2. - Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James

Fifty Shades #1

2011, Vintage Books

510 pgs.

X-rated Adult Erotica

Finished 1/6/2015

Goodreads rating: 3.70

My rating:   (3) Liked it  

Setting:  contemporary Washington State (including Seattle)

1st sentence/s:  "I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror.  Damn my hair -- it just won't behave, and damn Katherine Kavanaugh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal."

My comments:  There have been many negative reviews by people that consider this book horrible because of all the erotica and sexual content.  Well....the genre is erotica, so if you don't like erotica and read it anyway, of course you're not going to like it.  Me?  I liked it.  The characters were interesting, thought-provoking (I might even read the second in the series to see if more is revealed about Christian's hangups) and ..... fun.  Neither were entirely believable, but that's okay in this story, for me.  Ana's innocence and inexperience, at 21--- not believable.  Oh well.  The humor that appears in the many emails that go back and forth between them is clesver.  My biggest complaint?  Ms. James used the word "clamber" dozens and dozens of times. THAT'S what drove ME crazy! (The movie is coming out next month, the trailer enticed me to read the book before seeing the movie - and yes, I'm going to see it!)

Goodreads book summary:  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.
          Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
          This book is intended for mature audiences.