Plot Synopsis: Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey's topsy-turvy relationship continues in the second book of the Fifty Shades trilogy. As Ana tries to understand where their relationship is going, Christian tackles his demons head-on to stay with the woman he loves. In the meanwhile, the other women in Christian's life begin threatening the delicate threads of his tentative relationship with Ana. Will Ana and Christian be able to survive both the pressures in and out of their union?
Literary Analysis: Unlike Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker sticks to one single plot line, leaving the reader to simply focus on Ana and Christian. Christian's character has completely changed since the first book. Once a strong, forceful man, now he is portrayed as a groveling, romantic whimp. There is a reason for his change of character, but it may leave some readers unsatisfied. Ana's character lacks continuity from the first novel, and unlike Christian, her change is not justified. It's hard to believe she'd suddenly want Christian to whip and spank her when that's the very reason she left him the first time. It is she who eggs on Christian's deviant side and that's the side she doesn't like (but of course, when it's happening, she likes it). It will leave readers confused and unable to trust the narrator. Her true feelings are not fully expressed, despite pages and pages of internal processing.
Personal Reaction: Let me express how hard it was to write the plot synopsis for this novel. Unlike its predecessor, Fifty Shades Darker lacks tension. Someone may argue that Leila's lurking creates suspense, but it's pushed so far into the background of this story that it was hardly on my radar when Leila actually appeared. Don't worry - I don't think I could spoil anything in this story -- there's nothing to spoil. So if you're still interested in reading this book, you're safe reading this review. Most of the book amounts to Ana's and Christian's sexual escapades. Sure, at first, it's exciting, but once you begin reading about the 5th time they've had sex in one day, it gets rather annoying. The sex is all the same, right down to the lines E.L. James uses to describe it. Who cares if they do it in Christian's bedroom, a boathouse, or on a pool table? The location has changed, but it's all the same "heady stuff."
The rest of the novel contains rather boring events - Ana teasing Christian via e-mail, Ana going to work, Ana and Christian on a yacht, Ana and Christian at a charity event... what's next, taking the subway? Anything of interest is revealed only after painstakingly reading through more sexcapades and will mostlikely be mentioned in a few casual lines at the end of a chapter. Even the end of the novel, which supposedly makes you want to read the last book of the trilogy, isn't all that interesting. You just think, "Okay, so?"
Needless to say, I will pass on reading Fifty Shades Freed. There are no more secrets to be revealed and I refuse to be burdened by one confused, self-sabotaging character who always needs rescuing and one once strong, now pussywhipped (oh yes, I went there...) character. Forget it.
Final Rating: 5/10 - Boring plot line, annoying characters, excessive sex scenes, and repetitive descriptive vocabulary all contribute to the average rating of this book. For anyone considering reading it, I'd say save yourself some time and just read a spoiler summary of the next two books in the series. It's just not worth it.
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