the right to hit other people. And it doesn't mean anyone should forgive or love me for it.
More examples.
With videos this time!
A brilliant review from someone I deeply respect and admire that really breaks down a lot of issues within the book.
Seriously, I love this girl and her reviews.
And I mean, adding more would just be ridiculous but I went through about fifty links (ha, see what I did there?) and there were tons more where these come from. And a large part of me wishes that this had been a book about a woman getting into an abusive relationship and finding her way out--that would have been a book well worth reading. Unfortunately, Fifty Shades of Grey is garbage that supports the idea that abuse is romantic and that if you stick around with your abuser, eventually you'll end up happy. Not only is this 100% false, but it's disgusting and insulting and depressing. And I've spoken out about this numerous times in the past and probably should have sat down to write this review a long time ago. It always infuriates me to see how abuse is romanticized in novels.
It is fortunate, in my opinion, that so many people are able to see this book for what it is. And it's been reviewed and talked about so many times that I don't even know how much of an impact my voice is going to have. But in light of my desire and sort of project to really delve into the problem of Romanticized Abuse in Novels--I reread Twilight last year in order to discuss it more thoroughly, though I still have to write official reviews--and spread awareness I decided it was high time I wrote this. And if you're looking forward to learning about the other problematic books to hate for this reason, stick around because I'm about to reread the abhorrent, disturbing, and problematic Shatter Me series to provide precisely the sort of in-depth review that spreads awareness of just how bad the abuse romanticism is in that series.
| Reader Fox Links |
"Please don't hit me," I whisper, pleading.
I think the absolute funniest--and subsequently most depressing--thing about fans of Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James is that so many of them make the baseless and uneducated claim that it doesn't promote abuse. And I think that says a lot more about society and it's woeful lack of education regarding women, consent, and sex in general than it really does about the people reading this book. But at the end of the day, its popularity was enough to result in one of the very few books that is widely known to romanticize deeply problematic and abusive behavior from men toward women. It started a conversation, it's been called out, and I do hope that there are some people out there who are better for the increased discussion of abusive behavior as a result of how many people came to read this novel. I, myself, picked it up once upon a time to see what all the fuss was about. Safe to say, I DNFed this book about half-way through, throwing it as far as I possibly could away from me the very moment he started sucking her toes. I still cringe to this day just thinking about that disgusting scene.
But I digress.
You see, when I read Fifty Shades of Grey, I had already been introduced to several of the criticisms surrounding the novel. Ultimately, I decided to pick it up so that I could criticize it with an actual understanding of what happened in the book. And the truth of the matter is that a part of me did understand why this book had quickly gained massive levels of popularity. It was an easy read, though this was largely due to its poor writing quality and absolute lack of literary merit--grammar mistakes everywhere, dismal characterization, substantially pathetic plotlines, and the writing style of a 12-year-old--and it was new.
At first, a part of me wanted to give James some credit and hope that she was going to write a story about a girl who stumbled into an extremely abusive relationship, grew to see the relationship and the despicable excuse for a human for what he is, and eventually get herself out. Now that would have been a story I could have respected. Unfortunately, James doesn't have the intelligence or education for that and it should have been readily apparent to me simply from the fact that she couldn't write to save her life. So, instead, the world was saddled with a poorly written, utterly damaging account of a woman falling into an abusive relationship and never getting herself out.
You really don't have to look far to see this fact proven, though the novels really should be enough to prove the claim alone--again, I despair at the complete lack of education women are given on the matter of abuse in this world, but I suppose that serves the men who want to abuse them so I doubt they're in any hurry to see it change--but, in case you don't see the abuse in the books, here are a few quick links that shed a bit of light on the truth:
Actual quotes from the book that show signs of abuse.
I cringe, I cry, I vomit.
Fifty examples of abuse pulled directly from the first book and half of book two.
Honestly, if you read any of these I would suggest reading this one because it's incredibly detailed and the most revealing that I've read thus far--I'm sure there are others I haven't found--but I always somehow seem to keep coming back to this one when I need to explain to someone why I fucking hate this book and the degradation it represents.
