The 50 shades books are the any good? A couple of people have said that the writing isn’t good/doesn’t read well which has really put me off
The 50 shades books are the any good? A couple of people have said that the writing isn’t good/doesn’t read well which has really put me off
Utter garbage ?
I couldn’t put them down. I read all three in 3 days. It’s each to their own, depends on your taste etc ? she sold 500 million + copies so must have done something right lol x
Absolute drivel. Poorly written, totally unconvincing and a rather nasty overall tendency to portray abuse as romantic. However, if you want some sexy stuff to read, I can give you some recommendations…
Agreed-far better ‘sexy/sensual’ writers out there. x
Tons and tons of us… I usually suggest people who want to read erotica/erotic romance start with an anthology of shorter stories and follow up the authors whose work they like…
I enjoyed them !!
But I preferred the THIS MAN series a set of 3 I felt they were better.
Hated it, I got about a third through and just couldn’t cope with the utter nonsense. Pile of crap.
You did better than me! I did two chapters!
I tried to keep going because everyone kept telling me how amazing/liberating/sensual it was. But just tripe. I’ve had more liberating experiences staring at a blank wall!
I gave up on the first book which is very unusual for me and always remember a colleague saying the main character ‘flushed’ so much they thought she was a toilet ? but I have friends who love the series. I would aim to find a cheap copy then you can make your mind up with minimum financial risk!
Absolutely any charity shop will have about 50 copies in the stockroom and be only too delighted to sell you one for about 50p.
Absolutely rubbish. But depends what you like. Yet i loved the first film.
I’ve read them all including the ones from his POV but they are pretty poorly written. I god fed up with a lot of the saucy bits as well and skimmed over them lol. To be fair I think they had potential for a half decent story if it had been condensed to one book. If you want an easy read that takes your mind off things then there’s no harm in trying them. They are easy to read xx
Also the constant “inner goddess” references annoyed the hell out of every person I know that *did* read one/all of them ??? http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/a31028/57-things-anastasia-steeles-inner-goddess-does-in-fifty-shades-of-grey/
Yes ?
And references to her ‘sex’! ? felt like a teenager wrote bits of it. But I read them all nonetheless lol xx
*my inner goddess burns these books and cocks off elsewhere, flicking vees*
I remember doing a range of 50shades badges, one of which was ‘My inner goddess thinks you’re a dick.’
They started out online as Twilight fanfic and I think the hasty editing and ‘padding out the novels’ was apparent (admittedly, I never bought them and just read bits online but they made my eyes roll SO hard, I had to firkle them out from under the sofa and dust them off) ?? I have friends who like erotic fiction that could-and did when these came out- recommend far better options. It’s not for myself, personally, but I could ask them if anybody was interested? xxx
@Lucy you rolled your eyes?! ? you know what happens when you roll your eyes! ??
@Lucy Yeah, Twilight fanfic that was knocking around for years. The main factors in this particular crock of shit becoming so widely bought were: piggybacking on an existing bestseller (Twishite); the size of the fanfic community… and the fact that EL James herself is married to a screenwriter and pretty well-connected (the stuff about her being an ordinary housewife is bullshit.)
@Lucy I read them as twilight fanfic and there is no “padding out” the novels! They are exactly the same bar the name changes ?
Oh, blimey!
dont forget the lip biting, and every time she calls the Macbook “the mean machine”
I loved them x
I am no book snob and I like to see what everyone is raving about but struggled through the first and gave that and the other two to the charity shop. So surprised they got past the proofreader and really wanted to shake Anastasia hard!!!!! ?
I enjoyed them more than the films x
Just awful, plenty of good erotic fiction out there without resorting to this.
Those only so many times a woman can utter “oh my!”
I read them before there was any hype and quite enjoyed them x
And every sex scene/orgasm is exactly the same “he whispered my name and then I was falling into oblivion….”
right, and who the hell has an orgasm their first time?
I only read them as they were free and I get I had to read them so as to judge! They were terribly written and very repetitive. After the first sex scene I’d just skip those pages as they were dull drivel. Awful characters, awful story, just awful!
Lots of exploding around each other whilst calling out each other’s names lol ?
Awful x
“I’m gonna make you come like a freight train!” Has to be the worst line in a book ever.
I haven’t read any of them and don’t intend to … looks like I’m not really missing out either!
