Mr. Grey will see you now....Part 2! The Bookbabe reviews Darker by E.L. James

Well....well...well... I almost feel like we have been here before. Another E.L. James book, another book about the lovable and deeply flawed Christian Grey. Like so many other readers I’ve already read the first three original novels and then James first book from Christian’s perspective. So when Darker was released In December I could not resist taking Christian home with me again. And I must say out of all of the books I really enjoyed this one the most. Fifty Shades Darker (Ana’s perspective) while good was a bit annoying. All that “inner goddess’ stuff etc. Ana was one of the most annoying female characters I have read in the romance genre. Christian was the main attraction. So reading this book, written in his POV is definitely awesome. There was a lot more detail here. A lot of questions that were somewhat left out of Ana’s version are answered. We get to see Christian grow and overcome his fears. We also get more details about his childhood and his relationship with Elena. I think that romance novels written from the male perspective might be more interesting. I actually discovered this while reading J.R. Ward’s novels; such as The Bourbon King’s and The Blackdagger Brotherhood series.
In Darker, we might up with Christian Right after Ana has left him. Christian is feeling, for the first time, what its like to have a broken heart. He wants to do anything he can to get Ana back. And he does..slowly. Ana, in this book, comes off as strong and confident. She knows she is not going to put up with Christian’s secretive nonsense and she tells him so. In order for them to move forward he has to allow her in. The beauty of this book is that Christian sets aside so much of himself to allow her in. He allows her to inch closer to him personally. From what we know of Ana this slow crawl is frustrating but she is willing to go the distance. James really excelled at the self discovery journey that Christian went through in Darker.
Of course in the book we are introduced to all of the other characters but we get to see them again from Christian’s perspective. Finally get a better picture of the love those around him have for him. Sadly, for most of the book Christian is down right oblivious to it. Another thing I Loved about this book....was while there was sex, and some of it was graphic. The sex is not as over the top as some of the other stuff in James previous works. The book has some steamy scenes but It’s definitely more action, and more character development. I think Darker is the second best book I’ve read so far this year. I can not wait to see what she does with 50 Shades Freed. I gave Darker 4/5 stars on goodreads.

My favorite scene from the book:

The Scene where Christian allows Ana to touch him was powerful to me. Its a real turning point for him I believe; right now there is no going back. He is baring his soul to the only person able to really hurt him.

Below are some of the quotes I loved:

Who says you shouldn’t Treat yourself to new books!?

Their scorching, sensual affair ended in heartbreak and recrimination, but Christian Grey cannot get Anastasia Steele out of his mind, or his blood. Determined to win her back, he tries to suppress his darkest desires and his need for complete control, and to love Ana on her own terms.

But the horrors of his childhood still haunt him, and Ana’s scheming boss, Jack Hyde, clearly wants her for himself. Can Christian’s confidant and therapist, Dr. Flynn, help him face down his demons? Or will the possessiveness of Elena, his seducer, and the deranged devotion of Leila, his former submissive, drag Christian down into the past?

And if Christian does win Ana back, can a man so dark and damaged ever hope to keep her?

Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

***I had the privilege of reading Kindred a few months ago as a graphic novel. I reallt couldn’t resist the price of the paperback.***

I am looking forward to reading both of these as soon as possible.

The Bookbabe's Opinion of the Fifty Shades of Grey Movie

Wow; just wow. The movie was exactly what I expected. It was beautifully and tastefully done. E.L. James tight control over the book to movie adaptation was seen throughout. Of course, there are some scenes that ase changed. This makes sense because some of these scenes are not necessary not to mention some of the sex scenes are cut or changed due to the nudity clauses each star insisted upon. I found Dakota Johnson's portrayal of Ana Steele 

to be genuine and fun and very true to the fictional character. Dakota made Ana

really come alive; she was funny and naive. I came into the movie expecting Jamie to be as horrible as some reviews made him out to be. But that was not the case; he protrayed Christian beautifully. Right down to the facial expressions. He captures Christians complex nature and close guarded personality. It will be lovely to see how Jamie plays Christian in the next two films. In which, we will see more more of his closely guarded walls tumble down as he falls even more deeply in love with Ana. I think the movies have great promise; supposedly we may have to wait til 2016 for the The sequel Fifty Shades Darker.

To the Critics of Fifty Shades of Grey....

I recently commented on a post on Facebook about a new Faith Based movie called "Old Fashioned". I found the idea of a movie based on an old fashioned, faith based courtship refreshing. I was really excited about seeing how that movie would fair in theaters. Then I started seeing posts comparing it to Fifty Shades of Grey. Then even more about how Fifty Shades of Grey dehumanizes women and makes them look like objects and cheap. Christian was looked at as an abuser, stalker and a creep. According to some of the comments and things I read he was the worst kind of man. One thing became very clear to me; that none of these people had read the book and that they made some assumptions. 1) That Ana was forced or manuiplated into becoming Christian's Submissive and 2) That Christian was abusive. The issue with this is that Ana was given a Choice. We see this over and over again. We see her battle with her emotions on the subject over and over again. We see Christian reassuring her that she can walk away. Secondly; Ana knew exactly what she was getting into. She signed a contract to that affect; not to mention we had to read several chapters based on what she would and would not permit Christian to do to her. Last but not least; Ana was a stronger woman then these critics think. To her credit she became  more assertive and took charge of her own destiny. Author E.L. James did a wonderful job at developing Ana. What really bothers me is that there are books with the same themes that better fit the criticism that Fifty Shades has recieved. One such book is the Story of O by Pauline Réage; in the story O is offered up as a slave to be trained and broken and molded into a submissive. At one point O is branded and falls in love with her master Sir Stephen. Who does not love her; and who is also the step brother of the boyfriend that turned her over for training. O was forced; plain and simple. She was manuiplated. Made to please men she did not love or want. This was not the case with Ana. She clearly loved Christian despite his faults; and she gets through to him over time. Another book that is equally unsettling is The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice. I will admit that I never finished the book because it was to much for me. In the book Sleeping Beauty is awakened not with a kiss but after sexual intercourse; did I mention she was asleep and could not give consent. The man who does this strips her naked and makes her walk through the surrounding villages to his kingdom where she is trained among other men and women to become a sex slave. Again; this is not something we see in Fifty Shades of Grey. Those latter books contain sexual violence of the worse sort; and someone taking problem with that will hear no complaint from this book worm. However; I will complain when others condemn and shame others for reading Fifty Shades of Grey. I was told I was not a true Christian because I had read such a vial book. It dawned on me through this experience that these types of people are the same ones that ban hundreds of books every year and all because they have faulty assumptions about what is right and proper. So good bookworms...I say take up all the Banned books you can and read them openly. Thrust these despised books into the hands of anyone who is willing to read them and lastly make sure you fight back against the ignorance people spout against these books. Protect the FREADOM to read!