Oh dear, dare I even mention that I read this book?

Actually I nearly didn’t. Not because of the content, or the fact it probably isn’t aimed at me, not because I’m sniffy as it’s a fanfic derivative. I nearly didn’t read it because I read the first few chapters and the writing is, with the best will in the world, dreadful.

Actually if there was one thing that summed it up it’s the sheer frequency of the ‘Oh My!’ refrain, which drove me to utter distraction. I ended up reading it to my fiancee because it seemed much more hilarious to read it out aloud.

I had no intention of finishing it until running out of things to do on a trans-Atlantic flight. And I read it until the end. And I will have to read the next one now. Actually I couldn’t care less for the story of Anastasias sexual awakening, nor the BDSM aspects of it, I read ‘The Story of O’ at a very tender age which is both more graphic, more eye-opening and much more engagingly written.

There’s so much that infuriates me about the book, from Anastasia’s unlikely ‘never been touched’ status, to Christian Grey’s equally unlikely billionaire status, but perhaps what bugs me the most is the amount of concessions he makes to Anastasia. I wonder if this is why the book is so incredibly popular, the fact that it is this naive woman who gets this controlling man to toss many of his requirements aside on the basis that he is somehow more drawn to her than the other women he has been ‘contracted’ to.

But actually I am interested in Christian. Lots of hints about how he has become the way he has, from early days as a submissive at the hands of an older woman, and having never had a relationship that wasn’t based on a BDSM agreement. I want to know his backstory, and the only way I’m going to get that is by reading the next book.

3 stars. Probably deserves less. And I still don’t get what all the fuss is about!