Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian

Truth be told, I didn't know what to expect from GREY. Books rewritten from another character's POV are very hit-or-miss. I can think of some I've loved and some I could have done without. Well, GREY was definitely a hit for me! I loved getting Christian's POV from the first FSOG book. I liked the original book, and was a fan of the storyline, but with GREY I loved it even more. Here are a few specifics on why I loved this book: 1) The writing has improved from the original FSOG. I liked that I could see the author's growth as a writer. I thought it was more cleanly written without as much repetition of words or phrases. I found this particularly important, as it wasn't entirely new information (although there is still plenty of new stuff to enjoy), and yet I was still hooked on it. 2) GREY is exactly what it is advertised to be: "Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian." It says it right there on the book. But while I expected to relive the scenes between Ana and Christian, what I really loved was seeing his perspective, and how heavily his past affects his present. We got clues and insights in the previous trilogy, but this was so much more. I loved reliving this story and falling in love with Christian and Ana all over again. 3) I felt Christian's POV in GREY, upon reflection to my past reads of FSOG, matched his character well. I truly felt like I was getting to know him, and seeing his perspective was very eye-opening. On the outside he looked so in-control and put-together through Ana's eyes in FSOG. But through Christian's view and thoughts we see how lonely and lost and misguided he is, and why Ana is such a welcome breath of fresh air to him. If I didn't understand his attraction to her from the trilogy, I get it now. 4) There was no mention of Ana's "inner goddess." Now, I wasn't totally bothered by Ana's references to her inner goddess in FSOG, but it did get repetitive. Not here. Christian's POV was both mature and childlike. We see him as the successful man he is, as well as the lost, abused, traumatized child he has not recovered from. We also see Ana from a new perspective, giving us a fresh take on her as well. 5) The ending. Those familiar with FSOG (either the book or the movie), recall that it ended with a cliffhanger. Well, James must have been inspired, because while GREY still ends in a similar place as FSOG, it doesn't quite end in the same place. It ends in a place of hope, as opposed to heartbreak. And I love that she did that. I'm holding out hope that she will write the other two books from Christian's POV. But if she doesn't, at least she left us with this gift. Now you may have noticed a wide range of love and hate out there for this book. There are many reasons for this, as reviews and reading experience are subjective. All I can say is, if you liked FSOG and want to read this, go for it! I'm so glad I did and avoided most of the negativity ahead of time, and truly had a great reading experience. If you didn't like FSOG, but attribute that to Ana's perspective, maybe give this a shot and see how it goes. If you didn't like FSOG because of the BDSM elements, this has the same stuff, so I doubt you're going to like it any better. If you hated FSOG and its storyline, again this is the same storyline. Now if you've never read FSOG before, but have been curious, you might want to give one a shot. I feel like it can be read as a standalone. And as I listed above, I feel like it was written better and I loved Christian's POV. My final thoughts: I loved GREY and am so glad EL James wrote Christian's POV. I was addicted to Christian and Ana's story all over again, falling in love with their unconventional romance, and greedy getting more insight about Christian. I really hope she writes his POV from the other books (which have some of my favorite scenes), because I will snatch them up immediately.

This is the book that fans have been hoping and waiting for!!! It's been several years since Fifty Shades of Grey was first released by E.L. James, but the love for this series is still going strong. This year we were treated to the first movie in the series, only to be told that we would have to wait another 2 years for the second installment. Luckily, we got this surprise release to tide us over until then. There have been a lot of questions about this book...what will it be like? Will it just be a repeat of Book 1? Will we really learn anything new about Christian? Should I spend my money on this? The answer to that last question is YES!!!! Do it! One-Click this NOW!!! I read the Fifty Shades Trilogy about 2 years ago, long after it was released. I kept hearing about this book, but I never knew all that much about it other than it was supposedly really erotic. I finally gave in and downloaded a sample on my Kindle to see what all the fuss was about. I was HOOKED!!! I spent the next few days devouring the Fifty Trilogy, going so far as to read the whole thing 3 times in a row! I had never read anything like this before, nor had I really heard much about this type of lifestyle. While the sexy times were incredibly erotic, it was actually the love story that got me hooked. I cannot read an erotic book if there is no romance. What is the point in that? I need more than just explicit sex scenes to keep me interested. This book series had that in spades. I was most fascinated by the complex world and viewpoints of Christian Grey. Why was he like this? What made him tick? What was it about Anastasia that captivated him so? Would he ever be able to be touched? Could they ever truly make this kind of relationship work? I thought that the series did an excellent job of answering these questions, but I was definitely curious to know what Christian's thoughts were during so many of these scenes. I finally have some of the answers I was so desperately seeking, and I am absolutely THRILLED by them. To answer the question of whether this book is just a repeat of Fifty Shades of Grey, and whether or not it is all repetitive...to some degree, yes. That is to be expected of any book where the author has released an alternative POV strictly based on one character. The Fifty Shades Trilogy was all based on Anastasia's POV, so now you will see those same events and more through Christian's eyes. IT IS NOT ALL EXACTLY THE SAME! Don't get that misconception in your head. There is a lot of new information provided in this book, especially during and after the break up at the end of this book. I was blown away by that information. As I mentioned, this book is set up to reveal Christian's POV from the majority of the interactions he had with Anastasia. Each chapter reflects a certain day from the original book, but it also has a behind the scenes look into Christian's world at work, his family life, his personal life (away from Anastasia), insight and memories from his previous D/s experiences with Elena Lincoln and some of his subs, as well as his horrific childhood. In preparation for this release, I re-read Fifty Shades of Grey to re-familiarize myself with the book and the characters. I hadn't had a chance to re-read it before or after watching the movie, and I wanted to make sure I remembered what happened exactly as it did. While it made the scenes a little more repetitive for me to do this, it also was really eye-opening since I got to experience everything from first Anastasia and then Christians minds. I can say that I have never highlighted so many passages and quotes in any book before. I was so thrilled to finally have answers to so many burning questions, and got even more than I could have hoped for. Anyone who read through the whole Trilogy knows that the author included a small snippet of the book through Christian's POV at the end, so you'll recall some of those scenes in this story. It will also give you a good idea of how Christian's words were written. This book made me laugh so much. I loved reading Christian's thoughts about the ever nosy Kate, and how much she truly did butt into their relationship. You really have no idea reading Fifty why there is so much animosity on his part, but you finally have your answers. Reading Christian's thoughts about that photographer, Jose, was hilarious. His stalking really did know no bounds. You do learn a bit more about Jose in this book. Getting the back story on his relationship with his siblings and adopted parents was a real treat also. There is actually quite a few memories of him and Elliott from when they were younger. I loved seeing his interaction with Mia when he picked her up from the airport, and Grace when she does what mom's do best-love their kids and just want them to be happy. Since this book is based so much on how his past shaped his present, it wouldn't be right if there wasn't more about his back story. This book had a lot of memories and nightmares from his past that truly gave you a look into his psyche. It helped you to understand how his relationship with Elena developed, and how dark that was. Why he truly felt that she helped him, though most of us will always see her as the evil Mrs. Robinson. There are a surprising number of past memories with him and his former sub Leila, which does an excellent job of letting the reader know what his past sub relationships were like and why he felt such a need to take care of her when she reappears. It also sets up a more ominous tone to her presence at the end of this book and into Fifty Shades Darker. While some of the snippets between him and Elena, as well as him and Leila, were hard to read they were really beneficial. The new information that was revealed in this book wasn't merely a way to just make more money as some may see it, but to really help the reader understand where he was coming from and the challenges he faced. Christian seemed so in charge all the time throughout the Fifty Shades Trilogy, but this book showed you a more personal and humane side to him. It showed his vulnerabilities, how he truly felt he was unworthy of love, why he felt it best to stay away from Anastasia (and let her go at the end), what control really did for him, and his struggles to understand this woman that he actually felt something for. For the first time in his life, Christian was experiencing new emotions. Things he didn't know how to deal with, so he pushed them aside in favor of what he could handle-control, dominance and power. There may be some that think he is less "Alpha" in their eyes after reading this book, but I only saw him as stronger for it. I fell more in love with Christian in this book, and I didn't think it was possible to love him more than I already did. This whole book and series is not really about BDSM, it is about love, transformation and the ability to heal and move forward. It is about the human struggle to overcome and understand who we are, what we want and need, and to find acceptance and love from others. Someone who will truly understand all that we are, even the darkest parts of ourselves-the parts that we are ashamed or scared of. Christian's whole life had been surrounded and enshrouded by darkness, but Anastasia brought light into his life. For the first time in his life he felt HOPE. That is very evident throughout this book. The only thing left to say is that E.L. James has done it again...she has created another masterpiece, and has left me wanting and needing MORE. I hated for this book to end. I wanted to keep reading and follow Christian on his entire journey with Ana. I can only hope that she will grace us with the rest of this series so we can further explore and experience Christian in all his f*cked up glory. The last 10% of this book was the most revealing yet, and I am desperate for MORE! Thank you E.L. James for giving us the gift of Christian! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!

I started reading the original trilogy, not because it is the type of book that I normally read, but because a friend of mine that I had never seen pick up a book read all three and couldn't stop bragging about them. I have a degree in English with an emphasis in journalism. In college, I ended up being a copy editor all four years, so I get in the habit of correcting things as I go along when reading some books...ones that are just not that well written, anyway. There were some very irritating things in the original trilogy, such as Ana's physical mannerisms and some of the language she used. Not normally something I would comment on, but please? She supposedly graduated with straight A's and is an editor herself. You wouldn't expect a person with that level of education and that focus in her profession to talk and act the way that she does. She claims to not be materialistic, yet there are a great many prices attached to the things that Christian buys her. So, I was not confident that this book would be much of an improvement. I was pleasantly surprised, though. Seeing things from his side was a pleasant relief. Sure, the events were the same, but knowing more about just how Christian became the person that he is was interesting. The sex scenes were cut way down on (who saw that one coming) but I will have nightmares about Elena and her strap-on. Ouch. The crazy cat ladies of the world will probably not like this one nearly as much or in the same way as the first trilogy. Not nearly as many of those D batteries will be needed. The repeat of the emails felt like a cheat. I did miss Ana's subconscious and inner goddess's appearances. They helped make the first books better than the thousands of similar books on the marketplace. Too bad Christian didn't have something similar. The dreams/nightmares that give insight into his childhood are close, but not quite enough. Still, it is worth a read. I am assuming from the abrupt ending that this is the first installment of a second trilogy. It overlaps a couple of chapters into Fifty Shades Darker, so I am sure it is just a matter of time before part two is announced. Worth the purchase, folks, EL James has definitely improved her writing skills (even though she is still not up to Austen's or Hardy's standards yet)

Grey by E.L. James is the fourth book in the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and told from Christian's point of view, which covers Book One, Fifty Shades of Grey. I am glad I read it, as it does cover the same book, but hearing it from Christian's point of view enables the reader to see what he is thinking and maybe will explain things a little differently than when read from Ana's point of view, and may give a new perspective of this story to all of us who have read this series. Christian Grey, is a 27 year old billionaire, and he is a total control freak, exercising control completely from his boardroom at Grey Enterprises to his playroom at his home. Christian wants everything to run a certain way and he has had several encounters with submissive women that usually only last 90 days or so. In reality Christian wants to control everything as he had a horrible introduction to life, so the only way he feels better is by calling all the shots no matter what! Along comes Anastasia Steele, tripping and falling to the floor in his office, there to interview him for the school newspaper, something that would never happen in Ana's life in normal circumstances, but her roommate and best friend got sick so she is doing the interview as a favor for her friend Katherine. Christian is shocked by what he thinks is a mousy haired, badly dressed young woman until he sees her eyes and realizes that beneath all the exterior, and the shabby clothes, Ana is beautiful! He quickly recognizes she is very demure and shy, and that is something he has never dealt with before, except in role playing with sumissives he hires, and they are nothing compared to her. So he sets about to start a campaign to find out all about her and then decide if he stands a chance with her! To be quite honest he is fascinated by her and he feels he has to have her. This book is quite sad, when things are revealed about Christian and his life from the time he was born, until the age of 4, when he is adopted by the wonderful Grey family. From that point on in the book it is about Christian as an adult with just flashbacks to when he was a young child, up until he encounters a woman at the age of 15, who introduces him to the type of lifestyle he is involved in now. The relationship between Christian and Ana starts out, and after he makes a discovery about her that rocks him to his core, he realizes just how innocent and special she actually is! Ana is a completely different type of woman than he is used to and add to that the fact she is so innocent makes her even more appealing to him in a way no one has ever been before. This book is well written and I really enjoyed it, never knowing from one minute to the next what was going to happen. The plot twists and turns and things happen that will keep the whole book very interesting. But despite all this, it is really a love story, and in its own way it is an awesome story about what happens when two completely different people from two completely different walks of life collide into each other. Another awesome thing about the book is reading about the interactions between these two and how Ana in her own shy way is changing Christian and that scares him. He starts feeling out of control and that is not a feeling he likes. On the other hand he likes what is happening between he and Ana. What will he do? Also up to this point his family and everyone he knows for that matter has never seen him with a woman, and when they see Ana, it is quite hilarious how excited his Mom and Dad, sister and brother get knowing he is not "gay" as they thought!! So hilarious! This man at 27, has everyone wondering what is going on in this self made billionaire's life! One other really good thing about this book is the dialog between Christian and Ana as they continually email each other, and that is the one thing that helps Christian understand her better as when Ana is near Christian he completely overwhelms her, on the other hand Ana does not realize she is having the same effect on Christian! So the emails are a great part of the book. I do not want to say any more about it, just read it and see for yourself what is happening between them, and toward the end of the book, make sure you have tissues near at hand. I gave this book 5***** Wicked Stars! I also recommend that you read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy so you can read about how Ana feels and how she reacts to Christian Grey, her "megalomaniac, control freak" boyfriend!

