GREY (Fifty Shades #4) by E.L. James-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 18, 2015

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.

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REVIEW: There is quite a bit of hoopla surrounding the release of GREY-Christian Grey’s point of view-from E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey Series and as in my review of the original series, I am not going to focus on the style of writing (which hasn’t changed); or the similarities to Stefanie Meyers’s –never released-Midnight Sun (Edward Cullen’s POV) because the Fifty Shades Series is a work of fan fiction based on the young adult Twilight Series by Meyers. GREY is what it is –Christian’s version of the events, his emotions and thoughts, as it pertains to his growing relationship with, and need for Anastasia Steele.

We all know the backstory behind Christian’s need for Dominance, and I was hoping for a little more insight from the now adult Mr. Grey. We get a front row seat into some of Christian’s nightmares and what occurred in his first few years of life but I found there was something lacking in the retelling of the events- perhaps it is the mind of a four year old that is unable to comprehend the extent of what had happened, and in this, the details are limited and inadequate.

What we do get is a little more information about the history between Leila and Christian but sadly very few details regarding his earlier years with Elena (aka Mrs. Robinson). Grey’s history with Elena would have made the storyline a little more exciting or perhaps a little more revealing as to the how and why. I say this because we are inside Christian’s head for most of the storyline: we are privy to his thoughts, need, ideas and emotions, yet when he reflects upon the past, the details are limited to what the reader is exposed.

The storyline follows the Fifty Shades of Grey outline but ends at the point in Fifty Shades Darker (Book 2) where Christian has offered Ana a ride to Jose’s photography exhibit. Christian has a problem with any man paying attention to Ana, and in this, we see to what extent his jealousy and insecurity control a good portion of his need to dominate, but again, the build up of his current lifestyle barely scratches the surface of the man and his need.

In the end, if you read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, I don’t know if you really need to read GREY to understand Christian’s mindset. The original trilogy was quite revealing about Christian’s ‘fifty shades of f*ckedupness’ and GREY, in my opinion, adds nothing new or exciting to the original plot.

I enjoyed the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy-it is a story about addressing the truth, acknowledging responsibility, the loss of power and control, and the fight to gain it all back. This story is also about acceptance, finding love, losing and taking steps towards recovery (as per my original review) BUT there are no new revelations in GREY that would suggest the reader was missing something the first time around. I was hoping for more details into Christian Grey’s earlier life.

Reviewed by Sandy