I've decided to review all three books at once time since the journey of Ana and Christian should be taken as one complete volume--just reading book one, Fifty Shades of Grey isn't enough. Outside of participating in conversations about the ethics of turning fan-fiction into real fiction, I came to this trilogy with little preconceived notions. I did, however, know that the trilogy has been categorized as badly written, an inaccurate portrayal of BDSM, etc etc, so as I zoomed through the books, I kept watch for the terrible prose, the judgement of the BDSM lifestyle, the allegedly infamous tampon scene, and any other gripe and snark that has circulated throughout the blogosphere since it first moved outside of the Twilight fandom circles.

What I got was far from any of this, and I don't hesitate when I call these books refreshing and exciting.

There were brief moments where the Twilight roots were apparent (namely, how it followed the general pattern of those books, and the presence of certain characters [since fan-fiction is another way of seeing your favorite characters again, they have a place in the story. In this fanfic-turned-novel, the characters were a bit intrusive]) and jerked me out of the story, but for the most part, I was caught up in the story of Ana's growth from relatively inexperienced college grad to sexual, emotional, and mental maturity. This was also Christian's story, and even though we didn't get into his head at all, he sprang to life as fully formed as Ana.

What made me fall in love with the trilogy was that when you strip away the sex and kink, it was about two people meeting halfway, two people actually communicating, two people who started off seemingly at opposite ends of the spectrum but realizing they compliment one another. On the surface this does appear to be some Harlequin Presents-esque fantasy, with a wealthy and powerful Alpha hero and a quivering, inexperienced ingenue, but James subverts this trope in one stroke, or rather one tumble, as Christian is intrigued by Ana's apparent perfect demeanor as his next submissive simply because she falls into his office at his feet and is so stunned by and attracted to him, she's clumsy and shy. He gets shocked out of his assumption many times over the course of book one, which was actually funny to read. His wealth is also more than a means for him to sweep Ana off her feet or allow James to indulge in brand name dropping--wealth is truly power and control in Christian Grey's world, and how he uses it, and how Ana reacts to it, was very realistic.

Also, the book is heavy on dialogue, which is so different from most romance novels, and both Christian and Ana place heavy emphasis on communication with one another, whether it be phone calls, texts, or emails. They both have issues--Christian more so than Ana--but Christian is practically an open book to Ana and desires for her to be as open, trusting, and honest with him as well. A major, major breath of fresh air when many romances use the H/H's lack of communication to generate conflict and plot (the funny and sexy email/text conversations were also a clever device that cut out the lust-thinking that usually bores the pants off me).

It was also great to see Ana not only have female friends and healthy relationships with most of the women she came across, but that she was actually good at her job and had realistic ambition for herself. Of course Christian dominated her time and mind, but she does have her own life outside of him.

Another thing I loved was the humor. This story could be dark and twisted, but it was also very funny, and Ana's wry musings about Christian made me laugh out loud. But the main thing--which so much of the media has focused on--is the sexual content. It's explosive, sexy, edgy, and titillating, and it actually serves the plot and the characters. Christian and Ana are hot for one another basically all the time, but she never allows it to cloud her judgement or let him off the hook when he wants to use sex to dominate or control or distract her from their relationship troubles.

There's a scene in book three, I think, that is just mind-blowingly powerful to me, and I've read it two or three times because how it affected Ana and Christian. I was also very pleased that Christian was adamant that Ana not be ashamed of her body or her desires, and it was empowering to watch as she grew into own her sexuality and shed the shame society does place on women and their bodies. I also didn't find any place where it was said screwed-up people turn to BDSM--this was one man and one story, not an alleged representative of all those into BDSM.

And I can't forget that Christian actually has a therapist (and he an Ana actually visit Dr Flynn together)! Ana's innocence is not some cure-all for Alpha torturedness, lol. In fact, it's her desire to have a real, healthy relationship with Christian that helps him implement all of the things his therapist had been discussing with him through his years of sessions.

Could the plot have been tighter? Or less repetitive? Yes. But I thought the very unconventional narrative (which, incidentally, was very, very character-driven) was its strength, and I was very happy to spend hundreds of pages with Ana and Christian.