First let’s just get this out of the way shall we? If you didn’t enjoy the previous books: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Freed, then Grey (50 Shades of Grey as retold by Christian Grey) is not going to change your mind. This book is 50 Shades being retold by Christian; it is not a new story. So before you start reading and complaining, raging and whining that you feel less than satisfied, understand that this is simply the same story, but from a different perspective, with new insights, scenes, feelings and memories scattered throughout. This book became a reality because the die-hard fans (me included) wanted more, needed more, literally begged incessantly for more. As always Erika is loyal to her fans, she listened and gave all of us exactly what we have been begging for since we devoured the final words in 50 Shades Freed. More Ana and Christian. It is a full length novel (560+ pages) and it does indeed cover all of Fifty Shades of Grey, it does not however cover Darker and Freed. We can only hope that at some point we will indeed get to read the rest of the story from Christian’s view point, I can only hope. I will always want more when it comes to Ana and Christian, they have imprinted themselves forever in my memory and will always remain my all-time favourite book couple, instantly reigniting my veracious passion for reading romance. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I feel better and let’s begin the review shall we… “Ask me for your panties, baby.” We begin Grey as we did Fifty, just a bit prior to Ana and Christian meeting for that first time, only this time we are experiencing it from Christian’s view. “Clear, embarrassed eyes meet mine and halt me in my tracks. They are the most extraordinary color, powder blue, and guileless, and for one awful moment, I think she can see right through me and I’m left…exposed.” The undeniable pull towards this young woman scatters Christian’s thoughts, and unnerves him from the very start. He feels his world shift and though he doesn’t understand why, he moves forward. For the first time in his life he feels the burning desire to pursue a woman, chase her even. From the moment they meet, he is unable to forget Ana, she invades his thoughts, evokes feelings he’s not ever experienced before and even stars in his dreams. Christian comes to the conclusion that he must have Ana, but he is conflicted. He is used to getting what he wants, but he has serious doubts that Ana would ever be open to his lifestyle, and the type of relationship (the only type) he has, that he has ever had. “I’ve never pursued a woman before. The women I’ve had understood what I expected of them. My fear now is that Miss Steele is just too young and that she won’t be interested in what I have to offer.” Could she be willing to attempt a D/s relationship with him? Will she run screaming for the hills when he confesses his intentions? Can she handle the truth when he reveals his darkest desires and needs? Will she see him as he sees himself, a monster, incapable of loving and reciprocating love? “She doesn’t know the depth of my depravity, the darkness in my soul, the monster beneath – maybe I should leave her alone. I’m not worthy of her. She can’t love me. But even as I think the words, I know that I don’t have the strength to stay away from her…if she’ll have me.” Christian is a complicated man, yet on the surface he seems the elegant, composed, sexy billionaire that women not only lust after, but throw themselves at. However when you delve deeper, beneath the façade Christian Grey is anything but what he seems. This is the reason I fell in love with him from the very beginning, and in Grey we are given unfettered access to his thoughts, feelings, his confusion, torments, self-doubt and loathing. As I continued on this journey all over again (I’ve re-read this series many, many times) I found myself completely hypnotised all over again. Gaining new insights, re-living my favourite scenes and feeling it all over again, was every bit as powerful as it had been in the past. Understanding the story on a totally different level after finishing Grey has left me bereft all over again. My heart ached for Christian, it broke. At times it felt full, hopeful, and in rare moments it soared. Reliving Christian’s nightmares and exploring his past gutted me. The reasons why Christian is the way he is, was always understandable to me, Grey just made it all more real, more emotional and even more painful for me. His thoughts and feelings are on full display and we finally discover how he really feels about the people in his life; Ana, Elena, Leila, Kate, his family, Taylor, everyone is all finally revealed. “She smiles and her face lights up like a cloudless dawn. She’s breathtaking.” As anyone who has read the previous books knows, Ana and Christian’s story is one that is littered with secrets, betrayals, omissions of truth and it’s far from perfect. For me, the true beauty of this story lies within its imperfections it always has and always will. What drew me into this story first and foremost was the love story; two undeniably flawed people attempting and failing spectacularly at staying away from each other even when they know it could cost them