If you haven't heard of Fifty Shades of Grey it means that you've been off-planet for the last six months or so. Never having read FSoG I had no problem whatsoever getting the jokes in this parody. I know enough about the plot and characters and its ah, 'famous' scenes from reviews and chats to get this spoof. And Fifty Shames of Earl Grey is hilarious.

From the cover depicting Earl Grey with a cup of earl grey (note the gesture of the hand holding the cup) to the author's aka Fanny Merkin (view spoiler)[Fanny (hide spoiler)] More...

I'm guessing most folks know the basics of The Fifty Shades of Grey books, originally written as fan-fiction of the Twilight series: mousy Bella and control-freak Edward got a new setting and a hot sex life. Fifty Shades was eventually picked up by money-grubbing publishers, publishers who supposedly edited it, and history was made, although after reading it for myself, I'm reminded of The Emperor's New Clothes. Does everyone love these badly written books because the hype says they're supposed More...

Oh, dwarling..*


I get up and look in the mirror. My hair ...- oh, my hair! It's... really naughty hair. It insists on going in all directions while I sleep. So, I say a mantra every night: "Must flatten hair...must..."

..but it never works. I say it anyway. Who knows, one morning I might wake up with flat hair. This is a very important thing in my life. To wake up with neat, flat hair.

I know today is going to be a very important day for me. It's the day I'm going to meet him.
I just don't know it y More...

I won't count the embarrassing number of times I gabbled that Fifty Shames of Earl Grey was OMGhilarious, I'll just explain why Andrew Shaffer's- sorry, Fanny Merkin's struck five stars of comedic gold with his Fifty Shades of Grey parody.

Culturally relevant, cheeky, and absurd, Shames pokes fun at romance tropes, Anna and Christian, and EL James- a treat for romance readers who haven't seen a pop publication for them since Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels. Shames's hum More...

i don't know if it is just because i read A Coupla Shades of Taupe: A Parody first and may have reached my supersaturation point with fifty shades of gray parodies, but this one was not as amusing to me as the other.

there is something almost too easy about it, the way it is really easy to write bad theatre d'absurd, you know. for example:

an attractive blonde behind the receptionist's desk smiles at me as i walk in. i assume she's the receptionist, because i can't think of any reason she would b More...

Kudos to Fanny Merkin aka Andrew Shaffer! I found myself laughing on every page.

I’ll be honest I usually shy away from parodies for the simple reason that good parodies are hard to come by. But this...Fifty Shames of Earl Grey manages to address all that I found utterly ridiculous in FSoG. It even steps it up a notch and mocks Twilight and the general legality of fan fiction. There’s even mention of 16 & pregnant, Snookie from Jersey Shore and Dr Drew. I swear this book should come with a w More...

Have you ever seen the preview for a movie which made you so excited to see it, only to find out when you watched the actual movie that the best parts were already shown in the preview? This is how I felt about Fifty Shames of Earl Grey. The 3 chapter sneak peak was extremely funny. Unfortunately, the humor started to wane the further I read. I have no clue how this concept will work as a trilogy.

Even though I enjoyed parts of the book, it's apparent that most early readers found Shames somewha More...

This was a HILARIOUS parody of Fifty Shades of Grey, it nailed so much of the absurdity of that story!

In Fifty Shames of Earl Grey, Anna Steele is an airhead virgin college student who meets the bazillionaire stalker Earl Grey, and soon gets pulled into his sick and twisted world of BDSM - erotic role playing for Bards, Dragons, Sorcery and Magick.

This story pokes so much fun at all the whacked out parts of Fifty, including Ana's lip biting problem (now a nose picking problem that turns him on More...

This review was posted to My Secret Romance.


My inner guidette is screaming on the inside that I should get on my hands and knees and kiss the ground this dreamy man walks on for this laugh out loud book! Oh, Fanny!

But then I put things into perspective and think- I don’t even know what kind of shoes he wears.

For those of you who come across this book and don't know what it is, it's a spoof of Fifty Shades of Grey and a little of Twilight. It's also A MUST READ….if you have a sense of humor!

Fift More...

4.5 Stars!

Recommendation : This book is for anyone who enjoys laughing. If you have read or heard about ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ you will want to read this parody no matter if you loved or hated it.

Like Earl Grey, I must confess one of my many shames. I have had this ARC copy since June, I believe. I started reading it then and loved it. However, I think I put it down for an ARC that I had been waiting for. It wasn’t Earl’s fault, just that well… his many shames caught up with my many shames and More...

One word: Hilarious

If you've read 50 Fifty Shades of Grey you will enjoy this thoroughly and if you haven't, good for you. Don't ever do that mistake.
But now I think finally all my sufferings that I went through have paid off, this one was an absolute gem. There was never a dull moment in this book and for a parody, it was fairly well written.

I really loved it when Twilight was also roped in while making a spoof, being an avid hater of both Stephenie Meyer and E.L. James, this book was a l More...

The review can also be found on my blog.

This satiric, snarky, sarcastic, over the top story based on the mega-bestselling Fifty Shades of Twilight Grey nails all the key points of absurdity of the book it parodies, as well as the Twilight saga from which it came. And then some.

The cover alone is hilarious, especially the hand holding the cup with the pointer, middle and pinkie finger extended. If you don't know what that hand gesture means, please look it up under "shocker" on Urbandictionary.c More...

Rating: B ... Heat: Warm (although, really, none if it is actually sexy…)

In order to fully enjoy and appreciate this book, I think it's neccessary to at least be somewhat familiar with the book it's parodying. If, like me, you couldn't get past the first few chapters of said book - go ahead and read this review. It contains everything you'll need to know.

For instance, the original's (I’m using that term loosely…) main character refers to the voice inside her head as her "inner goddess" - eye rol More...

*Copy received via Netgalley on July 3rd 2012*

This and other reviews can be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

I read the first couple of chapters when they were on Shaffer's blog, and I found the writing to be hilarious!

This whole book is fan-fricking-tastic. The snark goes from win to win, and I couldn't read more than a few sentences at a time without laughing (sometimes, it was every single sentence).

More...

FIFTY SHAMES OF EARL GREY –a parody by Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer)

***SPOILER ALERT--BIG TIME***

FIFTY SHAMES OF EARL GREY is a parody based on the Fifty Shades trilogy by E L James. Following a similar storyline to the original novel, we are entertained with the knowledge that when all is said and done, we can laugh at ourselves and, of course, others. Fanny Merkin (aka Andrew Shaffer) writes with plenty of humor, but unless you have read the Fifty Shades Trilogy, some of the humor will be More...

UPDATE : The publisher just accept my request via netgalley! Oh,yeah!!

Oh, LOLOLOLOL!!!
Maybe I'll read this first, then read Fifty Shades of Grey.
Just to entertain myself #smirk

I received a copy of this from NetGalley for an honest review.

So by now we all know that Fifty Shades of Grey was written as a Twilight fanfic and then re-arranged to sell to the masses as a different story. I think that Shaffer does a great job of blending the ridiculousness of the actual writing and story with the ridiculousness of how the story came to be. He single-handedly made fun of the horrible writing and the author herself.

I have not read Fifty Shades of Grey and I never will. So wit More...

I laughed, I cried, and I peed my pants a little. I've read only the original "Twilight" book -- none of its sequels nor a word of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy -- but Andrew Shaffer's parody had me in hysterics in public places. It reads like a "Naked Gun" movie.

it gets 5* because I literally LOL with the whole thing!
Twilight, Master of the Universe and 50 Shades mash up it totally had me in tears.
The Twilight references were hilarious.
And the whole 50 SHAMES, the final list OMG.
I'm not sure I can read it as a real book, I just enjoyed the geniality of the author to take the most ridiculous perks from 50 Shades and turn them into comedy.
I will add a few quotes later one because they totally deserve to be mention, but if you get the chance to read it...e More...

This book should come with a warning for asthmatics, those with heart trouble, or those prone to public fits of hysteria. Andrew Shaffer lampoons the juggernaut phenomenon of Fifty Shades of Grey with wit that quickly skyrockets to a level of absurdity that might actually land you in the hospital with a laughter-induced hernia. Filthy, profane and hilarious, Fifty Shames won't inspire shame in its readers... just a lot of guffawing and face-palming.

I’m still laughing… Ms. Merkin aka Andrew Shaffer has nailed it! Her parody of that other book is hilarious! Fifty Shames of Grey captures the essence of the two main characters very well. Edward Christian Earl Grey is rich, powerful, and a Dungeon Master! Yup – he’s a master of live action role playing. His type of BSDM involves bards, dragons, sorcery, and magick. Complete with the prosthetic ears!

