Fifty Shades of Grey is the new sensation following in the footsteps of the Twilight and Harry Potter series. Statistics show that, at least in the UK, the Fifty Shades series has outsold the Harry Potter series even though Harry Potter still leads when it comes to international sales. Fifty Shades of Grey began as fan fiction; its original characters were Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from the Twilight series. The author, E. L. James, took these characters and rewrote the story as one that had no supernatural aspect but that contained elements of BDSM—bondage/discipline, domination/submission and sadism/masochism.
Fifty Shades of Grey might have begun as fan fiction but it wasn't long before it took on a life of its own and E. L. James renamed the characters Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Anastasia or Ana is an inexperienced young college student who meets billionaire Christian who is only 27 years old. The two are immediately attracted to each other but Christian has issues with intimacy and a predilection for kinky sex. The book is the story of how Ana learns to enjoy sex with Christian but, at the same time, also reforms him, forcing him to accept his intimacy issues.
In some ways, Fifty Shades of Grey is a typical romance where an inexperienced young girl is swept off her feet by a successful man. She must come to terms with her sexual awakening and, at the same time, bring him to emotional maturity. The only difference between this book and a lot of romance novels out there is that it involves BDSM and contracts are signed between the two protagonists about how their intimate relationship will work. Overall, Fifty Shades of Grey is readable, entertaining, titillating and just a tiny bit shocking.
E.L. James is the pseudonym for British writer Erika Leonard who studied History and then worked as a studio manager’s assistant. She started writing Fifty Shades of Grey under the pseudonym Snowqueens Icedragon and was as surprised as anyone else when it became a huge success, its fame spreading on social medial websites and by word of mouth. She also wrote two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.
Download the Fifty Shades of Grey audiobook from The Audiobook Store for an erotic audio experience. You’ll soon get hooked and want to download the sequels as well.
"Very exciting book, in fact all three of them were fun, exciting, & addicting!!! Once I started the first one I could not wait to finish them all! Loved the end...would love to have more! It may not be the best well writen book, but the excellent dialog took care of that...really enjoyed having a new electrifying romance with the here and now!!! "
— Tina, from OH (5 out of 5 stars)
MORE THAN 150 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE Look for E L James’s passionate new love story, The Mister, available now. When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires. This book is intended for mature audiences.
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“In a class by itself.”
— Entertainment Weekly“Fans of sizzling hot, tortured heroes will devour this first entry in James’ Fifty Shades trilogy.”
— RT Book Reviews (4 stars)“Battoe’s reading is crisp, clean, and well paced. Her version of the inexperienced Ana is full of wonder, horror, and amazement, and she nimbly handles the book’s more steamy moments.”
— Publishers Weekly (audio review)“Entertaining and compelling.”
— Kirkus Reviews" I like this audiobook very much. The plot and narrator´s speech kept me listen to it without breaks (I haven´t read the book). Well done! "
— Michaela, 2/3/2019" This was a great audiobook. I found myself wanting to listen everyday. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. "
— Debbie, 2/12/2017" Well...a major disappointment. ...even disturbing publishing craze. "
— Al, 2/18/2014" Enjoyed the first Shade, read it through in two days...the second one I couldn't finish. The voice was too harpish. Overkill. Just not my cup of tea. "
— LL, 2/13/2014" Quick easy read. Obviously different, it's about BDSM and a Billionaire. Sometimes the girl sounded like a wimp tho ;) "
— Iridius, 2/12/2014" better than expected, read some bad reviews, but written well and definately worth a read! "
— Kay, 2/11/2014" I tried to listen to this audiobook, thinking that it would be easier to get through than the book. (which I was fairly sure I couldn't make it through)Turns out I was wrong--I couldn't make it through the audiobook either. There wasn't anything redeeming about this book or the performance for me. At least I gave it a go so I can sort of see why people love this book...no, that's a lie. I can't. "
— Flannery, 2/9/2014" Was a pretty good read, liked the writing style, pretty good concept, deathly provocative, not your avg 'sexy' read....Hated how mundane it got thought, was the same thing over and over again, must be why I've been midway through the second of the trilogy... "
— Travis-travis, 2/8/2014" muy buena "
— Ann, 1/31/2014" I got sucked into the hype and read the trilogy. the writing quality was average the story line pretty bleak and I found the sex scenes repetitive. I was intrigued to find out why Christian was so unbalanced but the More I read on the less I cared. that being said I am very very jealous of the author s success!!! "
— Kerrie, 1/29/2014" The story had potencial. But it was awfully written. It was repetitive and the characters development was very poor. Basically you will end up knowing more about their sex life and adventures, what they like and don't like in bed; and you will learn almost nothing about who they are when they are not having sex. "
— Karla, 1/24/2014" Ok so the story line wasn't that fabulous but it did its job of adding spice to my life...... "
— Nikkole, 1/23/2014" OMG I want more lol "
— Jenevi, 1/20/2014" Not my kind of book. Every time Ana talked about her "inner goddess" I thought of Tarzan beating his chest. "
— Jaymelee, 1/18/2014" Not very well written, but if you are looking to get horny...Go for it my friend! "
— Ana, 1/17/2014" Must admit guilty pleasure series "
— Erin, 1/14/2014" horrible prose, i absolutely hate the character of Ana, but on the whole the book doesn't entirely lack potential. And "semi-erotic" , as my mom defined it, is definitely a eufemism. "
— Bea, 1/5/2014" This books pulled me in from the beginning. I could not put it down "
— Ali, 12/24/2013" she did a great job with the characters..you just have to love em' "
— Kaycad, 12/3/2013" Well... what to say about this series.... Mmmmm it is a very interesting read, very interesting indeed ;) "
— M.J., 11/19/2013" I just loved this trilogy. "
— Alyssum, 11/18/2013" Honestly I read the book after being pestered too and had no choice but the book wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The whole storyline was ok but sometimes I wanted to hit the Ana for whatever reason. "
— Negin, 11/16/2013" Poorly written!! I wish I had never read this. "
— Kayla, 11/12/2013" You can pretend you dont want to read it but you are only lying to yourself! Apart from the obvious I thought it was quite a nice story and it was nice to see the influence this young girl has over this rich powerful man. Keeps you interested enough to want to read the next two books. "
— Louise, 10/2/2013" It was a well presented topic of BDSM and tastefully explored; and contains some very erotic passages too, but it eventually becomes too repetitive from the 1st person perspective even when the activities become more intense. "
— Royce, 9/27/2013" intense! heartbreaking ending. "
— Jamie, 9/25/2013" Ok...I gave it a higher rating because Christian is the saving grace of the whole trilogy. Ana bothered me with her whole inner goddess immature personality in the beginning but it got a little better in the subsequent books. The cliffhanger is a whopper though! That even made me tear up lol! "
— Heidi, 9/15/2013" I'm loosing brain cells reading this book. "
— Alicia, 7/23/2013" Yep, sorry. I really liked it! It was a great romance novel brainless read and the dirty sex was childish but fun. liked twilight too... "
— Katt, 7/16/2013" Yeah, I read them. They are terrible. Don't bother unless you are like me and want to know just how bad they are. "
— Marybeth, 7/11/2013" Spare me! I would rather be whipped with a wet noodle. "
— Ellen, 6/7/2013" Overall plot very flat. Uninteresting story line. "
— Kamelie, 6/4/2013" The first few chapters were slow. I'm sad it is over. "
— Temre, 5/12/2013" First one was interesting enough to further my interest to read the sequel. The writing was mediocre at best, and I could absolutely believe the series began as fan fiction. It was laughably obvious that it was recast from Twilight Characters originally. "
— Kimberly, 2/21/2013" i found this book to be raunchy in places but also could not out it down as when you read the book you start to feel that there is more to Mr Grey than meets the eye i would recommend this book i would also say it is more for women than men "
— Liz, 1/30/2013" It was pretty traumatizing. I mean it's totally explicit, though at the end I couldn't help crying. "
— Tiffany, 1/13/2013" Bad, awful, terrible, horrific writing. No character development. Glorifies the cycle of abusive relationships. "
— Rachel, 1/3/2013" Publishing things like this should be illegal. "
— JonÄ—, 11/29/2012" this book is probably too inappropriate for me. but im still going to read it. "
— Wendsline, 11/17/2012" It's a great book. I love the fact that it got women to talk about this topic which has been around for a long time! "
— Diana, 8/24/2012" This was a really great book and I completely fell in love with the characters - Christian Grey and Anastasia (Ana) Steele. This is the most erotic book I've ever read and I can't wait to check out the other 2 in the series. "
— Andrea K., 7/21/2012" There's certainly no shortage of hot sex in this audiobook to keep things exciting but the inane dialog and poor writing almost ruined it for me. "
— D.M., 7/4/2012" This was the most fun I've had listening to an audiobook in quite some time. So spicy! "
— Anita L., 6/27/2012" All I've been hearing lately is 50 shades this and 50 shades that so I set out to see what all the fuss was about. After listening to this audiobook I finally get it. It's great fun and plenty steamy with some fairly decent albeit not great writing. It made for a very interesting weekend. "
— JC, 6/14/2012" I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I really liked this book. I really thought the characters were very intriguing. The writing isn't the best (she relies on too many cliches) but it was a fun and sexy read regardless. "
— Candace C., 5/17/2012" All in all the book not bad but honestly I really don't see what all the fuss is about. My friend who is a fan of the series insures me that the first book is the worst in the series... we'll see. "
— Heisawoman, 5/16/2012" This was an ok book but nothing special and certainly not up to all of the hype in my opinion. I didn't care much for Anastasia or Grey as both characters were way over the top and didn't seem real. "
— Erin D., 5/4/2012" I really enjoyed this book and after finishing it I couldn't wait to download the 2nd book. I got hooked from the beginning and not just because of the steamy sex! Of course there is plenty of that though. I'm in the middle of the 2nd book now and will definitely be getting the 3rd one. "
— Sandra M, 4/25/2012" The book is super easy to read and well composed. "
— Rafiqa, 4/3/2012E. L. James is a former TV executive, wife, and mother of two based in West London. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. Since then, the erotic romance series has sold more than sixty-five million copies, setting a record for the fastest selling paperback of all time.
Becca Battoe is a film and television actor, as well as an audiobook narrator. Her film roles include appearances on television shows such as Scrubs and Invasion. Other roles include Equity stage performances in Cats, Ug the Caveman Musical, and Shadow Hour. An AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, she is best known for her narration of the bestselling Fifty Shades Trilogy by E. L. James. She currently lives in Los Angeles.