lindseythelibrarian's Reviews (559)

I'm sure I can't say anything about this book that hasn't already been said in one way or another, but I still felt as if I needed to put forth my thoughts anyway. Having already read laughable excerpts from the book, I decided to finally read the whole thing and see what all the fuss is about. I figured that maybe I would at least get some semblance of joy from reading it. Though I was very excited to start reading, I found myself really starting to get annoyed around the halfway point. Here are a few reasons why.

The inner goddess and "my subconscious" parts seemed to get more ridiculous as the book went on. As I grunted and complained to my friend, she mentioned that it reminded her of this

That made the constant mentioning of these two "great metaphors" (or whatever) a bit more bearable.

Repetitive writing was also a big flaw in this book. I'm sure I read the word "flush" over 100 times. Other phrases kept being repeated as if to drive certain points home. It made every situation start to get boring after a while.

As already mentioned by countless other people, Anna's and Christian's relationship is abusive. Here's a quick list:

He likes control over everything, including me. Yet he's so unpredictably and disarmingly agreeable, too. He can be tender, good-humored, even sweet. And when he is it's so left field and unexpected.

That's called mental and physical abuse.

1. Virginity is a "situation" that must be dealt with. Says the word like it's dirty. Actually, let's talk about this a bit more. Nothing's wrong with being a virgin or not. At the beginning of chapter 8, however, he is mortified and makes Anna feel guilty and ashamed by her lack of experience. He then proceeds to call her beautiful which completely makes her putty in his hands.
He later calls her his "one vanilla conquest" no.

2. Treats her like a child (i.e. likes pigtails, counts to 10)..."He patiently dresses me as if I am a small child. NO.

3. Emotionally manipulates her. Constantly.

4. Claims "relationships are built on honesty and trust". You want to try using that too, buddy?

5. Anna acknowledges that Christian uses "SEX AS A WEAPON".

6. Stalks her on more ways than one. Phone, location, family history, etc.

7. Anna knows there are plenty of warning signs. Christian and Reasonable? Two mutually exclusive terms according to her.
I felt as if from time to time she would have been able to leave the relationship if people around her weren't complete idiots. Seriously, If Kate (her BFF) is as inquisitive as Anna claims she is, then why does she get soo distracted and not press Anna enough! If Anna doesn't really cry much and is now such an emotional wreck after meeting Mr. Grey, you would think that people in her life would realize the manipulation that he is putting her through. I swear, her mom is the worst. It seemed as if she was actually going to offer some good advice, but then along comes Fifty Shades (gag) and she becomes gawking teenager.

8. Christian says that he is made to control her. In every way. If she doesn't, well, he loves to watch her suffer! It's something which wasn't developed properly in his formative years. He says that. I don't...That's not how BDSM works!

9. When she is finally 2500 miles away from him she "start(s) to relax".

...
This isn't a romance it's a psych case. There are parts which could be considered sexy but is overshadowed by the creepy weird the is Fifty Shades. I was left feeling angry and bored at the same time.
Boo.