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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Magic Continues... in Darker Shades!, September 22, 2011
This review is from: Fifty Shades Darker (Kindle Edition)
In this second book of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, the romance continues between Christian and Ana from Ana's point of view... and what a busy POV it is! I have enjoyed this story since it was on the author's website, so it's no surprise I loved this book! The edits have indeed improved the story. "Darker" opens up with the couple apart, but soon Christian and Ana are re-negotiating their relationship. As in the first book of this trilogy, some aspects of the writing are sophomoric, mainly in relation to periphery characters, but don't let that deter you (!) because there is brilliance here too. The relationship between Ana and Christian is just so good. Their frank and open communication is fantastic and their story is not only totally engaging, but downright addicting! Christian (aka, Fifty) is one of the most memorable, delicious characters I have ever read. His voice is unique and clear and mesmerizing, yet he is revealed entirely through Ana's experiences and perception of him (quite a talent, Ms. James!). For both Christian and Ana, everything they think they know about their lives gets tilted at odd angles and makes their growing relationship feel like a thrill ride. All the usual suspects return to keep the "action" going (with at least 3 different mini-plots), and, of course, there is the continuing fallout from Christian's severe childhood (and possible adolescent) trauma. Issues of independence, trust, acceptance, submission and, most importantly, unconditional love are all in play. Despite the intensity and conflict the tone remains witty and playful and romantic. Readers complain about Ana a bit and, I must say, she took me out of my comfort zone at times. I think she's bolder than I would be in her constant questioning of Christian. But I tend not to like confrontation, so it's likely just me. But those who hate misunderstandings will appreciate that no stone goes unturned between these two '. It is refreshing to read about people who are completely guileless with one another. Ana can also come across a bit schizophrenic when her thinking swings from "I want this", to "I don't want this" to "do I want this"? However, this tension feels true to life. Her choices were not easy (too many shades of grey!). Overall, I really like Ana and I certainly enjoyed having a front row seat to her busy inner world. Those (very popular) inner characters may have been overused in this second book, but they are fabulous nonetheless. Something interesting to note: The original story was published one chapter at a time for the subscriber's reading pleasure, so each chapter of this book feels like "a full experience". This format created highly eventful and revealing chapters for the books and the overall story feels "episodic" not unlike the structure of "Outlander" which I found unique and very readable. I also noted Ms. James fleshed out several scenes with additional action and dialogue in this book during editing, which was great for me as an original reader. I thought she did a splendid job filling in some gaps and deepening the story. The author also summed up the day's events from time to time in this version. I didn't mind it, but it dragged the action down for me a bit. New readers will likely benefit from the summaries as I remember needing to summarize in my own head previously. The only quibble with this format is the repetition (Christian sets his "mouth in a hard line" about 10 times throughout the book; Ana wonders if it "will it always be like this" about 3 or 4 different things and she reminds us many times that she wants to know more about Christian), but it didn't pull me out of the story at all. In fanfiction, it doesn't feel repetitious when it takes 2 years to tell the story. The sensuality is once again hot, hot, hot. It doesn't feel gratuitous to me, but there is a lot of it. The sexual experiences between Christian and Ana and their growing intimacy are central to the story in FSD and are gloriously full of the darkest and lightest shades of grey. I can name a hundred heart-soaring, heart-rending and breathtaking moments in this book. There are many favorite scenes that I am already looking forward to re-reading (Portland to Seattle, anyone?). I am a fan, what can I say? Although British-isms still abound, there are typos, and a couple of the mini-plots are duds, I don't care. It's imperfect, but it's so very unique in its style, its structure and its content. I adore it and highly recommend it!
