***Read my interview with E.L. James here at RachaelWade.com.***

Unconditional love and forgiveness.

At the heart, this is what the Fifty Shades trilogy is all about, only readers don’t see this at the onset. Instead, most of them hear about all of the steamy sex and BDSM scenes. The appeal of this series—which can be compared to the addictiveness of the Twilight series—is certainly the scorching hot lovemaking. There’s no doubt about that. This is romance at its finest, with a healthy side of kink. The steam is a perfect blend of erotic and romantic, Ana and Christian’s chemistry so palpable and sexy that you cannot stop turning the pages, no matter how hard you try to set the book down.

But the underlying theme and how it is executed in this series, and in this final installment in particular, is what mesmerizes readers from page one. It’s what makes those sexy scenes so effective, spellbinding, and utterly intoxicating. That theme is unconditional love, something Ana has for Christian and continually demonstrates to him no matter how unsure she is of herself or the situation. Through demonstrating her faith in him, she eventually shows him how to forgive and love himself again, and how to love others again, too. She teaches him that he is not “a husk of a man” as he believes himself to be, but is instead worthy of real love because of who he is on the inside. And James spins this theme so well, so profoundly, and so vividly, that you have no choice but to be completely emotionally attached to and invested in the characters.

In my opinion, this is her gift. She knows how to connect readers with her characters, how to acquaint them with Ana and Christian so intimately that readers develop a sort of dedicated kinship with them. When Ana and Christian make love—kinkily or otherwise—you feel the same earth-shattering intensity they feel. When Ana cries, you cry with her. When Christian aches, you feel it to your core. When Ana grieves for her “lost little boy,” you empathize with her compassion and want to rescue them both from their plights. The steam is steamier, the love is lovelier, the heartache more potent, all because your experience with the characters is so emotionally charged. To top it off, the humor and wit is off-the-charts funny. Be prepared to laugh to the point of tears.

Freed in Comparison

Without sharing any spoilers, I will just say that this final installment in the series shows all of the above in a really satisfying, bittersweet way. Compared to the first two installments, Freed is just as captivating, but it’s overall lighter and less taxing. There is still enough to keep you on the edge of your seat, but Ana and Christian’s relationship is much more carefree. Ana still has a smart mouth, but she’s even feistier, more mature, and much more comfortable with her role in the relationship. She really is the strong one. Like the first two books in the series, Freed shows the couple constantly trying to figure out how to compromise for one another. It’s as endearing and heartwarming as ever.

Many people have mentioned being unhappy about how much Christian has changed, but I feel the exact opposite—he’s still his bossy, Fifty self, only a million times more swoon worthy. His transformation comes full circle in this installment. To me, that transformation is what made the series so beautiful and the third book so satisfying, especially after spending the journey with Ana and seeing all she went through to help him get to that point. The “Fifty’s First Christmas” bonus material at the end just made me fall in love even more with Christian and all of his fifty shades.

Final Thoughts

It is so rare to come across a romance series that moves you the way this one does. It will be on my "favorite" shelf for years to come, and I cannot suggest it highly enough if you are a diehard romance fan who loves emotional, raw, character-driven storytelling. This trilogy has fifty fun shades of kink, but I encourage you to look under the surface and discover and appreciate the beauty in the trenches as well. When you get a glimpse of the real essence of this story, the fantastic sex scenes are just icing on the cake in the grand scheme of things.