In the Spotlight: The Fifty Shades of Grey Series by E.L. James
In our earlier article, Seeing Twilight in Fifty Shades of Grey, I wrote about allegations that the Fifty Shades of Grey series may be facing copying infringement issues because it began life as Twilight fan fiction. It remains to be seen if Little, Brown (which publishes Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series) will follow up on these claims. (As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am hard pressed to see the similarities between the two!)
In the meantime, the final book of the Fifty Shades of Grey series was released on January 19, and has stormed up Amazon’s romance and erotica charts. Fifty Shades Freed peaked at the top spot in the erotica category, and is currently number 11 in romance. Not at all a bad showing for a series that has gained popularity mostly by word-of-mouth, on the back of rave reviews on romance blogs and sites such as Goodreads!
Most romance book fans will have heard about Fifty Shades, but don’t fret if you’re not familiar with the books – you can find out more from our article spotlighting the series. Written entirely from the heroine Anastasia Steele’s perspective, this series is wonderfully romantic… and yes, extremely erotic and sensual. (Deep down inside, I’m sure every girl wants to be Ana, and longs to have her own Christian!) This is one series that I’ll be re-reading for years to come and I heartily recommend all three books!
Book 1: Fifty Shades of Grey
The first book in the series introduces the reader to Christian Grey, a self-made millionaire in his late twenties, and young English major Anastasia Steele. Christian (also affectionately referred to as “Fifty Shades” by Ana throughout the trilogy) is a successful entrepreneur whose calm facade hides a painful past, and his secret Dominant tendencies. He first meets the innocent Ana when she’s bamboozled into interviewing Christian for her university’s newspaper. Ana is completely unprepared for the charismatic and gorgeous Christian, while Christian is attracted by Ana’s intelligence, submissive demeanor, and complete lack of artifice. Sparks fly between the two, and Christian decides to woo Ana, and the two struggle to establish a relationship even though Ana can’t quite wrap her head around Christian’s dark past, and interest in BDSM.
Book 2: Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Darker picks up immediately where Fifty Shades of Grey left off. Ana simply can’t deal with Christian’s need to control her or his sexual preferences, and decides to break the relationship off. Ana starts afresh with a new job at a boutique publishing house, and tries to forget Christian. But the separation is too painful for both Christian and Ana, and the two rekindle their romance and try to come to a middle ground that will work for them both. We get to learn more about Christian’s tortured past. A number of secondary characters, most notably a past lover/stalker, are introduced, further complicating the dynamics between Christian and Ana.
Book 3: Fifty Shades Freed
The final book in the trilogy ties up all the loose ends beautifully, although I was sorry to see the series end. Christian and Ana have are now in a committed relationship. Ana both enjoys and feels uncomfortable with the luxuries that Christian’s wealth can afford her, and she continues to struggle with Christian’s need to protect her by controlling her actions. There are some wonderfully touching moments involving Christian and Ana’s families. There’s also an exciting sub-plot involving an attempt to kidnap Ana, and a dicey scene where she places her life at risk to face down Christian’s dark past. Needless to say, Christian and Ana get their happy ever after, as do most of the other popular characters in the book. Includes a great bonus chapter showing Christian’s perspective of his first meeting with Ana.
