Reviewed by Donna ~ 3.5-4 stars“That means I’m competing with Darcy, Rochester, and Angel Clare: impossible romantic heroes.”
If I was reviewing this book from the heart like I did the previous three books, without a doubt I would have said a 5, after all, this is Christian Grey and I am a HUGE Fifty Shades fan. Say what you want about the style of writing, the content etc: no-one can take away that EL James brought with these books a whole new audience of readers and in hand brought to us readers a plethora of whole new authors and some awesome books, for that I am truly grateful.
“I want so much from her: her trust, her obedience, her submission. I want her to be mine, but right now...I’m hers.”
Since reading the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy I have become a blogger, so for now I am putting on my blogging hat and giving an honest review, as this is something I have always prided myself on and while it is my opinion, it is just that, my opinion.
“My mood lifted as I head to the hotel gym. She sent me a kiss...”
I was eagerly anticipating this book, once it had been announced; I was counting down the days. This was a great platform for us readers to finally get inside Christian’s head, see what made him tick, what he thought, his feelings, his emotions, his internal ramblings and how he battled with what he thought he knew he wanted and what ultimately, it turned out he did want. EL James could have really developed this side of his character and I for one wanted to know the “real” Christian Grey.
“Only when the last leaf has fallen, the last tree has died, and the last fish been caught will we realize that we cannot eat money.”
The first half of the book is slow going I have to admit. For me, I felt there was just too much repetitiveness from Fifty Shades of Grey and not enough new content. I was desperate for more, but the little snippets that we were given showed me a new side to Christian, he actually made me laugh. With the amount of time they spent apart in this book, I was hoping for more and for me personally we got some, but not enough.
“Plus ça change plus c'est la même chose – the more things change the more they stay the same.”
We do get to see some of his past through his nightmares and these happened more often than you ever thought and it was these nightmares that truly brought home just how scared, afraid and hungry “little Christian” was, these scenes were heart-breaking. As his relationship with Ana progresses though you do see these dreams change and that just goes to show the positive impact that she was having on him. This also showed me that in the beginning, she wasn’t just a new “sub” even his inner psyche was telling him that Ana was different; he just needed to realise it.
“Fuck. I’m on a precipice. Okay, Grey, are you sure about this? I have to try. I don’t want to lose her before we start. Jump.”
The next forty percent flowed much better; I had forgotten just how much I loved the email banter between these two. While the e-mails remain the same, Christian’s thoughts while composing them and receiving them were hilarious at times and these brought a huge smile to my face. It is in this forty percent that EL James gives us that little bit more. It is here that Christian becomes more personable, more relatable and just more human. I would have expected him to be more dominant in his thoughts, after all, this was the man we were led to believe him to be, but at times he just came across a bit wimpy, but it was wimpy in a good way. It just proved that he wasn’t the tough guy his façade gave him, he had a heart, and he had feelings, even though he kept them buried.
“Because you never stay with me...Six words. Six little words that make my scalp tingle...”
The last ten percent was heaven; this was what I had been waiting for, new material. EL James gives us the time Christian spent on his own after Fifty Shades of Grey ended. We experience his capitulation after Ana leaves and it truly broke my heart. This is where finally, I became a sobbing mess. We got his heart and soul in words and finally, it was here that I saw the “real” Christian. We also get to see how pivotal Dr Flynn was in Christian’s eureka moment and as was so unlike Christian, who had literally given up, we get to see him decide to fight.
“Her blazing eyes see everything. See me. She sees the darkness and the monster beneath. Her eyes widen in horror and suddenly she disappears.”
The last ten percent was an amazing read and truly made this book. I understand that authors always take a chance re-hashing an iconic book, everyone knows that story, how can you keep the reader captivated enough to read it all again? While EL James delivered in some respects, on the other hand I felt it wasn’t enough in the beginning and I can see a lot of people giving up because they don’t have that perseverance. I am so glad though that I continued although it never once crossed my mind to stop reading. I hope EL James continues with Christian’s POV, although the story remains the same I will never tire of getting his perspective. It is those little one liners, as fleeting as they were that gave us those little insights and they are addictive. I appreciate that this one won’t be for everybody, but if you are a Fifty Shades of Grey fan then you will love it.
“I sink slowly to the floor and out my head in my hands. The void is now cavernous and aching, overwhelming me. Grey, what the hell have you done?”
No comments:
Post a Comment