Book Review - Fifty Shades Darker (JS)

Fifty Shades Darker by E L James

Review by Jacqui Slaney

When I read 50 Shades of Grey, I was glad I was reading it on the Kindle, due to the amount of hype and hysteria about the book. According to the reviews, either it was the worse book ever written being just an excuse for porn, or it was the best thing since sliced bread was invented.

I found it neither, as Rob said in his review of the book, the writing was poor and sometimes monotonous, but it did not deserve the one star reviews that it picked up, however I did find the ending abrupt and inconclusive, hence why I picked up part two to read.

On this book, the reviews are strange, as there does not seem to be any specific comments on the writing in this book. Book 1 is continually mentioned and the series as a whole, so to get a feeling for the story before you purchase, is almost impossible.

This is the description:

Daunted by the dark secrets of the tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Ana Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a US publishing house. But desire for Grey still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, she cannot resist. Soon she is learning more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades than she ever thought possible. But while Grey wrestles with his inner demons, Ana must make the most important decision of her life. And it's a decision she can only make on her own...

Part two takes up almost immediately from the end of 50 Shades of Grey, Ana has left Christian, as she feels that their relationship will never be what she needs and she also feels that she cannot be what he wants and needs. However, they soon reunite due to his persistence, and their relationship moves onto a different level.

With most second novels, you can see the change in the authors writing, with characters becoming more rounded and having more of a depth to them. This book is no exception; the writing has improved, with the character of Christian being much more explored. You get to read more of his past and understand what drives Christian and his hatred of himself. Ana however, is still as annoying at times, as she was in 50 Shades of Grey. Her subconscious is still arguing with herself, her almost continual self-doubt and her continual reference to how much she loves the smell of Christian. There is still as many sex scenes in the story with all of them being described and nothing left the imagination, which in many cases can be more effective for the story. 

Unlike the first book, there are quite a few sub plots in this story to keep your attention, with everything seeming to conspire against Ana and Christian being together. Ana now finally meets Mrs Robinson and one of Christian’s ex-Subs. One sub plot in particular leads into the final book of the series, and though interesting does come across as a bit far fetched. There is an attempt as well by the writer to try to show that a lot of both Ana’s and Christian’s problems are caused by their inexperience in relationships. Neither of them is used to being with someone else, and so to find themselves in such a passionate relationship has been a shock.

Overall, this is not a bad read; many of the ideas that appear could have been developed further to make the story stronger and improve on the characters development. If you ignore the hype though and keep an open mind, then it’s and easy book to read and something that will not overtax you.

7 out of 10