Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades #1

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Dates Read: 5/14/23 - 5/15/23

    As literature student Anastasia Steele attends an interview with the young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds herself face to face with a man who possesses a striking blend of beauty, brilliance, and an undeniable aura of intimidation. Ana, who is unworldly and innocent, is taken aback when she discovers her undeniable desire for this man. Despite his mysterious and reserved nature, she feels an overwhelming urge to get close to him. Grey can't help but be drawn to Ana's captivating blend of subtle beauty, quick wit, and fierce independence. He admits he wants her too, but on his terms.

    I have to be honest and admit that the writing in this book gives me flashbacks to my Wattpad days. Unfortunately, I've read books on Wattpad that were written better than this was. Now that that's out of the way, yes, I did read the other two after this. I can't just read one, not when I like the movies.

    Ana stresses me out more than any character I have ever read. How many times are you gonna talk about your inner goddess? Seriously? She's supposed to be a grown woman, and she talks like she's fifteen. She's more insufferable in the books than in the movies, and she's bad enough in the first movie. No hate for her actress, but she may have gotten canceled? So I don't even know. The relationship is so incredibly toxic that I had to keep myself from screaming every few chapters. She calls him out on all his awful behavior over email and then what does she do? Runs right back. Don't get me wrong, I understand how difficult abusive relationships are to leave. However, this is a fictional book, and we're supposed to be rooting for this couple. 

    I listened to this in audiobook format as well as reading it physically, and the way they read every single address line from every email each time had me ready to claw my ears off, just a side note. Of course, I liked this at least a little bit, but it was not very good.