Customer Reviews

Fifty Shades Darker

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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. ;-)

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.

I so enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey, as did so many others, and snapped up Fifty Shades Darker as soon as it was available. And while it's great to get back to the combustible romance between Ana and Christian, I was disappointed to see the plot take a turn toward one of the most overused of erotica plots (warning: minor plot spoiler coming up!) -- the dominant partner needing to protect the submissive from a violent stalker. The writing is still top notch, with lots of humor and very hot, well-written sex scenes. Ms. James has a real talent for painting a picture! But when I saw she was going to rely on such a tired story line, I had to force myself to keep reading. Glad I did -- there's a lot more to the book than just that single story line -- but I had just hoped for 'more'. Oh, and there are a lot of odd, distracting editing errors that pulled my attention away from the story. I can't understand how these sorts of errors aren't caught by a good editor. Sorry, I hate being so critical. I still love Ana and Christian, and look forward to book three. Or anything else written by Ms. James, for that matter.

FIFTY SHADES DARKER by E L James.

This is graphic BDSM erotic romance. There is no paranormal. There are no vampires.

If you're considering my opinion on this book, please read my review of book 1, Fifty Shades of Grey. I didn't want to duplicate that review here, but it applies.

This is book 2 in a trilogy. You must read book 1 before this. Both books are longer than average. Book 1 ends with a conflict, and the couple is apart. This book starts with Ana grieving over their break up. They get back together. Most of this story is Ana questioning and worrying about how Christian feels. She is jealous and feels insecure when he interacts with women from his past. She thinks he needs BDSM toys and sadism to enjoy sex. She believes they are incompatible, and that she will never be able to give him what he needs. He keeps saying no that's not true. Christian is jealous and takes action when other men are interested in Ana. For conflict, the author added a couple of characters doing threatening things. Those were ok, but they felt like add-ins rather than part of an overall plot plan.

The first book had the couple meet and get to know each other. This book is the established couple dealing with conflicts. There is a lot of angst and worry on Ana's part. Of course Christian spends tons of money living an expensive lifestyle.

This is an erotic story, filled with many lengthy sex scenes. There is bondage, spanking, sex toys, and one instance of rear door activity. Book 1 had more bondage, pain, and kinky sex. This book is mostly vanilla sex with Christian trying to be what Ana wants. On the other hand, Ana is worried that Christian will need more than that in the future. She thinks he will want someone else because of his need to inflict pain and use his BDSM toys.

These stories were originally written on the fan fiction website under Twilight. The characters' names were Edward and Bella. The author changed the names to Christian and Ana for this ebook publication. I can see how Twilight fans loved being in that world and were eager for almost any story about Edward and Bella. In that sense this was probably very satisfying. But as an independent story, it didn't do much for me. About 2/3 the way through I was impatient for it to be over. I was not interested enough to read book 3 (Fifty Shades Freed). So I was delighted that another reviewer summarized the book 3 plot for me so I could know what happened without spending time to read it. Several reviewers were unhappy with book 3.

DATA:
Kindle count story length: 10,495 (1776 KB). Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 16, some very long. Setting: current day mostly Seattle, Washington. Copyright: 2011. Genre: erotic contemporary romance.

It's a chance meeting that will irrevocably change their lives . . . when Anastasia Steele's roommate succumbs to the flu, Anastasia `Ana' agrees to fill in for her and interview a famously reclusive entrepreneur for the school newspaper. When Ana and CEO Christian Grey meet, sparks fly. Christian is a young success story, but famously tight-lipped about his private life, having never even been photographed with a female date at the many charity galas and award ceremonies he attends.

Ana is intimidated and intrigued - even more so when Christian continues to take an interest in her after the interview goes to print. Ana is quickly smitten - as well as ridiculously nervous and baffled by his flattery. Christian is rich, suave and damaged. He was adopted by an affluent family, but was born into a rough life before his rescue at four years of age . . . as a result of childhood trauma; Christian has demons that Ana cannot even begin to fathom.

Still, Christian and Ana find that they cannot resist each other. Even when Christian's strict rules for their relationship threaten to destroy them . . .

`Fifty Shades' is the debut contemporary romance trilogy from E.L. James. The first book is `Fifty Shades of Grey', the second is `Fifty Shades Darker' and a third book is rumoured to have a January 2012 release.

This book has gone great guns on Goodreads, Twitter and Amazon. For the last couple of weeks I was bombarded by images of these dark blue covers and raising my eyebrows at the many proclamations of love for a mysterious Christian Grey. Well, I had to know what all the fuss was about . . . and now that I have read (/consumed/devoured) the first two books, I've just got to say I get it. Oh, I totally get it!

Christian Grey is a dark and enigmatic leading man. He is a self-professed sexual sadist, suffering from haphophobia (fear of touch) and terrible night terrors. Furthermore, Christian has never had a proper romantic relationship. He has only ever had `subs', and he has been their Dominant. But when he meets Anastasia Steele, he wants more - he wants her and he'll do anything, give up his ideas of normalcy, to have her.

Anastasia meanwhile, has never had a relationship either. She's just never met the right man, though she has had plenty of interest. Christian Grey is the only man who has ever caught her eye - she just didn't count on him having so many strings attached.

E.L. James's `Fifty Shades' is an erotic contemporary romance, focusing on a Dominant who falls in love with a woman who is anything but submissive. I absolutely loved the first two books of this trilogy - they're packed full of addictive romance, angst, erotica and drama.

