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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
Darker: Fifty Shades Darker as Told by Christian by E.L. James
4 reviews
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to read this series because I enjoyed the first series and I love dual POV, so I wanted to try and give this series a go. Christian’s thoughts are so overbearing and boring.
This book is based on twenty-seven-year-old Christian Grey, and he exercises control in all things: his world is neat, disciplined. The scorching, sensual affair ended in heartbreak and recrimination, but Christian Grey cannot get Anastasia Steele out of his mind, or his blood. Christian is determined to win her back, he tries to suppress his darkest desires and his need for complete control, and to love Ana on her own terms. But the horrors of his childhood still haunt him, and Ana’s scheming boss, Jack Hyde, clearly wants her for himself. Can Christian’s confidant and therapist, Dr. Flynn, help him face down his demons? Or will the possessiveness of Elena, his seducers, and the deranged devotion of Leila, his former submissive, drag Christian down into the past? And if Christian does with Ana back, can a man so dark and damaged ever hope to keep her?
I loved the alternative POV. I loved that there were more details of what Christian’s therapist was thinking and how he knew about Leila beforehand, and it explains some of his actions and how he was very overprotective. I loved seeing the plane accident as well because from Ana’s point of view, it goes, Christian is going to work, Ana’s goes out for drinks and then next thing you know Christian’s gone missing and they’ve all gone to the apartment and Ana’s freaking out. Where Christian is talking to Ros about Andrea marrying an employee and talking about business details, then the plane has an engine fire, and he is worried about getting home to Ana and his phone has died. I loved that he didn’t trust Jack from day one and knew about the accusations, I would have personally told Ana to be careful, but he obviously had a plan to sack Jack when he took over from SIP. I loved watching him kicking Jack’s ass as well and was wanting him to push Christian’s buttons.
My only issue with this book is the pace was very slow and I was bored at some points and yes, I know it was the same as Fifty Shades, but I found myself skimming over the BDSM chapters and the chapters that we had already read in Fifty Shades. It was just like one sentence or word had been changed to make it different. Change Ana to Christian and he said I inserted himself rather than he inserted himself, but it was the exact same. There was nothing new besides the plane accident, which we knew about, but we could see how Christian got home. Christian was a complete man child who needed to grow up and let Ana breathe and live her life. Again, for Leila being the big villain in this book, you only really see her for the first half and then it’s just brushed under the rug.
I am going to hope that the series gets better, but I’m also trying not to put all my eggs in one basket.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship
Minor: Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay this is a little frustrating - we are 5 books in and EL James can literally only write the same thing over and over again. For a book with this much sex, and what should be pretty unique by definition, the scenarios change but the details are ALL THE SAME. It’s like the author only knows like 1 descriptive word for each thing and I found myself physically rolling my eyes while reading. I’m torn, because I actually did find the parts with just Christian (everything that happened off-page in FSD) to be very interesting, but there’s not enough. I’ve read the same book twice and the same 3,000 sex scenes twice with the equivalent of 3 bonus chapters. I’m going to read the last one but, man, I’m tired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment
Minor: Confinement, Incest, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok, I like this book as it gives an even deeper look at Christian without as much BDSM. I understand Christian and his needs a bit more and seeing him worry and fret over Ana is something I understand better.
Best parts are when he starts to realize his feelings for Ana and watching him drift apart from Elena thanks to Ana. She truly lights him up. The flashbacks on his childhood are also very telling and humanize Christian in a way I didn’t see from Ana’s POV or from book 1.
The downside is that Christian comes off much more childish and it’s hard to balance that and at the same time believe he’s so successful in business. I’m the end though, Christian is shown to care a lot for people but not realizing he is also cared for and loved by them. Something that I think helps him learn and open his eyes to the wonders that love brings.
Best parts are when he starts to realize his feelings for Ana and watching him drift apart from Elena thanks to Ana. She truly lights him up. The flashbacks on his childhood are also very telling and humanize Christian in a way I didn’t see from Ana’s POV or from book 1.
The downside is that Christian comes off much more childish and it’s hard to balance that and at the same time believe he’s so successful in business. I’m the end though, Christian is shown to care a lot for people but not realizing he is also cared for and loved by them. Something that I think helps him learn and open his eyes to the wonders that love brings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent