Well, where to start.... I also knew that the author wrote this trilogy as "Twilight Fan Fiction" - whatever the heck that means! As I was reading this book, Bella & Edward didn't come to mind, but now that I think about it, I can see both Bella & Edward in this story. Ana & Bella are both stubborn and don't like to be controlled, but they are both controlled by the men they fall in love with. Edward & Christian are both controlling, protective, bossy, and brooding - oh, and beautiful. Both Edward & Christian have dark pasts that we don't know a lot about initially. Ana & Bella both have divorced parents who love them, with both of their mothers remarried and their dads single. Both Ana & Bella have junk heaps for cars; both Edward & Christian are wealthy. And then there is Jose - standing in for Jacob. Yep, I see it.
One big difference in these two stories, however, is the writing. Goodness, I could hardly get through the first 70 pages. I was continually annoyed at "hearing" Ana's thoughts about everything. Then, when I finally think I have adjusted to that, we have to hear from Ana's "subconscious" (innocent Ana) and her "inner goddess" (sub Ana). Those two should just go duke it out in the back room and stay out of the story! Honestly. I guess I really didn't see Ana as whiney - just confused. I can't really blame Ana for bad writing. ;) I think she was seriously trying to figure out whether losing herself to Christian was really worth it. I loved how she left him at the end of book 1. She had tons of valid doubts even though she was in love with him. She kept trying to stay true to herself. That is the "strength" that I saw in her.
Now, on to Christian. I cannot stand controlling, jealous, stalker, dominant men. I don't care how wealthy and beautiful they are. I would have run screaming in the opposite direction. I realize that there is a lot more to him then we have been told in this first book, but I'm telling you, ANYONE that finds any sort of pleasure whatsoever in beating/hitting/punishing a woman is a 100% J E R K. I will admit, I know next to nothing about the Dom/Sub relationship (thank goodness) - and what I do know I learned in this book - but I simply do not understand these people. It is quite disturbing. I think that is another problem I had about the book. I was too appalled at what was happening - even though it was "consensual" (sort-of).
So, here's what I liked about the book: both Ana & Christian have a sense of humor and I liked reading their emails to each other; their relationship continually evolved the longer they spent time together, so we get to see some personal "growth" in both characters; Ana's best friend & roommate, Kate, because she is the only character in the entire book that shows something other than eternal "niceness". Kate is the only person who shows some spirit. She is the only one who speaks her mind. She is the only one who senses the dark side of Christian. Everyone else in the entire book is "nice". Not very realistic.
This is not a genre that I have read before either, so maybe this is just what the writing is like in these type books, but I really think the author needs to work on writing/developing plausible, meaningful, relationships. The relationships between Ana & Ray, and Ana & her mother are filled with tears, and "I love yous", and emotion - although the reader doesn't actually FEEL it. They are just words strung together on a page to form a sentence. I'm hoping this gets better as I read the second and third books.
Wendy's Rating: **
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