Fifty Shades Trilogy: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed 3-volume Boxed Set [Paperback]

E L James (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 12, 2012

Now available as a three-volume paperback boxed set, E L James’s New York Times #1 bestselling trilogy has been hailed by Entertainment Weekly as being “in a class by itself.” Beginning with the GoodReads Choice Award Romance Finalist Fifty Shades of Grey, the Fifty Shades Trilogy will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.
 
This boxed set includes the following novels:
 
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY: When college student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating.  The unworldly Ana realizes she wants this man, and Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian’s secrets and explores her own desires.
 
FIFTY SHADES DARKER: Daunted by Christian’s dark secrets and singular tastes, Ana has broken off their relationship to start a new career. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and while Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Ana is forced to make the most important decision of her life.
 
FIFTY SHADES FREED: 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. Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to turn Ana’s deepest fears into reality.

This book is intended for mature audiences.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

E L James is a former TV executive, wife and mother of two based in West London. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1625 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition (June 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780345804044
• ISBN-13: 978-0345804044
• ASIN: 034580404X
• Product Dimensions: 3 x 5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6,355 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Contemporary Women

More About the Author

E L James is a TV executive, wife and mother of two, based in West London. Since early childhood, she dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.

E L James is currently working on her next novel...

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#54 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Erotica

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Erotica

#14 in Books > Romance > Contemporary

#20 in Books > Romance

#26 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#1 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Erotica

#2 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Erotica

#14 in Books > Romance > Contemporary

#20 in Books > Romance

#26 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,074 of 1,147 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was expecting May 28, 2012

By Sierra Sorrell

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband heard about this trilogy on a morning radio show and recommended I read it. I looked it up, read the product description, and decided that it didn't sound like "my kind of book." Over the next few weeks, several friends mentioned it to me. A very close friend told me, "It's about bondage. But keep an open mind. And JUST READ IT!" So I downloaded it and began doing just that...

The first few chapters of book one set the scene...naive, bookish girl meets attractive, billionaire CEO and lust ensues. The rest of book one was sex. Explicit sex. And at first it was "steamy." But I quickly found myself wondering when it would end. I read it all, though in reality, I could have skipped entire chapters and really missed nothing.

Books two and three got more into the actual story line and made me glad I stuck with it. I quickly realized that the descriptive sex scenes in book one were necessary to fully develop the two main characters. On the exterior, Christian is a powerful, worldly man but through his interactions with Anastasia, the reader begins to see his immaturity and "damaged" side. And Anastasia's oblivion over the fact that every eligible bachelor in her life is fawning over her betrays her presentation of herself as an ordinary, bumbling recent college grad. It was exciting to see the evolution of Christian and Anastasia throughout the trilogy.

To say that this is "a book about bondage" is wrong. Yes, there are a few select scenes that depict sex with restraints or spankings or floggers. But in the grand scheme of things, they were isolated, fleeting events. Instead, I would say this book is a love story. It's about the concessions we will make for the one we love and the "hard limits" that keep us true to ourselves.... The author has created two very memorable main characters and a laundry list of amazing supporting characters, including "the inner goddess" who honestly was one of my favorites! And I especially liked the last chapter (following the epilogue) which was told from Christian's perspective. I would have liked to have had more of his point of view sprinkled throughout the books.

What's interesting to me is that these books have received such a wide array of ratings by Amazon users. Clearly the author has done her job of presenting a controversial theme and getting readers talking. I notice a few unifying comments from the reviewers who did not like the book (or gave it a low rating)....

1) The ebook is too expensive. - To this I say that it's unfair of readers to low ball their rating of the author's work simply because they're unhappy with the publisher's price. As a consumer, you have the option to buy or not to buy. You also have the option to buy hard copies rather than ebooks. If you don't want to shell out the extra few cents to buy the trilogy instead of the three individual ebooks, then don't. If you'd rather buy the paperbacks, then do. If you'd rather borrow a friend's hard copy or check it out of the library, go for it. But don't hold that against the author!