10 reasons Fifty Shades of Grey is abusive.
A list of signs that show you're in an abusive relationship and how they relate to Christian Grey...shocker.
Five lies about abuse that fans often perpetuate.
This one kind of breaks my heart a bit.
More examples.
Also, just FYI...a broken person acting abusively because they were "broken" does not make their behavior less abusive or okay. If I got hit as a child that doesn't give me the right to hit other people. And it doesn't mean anyone should forgive or love me for it.
More examples.
With videos this time!
A brilliant review from someone I deeply respect and admire that really breaks down a lot of issues within the book.
Seriously, I love this girl and her reviews.
And I mean, adding more would just be ridiculous but I went through about fifty links (ha, see what I did there?) and there were tons more where these come from. And a large part of me wishes that this had been a book about a woman getting into an abusive relationship and finding her way out--that would have been a book well worth reading. Unfortunately, Fifty Shades of Grey is garbage that supports the idea that abuse is romantic and that if you stick around with your abuser, eventually you'll end up happy. Not only is this 100% false, but it's disgusting and insulting and depressing. And I've spoken out about this numerous times in the past and probably should have sat down to write this review a long time ago. It always infuriates me to see how abuse is romanticized in novels.
It is fortunate, in my opinion, that so many people are able to see this book for what it is. And it's been reviewed and talked about so many times that I don't even know how much of an impact my voice is going to have. But in light of my desire and sort of project to really delve into the problem of Romanticized Abuse in Novels--I reread Twilight last year in order to discuss it more thoroughly, though I still have to write official reviews--and spread awareness I decided it was high time I wrote this. And if you're looking forward to learning about the other problematic books to hate for this reason, stick around because I'm about to reread the abhorrent, disturbing, and problematic Shatter Me series to provide precisely the sort of in-depth review that spreads awareness of just how bad the abuse romanticism is in that series.
| Reader Fox Links |
February 22, 2017
Love this book
This book I can read over and over again love it. Think it has a bit of everything action, romance. Its a love story we all wish for.
This book I can read over and over again love it. Think it has a bit of everything action, romance. Its a love story we all wish for.
November 29, 2016
Some people hated this book, some just liked it but I am one of those people who just loved it ... Tell you what, It was in front of books all the time but I just ignored it, I was just not intrested and then .... woooo .. I saw the movie and I just became obsessed with the whole series and believe me It was worth reading ... some may raise fingers on adult scenes, some would say " what the crap, bdsm" and I would say I have read bdsm before but believe me it tops all of them ..
Anastesia steele, Christine grey, Mr grey you are love :* oh shan't I say "sir" ..
I won't say I want it for myself, I won't say this love story was best but I must say Id you read mr grey, it leaves you to crave more like it ..
As mr grey would said "He is fifty shades fuck up" so yes .. I am giving it 5stars as I am equally freak like grey and Anastesia who did accept all that ...
love ...
Bushra ayub khan ...
Anastesia steele, Christine grey, Mr grey you are love :* oh shan't I say "sir" ..
I won't say I want it for myself, I won't say this love story was best but I must say Id you read mr grey, it leaves you to crave more like it ..
As mr grey would said "He is fifty shades fuck up" so yes .. I am giving it 5stars as I am equally freak like grey and Anastesia who did accept all that ...
love ...
Bushra ayub khan ...
October 18, 2015
off the charts. very sensual and exciting,keeps wanting more
July 15, 2020
Es curioso ... la ptimera vez que lei esta trilogia me fascinó y me aficionó a leer este tipo de genero hasta entonces desconocido para mi, que ahora me encanta!
Me encanto Grey pero no por lo que hacia o dejaba de hacer, su estilo de vida que lo mantenia cuerdo .. si bo x todo lo que envuelve al personaje .. su evolucion, su interior, como va venciendo esa oscuridad que lo engulle y km va encontrando la calma y el sentido al amor.
