Book Review #682 - Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey #4) by E.L. James

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, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.  

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?

My Rating: 3.5/5

I read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in early 2016 and even though they were completely outside my comfort zone reads, I found that I surprisingly rather enjoyed them and so it was a no brainer that I would now delve into the story told from the perspective of the enigmatic Christian Grey. 

I loved the glimpses given into Christian's traumatic childhood as this really solidified some things that were hinted at throughout the previous books. 

I loved being inside Christian's mind but ultimately I preferred Ana as the narrator. I find Ana less irritating when she is the one narrating and also I think I prefer there being a filter between Christian and the reader as he comes across as more uptight and serious on his own. 

I don't think this book could really sustain itself on its own - it definitely is more of a companion to Fifty Shades of Grey in that it was written more to answer questions like 'I wonder what Christian was thinking at that moment?' and the insight into his childhood because other than that it is just basically Fifty Shades of Grey.

Book Review #663 - Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades of Grey #3) by E.L. James

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.

My Rating: 3/5

I didn't find this book as captivating as the first two, maybe because I read them all back to back and was growing tired of them or simply because it was the last book and I was reluctant to finish the series. 

Christian Grey is such an intriguing, complex character and I loved how much he started opening up throughout the book, especially towards his family. 

There were parts of the plot that I thought were a little over the top but it didn't seem out of place in this series considering what has previously happened. 

The ending tied up all loose ends and gave the characters the ending they deserved. 

Overall, I went into this series with really low expectations and I honestly did not think I would finish the first book let alone the whole trilogy in 3 days. 

Whilst the sex scenes got rather tedious towards the end, it was more so my fascination with Christian and my need to know why he is the way he is that ultimately enabled me to devour this series like I did. 

Book Review #658 - Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades of Grey #2) by E.L. James

Daunted by the singular sexual 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, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades.

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

My Rating: 3.5/5

This book had so much more depth to it than the first one and the insight into Christian's past made me love this book more than the first. 

I read this book in under 24 hours and as I have been in a massive reading slump for a number of months this was a huge achievement for me. 

I started liking Anastasia a little in this book when especially when she stood up for herself against Christian when he was being completely overprotective and stubbornly unreasonable. 

Like with the first book I found the repetitiveness in the language extremely annoying. In this book it was the constant mention of holding her breath. 

The plot in this book was rather intense at times although the majority of the drama was late in the book. 

With Christian finally starting to open up more I am definitely interested in what book 3 brings. 

I feel like this is one of those books series that whilst you're reading it, you find yourself completely immersed in the story but as soon as you take a step away from it, you start questioning things. 

Overall, this book was much better than book 1 and I am hoping that book 3 will be even better. 

Book Review #653 - Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey #1) by E.L. James

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.

My Rating: 3/5

I swore I would never, never ever read this book (I think I may have even made that statement here on my blog at some stage), however, after I had the flu I wanted something rather light to ease me back into reading and I saw this book on my shelf and I though why not, even your grandfather has read it (true story). 

First of all, I went into this book with absolutely no expectations. I'd obviously heard a lot about it but I like to form my own opinions about books. 

The book was first written as Twilight fanfiction and at first I was over aware of the similarities between the two (for example both are set in Washington state). It didn't take me long however just to ignore that part. 

The sex scenes is what made me most hesitant to read this book/series because I have never read erotica before, however I think watching/reading Game of Thrones has desensitized me more than I thought as I had no issues with them. 

The main thing that bothered me with this book was how repetitive some of the language was. For example the number of times Christian told Ana not to bite her lip. Also the amount of times Ana referred to her 'inner goddess' was really annoying. 

Christian was a very intense and intimidating character. He obviously has a very troubled past which I am interested to learn more about. 

Anastasia in comparison was rather plain and I am not sure if it is because the book is told through her or not but I found her rather predictable. 

Overall, I am really surprised by how much this book compelled me and if I hadn't started it over the weekend I probably would have finished it in one sitting. 

The ending was rather abrupt, almost like the author decided to add a little cliff hanger in at the last second. 

Book Review #566 - When You're Back (Rosemary Beach #12) by Abbi Glines

My Rating: 3.5/5




Source: Simon and Schuster Australia





Buy: TBD





Goodreads

Love is a journey - Rosemary Beach is the destination...The future is bright for Reese Ellis. She has Mase Colt-Manning, the man of her dreams, and a family she didn't know existed until her long-lost father arrived on her doorstep in Rosemary Beach. Everything is finally falling into place. While Reese is visiting her new family in Chicago, Mase spends time with his "cousin," Aida, who has worshipped him since childhood. Unrelated by blood, Mase and Aida have been raised to think of each other as family. But when Reese returns, she can tell something isn't quite right. Aida clearly resents Reese and excels at manipulative little games. And though Mase is unsuspecting, Reese knows Aida doesn't love him like a cousin should...

This is the 12th book in the Rosemary Beach series. I had not read the previous 11 books and I had not problems understanding this book. They seem to be more companions to one another rather than follow a continuous plot so don't feel worried about reading them in order. 

This book is first and foremost a romance book. This is not usually my type of book as I prefer romance to be more of a sub-plot but I found that I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. 

As I hadn't read the other 11 books the characters obviously weren't familiar to be but I found that I grasped pretty quickly the dynamics of it all. 

The characters were a little stereotyped but that didn't really bother me as it wasn't that much of an issue. 

The plot seemed a little all over the place. The cousin disappears for a large chunk of the book and didn't turn out to be as big an issue as the synopsis would suggest.