read the first two. I have serious issues with te lack of consent shown in the book. Anna can only ask the guy who is controling the relationship about BDSM stuff - musn't tell other people. Is pushed beyond her clear limits to the point of being phyically hurt so much she has to take painkillers. It's not good, safe, sane and consentual BDSM.
the charybdis trilogy is ininteresting. Its by Bruce McLachlan if anyones heard of it?
Possessing allura by Reese Gabriel
Caged is a good one as well Dr Gerald Rochelle
They are a all very different from fsog but have the bdsm running though them
only erotic fition ove EVER ead an enjoyed so far is eat me by linda jaivin
I don't think it's fair to comment on how awful it is unless you've read it yourself. I'll hold my hands up, I've done exactly the same thing! I heard it was so badly written, I even heard the whole book only contained 45 different words!! I don't know how I believe that one but its definitely not the case. I also believed it must be rubbish because every Tom, Dick and Harry on my Facebook page was talking about it, most of them without a shred of intelligence. I thought it would be a dumbed down book to appeal to the masses.
It was the LH merch and the 3 for £10 offer that pushed me over the edge, so I tried it.
It's not a dumbed down book, fair enough the writing isn't fantastic or amazing! But I would say it is good writing. I hate to say it, because it sounds like bragging, but I am an intellectual person and have qualifications to reflect that. I've read countless number of books and its definitely not a bad book.
I also don't think it's a book you can "flick through". I'd fully understand if you've just flicked to the sex parts to see what it's all about, but you can't do that. You need to start from the start and get to know the characters. I'll fully admit, the first chapter seemed a bit rushed, but it seemed like after that James found her feet and get stuck in.
As I say, I've also been on to ridicule the book, and now I'm turning back on my words. I wish I read it sooner, and I do hope that others will just take my word for it and try it before ridiculing in the same way that I did.
I really think its ridiculous I moaned about a book I hadn't read! Don't judge a book by its cover springs to mind!
Personally I thought it was terrible. I JUST managed to read the first one, cringing constantly! It bored me to tears but I can see the appeal of it..Have attempted to read the second one seeing as I bought them both at the same time...and I just cannot wade through the crap writing, terrible metaphors, incessant use of the word 'baby'...etc.. and frankly there are not enough juicy parts for me to bother with!! But that's my opinion, obviously for many people it has changed their life so good for them!
At least you've tried Char, it's just annoying when it's judged by people who haven't read it, exactly the way I did!! I'm glad I give it a go :)
I have read all 3 books of FSOG and they are the only books me and my GF so far have considered throwing in the bin. We collect books and want all kind of books but these are one of those books you don't need to read. Why is it so bad? Mainly the characters.
Mr big man Grey is YOUNG successfull and so rich that it hurts. He is also well educated and kind of perfect in every way that is not possible in the real world. I mean he is so broken inside that in the second or third book when she is about to leave him he goes into total submissive mode and shuts down. While at the same time being a dominant and need to be in total control. How can a person with such fragile psyche be respected as a dominant and be thinking of controlling another person. A dominant in a 24/7 relationship NEEED to be stable above all.
Then there is the girl. Has perfect orgasms and multiple orgasms even though she is actually a virgin in the beginning. She is super sensitive even so sensitive he can lick her nipples and give her a trembling orgasm. If she has this kind of libido why had she never ever during her 20+ years masturbated? Well because she is supposed to be some kind of saint and pure to the end. She constantly bites her lips and speaks of a annoying inner godess that is volting and what not.
Then the plot: Mr control has been a submissive to some other lady and now all of a sudden he is the dominant who need to be in control and whip his submissives to be able to get any pleasure. Without even ending the first book mr Grey has gone from uber dominant who does bondage suspensions to mr vanilla. In the second book the roles are almost changed, she askes for him to dominate her while he only wants to do vanilla.
For some reason this 1 girl was so AMAZING that everything he was is changed during a few months. It just does not add up and because it does not I can't stand the book. Also as a reader it seems that you have to have had a mental trauma or be mental in some other way to be doing bondage. There are perfectly normal people practicing bondage without any mental ilnesses or bad childhoods what so ever.
The whole BDSM is kind of lacking a lot. A room full of bondage stuff but he does not really use much of it. Further more her asshole seem to be so fragile that even though they talk about anal from the start not even the smallest object can go in there.
No sorry it might give to someone else, but being on the dominant side myself and interesteds in BDSM and bondage and all it just does not work. But I can see how it may appeal to some and thus it's not bad as such but to call ti kinky and bring up the hype about BDSM is so wrong. Without the hype I think it could remain as a sleezy book but given what it is supposed to be I am ashamed to own it.