Anastasia no pude nunca con ella .. me parecio siempre tan infantil ... la diosa que lleva dentro me canso un poco .. y su caracter que para nada es la sumisa que parece al principio pero su inmadurez en algunas cosas o inexperiencia en otras .. me parecio mucho mas joven y no acabe de empatizar con ella.
Pero la historia me fascinó en si x como Grey va encontrandose a si mismo de la mano de ella y km logra suprrar sus tantos traumas y miedos.
La segunda vez no me fascinó pero me siguio gustando y la segui disfrutando aunk no tanto km la primera vez.
Y esta vez la he vuelto a leer (con esto del coronavirus y mis preocupaciones necesitaba desconectar pero era incapaz de concentrarme en algo nuevo y volvi a acudir a mi querido Grey .. ) y èl me ha seguido fascinando y disfrutando y ella .. cada vez me aburre mas km personaje ... es lo k hay ..
No aguanto a la boba de Anastasia ..
Pero .. me he vuelto a zampar la historia y me ha ayudado a volver a coger mis lecturas nuevas que me esperan impacientes.
Me encanto Grey pero no por lo que hacia o dejaba de hacer, su estilo de vida que lo mantenia cuerdo .. si bo x todo lo que envuelve al personaje .. su evolucion, su interior, como va venciendo esa oscuridad que lo engulle y km va encontrando la calma y el sentido al amor.
Anastasia no pude nunca con ella .. me parecio siempre tan infantil ... la diosa que lleva dentro me canso un poco .. y su caracter que para nada es la sumisa que parece al principio pero su inmadurez en algunas cosas o inexperiencia en otras .. me parecio mucho mas joven y no acabe de empatizar con ella.
Pero la historia me fascinó en si x como Grey va encontrandose a si mismo de la mano de ella y km logra suprrar sus tantos traumas y miedos.
La segunda vez no me fascinó pero me siguio gustando y la segui disfrutando aunk no tanto km la primera vez.
Y esta vez la he vuelto a leer (con esto del coronavirus y mis preocupaciones necesitaba desconectar pero era incapaz de concentrarme en algo nuevo y volvi a acudir a mi querido Grey .. ) y èl me ha seguido fascinando y disfrutando y ella .. cada vez me aburre mas km personaje ... es lo k hay ..
No aguanto a la boba de Anastasia ..
Pero .. me he vuelto a zampar la historia y me ha ayudado a volver a coger mis lecturas nuevas que me esperan impacientes.
April 16, 2019
Not my cup of tea. Read it because of the book club. I didn't see the appeal in portraying a smart college-age girl as naive, vulnerable, and right down foolish. Especially when she falls for a mysterious, rich, handsome, and in every other way superior male partner....but this could just be the feminist in me talking.
February 3, 2019
The first & second novels were amazing! I couldn't put it down! They were mesmerizing, page after page! The third was good but not as good as the first two in my opinion. I didn't like the ending, I think that's what took it down a notch in my mind, it was a let down.
July 19, 2017
soemtimes they smirk, eye roll and bite lips all at the same time. Loved the series ! :D
October 9, 2021
My favourite book series in the whole world❤
December 26, 2021
Amazing books to read! Films are amazing too
October 18, 2022
🌟🌟🌟
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2023
This book series is amazing. Way more than just spice, love the storyline to
September 24, 2023
No sentí nada por los personajes o la trama.
Read
February 17, 2025Trash
October 20, 2016
See individual book for review
March 17, 2017
I was interested in all the hype being made about the book. I found it interesting from the psychology stand point. As for the sex scenes, after about the second one read- I just skip those- same-old-same-old. By the 4th book I skip those scenes entirely. By the last book- the story line turned into a "Pretty Women" story line. Disappointing...
July 31, 2015
really enjoyed the banter between Ms. Steele and Grey.
December 3, 2015
Fifty Shades of OMG, erotic fantasy, bondage. not my usual read
April 29, 2016
i still really enjoyed this. going to rewatch the movie again tonight!
Read
May 20, 2019Best of all
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews