From: Rhonda W.
Subject: Fifty Shades of Grey
Date: September 26, 2011
To: E.L. James


Mrs. James
I have finished your novel, and while I’m aware that it was derived from fan fiction, I was a bit apprehensive about reading. It seems that all the shining reviews made me very curious, so I had to go with my gut and take the plunge. While I have read the books that this series was spawn from and loved them very much at the time, I have since moved on, as hand holding and kissing were just not enough… I wanted more. There were scenes, and lines from your book that made me think of that series, maybe it was because I knew ahead of time.

I don’t read much erotica because frankly, the story lines tend to be cheesy, and characters jump in the sack by page 2. Mrs. James, I really enjoyed this book, from the story, to the erotica. Which is possibly one of the best erotica books I have ever read. I heard Christian’s voice from the moment he put his hand in Ana’s and helped her to her feet after falling into his office. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved him. Throughout the book I kept thinking, “where do I sign?” ;-) I found that I liked Ana very much, I liked how she challenged Christian, and I enjoyed her inner dialog, her inner goddess had me cracking up. I liked how Christian tried to ease her into his world of BDSM, the little things that led up to the first encounter in the playroom. Christian was delicious, and I savored him thoroughly!

I’m glad I never read the fan fiction version of this story, because quite frankly, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did Christian and Anastasia. Am I curious about it? Absolutely NOT! I love Fifty Shades of Grey just the way it is. I can't remember the last time I smiled this much while reading a book. Mrs. James, you have completely captivated me with this book, and I can’t wait to start the next one.

Rhonda W.
ABR, Ten fingers twitching