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A review by faeonyx
Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
1.0
A year after beginning this book, and quite some time after beginning the series, I finally managed to finish it. I wish I could say that the writing style, the characters, and the story itself improved in the second book, but I can't. Again, I read this trilogy because I was told that I couldn't comment on it if I hadn't. I thought I might quit after the first book, but decided to continue on. That has been a mistake.
The story itself is still as stale as it was in the first book, and every time a little drama gets stirred up or something interesting seems to happen, it gets shut down only a couple of pages later. For example, Bella... sorry, Ana's best friend discovers an email about the original contract. This email had been left in the pocket of one of Christian's jackets (I believe, sometimes things aren't clear) which had been left at the apartment Ana was decidedly not sharing with Kate anymore. What could have led to a really interesting exploration of characterization and an interesting turn in character development for Kate, Christian, AND Ana, turned out to be little more than a false flag at heightened drama. Two pages later and Kate forgets about the entire thing, but chapters later (and in fact into the next book) Christian is still hesitant to trust Kate and distant and cold to her, even though she is clearly 100% over it.
Another example is the issue with Charlie Tango going down and everyone thinking that Christian was dead or severely injured and missing. Conveniently, he couldn't/wouldn't call because of his jealousy over the fact that Ana was home alone with Jacob, sorry... Jose. Then, shock and horror, when he did arrive home and everyone was so worried about him, he was surprised that his family cared. This trope had gotten old in the first book, and reinforcing it over and over again is simply annoying.
Book two is also where the author really tried to stage Christian as a delicate, wounded bird. She is still using the BDSM lifestyle as a character flaw, which speaks volumes about how the author herself must view the community. The entire scene with Ana speaking to Christian's therapist had me rolling my eyes. It was not believable by any stretch of the imagination and seemed to be put in for the author to say "SEE! THE THERAPIST SAYS IT'S NORMAL SO YOU CAN'T ATTACK MY REPRESENTATION!" Well, do I have news for you... The representation of Christian's attitude in relation to BDSM as well as the way he feels about it is enough of a statement to turn me away from this book. I soldiered through because, damn it, my friend was right and I can't comment on something I haven't read. This is the first and last time I will make that mistake.
I was not endeared to any of the characters and found myself laughing at how quickly the relationship developed. I love you. I hate you. I don't do hearts and flowers, oh wait yes I do. MARRY ME ANA! YES, CHRISTIAN! YES! and it's all peppered with some of the worst porn/smut/whatever you want to call it that I have ever, EVER read. I've gotten to the point where I skip over the sex scenes because there are SO many of them it's exhausting and the description is flat and lackluster at best. Other times, it is downright cheesy and laughable.
If you soldiered through the first book, congratulations. If you made it through this one, I truly, truly feel for you. If you haven't started yet - STOP YOURSELF before it's too late. Do not let this drag you down.
The story itself is still as stale as it was in the first book, and every time a little drama gets stirred up or something interesting seems to happen, it gets shut down only a couple of pages later. For example, Bella... sorry, Ana's best friend discovers an email about the original contract. This email had been left in the pocket of one of Christian's jackets (I believe, sometimes things aren't clear) which had been left at the apartment Ana was decidedly not sharing with Kate anymore. What could have led to a really interesting exploration of characterization and an interesting turn in character development for Kate, Christian, AND Ana, turned out to be little more than a false flag at heightened drama. Two pages later and Kate forgets about the entire thing, but chapters later (and in fact into the next book) Christian is still hesitant to trust Kate and distant and cold to her, even though she is clearly 100% over it.
Another example is the issue with Charlie Tango going down and everyone thinking that Christian was dead or severely injured and missing. Conveniently, he couldn't/wouldn't call because of his jealousy over the fact that Ana was home alone with Jacob, sorry... Jose. Then, shock and horror, when he did arrive home and everyone was so worried about him, he was surprised that his family cared. This trope had gotten old in the first book, and reinforcing it over and over again is simply annoying.
Book two is also where the author really tried to stage Christian as a delicate, wounded bird. She is still using the BDSM lifestyle as a character flaw, which speaks volumes about how the author herself must view the community. The entire scene with Ana speaking to Christian's therapist had me rolling my eyes. It was not believable by any stretch of the imagination and seemed to be put in for the author to say "SEE! THE THERAPIST SAYS IT'S NORMAL SO YOU CAN'T ATTACK MY REPRESENTATION!" Well, do I have news for you... The representation of Christian's attitude in relation to BDSM as well as the way he feels about it is enough of a statement to turn me away from this book. I soldiered through because, damn it, my friend was right and I can't comment on something I haven't read. This is the first and last time I will make that mistake.
I was not endeared to any of the characters and found myself laughing at how quickly the relationship developed. I love you. I hate you. I don't do hearts and flowers, oh wait yes I do. MARRY ME ANA! YES, CHRISTIAN! YES! and it's all peppered with some of the worst porn/smut/whatever you want to call it that I have ever, EVER read. I've gotten to the point where I skip over the sex scenes because there are SO many of them it's exhausting and the description is flat and lackluster at best. Other times, it is downright cheesy and laughable.
If you soldiered through the first book, congratulations. If you made it through this one, I truly, truly feel for you. If you haven't started yet - STOP YOURSELF before it's too late. Do not let this drag you down.