It's Even Better The Second Time Around - Grey by EL James

I'll never forget the day that Fifty Shades found me.

I say it found me because I had never heard of the books. They had been round for a few years by then. I had just finished a 6 year marathon of working on and obtaining both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and on top of that I was going through a divorce (See 46 and Starting Over - Finding Life After Divorce Re-Mix) No worries that was long ago in a land far away. Any way, I finally had some time on my hands, way too much time, so I hit the pleasure reading. I have always loved fantasy, some science fiction, even horror. But what I needed was some romance. Not just any romance, but the hot and steamy kind.

I had just finished a book and I was grieving, you know that period when you finish your book and you don't have another. Any way one of my older sons told me about a romance book that he heard about that was supposed to be pretty, good. That book was Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Of all the romance novels that I had read this is the first one that brought to the fore a sexual lifestyle that I knew very little about but has been around for centuries. So much focus on the media seemed to focus on the sex, which was hot, but I found myself focusing more on the meat of the story and hence, falling in love with the characters. By the time I finished with all three books, Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, I didn't think it could get any better, until Grey.

Let me preface by saying, there will be no spoilers here, but if you've read Fifty Shades of Grey, you already know the entire plot line in Grey, the major difference is that it's told from Christian's perspective. And WHAT a perspective it is! To relive the events of Anastasia and Christians coming together, but from inside the mind of the character that intrigued readers the most.

There's something special about being privy to the internal dialogue of a character. Grey shines the light on the internal struggles that consume Christian, from his need to "exercise control in all things", to his struggle with how his increasing affections for Anastasia are blurring the well crafted lines of the lifestyle that he has worked so hard to create. In my opinion E.L. James has done a phenomenal job of taking us on this journey with Christian.

The first three books in the series were great, but in  my opinion, the writing at times could get a bit choppy from redundant dialogue. The writing in Grey has an elevated level of finesse, that makes this an effortless journey for the reader.

Even if you haven't read the first three books you can read Grey and not miss a beat. I give you fair warning though, once you read one of the books you will want to read all of them. If I could ask E.L. James one question right now is when can we expect Christian's perspective of Fifty Shades Darker!

Grey is now available on Amazon.com, and local book sellers world wide.
Please visit E. L. James official website to keep abreast of all things Grey

Much Love,

Pandora