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh how I love, love, LOVE Fifty Shades (4.5 stars), September 17, 2011
I loved it. It was a different experience than the first one; the pace is much slower, even though there are a lot of outside forces and complications when there weren't in the previous one. The chemistry is as sizzling as ever though (whew! *fan please!*), the romance is sweeter, and there is lovely humor. Biggest criticism: Ana got on my nerves as she did not in the previous book. THE ROMANCE: Yes, Fifty can actually be quite romantic, ladies! The relationship between Ana and Christian is as hot and sweet - actually, much sweeter - as ever. We get to see the soft, vulnerable, and romantic side of Christian, which I found absolutely lovely. The chemistry was very much still there though. *sizzle* There's one seen in the library on the billiard table ... need I say more? I would play pool with Fifty any day. Oh. My. Lord! *desperately fans self* I would also go with him to the following places ... hmm, let's see: elevator, catamaran, piano, another elevator, desk in the home office, shower, bathtub, apartment entryway, Red Room, family boathouse, childhood bedroom, regular bed (of course) - and would request a repeat of the first elevator, billiard table, piano, and childhood bedroom. *wink* *wink* CHRISTIAN GREY, aka FIFTY SHADES, aka ONE OF THE BEST "ROMANCE" HEROES EVER: We see much more of Christian's boyishness and sweet side that we started to see at the end of the last book. He also has this wonderfully adorable new "shy" smile that he starts to show more and more to Ana as he begins to believe in her love for him. We really start to see his needier side, as well as his utter self-abhorrence and profound (if ignored) desire for unconditional love. Never became unsexy though, which I feel like it could easily have become, so James pulled that off well. I did start to question his beyond-anything desire for and dependence on Ana. That may have something to do with the fact that she was annoying me in the first half of the book of course (see below). His need, love, and - let's be honest - downright obsession with her is such that the reader has to love Ana as well in order to accept it as authentic. We find out the Thing that he was convinced in part 1 would send her running and ... I don't know. Didn't find it as shocking as Ana did and as I think we were supposed to. We find out why he did what he did / does what he does / needs what he needs and how that has been changed by Ana. I'm not sure how people will feel about the change. Christian still has his rough side; he's still a dominant personality; he's still as controlling as unbelievably-ever. SOME CRITICISMS: A lot of things that some of my GR friends had mentioned annoyed them in the first one and that I hadn't noticed or hadn't bothered me now did in this one. Not everything, but the inner goddess is one example. The main one was Ana. I really loved Ana in Part 1 and I know some people didn't, but I did and I'm sticking to it. Here, I had problems with her in the first half or so. Her fan club continued to grow, which doesn't fit with the type of girl she's set up to be. More importantly, she was petulant and immature, in some ways just as mercurial and moody as Fifty, but while he's sexy and mysterious in his personality disorder, she was annoying. Ana shaped up in the second half, being much more consistent and mature, and by the end she was stepping up to the plate and back in my good graces. NOTE ON FIFTY SHADE SERIES AND BOOK ENDINGS: No spoilers! These cannot and should not be read on their own. It's basically one long story broken up into three parts, so start with the first Fifty Shades book, Fifty Shades of Grey. For those who hated the "cliffhanger" ending of part 1, this is part 2, so again not everything is resolved, however we are not left with a cliffhanger regarding Ana and Christian's relationship, so I think most will find it completely acceptable (i.e. bearable). PROGRESSION OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP: Part 1 was all about the newness of their connection. That part of the story has all of the excitement of a new crush: it's fun, dangerous, makes you giddy, and holy crap was the tension unbelievable! Here, Ana and Christian seemed to have found their stride and really started to work on their issues. At the beginning, it seemed a little too convenient for me and I wasn't sure I fully accepted what Christian was saying and offering. However it wasn't as much of a 180 as I thought it would be, so by the end I was completely convinced and found the change believable. I predict that Part 3 will be more about the settling in of their relationship: the smaller details and the really getting comfortable with one another. I'm looking forward to reading it, because hey: how could I not want to read another book with Fifty Shades in it? There are going to be some evil doers who come back to add some excitement to the mix and I am interested in seeing how it all plays out ... But yeah, I'll mostly be back for Fifty. Okay, fiiiiine. Truth: I'll solely be back for Fifty. ;-)
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sixth Star if I could... Wow!, November 9, 2011
This review is from: Fifty Shades Darker (Kindle Edition)
I really wish I could manually add a 6th star to Amazon for this book. I never would have believed it was possible but Fifty Shades Darker is even better than Fifty Shades of Grey. Hard to believe, but true. Reading this book reminded me of a quote that I love by Alan Cohen, "Scared and sacred are spelled with the same letters. Awful proceeds from the same root word as awesome. Terrify and terrific. Every negative experience holds the seed of transformation." Reading Fifty Shades Darker is like witnessing metamorphosis in action. What I love the most about this book is the way the events and characters change and develop. I love that Christian Grey transforms from utterly immovable to flexible. Every negative emotion he feels eventually becomes something positive, or at least something he can learn and grow from. He learns the delicate balance between give and take. He learns to open his heart and to accept love--and he learns to give it as well. Everything cold becomes warm, and everything hot--well that's about the only thing that stays the same, still hot. These two characters are so contradictory and conflicting, and yet complement each other so well. Each trial, every obstacle, every hardship the two experiences are overcome and ultimately strengthen the relationship. This is truly one of the most amazing love stories I've read. I would like to add one more thing regarding a popular misconception about this book. I've read a lot of comments from readers saying it is too far out of their comfort zone because of the BDSM elements. I would like to address this because I don't think readers should shy away from it for that reason. EL James has a way of writing that brings out the heat in a love scene (I literally get butterflies sometimes while reading) but in my opinion she does it in a very tasteful way. I've read other BDSM novels and I think these books should really be classified as mild erotica, which contain some MILD elements of BDSM. There is a well defined plot with well developed characters. The romance is both sweet (I love the emails between the characters) and steamy, and to me the sex scenes do not feel gratuitous. It really is just an amazing and beautiful love story, and I think the BDSM elements are an integral element the plot in this novel.
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