Fifty Shades Freed (E.L. James)

One of my favourite places to enjoy a book
during the summer... On the dock by the lake!

Well, I officially finished the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E.L. James yesterday.  I'm still not too sure what to think of the books.  I don't want to give anything away for those who want to read all three, so maybe I'll just make some general comments.

First of all, I am very excited to be done these books.  Now, whenever someone asks me, "Are you reading the Fifty Shades books?" I can just reply, "Not right now..." or "No."  

Of the three books, I would definitely say that I liked the second one the best, "Fifty Shades Darker."  I just found there was a lot more substance in that book than there was in the first one, so I was more interested in it.  I enjoyed the third one, but I still felt like there were a few things I was kind of missing at the end of it.

They're not the typical kind of book that I read, but I found that they kept my interest for the most part.  I didn't breeze through them as quickly as I thought I would (considering all the hype they have been getting lately...)

And let's just add that a duck was
ready to eat my foot
while I was out reading
on Tuesday.

*If you read the first book and enjoyed it, then I would safely say that you will enjoy the rest of the trilogy.

*If you read the first book and weren't sure about it (kind of like me), maybe give the second book a chance.  The "content" and "plot" picks up a bit in the second book. 

*If you read the first book and just couldn't handle it, skip the rest of the trilogy.

Fifty Shades Darker (E.L. James)

Despite the fact that I didn't think I would make it through this book until at least next week when my course was done, I was glued to the pages and motored through it... On nights when I should have been sleeping, I stayed away for an extra hour or two, knowing that I would be tired for my early class... I just needed to know what was going to happen next.

"Fifty Shades Darker" is the second book in the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James and it most definitely did not disappoint.  The story continues right where book one left off.  Without giving anything away, I will just say that this book continues with so much more information about the two individuals involved, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.  You really start to understand why each of them is the way they are.  I enjoyed the second book more than the first one.

Based on the two books I have read so far, I am very much looking forward to the final book!  With the end of my summer course only one day away, I will enjoy spending the beginning of my "real" summer holiday on the deck, with a beautiful view, reading "Fifty Shades Freed."

Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James)

I was so excited that summer was finally here, mainly because I knew that summer means no teaching for a couple of months and more time to do the things I love to do.  However, being in my mid-twenties and only a couple years into my career, I made a last minute decision and I'm doing what I have to do to make myself more employable - I moved away 4 hours north from my already-northern-Ontario community to take an additional qualification!  Having summer school (and homework!) will definitely cut into my summer reading for the next couple of weeks...

That being said, I did have time during this first week of summer school to finish up the first book in the "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy by E.L. James - I've been slacking for a few days, though, before I've finally gotten around to writing this.

 The book is about the roller coaster relationship between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.  The two meet by chance as Anastasia interviews Christian for a college newspaper article.  After this interview, their whole relationship starts to grow and develop.  Their relationship, however, is much different than what society views as the normal relationship. 

I liked the book.  It's definitely interesting and exciting and keeps you intrigued.  For the first half of the book, I was reading every spare minute I had - at home, of course, because I wouldn't bring my hard copy of the book into public! 

There is still so much that you are waiting to find out about the characters after this first book.  It ends very suddenly and makes you want to immediately start the second book in the trilogy. What happens next?  Why is he acting this way?  What is she thinking? 

Forgive me if the speed at which I bust out my reviews this month is slow... After working on my "homework," sometimes I just don't have the energy in me to read any more!

The Wild Zone (Joy Fielding)

I recently picked this book to read for one reason - I didn't want to be bringing "Fifty Shades of Grey" with me to school. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't feel it would be very professional. 

Enjoying some sunshine and reading "The Wild Zone"!

I enjoyed "The Wild Zone" by Joy Fielding because it was an easy read, it kept me guessing, and it left me pleasantly surprised at the end. 

As a whole, I found the book was exciting but lacked a little in the suspenseful "I-Need-To-Keep-Reading-Because-It's-So-Crazy-That-I-Need-To-Know-What-Happens-Next" kind of way.  After reading about 80 pages, I remember saying, "It's good, but I feel like something is about to happen."  That feeling kept up for most of the book, with the most exciting parts happening nearer to the end. (I've read Joy Fielding books before, and this was wasn't as exciting as I remember those ones being.)

To clarify, it's not a mystery book where something crazy happens at the beginning (like a murder) and then the rest of the book is spent trying to figure out what happens.  Instead, it's a book where all of the events and information presented throughout the book are useful in determining what the future holds for each of the characters. 

I thought it was a good, easy read and it would be a great summer book for someone.  There's a bit of suspense and mystery, but there isn't the gore and scary stuff to turn those readers off of it.  I enjoyed it and thought it filled my prep and lunch times at school very well during these last couple of weeks of school. 

School is done and it is officially summer vacation - let's get my "read" on and have some much needed "me" time!