When it comes to reading books I tend to stick to familiar territories such as crime thrillers and the odd political biography, something I can get my teeth into and something that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I also like the odd chick-lit novel but I am a bit choosy as to who the author is and tend to stick to 3 or 4 of whom I have read a lot of. Just over a week ago a friend of mine messaged me and said I had to read 'Fifty Shades of Grey' because I would love it and that it was the best book she had ever read. A bit of a tall order I thought, I mean the best book you have ever read? The Hobbit, 1984 or my very own favourite The Hungry Caterpillar, can ...  Read the complete review

I first stumbled across E L James' work when reading a magazine article about her books being the latest craze and how her Fifty Shades trilogy were becoming the must read books of 2012. The magazine warned that these books were not for the faint hearted and certainly weren't books to lend to your mother. Whilst the premise of the book focused on a couple and their relationship, don't be fooled...Mills and Boon it aint. My interest was piqued. I'm a bit of a sap and love a good love story but was beginning to get a bored of your typical chick lit romance books, you know the type - boy meets girl, girl doesn't like boy, girl starts to like boy, girl and boy have a ...  Read the complete review

About the book Fifty Shades of Grey was released on 12th April of this year by Arrow. The book is 528 pages long. Plot When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Convinced that their meeting went badly, she tries to put him out of her mind - until he turns up at the store where she works part-time, and invites her out. Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man. And, when he warns her to keep her distance, it only makes her want him more. But Grey is tormented by inner demons, and consumed by the need ...  Read the complete review

I deal with erotica on a daily basis. It's no huge secret- I translate Japanese manga and light novels, and the majority of the titles I've worked on have been classified as erotica. I also review many, many titles, both manga as well as prose novels, that come under that classification. There are a good many more that I read for pleasure, both LGBT as well as hetero, and after awhile of being exposed to so many different books by so very many different authors, one comes to appreciate the well plotted and well written. The sorting of the merely good to the great can be further pared down by how well the author has portrayed key elements within a sub-genre. ...  Read the complete review

Having studied creative writing at degree level, I know what makes an excellent story. This is an excellent story, but it has some pitfalls. A few weeks ago I saw one of my male friends update his status: he was complaining about the popularity of this book. He was sick of everyone flocking to it like flies. I had a look at some reviews on Amazon and decided I may not like it, but for £2.70 on the Kindle I couldn't complain if I didn't like it. I read online that E. L. James is English, but this book is set in the US. I cannot shed anymore light on the situation but she seems to know Seattle very well. The brief plot of the FIRST book (as to truly ...  Read the complete review