Fifty Shades Trilogy - 3/5 Stars

Fifty Shades Trilogy

Fifty Shades of Grey/Fifty Shades Darker/Fifty Shades Freed

By E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey synopsis: When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind -- until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. (Source: GetGlue)

Fifty Shades Darker synopsis: Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. (Source: GetGlue)

Fifty Shades Freed synopsis: When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian's singular erotic tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment. (Source: GetGlue)

 I downloaded and read each book of the Fifty Shades trilogy from the Google Play market for $9.99 (before tax) upon the recommendation of my brother-in-law to be. 

Prior to reading the books, I had heard a lot about them (particularly the BDSM aspect of the story) and later discovered that it was originally written as a Twilight fan-fiction! (Shocking, I know.) However, I went in with an open mind and figured I'd either love it or hate it (as is evident by other reader reviews.)

Fifty Shades, like Twilight, is not a literary masterpiece but it is an enjoyable and easy read - I completed the trilogy in a day and a half. 

I found that the author overused phrases ("Holy cow!" and "___ said dryly".)  The way that the characters interacted with one another was reminiscent of Stephenie Meyer's writing style. E.L. James spends a lot of time describing what her characters are or aren't eating. And I mean a lot of time. To me it felt like they spent about a fourth of each book talking about where they were going, what they were eating, why meals were skipped, etc. Of course this makes sense as it was originally written as a fan-fiction and Edward Cullen (of Twilight) was always very concerned about the health and well-being of Bella Swan.  Still, if you didn't know, you'd think these books should be more famed as a  feeder-food-porn than for the BDSM aspect.

That aside, I thought that the characters and their back stories were incredibly well developed. Both of the main characters, Anatasia Steele and Christian Grey, were vulnerable and sensitive... in their own unique ways. To my chagrin I discovered myself relating more to Christian and his "fifty shades of fucked up" than any other character in the book, but I admit that I can understand Anastasia's need to love and be loved (as I'm sure most people can.) But I may be the only person in the world who cried when reading "Fifty Shades of Grey" because I know that feel, bro.

I understand that these books aren't a conventional read for fiction lovers and that others may be outright embarrassed by the content, but they are definitely worth reading at least once. As adults, we should be able to get past the sexual content of the book and appreciate the story for what it is. In the course of three books, we get to go along for the ride and watch the characters change and evolved. We get to see how love can change even the coldest of hearts, and it's a beautiful thing. :)

I would rate this book 3/5 stars - I would've rated it higher if the layout of the book didn't make it still feel like a fan fiction when you read it.