everything. Being brave enough to embark on a new type of relationship, for both of them actually. Trying to overcome their insecurities, facing their greatest fears, sacrificing their needs for one another, and ultimately realizing that love is never easy, it’s messy and sometimes incredibly difficult and painful. “I close my eyes, fighting the disquieting sensation that surges and fills my chest once more. It’s like homesickness and a homecoming rolled into one…and it’s terrifying.” Grey gives the die-hard fans exactly what they have been waiting for (some of us years) a chance to revisit their favourite story and characters and finally see and experience both sides of the story. I loved it, every single moment, I will happily recommend it to anyone and everyone who is a fan of this series, it’s a must read for all 50 fans! EL James has just given us yet 1000 more reasons to fall in love all over again. Her quirky writing style is present in Grey and even though some critics will more than likely vehemently disagree with me, I’ve become addicted to the unconventional and unique way she approaches and carries out a story. Emotional, haunting, funny, overwhelmingly sexy and impossibly addictive Grey met my every expectation and even gave me just a bit more. THANK YOU Erika, you’ve made me a very very happy woman. Now please get writing Darker and Freed, because you’ve just refueled my addiction for all things 50 Shades of Grey. “I’m unbalanced, teetering at the edge of a dangerous precipice, desperately searching for the words to make this right, but my mind is blank.”

I now see Christian clearer, and as I originally thought, much of the negative feeling about Christian was due to Ana simply being too immature, and sometimes, even thoughtless. In fact, if Christian had known her thoughts, his opinion about her may have changed drastically. She simply couldn't see how much pain he was in when she tried to touch him. So, she constantly kept trying to even though he constantly begged her not to. And she kept on about Elena, and at this point of their relationship, he was right. It was none of Ana's business. Also, he was trying to figure out how he would handle the punishment part, himself, and was questioning himself. If she hadn't pushed him, he might have worked out a different path, just as he had about their arrangement. But she did push him, at a time when he had all his problems weighing on his mind, when he needed the solitude of the quiet, and time at his piano. And he kept thinking, 'she wants to do this now?'. She should have been mature enough to think through what he'd already given up, and given him time to work through his feelings. He was already coming close to identifying his feelings, but she pushed him back instead of letting him go forward at his own pace. At least that's my opinion. I also went back many times and compared what Ana was thinking compared to what Christian was thinking at the same time. There really was a disconnect on many occasions. For instance, people being angry, and castigating Christian for wanting to use "Anastasia" instead of using "Ana". Yet now we know that the sound of Ana was too close to Ella, his mother. And that brought too many ugly memories to the surface. We would have never known or understood that before. People just thought that he was a mean, control freak, uncaring person. First, I was really looking forward to this book. I gave all three of the original books and the movie 5 stars even though I acknowledged the flaws. Yet, I can't give this book more than 3 stars. Before I explain my reasoning let me list a few caveats: I don't think a person needs to use profanity, and E.L. used too much in her first books. I don't think profanity makes you sound smarter or in any way more interesting. Now, that may be a given, but I don't want people reading my review, thinking that is what I'm saying. I was aware that this was going to be the first book retold by Christian's viewpoint. I expected the same story, but from his thoughts and feelings. I don't understand people who were upset because it wasn't a different story. You can't change the dialog from one story to the next. The people are going to be saying the same things. But, here is why it lost 2 stars: I don't know if E.L.: a) gave in to the readers who complained that Christian was too strong-willed b) The editors reworked it into a different voice, thinking they were just cleaning it up. The book did have some editing. There were much fewer mutters, murmurs, and whispers. c) E.L. let the critical reviews of the movie sway her too much, thinking it might be too difficult to find a screenwriter, director and actor to play the depth and strength of her original Christian Grey. So, any combination of the above; all of the above. However, to me, this is not the same Christian Grey. Yes, I know the other Christian was from Ana's viewpoint, and sometimes she was a moron so her thoughts had to be taken with that in mind. But, this still isn't the character I saw in the original series. The bite has been removed from this man. He could be any twenty-something male, instead of the man who started his own company and ruthlessly made it a success in 6 years. A man who had so much money that he literally