Have only read the first. My problem with it is that the terrible, cliched characterisations make it far too close to the development of something like battered wife syndrome in a very young, very inexperienced woman who doesn't have the resources to cope with the pyschological dysfunction in this man who's all but stalking her. And she's not allowed to tell anyone 'cause he said so. But it's ok because he's, well you know, HOT.
And this guy is now the model for all that's sexy in men???
though fsog was poorly written and didnt get beyond the first one
I've read all three as someone lent me her books about may of last year. I'm usually a very slow reader it took me almost a year to get through the hunger games trillogy. I'd never read erotic fiction before and by the end of August I'd read all three books!
I was drawn in by the plot as well as the sex and I didn't expect that.
It annoys me how people bash Erica for her writing and success. After all, all she did was publish a book and hope someone might buy it. Many people do this day in day out and only a handfull get the success she's had.
I heard a radio interview of her and they asked what her next project is and what she's writing at the moment. She openly claimed she's no author and the books she wrote was just a hobby that she'd dip in and out over about 10 years, creating this ficticious scenario never intending it or expecting it to be what it is today. Someone suggested getting them bound and if anyone wanted to buy them she might make a bit of money...and the rest is history.
EL James' work may not be anything special to seasoned erotica readers but like many artists, musicians and writers she came along at the right time and got luck. Her books hit a generation of women who'd never read erotic fiction and like many things had gone in and out of fashion, had bad press and people like me presumed it was all the same Barbra Cartland meets Alan Titchmarsh old fashioned heavy brething type stuff and so gave it a wide birth.
I know that as a result of her books companies like lovehoney and ann summers have never been so busy so it's boosted the sex toy economy and awoken a more erotic and kinky to a lot peoples sex lives. Also with people who have read her books and have a thirst for more it's booster sales of other authors' erotic fiction.
For that alone you have to applaud Erica for the 50 shades trillogy for bringing kinky sex to the masses.
Oo I hope you get lift off Catlady. I think her books first sold in Australia but don't know any more than that. Good luck though, let ua know what you found out.
To be fair the "contract" is probably the most lame part of the book (it ends up being unnecessary and unsigned) and a lot of people I know skipped over that bit to get back to the story. The other worst part is that Mr Grey is supposed to be 27! All the way through the descriptions or him, his lifestyle, career, interests, taste in music and the company he keeps makes you invisage an older man (at least 10 years older anyway). I think writing him as a younger man doesn't work well and I kept forgetting how young he was all the way through it as everything else suggests he's older.
Morthius - I agree with you in some aspects, but it's not that difficult to be a highly educated "perfect" man and be young. I would regard my husband as that exact description and I am in constant awe of him after 7 years together. I constantly don't see what he sees in me, and that's probably why I like the book, maybe it's a bit relatable.
Also the part about Ana, where you say she's a virgin and has never played with herself but can have amazing orgasams. I agree, it's highly doubtful that a 20-something would never have played with herself. However the part about her orgasams depends on the males knowledge on the female body. I'd never ever had an internal orgasam apart from with my husband, and I'd had four other sexual relationships before him. I'd also never been able to have an orgasam through nipple arousal, and I actually ridiculed a friend who told me his girlfriend had done this. I just didn't think it was possible and thought in my head she must have been faking it. Until I experienced it myself. So that part is believable in my eyes, anything is possible if you're with a man who knows what he's doing and takes the time and care to give you as much as he can.
At the same time, this is a non-fictional fantasy book. It hasn't claimed to be a real life event, it's just a fantasty story, and quite a good one I think. It doesn't have to be believable, and the more erotic parts of the book aren't worded as good as they could. Especially the part where she constantly refers to her vagina as her 'sex'! But the general story is a good one in my opinion.
You say that it doesn't add up that he wants vanila all of a sudden. It does when you think about it. He said he never had vanilla sex, so he wanted her first time to be like that, he realised that he could enjoy it, and wanted it more. I don't see why that's not believable, you don't know if you don't like something if you don't try.
You also mention the room full of bondage stuff, but they don't use that much of it. That's probably because she's a beginner, but at the same time, we have boxes full of sex toys, Some of them get used frequently, some of them get used once a month. I doubt it would even be possible for us to use all of our toys in one go. That's just not believable ;)
I'm sorry but it still does not add up. I agree with mrs average that had Grey been at least 10 years older but even 15 years older it would make him a lot more believable so he is not too hard to fix but then again harder to attract the masses with a person being 42 instead of 27 I guess. But his whole lifestyle would fit very well with that.
Further, remove the whole story about her first boss and his plotting and you nock the book up a notch. It is just a bit too much in this book. Shure he can be a sleeze bag and all that but leave it at him being fired and be done with it. Why add the extra aspect to him that just now at this moment he starts plotting everything when he has not done it before.
