Pan: 50 Shades Darker

     "I gasp then flush crimson while my inner goddess scoffs at my subconscious as my 50 Shades looks at me with his grey eyes blazing fire..." EL James's writing in a nutshell. This is not an actual sentence from either of her two books I have read, but I swear these are the only words she uses.

     In the second installment of Jame's 50 Shades trilogy, the reader is pulled further in to the twisted relationship of the protagonists Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Unlike the first novel in the series however, 50 Shades Darker has an added element of mystery that for me, makes this one just a little bit more interesting.

     James left us hanging in 50 Shades of Grey as Ana breaks up with Christian, as Ana believes that she is not capable of being the type of woman he needs to keep him both physically and emotionally satisfied. 50 Shades Darker picks up not but a few days after the Red Room of Pain walkout and it takes less than a chapter for the couple to resolve their deep-seated issues and get back together. Ana remains as needy and timid as ever, with Grey no less controlling. He vows to try his [twitching] hand at a normal, monogamous no-dom-no-sub relationship with Ana this time around and she is just as eager to please. James spends too much time trying to gain the reader's sympathy by revealing bits and pieces of Grey's troubled past in an attempt to explain why he is the way he is. She is not afraid to describe every single "pained expression" with every single touch of Ana's hand. I am rolling my eyes every single time.

     Ana acquires a stalker in this one; a Christian ex-submissive. She also gets a sleazy publisher boss. Ever the problem-solver, Grey hides the troubled girl away in a rehabilitation facility and buys out Ana's employer. Christian goes missing for a few hours after a helicopter ride goes awry and gives Ana an engagement ring. Aside from these, the book is pretty non-eventful. And even then, the events are actually pretty non-eventful. It ends with Christian and Ana being watched and plotted against by an unknown adversary who seems to be out for revenge for some kind of wrongdoing. I literally laughed out loud. I am now officially 2/3 of the way through the series, and I figure after my nursing boards are complete I will read the last book. I want this time to come and go, as I have a few real-life, critically acclaimed novels ready and waiting in my arsenal. I need to get away from the 50 Shades/Twilight neediness who make up such annoying and boring characters. This series is just wearing me out!