In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.
Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.
Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?
This book is intended for mature audiences.
What I say: I'm really not sure what to say about Grey. I remember reading Master of the Universe way back before it became Fifty Shades of Grey and long before I started blogging. I was intrigued, confused and despite myself, engrossed. I defended the often poor editing and bad narrative flow because I enjoyed the twisted story. I saw past the so-called Mummy-porn to the love story behind the smut, and became a fan of the series. With Grey I'm torn because as much as I loved gaining more insight into Christian's troubled mind, his POV was often more bizarre and sinister than I had expected. Also I didn't feel as though we got a whole lot of new material.
We get full unfettered access to how Christian really feels about Ana (which was initially far less romantic than I was expecting). We also get snippets of his childhood, his early relationship with Elena and a few memories of Leila. He was actually WAY more invested in Leila than I was expecting, and yes before anybody mentions her being his sub for a long time, it was very different to how he acts in Darker & Freed.
I was hoping for a lot more information on Elena, the 'Scene' and his other subs. I wanted to see it as a contrast to his relationship with Ana. What I did feel worked well was how E.L. James showed his interest in the subs as a diversion and as a coping mechanism. I honestly don't know a lot about BDSM and so I cannot really comment on how accurate James's portrayal of Christian the Dom is, but I did find his inner thoughts a little contrived at times and hard to believe. He came across as being harsher and more disturbing than I was expecting. Did this put me off of Christian and the series? No, not really because it's fiction. He's not a guy in real life treating an innocent girl in a certain way. I can see why people do have issues with the series and E.L. James's portrayal but I applaud her skill at making her work into such a huge success.
I actually found Grey to be more entertaining than it was probably intended to be. His often random thoughts and demands had me breaking out into giggling fits. There were several moments when I wanted to hit him and others where I was convinced Christian is completely certifiable. He shares some genuinely sweet and charming moments with Ana, but I even after reading Fifty Shades I wasn't quite prepared for the lengths he takes in stalking Ana.
My final thoughts - I still have NO idea how I feel about Grey but it did make me smile, cringe and at times swoon. Was Grey needed? No probably not. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I read the rest of the story from Christian's POV? Hell yes! There's no way I'm missing out of the chance to get his thoughts during the Leila scenes and during the proposal.
Unrated - as I still have no idea how many Stars in my Sky to give Grey!
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