Fifty Shades Series by E.L. James

I can't believe I forgot to review this in real time! I read these last month and never posted, for shame. OK well as is my new custom I will give all three reviews together here. 

Fifty Shades of Grey ~V^^V

I can't give this a better rating, while the book redeemed itself in the end it just took too long. In the beginning the story really didn't have a point. Girl meets boy, girl likes boy, boy apparently just wants a f*ck partner. From there Ana is just ticking things off as if retelling the events to an interviewer. There doesn't seem to be any real character building she just goes about her life. The majority of the story is emails and contracts. I have no interest in reading a prolonged definit...more I can't give this a better rating, while the book redeemed itself in the end it just took too long. In the beginning the story really didn't have a point. Girl meets boy, girl likes boy, boy apparently just wants a f*ck partner. From there Ana is just ticking things off as if retelling the events to an interviewer. There doesn't seem to be any real character building she just goes about her life. The majority of the story is emails and contracts. I have no interest in reading a prolonged definition of BDSM and Sub/Dom relationships; that is not my lifestyle. So that said about 2/3 of the way through the story we finally get some character development and a smidgen of back story. I will say that I don't have much of a like for either of the main characters' personalities so that did hamper my views. I feel like Mr. Grey needs to dial it back and Ana needs to step up. The ending did redeem the story for me and I was curious enough to see where this story goes from here. So on to Fifty Shades Darker for me.

Fifty Shades Darker ~V^^^V

This one is SO much better written than the previous book. I actually liked this one. It seems as the though the writing has improved greatly. This book is less of interview type telling of events and a little more of a story. The contract no longer playing a huge role in eating up pages it left room for a story. The relationship between Ana and Christian is still a mess. I wanted to throw my Nook across the room more often than I have in any other story but I guess that means I am committed. My...more This one is SO much better written than the previous book. I actually liked this one. It seems as the though the writing has improved greatly. This book is less of interview type telling of events and a little more of a story. The contract no longer playing a huge role in eating up pages it left room for a story. The relationship between Ana and Christian is still a mess. I wanted to throw my Nook across the room more often than I have in any other story but I guess that means I am committed. My main issue with this one is that all the situations seemed rather cliche. It almost seemed like every romance novel dynamic situation was stuffed into this story. Its almost sad that I know all the basic romantic scenarios. I can't fault E.L. for wanting to throw in some action though. I am impressed by the author growth here so I will be continuing and finishing the Trilogy.

Fifty Shades Freed ~V^^^V

Overall I eneded up liking this series. Initially I was very put off by the lack of editting and the newness of the author. I think she started to show some confidence in her writing byt the second book and it showed. The things that bother me about this book are how the relationship between Ana and Christian seems to take a step back in the first half to three quarts of this book. Christian is back to his old ways and Ana seems to always just let him railroad her. I found it ridiculously annoyi...more Overall I ended up liking this series. Initially I was very put off by the lack of editing and the newness of the author. I think she started to show some confidence in her writing by the second book and it showed. The things that bother me about this book are how the relationship between Ana and Christian seems to take a step back in the first half to three quarts of this book. Christian is back to his old ways and Ana seems to always just let him railroad her. I found it ridiculously annoying. The other thing I didn't care for was the abrupt time/ story line shifts. One minute we are here and the next we are apparently in a memory. Overall though it was a good romance, the characters were well plotted and some of the scenarios were very gripping. I can tell you that I tended to skip the sex scenes at a certain point, though they were good, they just tended to be in excess.

To sum it up, though at first I tended to tell people to skip it, I can say now with good faith that I would not do so anymore. It's as good as any other romance out there, and I hope for success for E.L. James in future writing endeavors.

Overall I can tell you that this series is not nearly as "dirty" as it has been touted nor is it that riveting. I will admit to eventually starting to like it and can say that if you are too quick to judgment and not see it to the end of all three books, you really can't give a proper review. ~Michelle