Common in BDSM to insert peeled ginger into the anus. Tingle!
https://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/i-read-the-new-50-shades-book-and-it-is-absolutely-batshit?utm_term=.je6qB3OzG#.xv3NgjdZy
Awful books. Definitely better ones out there! The relationship is not a healthy one at all either
https://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/put-the-chicken-the-fridge?utm_term=.wuydVz9QR#.milnRE5GN
OMG! “Put the chicken in the fridge!” shall be my new 😉 😉 euphemism to hubby ???
The crossfire books by Sylvia Day are much better
I second this!
Third ??♀️
These are so much better!
Also the Unbreakable series by Primula Bond seems to be pretty popular.
I didn’t think these books were that good either x
I never read more than a few pages, because I have read *so much* bad femsub erotica (either for editing or reviewing purposes) that I wasn’t going to spend time reading this one unless someone was going to pay me to do so.
Bloody awful ?
I read them when they were all the rage…. it’s time in my life I will never get back!! ????
So so so bad….the language she uses is irritatingly repetitive, it’s like every few chapters she discovered a phrase she liked and used it to death and the inner goddess crap made me want to throat punch someone
I’ve read all 3 and really tried to read grey but the awfulness just continued and cant bring myself to read anymore of them ? much better erotica out there
I am just going to work my piano-tuner privilege to the full here and give you some recommendations… There’s this one, about older women https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silver-Desire-Erotic-Stories-Older/dp/1537436058/
Thank you everyone, so I’m really not missing out on anything. With the latest film out I thought maybe I should read the books but I don’t think I could get past the poor writing
And this, which features a lot of writers that most of you would probably like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sexy-Just-Walked-Into-Town-ebook/dp/B00IDAHK16/
Or this https://www.sexylittlepages.com/books/symphony-amore/
So far I have mainly put up stuff that is (mostly) heterosexual/romantic erotica. If anyone wants recommendations for something more hardcore or more diverse (ie including LGBTQ) shout out…
I need some more lesbian romance in my life
@Jen Of course https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xcite-Book-Lesbian-Romance/dp/1786150069
Or this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphic-Smut-Tales-Lesbian-Lust/dp/1785380397/
Admittedly the cover of that one is a bit icky, but it’s a good collection.
If you just accept its nothing like actual BDSM I didn’t think they were awful and enjoyed them. Parts did annoy me a bit but easy enough to read quickly to pass time lol.
I like the knight trilogy by kitty french xx
Personal favourite! ?
I bought them when they came out couldn’t put the first book down lol ? nearly read the second but didn’t finish it and third one never been touched.. They were a faze x
I read the first, to see what the hype was, i learnt some stuff i didn’t know ??but, by end of the second i was truly bored, it just wasn’t my scene and made me uncomfortable rather than titilated xx
Agree x
I remember saying to my husband, im obviously happy with our sex life, wether its tame compared to others or not, as long as we are both happy, i dont need these im my life, and he said thank god pmsl ??
? ? o
I’ve read all three but they’re crap
Absolutely rubbish don’t bother x
I got my last job over a shared hatred of 50 shades .
Couldn’t make it through the first few chapters. Appallingly badly written, shallow weak characters, need I go on?
not really
If you can ignore the terrible writing, they are a bit of light entertainment. But so poorly written. I remember getting really annoyed at the poor choice of dialogue. One of the characters told another to ‘keep your hair on.’ Now, I’m pretty certain that’s a very British colloquialism that Americans don’t use. This annoyed the hell out of me. I am anal about literature though. If you’ll excuse the pun. ??
They’re awful! Badly written, repetitive… but who cares? Read them and decide for yourself… ?
Both subject and writing wasn’t my thing, however, I read them all ??
They’re an easy read. Think Jackie Collins. Good for a sun lounger when you’re 9 all inclusive margaritas down as you don’t need to think
The writing is awful, the “BDSM” vanilla (quotes because that is NOT legit BDSM), and characters vapid.
I read the first one whilst on holiday with my other half and it made for a very enjoyable holiday ?. Never got round to reading the other 2 but watched the first film which was crap.
I’ve read sexier instruction manuals
This is my favourite ?
In terms of subject I’ve read books that go into a lot more detail. In terms of writing i don’t think they are that great.
