I figured if I was going to read the book, I might as well go all in....

1700 pages is a lot to read about a set of characters. And there were some good ideas. 50 Shades is essentially a Beauty and the Beast story, in which our Beast has a fondness for BDSM. As you might expect, the heroine spends most of the saga alternating between being deeply fascinated by the Beast, and deeply fascinated by him. In this regard, the story is the same as Twilight, or many other romantic novels.

Then there's the sex. Yes, it's explicit, what would you expect from an erotic novel? Throughout the 3 novels, there are scenes of "vanilla" and scenes in the playroom. If you find sex scenes offensive, don't read the books. It's that simple.

My biggest argument with the books is the lack of plot. I read fast - this trilogy was a weekend for me - so when there are obvious plot holes, they bother me more than they might someone who is reading a chapter a night. So many good plot opportunities are wasted in this series. Elena is a threat, or maybe she saved 50, or maybe she's a mustache twirling villain. Jack appears out of nowhere, a his backstory is shoehorned into book 3. The parents are dragged in long enough to offer advice and tell Ana she's amazing, but they don't contribute anything more.. Kate, Ana's best friend and 4-year roommate, freaks over learning about Ana's relationship, but apparently it's all patched up off stage? The characters are basically props to move around when the author needs to engineer another fight, or some drama to get our leads back into bed.

So 2 stars for this series. I know 50 Shades of gray is getting a lot of exposure. If it helps people find a new genre of books, or explore some new ideas, i think that's great. But if you are looking for a book that entertains, titillates, and has a decent plot, I'd advise you to look elsewhere.