Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Romantic, liberating and totally addictive, this is a novel that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Convinced that their meeting went badly, she tries to put him out of her mind- until he turns up at the store where she works part-time and invites her out.Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find that she wants this man. And, when he warns her to keep her distance, it only makes her want him more. But Grey is tormented by inner demons and consumed by the need to control. As they embark on a passionate love affair, Ana discovers more about her own desires, as well as the dark secrets Grey keeps hidden away from public view...

For the last few weeks I have not been able to turn on my computer without reading something about Fifty Shades of Grey. E.L. James's trilogy is simply everywhere and I was intrigued by the hype. This books definitely seems to have divided people, you will either love it or hate it so I decided to find out which way I would go.
Fifty Shades of Grey began as Twilight fanfiction and had the title of Master of the Universe. E.L. James retitled it and changed the characters from Bella and Edward to Christian and Ana. Don't let this put you off, I actually really enjoyed Twilight but I know that it's not everyone's cup of tea. There are no vampires in Fifty Shades of Grey but the general idea is the same of falling for someone that you should really stay away from and becoming completely consumed by them.
Anastasia Steele meets Christian Grey when she covers for a friend and interview the hugely successful and wealthy Grey for the college newspaper. Ana instantly feels something in Christian's presence but she finds him majorly intimidating and becomes flustered and embarrassed. Ana has never reacted to a man like this before and she is relieved when the interview is over yet once she has left, she cannot stop thinking about Christian and the effect he had on her. It comes as a huge surprise when he turns up at her workplace and asks her out on a date. She knows she is entering a different world in terms of Christian's wealth but she has no idea about his other lifestyle choices. Christian does warn her that she should stay away but this makes Ana want him more and their love affair begins.

Christian has many deep and dark secrets which are alluded to but not all are dealt with in this first book. The major one though is Christian's need for BDSM, bondage, domination and sado-masochism. Christian likes to hurt his partner during sex; he wants to be the dominant and Ana his submissive. This would be a whole new world to most people but it is even more so for Ana who has to admit to Christian that she is a virgin. Christian will be her first sexual partner; initially he is shocked and doesn't feel that Ana will be able to handle his world but in the end he cannot push her away and instead has to make compromises and that is something he is not used to doing for anyone.
These compromises create Ana and Christian's relationship. She has to discover her limits and what she is prepared to endure; Christian on the other hand has to discover what he is happy not to do; he usually gets everything that he wants but he risks losing Ana if he pushes her too far.
Obviously a book about BDSM is going to have graphic sexual scenes. I expected to be more shocked than I was, instead I found that the sex scenes exposed how Christian and Ana's relationship and love for each other was developing.
As I found with Twilight, this book is  completely character driven. I totally fell for Christian and could completely see why Ana was so attracted to him. Fifty Shades of Grey is completely addictive, when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. At the end of the day it is up to you whether you believe the hype or not. I would certainly recommend finding out for yourself. I have already ordered the second book and I can't wait to read more about Ana and Mr Grey.

Dot Scribbles Rating 5/5