was king of his world. Yes, he was self-absorbed and self-important. But, he also had a right to be arrogant, and his accomplishments made him an important man. So it wasn't just in his own mind; it was earned. When he told Ana in the original book that she should be intimidated, I felt like he was simply telling the truth. He was such an important man in his world, and she was an innocent college senior with basically no accomplishments to speak of, and he honestly felt that she should feel that way. Yet, this Christian was insecure and wondering if he could intimidate her. Although he's supposed to be incredibly good looking, as well as incredibly wealthy, and women were always wanting him, this Christian constantly worried that she might not like him. To give you a better idea, compare the first chapter and Hardware store scene that E.L included in the original story. First, many of the F-words were replaced with damn and hell. He sounded like a teenager or young 20 year old. I fully expected him to say *golly gee* at any moment. Luckily he didn't, so I didn't have to throw my Kindle out the window. Here are some actual examples and how it seems -- to me -- that the bite was removed from the character. The letter *O* means the original story versus *C* for this story. O: "Oh, Christ! (in italics) I have to endure an interview with the persistent Miss Kavanagh for the WSU student magazine. Why the f --- did I agree to this? (italics) I loathe interviews -- inane questions from inane, ill-informed, vacuous idiots. The phone buzzes. C: Damn. (italics) I have to endure an interview with the persistent Miss Kavanagh for the WSU student newspaper. Why the hell did I agree to this? (italics). I loathe interviews -- inane questions from ill-informed, envious people intent on probing my private life. And she's a student. (italics) The phone buzzes. ~~~~ O: She has a small, sweet face that is blushing now, an innocent pale rose. I wonder briefly if all her skin is like that -- flawless -- and what it would look like pink and warmed from the bite of a cane. F---. (italics) I stop my wayward thoughts, alarmed at their direction. What the f --- are you thinking, Grey? (italics) This girl is much too young. (italics) She gapes at me, and I almost roll my eyes again. Yeah, yeah, baby, it's just a face, and the beauty is only skin deep. (italics) I want to dispel that unguarded, admiring look from those big blue eyes. Showtime, Grey. (italics) Let's have some fun. (italics) C: She has a small, sweet face that is blushing now, an innocent pale rose. I wonder briefly if all her skin is like that -- flawless -- and what it would look like pink and warmed from the bite of a cane. Damn (italics) I stop my wayward thoughts, alarmed at their direction. What are you thinking, Grey? (italics) This girl is much too young. She gapes at me, and I resist rolling my eyes. Yeah, yeah, baby, it's just a face, and it's only skin deep. (italics) I need to dispel that admiring look from those eyes but let's have some fun in the process! O: To what do you owe your success? Oh Christ! Surely she can do better than this? What a f --- ing dull question. Not one iota of originality. C: To what do you owe your success? Surely she can do better than this. What a dull question. Not one iota of originality. O: Maybe you're just lucky Lucky? (italics) A frission of annoyance runs through me. Lucky? (italics) No f --- ing luck involved here, Miss Steele. C: Maybe you're just lucky Lucky? (italics) A frission of annoyance runs through me. Lucky? (italics) How dare she? O: Are you gay, Mr. Grey? What the f --- ! I cannot believe she's said that out loud! The unspoken question that my own family dares not ask, much to my amusement. C: Are you gay, Mr Grey? What the hell! (italics) I cannot believe she said that out loud! Ironically, the question even my own family will not ask. Me - Why do I think this gives such a different viewpoint? In the original, he makes note that it's an unspoken question he knows his family is very curious about, but he also knows they wouldn't dare ask him, which gives him a sense of power in the family unit. And he finds that amusing. In the Christian version, there simply seems to be the idea that his family is too polite to ask the question. O: I have to fight down the urge to drag her out of her seat, bend her across my knee, and spank the living s*** out of her, then f --- her over my desk with her hands tied tightly behind her back. C: I have a sudden urge to drag her out of her seat, bend her over my knee, spank her, and then f --- her over my desk with her hands tied tightly behind her back. O: And the elevator doors close, leaving my name hanging in the air, sounding odd, unfamiliar, but sexy as hell. Well, f --- me. What was that? (italics) I need to know more about this girl. C: And the elevator doors close, leaving my name hanging in the air between us, sounding odd and unfamiliar, but sexy as hell. I need to know more about this girl. ~~~~ Well, obviously I could go on and on, but here's one little bit right after he leaves the hardware store and gets in his car, just to give you a good idea of the rest of the book: C: Utilizing willpower that would make Elena proud, I keep my eyes ahead as I take my