50 Shades Trilogy

50 Shades of Grey:  "When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires. Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever."
50 Shades Darker: "Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.
While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life."
50 Shades Freed: "When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees. Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.
Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality."

As someone who loves to read, I take every opportunity to recommend a good book/trilogy/series to anyone who will listen.  LISTEN UP!  Read.These.Books.  I don't recommend reading them to the residents at an old folks home, or joining a 50 Shades book club with your mom (unless you have a Lindsay/Dina Lohan kind of relationship...and if that's the case, you may want to consider seeking therapy), but if you've been looking for a new diversion from reality, this is the real deal.  There is a lot- and I mean A LOT- of sex (of all different varieties), but it also has suspense, and an easy-to-follow story line.  It's an erotic journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, trust, and love.  Don't get me wrong, these books are not going down in history as the most well-written, nor for not having countless literary redundancies throughout, but it is good for adding a few words to your vocabulary and helping you briefly escape your monotonous (sex) life.

This is a rundown of how reading The 50 Shades Trilogy went for me:
Last Tuesday: started 50 Shades of Grey after work
Tuesday night: ordered 50 Shades Darker and 50 Shades Freed on Half.com
Thursday night: my package somehow hadn't made it here in 48 hours so I picked up 50 Shades Darker from Target because I couldn't wait.
Friday night: read at work, when I got home from work, and while getting ready to go out
Saturday: read for somewhere around 4 hours before falling asleep on the couch with the book in my hand.
Saturday night: finished Darker while drying my hair
Sunday: still waiting for the package containing the final books. Resisted the urge to head to Target. Was beside myself and felt lost all day.
Monday: still no package when I left for work. I found a place where I can read it online and dove right in.
Monday afternoon: package arrived. I. Was. Pumped. I read all night.
Tuesday: precisely one week after beginning the first book, I finished the third.

I have now been forced to return to the real world where a man such as Christian Grey, and the lifestyle that goes along with him, does not exist.  I have to say, my life suddenly isn't as exciting as I thought it was before the books.  I wish I could have read them at a slower rate so that I could potentially still be savoring every aspect, but once I get into a book, I become obsessed.  Clearly.

Happy Reading!