I struggled with whether to write this review or not and how to do it. I am a writer and I would not want someone to rip my work to pieces. Yet I have received negative reviews. With all this in mind, I started reading Fifty Shades of Grey and went in with an open mind. I wanted to know why so many copies of this book had been sold. I also started reading with extremely low expectations. I knew that the core of the story was based off of Twilight fan fiction (I am on Team Edward and love Twilight), but I wasn't prepared for how unimaginative the story is and so vanilla in its telling.
This is the part of the review that I'm having a difficult time with. Lovers of the series do not wish to hear my point-of-view and I do not wish to trash James' work. I'll not spend a lot of time focusing on my review because it is a negative one. I found the book extremely difficult to get through because I found it boring. The sex scenes were so insanely unimaginative that I found them to be magnitudes less exciting than watching an episode of the Jersey Shore--and I'm not a fan of that show by any means. I wanted to care about the characters, but there was no reason for me to do so because they were cardboard cutouts. Ana is a college grad, but doesn't have an email address and is so filled with unbelievable innocence that I found her to be impossible to be interested in.
Christian, having a bit more depth because at least he has a tragic and messed up background, became less and less of interest as the book went on. But none of this really speaks to the real core of why I disliked the book. If I could sum that up, I would say that there are little to know emotional stakes in the book and the writing is poor. Christian "cocks his head" so many times that he must have whiplash. And Ana comes when Christian looks at her crooked. I thought that maybe the comedic aspects of this book is really why it's so popular. So let me take a step back. What I would like most to say about this book is that there are so much better erotica books out there. These three became immensely popular (for whatever reason,) and are just not good examples of the genre.
That's all I'll say about Fifty Shades of Grey. But what I would encourage lovers of these books to do, is to pick up Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Her Kushiel's Legacy series is filled with an amazing plot, intrigue, great sex scenes (which make sense) and an emotional arc that leaves you caring about the characters. I stumbled upon Carey's work several years ago and read all six books and several of the spinoffs. Yes, the books are long, filled with many characters, but the creativity behind this series is true. If you're looking to read and get caught up in a world and be transported to another time and place AND have some pretty steamy sex scenes, then Carey's books are for you.
I've put down Fifty Shades of Grey and thought I'd zip through books 2 & 3, but with my own writing deadline fast approaching, I've decided not to spend time on the other two books. I'd rather read Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland. I've been hearing really good things about this satire. With so little time to read and so many other great books out there in the erotica genre, I'm choosing to pass on the next two books on the Grey series. James has made enough money on her poorly written book. I'd rather spend my money on a series like Carey's that is filled with real life characters and some amazing plots than be bored out of my mind for another two books.
Ron Vitale is the author of the gothic romance novel Cinderella's Secret Diarywho knows that Cinder would never enjoy Fifty Shades of Grey as she has a much more creative imagination--especially since her marriage to the Prince is failing and a certain young Frenchmen has caught her eye...
Fifty Shades of Grey: My Unreview
I struggled with whether to write this review or not and how to do it. I am a writer and I would not want someone to rip my work to pieces. Yet I have received negative reviews. With all this in mind, I started reading Fifty Shades of Grey and went in with an open mind. I wanted to know why so many copies of this book had been sold. I also started reading with extremely low expectations. I knew that the core of the story was based off of Twilight fan fiction (I am on Team Edward and love Twilight), but I wasn't prepared for how unimaginative the story is and so vanilla in its telling.
This is the part of the review that I'm having a difficult time with. Lovers of the series do not wish to hear my point-of-view and I do not wish to trash James' work. I'll not spend a lot of time focusing on my review because it is a negative one. I found the book extremely difficult to get through because I found it boring. The sex scenes were so insanely unimaginative that I found them to be magnitudes less exciting than watching an episode of the Jersey Shore--and I'm not a fan of that show by any means. I wanted to care about the characters, but there was no reason for me to do so because they were cardboard cutouts. Ana is a college grad, but doesn't have an email address and is so filled with unbelievable innocence that I found her to be impossible to be interested in.
Christian, having a bit more depth because at least he has a tragic and messed up background, became less and less of interest as the book went on. But none of this really speaks to the real core of why I disliked the book. If I could sum that up, I would say that there are little to know emotional stakes in the book and the writing is poor. Christian "cocks his head" so many times that he must have whiplash. And Ana comes when Christian looks at her crooked. I thought that maybe the comedic aspects of this book is really why it's so popular. So let me take a step back. What I would like most to say about this book is that there are so much better erotica books out there. These three became immensely popular (for whatever reason,) and are just not good examples of the genre.
That's all I'll say about Fifty Shades of Grey. But what I would encourage lovers of these books to do, is to pick up Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Her Kushiel's Legacy series is filled with an amazing plot, intrigue, great sex scenes (which make sense) and an emotional arc that leaves you caring about the characters. I stumbled upon Carey's work several years ago and read all six books and several of the spinoffs. Yes, the books are long, filled with many characters, but the creativity behind this series is true. If you're looking to read and get caught up in a world and be transported to another time and place AND have some pretty steamy sex scenes, then Carey's books are for you.
I've put down Fifty Shades of Grey and thought I'd zip through books 2 & 3, but with my own writing deadline fast approaching, I've decided not to spend time on the other two books. I'd rather read Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland. I've been hearing really good things about this satire. With so little time to read and so many other great books out there in the erotica genre, I'm choosing to pass on the next two books on the Grey series. James has made enough money on her poorly written book. I'd rather spend my money on a series like Carey's that is filled with real life characters and some amazing plots than be bored out of my mind for another two books.
Ron Vitale is the author of the gothic romance novel Cinderella's Secret Diary who knows that Cinder would never enjoy Fifty Shades of Grey as she has a much more creative imagination--especially since her marriage to the Prince is failing and a certain young Frenchmen has caught her eye...
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