I just find the whole premise a bit disheartening in this day and age, tbh. 🙁 He stalks her, wants her to give herself over to him with a contract and is jealous, controlling and manipulative (the sex part is almost incidental in all of this to me. If you want to let your freak flag fly/try out something/have a kink-go for it)! x It’s that, if Christian Grey and Ana were real, chances are she’d end up in a shelter, getting a restraining order or even worse, it would spill over into non sexual physical violence and, if ‘real life Grey’ was rich, he would have unlimited legal power at his disposal to hurt and/or control her, and if he wasn’t rich, as is all too often the case…well. We’ve all seen far too many stories in the press about the partner, ex or current, that went too far and killed. It’s not good to encourage the “Boys hurt girls they like!”, “I can change him with enough love!” or “Cinderella/Pretty Woman type fairytale rich/poor relationships” as being something to aspire to. I spoke to our-then late teen, now 20s-daughters about all of this and that NO person should think *this* is healthy/consensual BDSM or a healthy sexual ideal for both parties:
“No, please. I can’t do this. Not now. I need some time. Please.”
“Oh Ana, don’t overthink this.”
“No,” I protest, trying to kick him off. He stops. “If you struggle, I’ll tie your feet too. If you make a noise, Anastasia, I will gag you.”
Totally agree
100% agree with you too.
THANK. YOU.
This!! Exactly this! I also really dislike the perception that his kinks are the result of being “damaged”. Someone didn’t do enough/any research and projected their own hang ups about BDSM in to a book that’s so main stream now that it’s actually dangerous. Women thinking that not only is behaviour ok but something to be desired and giving abusive men a free pass to call themselves a dominant and hurt women.
????
Exactly, I totally agree. It’s not a healthy relationship at all.
Yes I’ve always said it is awful to promote such an unhealthy relationship. You see this story everyday on Jeremy Kyle the only difference is money.
One of the worst books I’ve ever read. It was a chore to read it. So boring
Theyre bloody awful, the plot is terrible, the dialogue is cringy and the writing is appalling
Nah they’re shite. If you want something like that try the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day, much better.
Horrendous books that promote an unhealthy attitude to BDSM and rape culture.
Totally agree.
I worked in the BDSM field when the whole 50 shades thing kicked off and the amount of women who were coming and so misinformed about it was sickening. The BDSM community despises these books as do the feminist communities.
Good, they’re terrible. I don’t know much about BDSM but I just don’t like the controlling aspect of the relationship and how at first she was resistant and really didn’t like it but then somehow towards the end just went along with it all. There’s no way on earth I’d let any man regardless of his bank balance, who he was or what he looked like, treat me like that!
I agree. I struggled through the first half of the first book and passed it on. Why these books are so popular is beyond me, but the woman made a load of money out of them, why, I have no idea. It certainly wasn’t for the good storyline or because they were well written.
Personally I think they are amazing, read the saga 4 times and am currently reading Darker (Christians point of view) which is also great
So glad I’m not alone. I love them.x
Load of crap!
So I have read all of these books.. does anyone else think these are written by more then one person???
I’ve always suspected a ghost writer was involved
They is such a difference in writting styles of the naughty bits and the story bits
I have heard a few mutterings from people who like fanfic that the early versions were, shall we say, a bit more collaborative than is generally acknowledged.
Nah their a fad..read thru peer pressure lol
Absolute shite IMHO but each to their own!
I tried to read the first one when everyone was going mad about it but I found it incredibly irritating, the writing is awful & very repetitive, & there wasn’t even that much sex, or what there was I didn’t think it was particularly raunchy (maybe I gave up before that kicks in?! Lol) I found his character far too patronising & annoying, I wanted to tell him to f@ck off mostly ?
Read all 3 – got so say I was so glad when I read the last page – awful writing, awful storyline. Never to be read again!
Had to read all 3 so I could confirm how awful they were.
I did the same
I loved them , read them all 3 times lol
I have to ‘re read them before the films, the writings shit but I just had to finish
They are ok in That They are easy reading, you don’t have to think or concentrate much. Don’t think e l James wrote them intending them to be like that or like the karma sutra!
Just thought- charity shops are full of them now the novelty has worn off! Yes the new film is out so they’ll be popular again- but only for a while
Basically…if you want 50 shades of kink, make it healthy, consensual, loving and respectful (unless that’s not your ‘thing’ in which case, aim for exactly that *outside* the bedroom, red room, bushes, beach or wheresoever you ‘do your thing’). ? Stalking is never sexy or romantic and a partner who starts out as a controlling arse will likely still be a controlling arse and ‘real love’ won’t change them if therapy can’t. You deserve an equal relationship outside the covers-under them, whatever floats your boat-but make sure your significant other speaks to you with empathy, decency and respect. 😉 <3 #fiftyshadesofslay
I would say borrow the first one and have a read. We each like different stories so you will have to see if you like it. Personally the story was okay but the sex a little lame and all the same after a while.