cell out of my pocket and climb into the rental car. I'm deliberately not looking back at her. I'm not. I'm not. My eyes flicker to the rearview mirror, where I can see the shop door, but all I see is the quaint storefront. She's not in the window, staring at me. It's disappointing. (italics) Me - Okay, maybe I'm being too critical. But, to me, this really doesn't sound like a successful, rich, handsome, confident businessman. It sounds more like a young 20 year old asking a girl out on his first date. And, yes, I know technically he is asking out his first girl on a date. But this sounds like a kid who has never had sexual contact with a girl (or very little). Not someone with a history of being in charge of lovers. "I'm deliberately not looking back at her. I'm not. I'm not." Of course, we don't have other chapters to compare, but in general his character doesn't improve much. Some of the strong, enigmatic things he says is followed by insipid thoughts that don't even match the dialog. I'm very disappointed. But, still, I'll give E.L. 3 stars for effort because I appreciate the work she put into giving us this.

If you hated FSoG, you won't like this book any better. Also, if you never read FSoG, I think this book will leave you wondering why you wasted your money. BUT - If you liked FSoG and its follow-up (Fifty Shades Darker), this is a great "companion" piece. Since I liked FSoG, I was curious as to what this retelling would be like. The author did an amazing job retelling FSoG from Christian Grey's POV. (And at 550 pages, that is no mean feat.) I surprise myself by giving this 5 stars! Normally, I can find enough to nitpick about a book that I can't make it past 4 stars. Plus, I'm usually suspicious about 5-star reviews. But I stand by this rating - I loved this! I thought Grey was actually better written than FSoG. (For one thing, nary a mention of a bespectacled conscience or an inner goddess.) Oh, it still had too much repetition of this or that phrase/idea, just like FSoG did. (Maybe this is hard to avoid when your book runs over 550 pages.) And, it certainly has its flaws. (Including the part where the author notes at one point that it is June 11 and thus-and-such time PST and EST. No, Ms. James, here in the states, in June, Washington state and Georgia are on Daylight time, making that PDT and EDT. But I digress.) What I liked better about this book is that it shows how creepy Christian Grey really is. How totally into the superficial he is (at least, for a great deal of the book), how self-centered. He can't get over how "hot" Ana looks tied up; he sees her as a sex object, plain and simple. Whenever they are together, all he is thinking about are the things he'd like to do to her...At a later point in the book, Grey finds himself startled and disconcerted to discover that he has started taking Ana's feelings into consideration, as far as his actions and plans toward her. Of course he is disconcerted--he is generally not used to considering anyone's feelings but his own. There's a point early in the book where Grey sees that Ana has been crying--blotchy face, swollen eyes, etc.--and he's bewildered, because he's made lots of submissives cry with his painful discipline, and he's used to seeing the after effects and they never have bothered him, but he can't figure out why Ana's crying, since he didn't do anything really painful to her. It's unsettling, because you realize that he's *so* used to enjoying women who are willing to be painfully used, that while you're wondering "what has to happen to a woman for her to be okay with that," that's clearly the last thing on Christian Grey's mind. As the book goes along, it's very satisfying to see Grey's reactions as he discovers that Ana is not what he expected. He's trying to figure out what's going on with his developing feelings for her and how to deal with it all (like, he is baffled as to why he can't just let her go, since she obviously isn't what he was looking for). I also loved the final scene between Grey and Ana--which, if you remember from FSoG, is the scene where Ana asks Christian to show her how bad "discipline" could get if she were to stay with him, and he uses a belt on her. Well, that same scene, shown through Christian's POV, is quite an eye opener. FSoG, told from Ana's POV, is more like what we expect in a romance--relatively speaking. That is, Ana knows that Christian is bad news but somehow she also sees his "goodness," his potential for lurrve, etc. While we roll our eyes at her naivete, she doggedly pushes on with the relationship, and we see Christian starting to fall for her, starting to "heal" from the love of the right woman. Trope as old as time. But Grey, OTOH, doesn't have this sappiness. Christian knows what he is and what he wants. For most of this book, it's all about Christian trying to engineer a sexual arrangement that benefits him, period. (And he lets himself believe it will benefit Ana, just as it "benefited" the previous women who agreed to serve as his sexual submissive and take whatever punishment he chose to mete out.) To summarize, if FSoG was some sort of crack cocaine for you, I think Grey will not disappoint. (Though I don't see any need for a re-write of books 2 and 3 from Grey's POV.)

