So far so trite. Rent "Secretary" instead or read "The Story of O" or even "Exit to Eden." In case you do not know these books' origin stories, they started out as "Twilight" fan fiction. No vampires, but the plot is the same, only with gratuitous sex thrown in every few pages. ( )

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If I could give it 100 out of 5, I would. I finished this book last night and I am still so at a lost for words on how wonderful, provocative, and unbelievable this book is. I have never read anything like this, and I was beyond thrilled that I was finally able to get this book in print after finding this book a year and half ago. Anastasia has been the first female heroine that I so close too, it's like looking in a mirror. I felt as if reading everything about Ana and how she was feeling, is like feeling my life and my emotions through her. Meeting Christian awakened everything in Ana, that I feel myself and other women long for too. Christian is beautiful, passionate, and completely domineering, but he is everything my inner goddess wants!!!
Waiting for the next 2 books is killing me more than waiting for any other series has ever been. ( )

Poorly written smut. ( )

At the risk of angering a lot of fans, I did not enjoy reading this book. I did not like it at all. In fact, the only reason I am giving it two stars instead of one is the sex. Quite honestly I have never read anything quite that graphic before, so it was a new experience for me.

This book is very poorly written. There is hardly any plot to speak of; all emphasis is given to the hardcore sex. Fifty Shades of Grey reads like a piece of Twilight fan-fiction, start to finish. It feels as though Nicholas Sparks and Stephenie Meyer got together to write porn.

"But, Megan, why does this book read like Twilight?" you may ask. "There aren't any vampires!" you may exclaim. Allow me to explain. A young, plain woman, without any special abilities or features, without any life experience, becomes the object of desire by and older, extremely wealthy man who has ulterior motives. The male in this scenario struggles with his desire for the female because he doesn't want to hurt her (but really, he does), while the female just cannot possibly fathom what Mr. Rich-Super Sexy-Mysterious-Pursuer is hiding from her. Vampire? Sadist? Doesn't matter. As soon as the flaccid female character finds out what Mr. Rich-Super Sexy-Mysterious-Pursuer is hiding, she is remarkably OK with it. Sure, she struggles with it a bit, but ultimately she caves because he is Mr. Rich-Super Sexy-Mysterious-Pursuer! "You want to bite my neck and suck my blood so I can be your possession forever? OK!" "You want to beat the shit out of me for your own sexual gratification? OK!"

Really? How is this book not Twilight for adults?

Now, please allow me to share with you some of the dialogue from Fifty Shades of Grey:

“Laters, baby.” (Yes. Mr. Rich-Super Sexy-Mysterious-Pursuer, the powerful CEO of a major company, actually says this).

“'No, Anastasia it doesn’t. Firstly, I don’t make love. I fuck… hard. Secondly, there’s a lot more paperwork to do, and thirdly, you don’t yet know what you’re in for. You could still run for the hills. Come, I want to show you my playroom.' My mouth drops open. Fuck hard! Holy shit, that sounds so… hot."

"Jeez, he looks so freaking hot." (Really, E.L. James? This is the best you can do?)

“So you've just slept with him, given him your virginity, a man who doesn't love you. In fact, he has odd ideas about you, wants to make you some sort of kinky sex slave.” (How is this OK!?!?)

Personally, my own "inner goddess" was horrified while reading Fifty Shades. It actually made me squeamish. Why on earth are female authors creating weak female characters, then glorifying them? Is this really what we want the female youth of today to turn into?

Call me old fashioned, but I find much more sexual intrigue in books like Jane Eyre or Lady Chatterly's Lover where a slight glance, or a passing touch, contain more sexual tension than any quick act of hardcore sex. ( )