"Grey" by E L James

Let me cut straight to the chase - I really, really, really hope that the other books (Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed) will be told from Chritian Grey's point of view, too.
Pretty, pretty please with a strawberry on top!

While I had really enjoyed and more than liked the 'original' 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, I have now fallen rock hard for Grey - hard enough, to even be recommending it to people who didn't like the story and general tone of Fifty Shades of Grey because of Christian's character, "singular tastes" and behavior... and to those, who have kept saying that the story was about nothing other than an abusive relationship, and shitloads of sex. Experiencing the happenings through Christian Grey's eyes and getting an inside look at his thoughts and feelings will be explaining everything to you that you might have missed in Fifty Shades of Grey; it will take you to where it all began, and will make you aware of his inner struggles. It will also show you that, despite him labelling himself as one as well, you might have been wrong saying that he was nothing more than a monster, and Anastasia nothing but naïve, gullible prey.
While most of the people who will be picking up Grey have (probably) already read the story from Ana's point of view, I am trying to write this review without any spoilers - because while it is the same story, it also isn't. As mentioned before you get glimpses at Christian's past - his time with his biological mother, his childhood with the Greys, his time with Mrs Robinson - as well as at his thoughts and emotions. You get to see his internal struggles, his PTSD, and you learn about what makes him tick, what drives him, what fears make him who he is and why it is so hard for him to take a different approach at things; but most importantly, you get to see a whole lot of character development - especially towards the end of the novel.

It also needs to be pointed out just how much I loved to see the way Christian's mind worked. His thought process made me chuckle on more than one occasion - it's such a contrast to his verbal articulation!

As written above, people have, more than once, told me that they thought Fifty Shades of Grey was nothing but "fucked up, shallow book porn". While everyone is, of course, entitled to their own opinion, I do believe that reading Grey will, or would, change those people's minds.
Yes, it still has explicit sex in it.
Yes, it still holds elements of BDSM.
Yes, the beating is still in it.

BUT Grey will give you what many seem to have failed to find in Fifty Shades of Grey, and that is Christian's story. Christian's story, that makes the Shades books what they are - which, in my opinion, is far more, and a lot deeper, than what too many have been labelling it as.

5/5!

See the world of Fifty Shades of Grey anew through the eyes of Christian Grey.

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.

After twenty-five years working in TV, E L James decided to pursue her childhood dream, and set out to write stories that readers would fall in love with. The result was the sensuous romance Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, a trilogy that went on to sell more than 125 million copies worldwide in 52 languages.

In 2012 E L James was named one of Barbara Walter's "Ten Most Fascinating People of the Year," one of Time magazine's "Most Influential People in the World," and Publishers Weekly's "Person of the Year." Fifty Shades of Grey stayed on the New York Times Best Seller List for 133 consecutive weeks, and in 2015 the film adaption - on which James worked as producer - broke boxoffice records all over the world for Universal Pictures.
E L James lives in West London with her husband, the novelist and screenwriter Niall Leonard, and their two sons. She continues to write while acting as producer on the upcoming movie versions of Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.

E L James's website || goodreads || facebook || twitter || instagram
Grey on goodreads || amazon US || amazon DE || amazon UK
Fifty Shades of Grey on goodreads || amazon US || amazon DE || amazon UK
Fifty Shades Darker on goodreads || amazon US || amazon DE || amazon UK
Fifty Shades Freed on goodreads || amazon US || amazon DE || amazon UK