Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Fifty Shades of Grey

This wasn't the worst book I've ever read but it is definitely not making it onto my favorites list. It did give me the confirmation that the "controlling, rich, and '50 shades of fucked up' " trope is just not up my alley. The whole relationship that Ana and Christian form frustrated me and not in a titillating way. I found myself on more than one occasion wondering what Kate and Elliot were up to instead of reading about how Ana continues to ignore the flaming red flags that Christian was waving.
The ending surprised me

I had assumed she would decide to stay with him at the end as there are more books in the series. Her leaving in the end made working through the book after realizing I wasn't enjoying it worth it, if not only to pretend that she moves on, builds better self esteem, and finds herself an emotionally healthy man to explore what she wants out of a romantic and sexual relationship. I'm assuming that is not the case and she ends up reconciling with Mr. Grey as there are two (?) other Fifty Shades books.

Content Warnings

emily_koopmann's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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rain_buck's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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hannahparadise's review against another edition

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dark funny tense 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

1.0

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geneav21's review against another edition

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dark medium-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

Just… entertaining???
I read it off of curiosity, but curiosity killed the cat.

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jackie_reads_314's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-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

2.25

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eule's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Manly okayish and repetitive smut (as expected) and not much happening. The kinks were a little too weird for me. He is just abusive and she cannot stand up for herself. She literally screams: „I am not like other girls and I am naïve as fuck, so pls fuck me until I cry. Still, I liked the books more than the movies, which I watched a while ago.

PS: I NEVER WANT TO HEAR AN „OH GOD“ OR „HOLY -WHATEVER-„ FROM HER AGAIN.

PPS: thank you for the book Paula <3

PPPS: despite my hate, I am currently 200 pages into the second book. Apparently everything about him can get worse (the kink and the gaslighting and manipulation).

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courtneydindin's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Achingly beautiful. The book is very well known for its mind blowing smut, but I have to say that I was rather moved towards the end. Ana’s affection for Christian is apparent from the beginning, and her having to jump through all the hoops of Christian’s boundaries and emotions can be very difficult to feel like you are witnessing at times, as you know Ana could be the exact antidote Christian needs. I’d say my only complaint would be that the book is quite repetitive when it comes to the sex. Once again I do completely understand that it is a big theme within the story, but I found myself falling in love with the moments Christian and Ana spent together that involved no sex and pure getting to know each other. (Ex. The glide ride) However, it is still a good story, and I would highly recommend! :)

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