Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James - 3 stars

I read this book, or rather skimmed this book a few years back but decided to revisit this for a buddy read with a friend. I feel as though I really focused on it more this time around and have a better understanding of it now because I found myself a bit more open minded to what I was experiencing with this read.

In this book you have Anastasia Steele, who is a very timid individual. She goes to interview Christian Grey in place of her friend who had taken ill. While interviewing Mr. Grey, an intimidating, arrogant, well to do billionaire. Ana feels a disturbing attraction towards him that she can't explain. As she furthers her relationship with Mr. Grey, he lets her know that he does not do romance but instead something she is not sure she wants to be a part of, domination.

I found the story line intriguing. It was rather fast paced and easy to read now that I was more open to the content. I think you get a good look into this lifestyle, but it leaves questions as to why this lifestyle is preferred. I am sure this question is answered in the following books to the series. I did discover that there is a lot more to the story than first meets the eye, but it must be read with an open mind, otherwise the purpose of the story will not be observed. I found it to be more about a relationship and what each person is willing to give, in that relationship, and what a person is willing to give up as well. I also find it is about people who have issues that must first be absolved before they can see clearly as far as a relationship goes. Our upbringings and what we have had to deal with can affect so many different things in our lives and how we handle situations as we grow.

The characters, Ana and Christian, are pretty dysfunctional in this story and you begin to see their issues unfold slowly but not completely in this first installment. You start to get a feel for them in this book and it really made me want to know more about them. So their development is pretty good so far, but not quite there yet. I am hoping for much more development with the rest of this trilogy. I did like the way Ana handles things at the end of this book, I think I actually cheered her on. On thing that bothered me about both of these characters is that they are pretty wishy-washy, and really not making up either of their minds as to what they want from the relationship. This too I hope is resolved through the other books.

As far as recommending this book, all I can say is if you can be open minded then you can probably handle this book. Maybe even if you are one to like romance books you can enjoy this one, but again open mindedness is key.