James takes a pretty common romance/erotica exploration of the BDSM lifestyle, but she doesn't normalise it as many other authors do. For plenty of romance fans, reading BDSM Dom/sub stories is a bit of titillating fun - like exploring a foreign country that's exotic and interesting, but not anywhere you'd like to build a home. For the space of a book readers are willing to suspend disbelief and pretend like they'd be okay delving into this extreme lifestyle . . . in reality, we'd probably have a similar reaction to Ana Steele - horror, confusion and feelings of inadequacy. It's a fascinating spin on erotica, infusing it with a healthy dose of realism as Ana reads (with horror) Christian's `rules' for being his submissive - among them a clause that says she's not allowed to look him in the eye, and must exercise four days a week with a personal trainer.

But Ana doesn't want an `arrangement' with Christian that's devoid of romance, and she lets him know it. Christian has never been turned down - he has never been interested in a woman as combative and downright head-strong as Anastasia. And he likes it. He likes her, and will do anything, change his entire thinking, to be with her. Thus, the darkly damaged Christian promises to try and embark on a `vanilla' relationship with the sweet and innocent Ana.

I love, love, loved this book! I was completely and utterly suckered into the story of damaged Christian and naive Ana embarking on a burning relationship. E.L. James has written a real heart-stopper of a novel, both for the many twists and turns in the plot (including one of Christian's ex-submissives going rogue) and the heartbreaking personal history of the leading man. Christian's history with BDSM is tragic and creepy, as he explains to Ana that he was introduced into the lifestyle at the age of 15 by one of his mother's (much older) friends.

There was only one small aspect of the book that I didn't like, and that was Ana's constant references to her `inner goddess'. Both books are told from Ana's first-person perspective, and her inner goddess (recently emerged since meeting Christian) is like her conscience that she refers to whenever she's ashamed by her lusty goings-on with Christian, or elated with the progress of their more romantic relationship. This was cute in the beginning, but started to drag when it was constantly revisited.

Both `Fifty Shades' books are thoroughly sexy and romantic. The sex scenes are smouldering, even more so when readers realize how out-of-character Christian's tender ministrations are, and how much he struggles with romance. Christian Grey is an amazing and enigmatic leading man, he's swoon-worthy yet dark and broken, and the best aspects of the romance come from reading his gradual acceptance of a mature and loving relationship, minus any power games. 'Fifty Shades' is my favourite contemporary erotica romance series of 2011 and E.L. James is a new and welcome addition to the romance scene. I can't wait for the third `Fifty Shades' book, but I have a feeling this series is just the beginning for James . . . she is certainly a romance author to watch, and I can't wait to read whatever else she has up her sleeve.

4.5/5

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

I love this story, better than the first book "Fifty Shades of Grey". I guess it's because this book was more romantic and more of the guy pursuing the girl.

What I didn't like was that everything was happening way too fast - that makes this book 4.5 stars. They break-up and make-up not even a week later. I would have like to see them apart for a substantial amount of time, maybe at least a month. Then every day, some big event happened. I was tired! The poor girl was exhausted and I couldn't blame her a bit. I wish the story took over a period of at least 5 months, giving breaks such as, "Three weeks later, such & such happened..."

Overall I love the story and can't wait for the final book.

From: Rhonda W.
Subject: Fifty Shades Darker
Date: October 3, 2011
To: E.L. James

Well Mrs. James, here I sit having finished yet another of your novels and as I ponder my feelings, I find my words inadequate. As I've stated before, I don't read much erotic, and to add; I don't read a lot of Contemporary Romance either, so for me to dish out 5 stars says a great deal about how I felt about your books. Your story telling is wonderful, and your characterization is outstanding. Your ability to tell your story in the first person POV through Ana's eyes is superb, I never at anytime felt like I was missing anything.

Mrs. James, I didn't think it was possible to love Christian anymore than I already did, but you made me fall completely head over heels for him. I loved his depth, and of course his smexyness. I loved watching him go through his self discovery, and revealing himself to Ana piece by piece. And when the final barriers came down, and he relinquished his hard limits to her, at that point my heart was his.
There were times I wanted to throttle Ana, but for the most part I like her, and I love that she is able to love him in spite of his baggage, and love him in a way that he's never experienced. There were so many moving moments in this book, and I shed my tears, and my heart clenched, and this was one of the best books I've read this year, I absolutely loved it.

Keep writing Mrs. James, I'm looking forward to more of your work, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next Fifty book!!!

Rhonda W. ABR- Patiently twiddling thumbs

I had no idea when I purchased the first book of this triology that it was erotica, and I didn't know until I finished this book that it started out as Twilight fanfiction, but I started making the connection quickly.

In this book Ana started getting on my nerves. I got tired of her going on and on about how hot Christian was. We get it: He's georgous. Move on. It reminded me of Bella in Twilight a little too much.

Christian got on my nerves as well. I find him controlling and abusive. I couldn't deal being in a relationship with someone who was like that. I think the relationship between Christian and Ana is highly disfuncitonal.

I also found myself flipping through all the sex scenes.

All that being said, it was a decent book and I read it in just a few days. A very easy read, and there are a few sub-plots that I found interesting.

I feel that this whole triology had the potential for greatness, but dropped the ball quite a few times.

Loved this sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey. So often a sequel is lack-luster, but not in this case. Fifty Shades Darker continues the story and see Anna fleeing from Christian on foot of discovering the full extent of his desires. She fears she isn't the woman for him, and he is determined to win her back. The story further develops the relationship between Anna and Christian,and tackles some of his demons. It is a credible story, compulsive reading and like its predecessor will remain with the reader long after the book is finished.

If you haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, and this, Fifty Shades Darker, do so now. You wont be disappointed.