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bunnypez's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
i_dont_knoe's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Minor: Pedophilia
meganpbennett's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
After *years* of being told that I couldn't discuss how this book normalizes abuse and is a bad example of BDSM practices, I finally read it. And it's somehow worse than I imaged.
First things first: Grey is an abuser. He's a bit of a gaslighter as well, but first and foremost, he is an abuser. He gives the BDSM community a bad name, using "but I'm a Dom" to excuse his stalking, controlling, and abusing of women. One of the many examples is that contract, which does nothing but give him an excuse for controlling and abusing her (I can hear it now: "you signed the contract, Anastasia, you're mine for good."). She's very leery of the contract, and sends back her changes, most of which he rejects or otherwise indicates are part and parcel of getting into a relationship with him.
He shows her his "playroom" without discussion it with her. Just sort of whip out his whips. When she indicates that she doesn't know very much (anything) about it, he tells her to do some research and sends her off. It's very one-sided, and he seems unwilling to accept any concessions from her, even when she says something is hard or soft no. A hard no is not negotiable.
Within the book, it is very clear that she's not interested in and doesn’t actually want to do this (both the D/s aspects and the B&D aspects), but Grey makers she feels that she has no choice but to accept the contract and the minor concessions he’s made to it. This comes up again and again with aspects of play that she's leery about or uninterested in - such as gagging - but he pushes the topic again and again, attempting to get her to change her mind.
Aftercare. Aftercare is an important part of any BDSM relationship, and is sometimes considered the most important part of the scene. There is next to no aftercare in the book, and as she doesn't know that it's supposed to be, it never comes up.
Grey admits that he likes hitting women, that he likes hurting women. She doesn't take him seriously, and believes that he won't hurt her. This is very apparent in his play practices. I'm not going to get into why they are so bad, but they are incredibly unsafe, and very likely to hurt the submissive partner. As in, "send the submissive partner to the hospital" hurt if the Dom is experienced, and "send the submissive partner to the morgue" if the Dom is inexperienced.
Grey stalks her, something she mentions regularly, but she somehow never realizes that it's a bad thing. She even calls him a stalker, but it's somehow not important that he's stalking her.
Grey attempts to isolate her from her friends, which is a hallmark of abuse. It makes the victim dependent on the abuser, and keeps the family and friends from figuring out the abuse. His first attempts at isolation are passed off as jealousy, and he uses that jealousy as an excuse to get extra Dommy on her. He gets mad at her when she mentions that she was thinking about visiting her mother, because she hadn't discussed that with him. It's as if he was trying to police her thoughts, as well as her actions. He doesn't like that she interviewed from jobs that weren't at his company, because he wanted her under him thumb, dependent on him for everything, including financially (which is another hallmark of abuse).
When we get Grey's backstory, we learn that he was groomed and abused by a pedophile. A pedophile who is now one of his closest friends. A close family friend took advantage to groom and abuse him.
This book excuses and romanticizes abuse. It plays into dangerous stereotypes about BDSM, and badly misrepresents the community.
First things first: Grey is an abuser. He's a bit of a gaslighter as well, but first and foremost, he is an abuser. He gives the BDSM community a bad name, using "but I'm a Dom" to excuse his stalking, controlling, and abusing of women. One of the many examples is that contract, which does nothing but give him an excuse for controlling and abusing her (I can hear it now: "you signed the contract, Anastasia, you're mine for good."). She's very leery of the contract, and sends back her changes, most of which he rejects or otherwise indicates are part and parcel of getting into a relationship with him.
He shows her his "playroom" without discussion it with her. Just sort of whip out his whips. When she indicates that she doesn't know very much (anything) about it, he tells her to do some research and sends her off. It's very one-sided, and he seems unwilling to accept any concessions from her, even when she says something is hard or soft no. A hard no is not negotiable.
Within the book, it is very clear that she's not interested in and doesn’t actually want to do this (both the D/s aspects and the B&D aspects), but Grey makers she feels that she has no choice but to accept the contract and the minor concessions he’s made to it. This comes up again and again with aspects of play that she's leery about or uninterested in - such as gagging - but he pushes the topic again and again, attempting to get her to change her mind.
Aftercare. Aftercare is an important part of any BDSM relationship, and is sometimes considered the most important part of the scene. There is next to no aftercare in the book, and as she doesn't know that it's supposed to be, it never comes up.
Grey admits that he likes hitting women, that he likes hurting women. She doesn't take him seriously, and believes that he won't hurt her. This is very apparent in his play practices. I'm not going to get into why they are so bad, but they are incredibly unsafe, and very likely to hurt the submissive partner. As in, "send the submissive partner to the hospital" hurt if the Dom is experienced, and "send the submissive partner to the morgue" if the Dom is inexperienced.
Grey stalks her, something she mentions regularly, but she somehow never realizes that it's a bad thing. She even calls him a stalker, but it's somehow not important that he's stalking her.
Grey attempts to isolate her from her friends, which is a hallmark of abuse. It makes the victim dependent on the abuser, and keeps the family and friends from figuring out the abuse. His first attempts at isolation are passed off as jealousy, and he uses that jealousy as an excuse to get extra Dommy on her. He gets mad at her when she mentions that she was thinking about visiting her mother, because she hadn't discussed that with him. It's as if he was trying to police her thoughts, as well as her actions. He doesn't like that she interviewed from jobs that weren't at his company, because he wanted her under him thumb, dependent on him for everything, including financially (which is another hallmark of abuse).
When we get Grey's backstory, we learn that he was groomed and abused by a pedophile. A pedophile who is now one of his closest friends. A close family friend took advantage to groom and abuse him.
This book excuses and romanticizes abuse. It plays into dangerous stereotypes about BDSM, and badly misrepresents the community.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
maya_reads_books's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
crystalmd1998's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This is the worst book I have ever read. Christian is a toxic manipulative person and Anastasia isn’t a good person either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
abyish's review against another edition
it was just horrible tbh 😭. it was badly written and i couldn’t get past chapter 5.. it was so cringe and i could get through the movies but the books are absolutely horrific.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
it sucks don’t waste ur time and if u rlly want to read it because you haven’t ever seen neither the movie or the book, watch the movie.