I was late coming into the FSoG fandom. I read way too many negative reviews and I didn't read the original trilogy until after I watched the movie. I only watched the movie to feed my curiosity. I actually liked the movie even without reading the books first but I was disappointed by how it ended. It ended the way it was supposed to but I wanted to know what happened next so I decided to read the books. Much of the negative stuff that I read ended up being quotes and passages from the book that were taken out of context. I really love the books and as soon as I saw the book from Christian's POV, I couldn't wait to read it. Before anyone goes further into reading my review, this review may contain spoilers for those who have never read the trilogy. I am writing this review with the assumption that the reader has already read the original Fifty Shades of Grey because this is a re-write of the same book in Mr. Grey's POV. First I have to say the writing is better. I didn't think the original books were written the greatest even though I enjoyed reading them. James did a better job in writing Grey in my opinion - still not the greatest but I got over it. This book is a re-write so of course there are going to be a bit of the same in it. I can understand if this would be boring to someone - I get it. I personally didn't find it to be boring. Yes, there was some of it that I read through quickly because some of it seemed like it was word for word like the original. I did like that some of the conversations between Christian and Ana were shortened and Christian's narrative just explained the rest of the dialogue including a bit of his thoughts. It made it less boring and not exactly like the original even though there were still parts that were exactly the same. When doing a different POV with another main character, I am not sure how much of that could actually be avoided. I did get annoyed a few times though because sometimes while reading a long dialogue, Christian's narrative has a line of thoughts per line of dialogue. It didn't happen all the time but when it did, it did start to become a bit much. I guess that goes back to the writing - at least Christian didn't have something like Ana's "inner goddess". That would have driven me insane if he did. One thing I learned from reading Christian's POV, he really does work. There was quite a bit of Christian's narrative when he was actually working. Another thing I liked about it was some of those things he did in the original like showing up at Ana's store didn't seem as creepy. Still creepy but I didn't think it was as creepy as I did in the original book because I got to read is POV on it. His narrative even questions himself and feels like an a-- for doing it and we find out he's never actually pursued a woman before. Or when he takes Ana to his hotel instead of home from the bar. Still creepy but not as creepy after reading it from his perspective. It was interesting reading the things he did while not with Ana even though we knew he did them in the original. Like when he tells her he is still at the Heathman when he picks her up from the bar. Well, he actually was back in Seattle and then you read about how Elliot called him because he needed to get away from some girl so Christian tells him he has to go back to Portland and he could come with him and they do some bike riding etc. which is why he was back at the Heathman. It's kind of interesting that Elliot is the kind of "love em and leave em" kind of guy before he meets Kate. Of course none of this is really important but it's refreshing to read something that has nothing to do with the original and get to know a little more about his brother. I didn't feel like a whole lot of Christian's past was brought up like his childhood but of course that doesn't happen until the second and third books anyway. There are quite a few more dreams that he has which gives the reader a better idea. Some of which brought tears to my eyes. There's some other glimpses into his past life with Elena and Leila as well. I was kind of hoping there was a little more to the conversation between he and Elena when they went out to dinner while Ana was in Georgia. I thought that part was a little meh. Another interesting part was when he had to leave Georgia when Ana thought he had to go back because of work. We know later in book 2 that he actually went back because of Leila so a bit of that plays out in Christian's POV. The best part of this book is the end after Ana leaves. He tells her in the second book how hard it was for him - well, you get to find out. My conclusion - I think it's a good read if you read the original trilogy. I'm not sure if I like Ana's POV or Christian's POV better. I do think they compliment each other well and I think Christian's POV goes right along with the original. I'm not sure if this trilogy really needed Christian's POV though but I do think he was conflicted with what kind of relationship he wanted with Ana from the beginning and I have a better understanding of how he really felt about her by the end of book one. I just hope now that there is this one, James continues with Darker and Freed from Christian's POV because those ones I am more interested in reading.