Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades Trilogy book 1) E L James

Anastasia Steele is getting ready to graduate from college when, on an interview for her best friend/roommate who is too sick to conduct the interview, she meets the enigmatic, beautiful, commanding and brilliant Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises and benefactor of her college. From the first, Christian is intrigued by the innocent Miss Steele and pursues her with a single mindedness that stuns not only Ana, but also Christian's staff, family and associates. He offers Ana a contract to become his submissive...a twist that Ana both can not accept and can't help but accept. The books have been called "Mommy Porn" and, yes, they are VERY graphic and erotic. I think that the reason they are getting so much press is because the sex focuses on BDSM, non traditional and taboo. The Fifty Shades of Grey books are, in my opinion, no more or less sensual, graphic or erotic than contemporary romances of today. Heck, the romances of the late 70s and early 80s, with their Alpha male "I will rape you into submission and you're going to fall in love with me in spite of me treating you like crap" focus should, in my view, be more taboo than consensual adults behaving in a manner that is less than traditional. That being said, these books are GRAPHIC in the details of sex. At one point, Christian tells Ana "I don't make love, I fuck...hard." Ana's initiation into sex is not the hearts and flowers "I love you" deflowering scenes of most romance novels. It's quick, hard and quite simply, brutal in a sense. Don't get me wrong, there is quite a bit of romance in these books. There's also a fascinating look into the psyche of Christian, is he a sadist? Is he just a Dominant? What has brought him to the place where he believes he has no heart? And what of Ana? What ticks inside of her that brings her to be so intrigued by the world Christian so desperately, and he is desperate, wants to introduce her to? Can Ana bring herself to give Christian what he needs, total submission even when he wants to discipline her? Or will the pain and fear be enough to send Ana running? I loved this book. I read it in 5 hours because I could not put it down. I had a love/hate relationship with Christian and I could empathize and sympathize with Ana. I did wish that Ms. James would have removed the "characters" of Ana's Subconscious and her "Inner Goddess". They just smacked a bit too much like Lizzy McGuire or Herman's Head and often would pull me from the story. Other than that, I recommend this book even if you're squicked out by the thought of BDSM. There's WAY more to the book than the sex and I took quite a bit from it. 5 out of 5 berries for this one. I can't wait to review Fifty Shades Darker.

The Convienent Marriage by Georgette Heyer

I liked this book even though it felt a bit disjointed at times. Horry wasn't the lovable heroine you come to expect from Heyer's oeuvre, but she was very likable. Rule was less obviously "masterful" than other Heyer heroes, but you never got the sense that he couldn't BE masterful if he wanted to be so. I found him to be extremely likable and I think he might be one of my all time favorite romantic heroes. I wish he'd have had even more "page time".

I can't express just WHY I liked this book. In fact, I really feel like I shouldn't have liked it because it WAS so very disjointed. The reader sometimes gets lost as conversations wind around things that have nothing to do with the plot and events happen that leave you wondering "what??"

But that might be just why I like it. All in all I'd say, if you're a fan of Heyer and you haven't read The Convenient Marriage, do so. If you're just getting into Heyer's works, save this one for later. Start with Frederika or Cotillion.

4 berries out of 5.