Sure you could in 1 in a billion find a girl like ana but is it not wrong to make the fantasy picture of a virgin who has no idea what kink is to jump right into it and love it and experience total bliss, from everything this man does to her. Taken the circumstances that she has not masturbated before which could suggest that she has had no real sex drive before she found this man as she has had no need for release in all her waken time. Skip her being a virgin and so pure and make her more normal and this character is a lot less annoying. She could still enjoy all the new things but I don't buy that she has done nothing at all. Then remove the inner godess and she is a acceptable character.
last thing to remove is the lip biting. She can continue to do that as a nervous thing but why make Grey so attracted to her biting her lip that he need to have her there and then when he sees it. Perhaps there are such pathethic men out there who has no better self control and have lip biting as a fetich, but it does not seem to fit Mr. Grey as he has been made in this fictional story.
Another example of how he controls her life so much: She gets an internship and he buys the company.
The abuse seems to be accepted by the mainstream because he's attractive and rich. This is what annoys me.
Hey all points made about not being very believable or realistic are 'good points well made' (sorry)!
But all in all it is erotic "fiction" not a biography or documantary so it's it's supposed to be fantasy surely that's what attracts people to these books, escapism to a fantastical world which only happens in your dreams or fantasy but it's not real and not supposed to be.
As for Mr Grey being older i think it would totally work, it always works for James Bond, he's typically mid to late 30 and attracts the young beautiful waif like girls...
SophieM wrote:
Naughty nurse 85 wrote:
I preferred FSOG to the crossfire books. The last book in the crossfire trilogy has a crap ending.
I do agree that the last book had a terrible ending. To me, it felt as though she'd rushed it to get it released seing as it was already a few months behind. I'm just hoping the next one more than makes up for it!
This is why i haven't read the 3rd crossfire book as ive heard its crap!
fizzy wrote:
SophieM wrote:
Naughty nurse 85 wrote:
I preferred FSOG to the crossfire books. The last book in the crossfire trilogy has a crap ending.
I do agree that the last book had a terrible ending. To me, it felt as though she'd rushed it to get it released seing as it was already a few months behind. I'm just hoping the next one more than makes up for it!
This is why i haven't read the 3rd crossfire book as ive heard its crap!
I'd say it's worth a read just to keep up on what's going on in the story, especially as there's another book coming out at some point in the future. If you can, try and get it from a library and save the pennies. :)
Cat Lady wrote:
SophieM wrote:
fizzy wrote:
SophieM wrote:
Naughty nurse 85 wrote:
I preferred FSOG to the crossfire books. The last book in the crossfire trilogy has a crap ending.
I do agree that the last book had a terrible ending. To me, it felt as though she'd rushed it to get it released seing as it was already a few months behind. I'm just hoping the next one more than makes up for it!
This is why i haven't read the 3rd crossfire book as ive heard its crap!
I'd say it's worth a read just to keep up on what's going on in the story, especially as there's another book coming out at some point in the future. If you can, try and get it from a library and save the pennies. :)
Yeah but then you have the possible embarrassment of the librarian knowing your taste in literature. Unless they do computer checkout in public libraries these days? I haven't been to a non academic library in 3 years or more so I don't know if it's changed!
I'm quite lucky that we swap ertoic fiction books with each other at work i may have to read the 3rd book if its worth it sophie. Cat lady have you tried ebay?
fizzy wrote:
Cat Lady wrote:
SophieM wrote:
fizzy wrote:
SophieM wrote:
Naughty nurse 85 wrote:
I preferred FSOG to the crossfire books. The last book in the crossfire trilogy has a crap ending.
I do agree that the last book had a terrible ending. To me, it felt as though she'd rushed it to get it released seing as it was already a few months behind. I'm just hoping the next one more than makes up for it!
This is why i haven't read the 3rd crossfire book as ive heard its crap!
I'd say it's worth a read just to keep up on what's going on in the story, especially as there's another book coming out at some point in the future. If you can, try and get it from a library and save the pennies. :)
Yeah but then you have the possible embarrassment of the librarian knowing your taste in literature. Unless they do computer checkout in public libraries these days? I haven't been to a non academic library in 3 years or more so I don't know if it's changed!
I'm quite lucky that we swap ertoic fiction books with each other at work i may have to read the 3rd book if its worth it sophie. Cat lady have you tried ebay?
I'd definitely give it a read, even just to keep up with what's happening. :)
I always get books from the library, purely because I can't afford to buy them myself. Although if I read a book that I really enjoy then I'll make sure I have the money to buy it when I decide I want another read. In the different local librarie's I go to, none of the librarians even bat an eyelid when I check-out and return boks. I was a little embarassed at first but I've done it so many times that I couldn't really care less if they were judging me. Honestly, if the they went through my loan history they'd probably have a heart attack!
SophieM and Cat lady
buying books can be expensive since iv'e got a kindle app i read a much wider viarety of books and have found some great books i have really enjoyed reading the Xcite books and some of the books are as little as 33p!