Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle: Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Fifty Shades Freed

Like some others have said, you are either going to love it or hate it. And I loved it! And to think that I almost didn't give it a chance. When I had turned to the first page and saw that it was written in first person, I groaned and immediately closed the book, because I normally cannot get into novels written from this perspective, but then I thought, well, I paid almost $30 bucks for this set, so I'd better read it! After I got through the first chapter, I was hooked. If you only read the first book, you will think that this is just about BDSM, especially after reading through the "Contract", but if you were to read all three, you will see the big picture. This is basically a romantic story about Christian and Ana's journey, which of course, has its ups and downs, as well as surprising twists and turns that are tied to Christian's past. There was actually more to the story than I had expected, which was evident after getting to the end of the second book. Although the main focus was on Christian's character and his baggage, what they both shared were similar inadequacy issues. Christian does not think that he is worthy of being loved due to being abused as a child, while Ana constantly questions what Christian sees in her, as she does not believe that she is capable of holding the attention of such a gorgeous and successful man, especially when he has specific needs that she felt she could not fulfill. There is more romance and less of the BDSM in the second and third books, but always LOTS of sex. I did find myself skipping over some of the sex scenes, as it did get somewhat repetitive. This however, did not take away from the story. The complex characters of Christian and Ana were developed at the perfect pace, not too slowly or quickly, which made the story believable. Although the ending was a happy one, it was not the cheesy "Hollywood" kind. The only thing that really bothered me was the overuse of the word "murmur" in the first book. However, I found this word to be virtually absent in the second and third books, but possibly replaced by the word "whisper", which did not annoy me as much. There were two scenes that stuck out in my mind in this book. Without going into too much detail, the first one was the "Submissive Christian" scene when he thought Ana was going to leave him. I found myself just as shocked as Ana. Another significant scene for me was a pretty ironic one. The one and only time that Ana had used a safeword on Christian was when he was pleasuring her and then depriving her of an orgasm out of revenge, which caused her not physical pain, but emotional pain. I also enjoyed the email exchanges between Christian and Ana. They were amusing, witty, and sometimes romantic! I felt like this was when the characters' personalities really came out, which I fell in love with. I just wished I hadn't finished the books so quickly! I can't wait until the movie comes out!

I have read widely since a child and there have been many books I have loved, books that I have read and reread, and that became part of who I am. Almost without exception they have been love stories and they have seldom been great works of literature, with some exceptions of course, like “The Great Gatsby”. The Angelique series, “The Clan of the Cave Bear” series, Helga Moray’s “Untamed” series, Ayn Rand’s books, some of Wilbur Smith’s and Bryce Courtenay’s novels, come to mind. Some have required a suspension of disbelief, like the Harry Potter books – I have never liked fantasy, and have no belief in magic and witchcraft, yet I loved the books and the films and Rowling created a world that has become almost real to so many people, and very much part of our collective consciousness. 50 Shades required a similar suspension of disbelief and even of dislike, initially, as I abhor violence of any kind and have no interest in BDSM and its manifestations, and was a little put off by the publicity I had read. Nonetheless, James created a trilogy that, true to the blurb on the back was “romantic, liberating, and totally addictive, …that will obsess you, possessed you and which will stay with you forever”. She created in Christian a flawed, charismatic hero, redeemed by love, who I was fascinated by, intrigued with and fell in love with. The same holds for many of the other characters in the book. I liked the author’s sense of humour, I wept frequently in all the books, and that ability to move me deeply did not diminish with repeated re-readings – I still cry every time in some of the scenes in which Ana tries to banish his demons. They are so powerfully written, and the love story is so beautiful, so full of passion and emotion that I found myself totally swept away – something that happens only rarely. In that respect perhaps only “Wuthering Heights” comes close. And then there is the sex. I think it is very difficult to write a good love story that is not soppy. It is even harder to write about sex so that it is erotic, passionate, but not prurient or off-putting. To write about sex for page after page over 3 books is a gift, from which millions of women, and men, around the world, are happily reaping the benefit. Some of the other books that are currently trying to cash in on the trend, claiming to be better than “50 Shades”, like Sylvia Day’s “Bared To You” and various others, are totally derivative, humourless and very crude by comparison and none of them that I have read have the enormous pull of love that underlies every scene. For me, reading the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy has been a joyous, profoundly moving and arousing experience. It has reminded us of emotions and feelings we experienced and things we did years ago and still feel and do, and taught us a few new ones. It is my belief that anyone in a loving relationship, both men and women, would benefit from reading it.

Fifty Shades is full of extraordinary characters. I enjoyed a lot the story of Anastasia and Christian. At 22 Anastasia is able to face a great challenge by going forward with her relation with Christian, she is very strong and so candide at some levels but that's what I love about her. Christian looks like THE guy you want to meet and never let go but going thru those 50 shades and his world you need more than just wanting. the author leads us in this other world of dominants and submissives with finess. I love it.thanks you for those lost moments in 50 shades

The book is so beautifully written that one can't stop reading. There's an urge to continue reading it. You fall in love with the characters. Only issue with the single trilogy book is that page numbers don't go further beyond page 515. The second part has an abrupt ending. Probably three pages are missing in the trilogy book.

This was a 2014 bundle set. Still editing issues as well as minor plot errors in Freed (same as the original edit). What a fun journey it was though to read them as one continuous story. That's the way I like to read it. Fifty Shades of Grey really needs Darker (2nd book and my favourite) to complete the story and Freed is all icing on the cake. I love the constant action in the book. It picks up in Darker and never stops. It's great to have CPOVs at the end of the trilogy. I think E.L James writes a really interesting story from his point of view. It gives great insight into his character. She has written him so well. There is no way you could confuse Christian Trevelyan Grey with anyone else. He's our Fifty Shades. I have to admit that I see a younger E.L James as our Anastasia Rose Grey ne: Steele. Especially in Freed. I love the relationship glimpses we get between Christian and his mother Grace. They ring so true ad endearing. His mothers struggle to show love and protection to the untouchable boy, powerfully moving. No, it's not the best written piece of literature out there. It was never meant to be. Yes, it's the most passion inducing, reaction creating, character driven book in our recent history. Even if you don't like it and its not the book for you, you just can't forget 50 Shades. Any author that can stir you like that without laving you wounded from the narrative is a genius in my book. What more do you want than the pleasure of turning the page, sharing a story, arguing of the action? I say, well done Miss James. Well done Icy. Well done author girl. And thank you for writing. SQ It's been a journey, this story. I'd recommend a reread before the move release in February 2015. SQ

Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of psychological abuse and the strength of the survivors.

Veloce e libri ben fatti grazieeeeee! !! È un cofanetto stupendo e in lingua inglese come lo cercavo io!!!!! Ciao