Bella Ana Anna Steal is her usual klutzy, clueless self. She even has an Inner Guidette doing ba More...

I have never read 50 Shades. I've heard a lot about it and realized quite quickly through some snippets that this was not a book for me. That said, I am sort of obsessed with the phenomenon of FSoG and have read a few reviews, followed a lot of romance community's opinion and listened to one hilarious podcast. Knowing how much I enjoyed the tongue in cheek podcast, I knew 50 Shames of Earl Grey was right up my alley. It did not disappoint.

There were quite a few instances of me being afraid of d More...

Who doesn't love hot Earl Grey? It makes everything else seem inferior.

Excuse me for a moment.

There, I put the kettle on. What did you think I was doing?

I truly needed a laugh, and this book (which I brought because of Misfit's review and the author's comment on a dicussion) provided it. In order to enjoy it, you don't need to have read Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey, just have a passing knowledge of both as well as the urban fantasy romantic trend that gave birth to them. The book isn't mean More...

The whole point of a parody is that it should be funnier than the book it is parodying! While Andrew Shaffer does have some good stuff in this book, it is mostly (well, all) at the beginning: Anna's bemusement at Seattle having elevators and buildings made of steel and glass because Portland is a settlement of mud and grass huts--that is funny. But as Fifty Shames of Earl Grey continues, it is more ridiculous and less funny. That's disappointing. I can sympathize with him a bit because the origi More...

While I may request a fair amount of titles from NetGalley, there are few review copies for which I keep refreshing my email, hoping for approval. Andrew Shaffer/Fanny Merkin's Fifty Shames of Earl Grey was one of those titles. I'd read the three sample chapters Shaffer had posted earlier on his blog as "Fifty-One Shames" and I was eager to see if the wit he'd demonstrated in those early chapters could be sustained over the entirely of a book.

Ostensibly, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey is a parody More...

It all starts with a story of a lonely girl moving to a cold rainy town. She’s supposed to be with her dad, whom she doesn’t really like. She’s a shy girl, doesn’t have any friends or any boobs. Her new truck looks like a drunken lobster, and her school seems like a prison full of weird country kids. It all seems to lead her towards suicide until one day when she sees the most perfect being in the universe. He is the Master of the Universe. Lots of teenage angst filled pages later they kiss and More...

OOOOH EARL GREY what do i do with you?! this is seriously the funniest parody book i've ever read. It's original and LOL funny. I found this amazing because im a fan of 50 shades trilogy and im surprised that im in love with earl grey too maybe because of those long sexy talented fingers HAHA i'll never look at tambourine and elf the same way ever again. This is the only book that combined (view spoiler)[ walmart, tom cruise, tambourine, dinosaurs, elf, narcissism, and OHHH OFCOURSE unconditional love (hide spoiler)] into one More...

Superbly written, terribly funny, surprisingly sexy.
It doesn't matter if you love Fifty Shades of Grey or if you hated Fifty Shades of Grey, this is a must read!


You've heard about "the" semi-erotic novel "Fifty Shades Of Grey”, you may have read it, or you may have just read the first chapter and laughed about it. Fifty Shames of Earl Grey takes all that is amusing from that book, and turns it into a wonderfully, well written, and very clever parody that will have you in stitches.

I confess, I co More...

Review also posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

INTERVIEW OF EARL AND AUTHOR ANDREW SHAFFER: Under The Covers Book Blog

This is my first read from Fanny Merkin AKA Andrew Shaffer and my first parody book. I must say it was definitely entertaining and a great fun book to read.

Mr. Shaffer had written a wonderful parody of Fifty Shades series, if you did not already know. It covered most memorable points of the original story. From the airhead heroine and her “inner guidette”, the bazillionaire h More...

4 stars

Hero is Earl Grey. Heroine is Anna Steal. And Earl has listed his 50 Shames at the end of the book.

Which, oh my God, so hilarious. It's parody, of course it made me laughs. Out loud.

Anna nose-picking. Gross but it makes Earl turns on - one of the shames but really, do Edward Cullen, vampire-fang sort need to be included here? Poor newborn Chris Grey. Hence this book has lost a star in my rating.

Anyway I liked it and I found that this book will have its sequel. So great! I can't wait.

I li More...