2) There was no story line. - To this I say, "You must have stopped reading at the end of book one."

3) There was too much repetition. - To this I say I think Anastasia's inner dialogue includes a lot of "holy crap" and "oh my" for a reason. Despite her personal and professional evolution, she's still a bit unsure of herself and her ability to adapt to her new lifestyle. No matter what, she's still young, naive Ana on the inside. Read more ›

412 of 472 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopelessly in love with this series! April 18, 2012

By Kristy J

Format:Kindle Edition

I finished this book last night.. and now I know the saying of "I feel like i've lost a friend". I won't say these are the best written books out there. They aren't suppose to be. I had so much fun reading them every day. I love books that go day by day. It makes it seem more real that way, like I know what they're doing every day. I never in a million years would have thought I would like these books.. let alone LOVE them! This is why I think everyone should give any book a chance.. it might surprise you. I love how this book played with your emotions. One minute I hated Christian and the next I loved him. You could totally feel the emotions through this book. I'm not sure what i'm going to do with myself now that i'm done. They were my first 5 star books of the year and I know I will have a hard time thinking about anything else but these books. So glad my book club suggested them.. otherwise I would have missed out on this wonderful trilogy.

1,023 of 1,184 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Price too expensive - amazon / kindle needs to review prices April 21, 2012

By Mleo

Format:Kindle Edition

I agree with other critic. As much as I want to own this Trilogy, they've set the Kindle edition price far too high.

1,557 of 1,806 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle price too expensive! April 18, 2012

By J. C. Freundel

Format:Kindle Edition

Why so much for this Trilogy? I would love to read this set, and I love my Kindle. However, I am not willing to pay this price for a simple download. There is something not quite right when it is cheaper to purchase the actual paper books than the Kindle editions. Publishers need to re-think their pricings if they want dedicated customers, in my opinion.

95 of 107 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Like no plot and atrocious writing? This book is for you! July 21, 2012

By Toaorp

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I would like to say that I liked this book. I would like to say that the writing was wonderful, the characters three dimensional and the sex steamy. Unfortunately, I really can't.

Discussions about BDSM and power play relationships could have helped to mainstream alternative sexualities, but the characters were so cardboard thin that you could never really grasp why the author kept droning about them (you may already by thinking "oh my" - might as well get used to that phrase, it is used over 80 times in the first book alone).

Want to know a little bit about the characters? Ana is the dumbest person alive. Really. She appears to be an undersexed, ignorant college grad who knows nothing about her body, boundaries, safety (forgetting safe words?! Really??), independence or basic brain functioning (when there is a crazed gunwoman on the loose, she can't figure out why the fireworks were stressful for the bodyguard). Christian is a maladjusted survivor of childhood trauma who copes by sadistically beating and controlling women who look like his mother. He has "stalker-like tendencies" (which are terribly amusing to the characters in the book), a "twitchy-palm" (because threatening to beat people who do things you don't like is SOOO hot...) and is by turns taciturn and distant or clingy and needy. While I'm not against consensual erotic punishment, her lack of consent and the severity of the interactions made this book (and their relationship) a little rape-y for me.

As for the sex, which is why many have found these books so good, it is incredibly repetitive.... When one of them isn't murmuring to the other - which happens 140 times in the first book - he gives her a look, she gets wet, she passively exists while they have sexy-times (except for her gyrating hips) and eventually she explodes. Same formula. Every. Single. Time. While this may not be problematic for you for one book, by the end of three you can't wait for it to be over, which is not exactly the feeling I want to have when I finish a trilogy.

For a longer, more articulate review, check out Katrina Lumsden's on goodreads (it is absolutely hilarious). For a better book series, check out Jo Davis's firefighter series. Read more ›

673 of 787 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Rip OFF April 23, 2012

By Dr.

Format:Kindle Edition

on several occassions i have chosen to order the printed version rather than the digital because of pricing. i feel abused when the digital cost is moe than the written. the only excuse for such high pricing is greed. shame on you