I found these books to be a bit like early reading for adults. I borrowed one but never go as far as the S&M bits.. However, as the sales showed there must be a lot of people who are comfortable with this style of writing and if they encourage people to read who am I to make criticism, 🙁 XX
I gave up less then quarter way through- really couldn’t get into it at all
They’re just awful, the writing is dire, they idealise a unhealthy obsessive relationship and they’re really not erotic or sexy in any way. I got to a sex scene that starts with him taking out her tampon and putting it down the loo and just couldn’t read any more, I’m at a loss to imagine who would find that a turn on in any way?
?♀️?♂️ A vampire?! ?????
*is now thinking of the ‘vampire teabags’ joke* ???♂️
Lol I had forgotten that part ?? so unnecessary!!
What’s the vampire teabag joke? Or do I not want to know? ?
I’m not at all squeamish about periods or tampons, I just don’t find them particularly erotic and it felt very controlling and verging on abusive.
Basically, the tampons *are* vampire teabags. That is all. *voms in houseplant* Nothing to see here, lol! xxx
It was!! Apart from the abhorrent writing style it’s a seriously incorrect representation of BDSM…..the main reason being consent!!! It’s dangerous to idealise that kind of behaviour and of course the whole “you can fix a bad boy if you just do what he wants and love him enough” is a really terrible message to send out. It scared me seeing how many people I knew going on about wanting their own mr gray……if he was broke it would be more like an episode of CSI
They were a spin off from a Twilight fan forum, setting the two main characters in an alternate universe…I am amazed that anyone takes them seriously as a books.
Rubbish – very poor story – and the end was awful for someone advocating women’s choices etc
I read them all and really didn’t enjoy them, found them poorly written with not much plot x
They were terrible (I think) and I persevered until half way though the third. Time I’ll never get back. Xx
I worked in a book shop when it came out so I kind of had to read them…. such a painful read. Really poor writing.
It’s basically twilight fan fiction, replace vampire with sex pest n it’s the same story ?
i loved them even although the first book wasnt the best. and the writings not going to win any prizes but i still really got emerged in the story. loved twilight too. im not a book snob x
I literally wanted to poke my eyes out w knitting needles!
Absolutely vile. Dreadful writing and a dangerous attempt to romanticise a highly abusive relationship which has nothing to do with real BDSM. Read the first two as an experiment- felt like I needed to bathe in bleach afterwards.
Have no real desire to read them I did read ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ a few years after it won a court case allowing its publication. Different times
Please don’t say you are comparing DH Lawrence with the *writer* (in the loosest sense) of this tripe ??
Never. I doubt any of his writing skills are present in the Grey books
My favourite lovestory/fictional couple is Gomez and Morticia Adams, believe it or not-just *look* at how they speak to each other, support each other and still very obviously lust after each other. ??? Cara Mia! ? Mon Cher! ?
I haven’t read the whole thread but I hope you’ve all read @Cassandra’s takedown of the whole thing. It’s perfect (also you should buy the book).
https://cassandraparkin.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/adventures-in-trash-fifty-things-that-annoy-me-about-fifty-shades-of-grey/
I have just howled laughing through that!! “Maybe you’re related to Ron burgundy”
OK, there have been three big book phenomena in about the last 20 years. 50 Shades, Harry Potter and the Da Vinci Code. I’ve got a *lot* of time for JK Rowling’s work as she is the only one with any storytelling chops, but not even her greatest fan could argue she’s a good prose stylist. Both Brown and James are, on the other hand, incredibly poor writers *and* well let’s not say plagiarists as such because lawsuits, but ‘heavily influenced’ by the work of others. And both 50 Shades and Da Vinci were mainly bought and read, overwhelminlgly so, by people who just don’t like or read much fiction. These people were discovering, for probably the first time since leaving school, the thrill of reading a story and wanting to know what happened next. it’s a pity so ffew of them went on to enjoy reading lots more books.
I agree with all of this!
They were ok but a bit boring at times. I think most people just wanted to be in on the craze, I know that’s why I got them because everyone was talking about it x