Grey (Fifty Shades #4) by EL James

~Synopsis~

Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.

Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?

~My Review~
««

The deliciously anticipated book by E.L. James.  Grey.  Fifty Shades of Grey from Christian's point of view.  I'll admit that when she posted that this was coming out, I might have rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure what to think.  So many people were excited about the book, and while I did enjoy the trilogy, I still couldn't decide if I would read this book.  At the end of Fifty Shades Freed, we got a little glimpse into Christian's world when the first chapter of FSOG was translated into his POV.  And it was delicious.  So I decided that since I really liked that, I would take the plunge and read Grey.

I was disappointed.  I'm not going to lie.  That first chapter glimpse held so much promise - I loved seeing what Christian thought of the interview, the ways he would go about getting information (the background check), and what was going on.  However, what I really wasn't expecting was an exact replica of the first FSOG book just from another POV.  Every single scene was the same.  Every conversation, every email, every text between Ana and Christian seemed to have been copied from FSOG and pasted into Grey.  There was nothing original.  No new material.

I've read a lot of reviews.  I've seen that a lot of people loved the book and they didn't expect a whole new story.  But I can't agree with them.  I didn't expect a whole new story, but I really thought there would be better insight to Christian and what makes him tick.  It really wasn't until Ana broke up with him and left him (about 90% of the way through the book) that we finally get some insight.  We finally get some new story.  I felt that this small part of the book was the best part.  We finally get some understanding of what happened to Christian to make him the way he is.

Aside from the fact that there was no original material (everything was 'recycled,' as another reviewer said), what I really didn't like was how every single one of Christian's thoughts was spelled out whether we wanted to know or not.  It made him into a dreary, annoying fool who was just a bit annoying.  His internal monologue was almost as annoying as Ana's inner goddess.  The little thoughts that came after each scene, each conversation, was just annoying...It made it so that Christian was turned into a very simple human being instead of the amazingly smart and successful person that he's supposed to be.  It gave him Tarzan like qualities that doesn't do anything to build up his character.

It was even more surprising because in FSOG, while I thought the story was fun, I found Ana to be immature and somewhat annoying at times - but I chalked that up to the fact that she was a 21-year old recent college graduate.  However, Grey turned Christian into someone who I don't like, someone who is just as immature but in a different way.  It wasn't becoming, and while he has a boatload of issues that took him 90% of a 600 page book to get through, it just wasn't fun to read.

I hate giving negative reviews.  I hate taking a widely anticipated book and saying that I didn't enjoy it.  But the fact of the matter is that Grey is almost an exact replica of the original Fifty Shades of Grey.  With extremely little original material, I most often found myself bored and hoping something new would come along.  The last 10% of the book mildly redeemed the book, which is why I gave it two stars.  Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.

I'd like to quote another review that I found on Amazon.  I normally don't do this, but I really felt that what this reviewer wrote really hits home with Grey:  "What matters is is [sic] whether a re-used plot is fun to read or not.  And since this particular re-used plot wasn't fun to read, I'm obviously not going to give it a good review."

UPDATE:  There are 2 more things I would like to point out that I forgot about.  #1)  The blatant use of Google Maps.  Honestly:  I really couldn't give two hoots about which streets Christian is running and driving on.  Is it really necessary to be that specific??  We all know that you (James) live in England - how could you possibly be this familiar with the outlines of Seattle and Portland??  In the grand scheme of things, you promised a book that would give us more insight into Christian, and for the most part we just got a regurgitated story with very little new material.  We don't need the new material to be street names and running paths!  And #2)  Going along with the point that James is from England:  I had issues with the original FSOG Trilogy because of the clear uses of English English instead of American English and I found that it was even more pronounced in this book.  "I've not had sex before...." - NO!!  I haven't had sex before!  It's a difference of where to land the contraction, but it's also the difference of how Americans usually speak.  If you're going to write in first person in America, you need to write the way Americans would talk!  ::end rant::

Link to Goodreads 
Link to Kindle
Link to Nook

Review: Kane (Slater Brothers #3) by LA Casey

~Synopsis~

Aideen Collins is a free spirit. She is outspoken and tough as nails, but she has to be after growing up in a house full of men. Family means everything to Aideen. Her family consists of her four brothers, her father, and her group of wild friends. Aideen is protective of her family, there is not a lot she wouldn’t do to keep them safe.

Kane Slater is a tortured soul. Literally. He is misunderstood by people, even feared by them thanks to the scars that mar his face and body. He relishes in their fear because people who fear you, won’t want to know you. He likes his circle limited to his brothers and their girlfriends, but a thorn from an Irish rose is dug deep into Kane’s side, and her name is Aideen Collins.

Aideen and Kane don’t get along… at all. Aideen is the only woman who stands up to Kane and throws his bullshit back at him without fear of hurting him. Kane is the only man who can see right through Aideen's tough exterior. He knows her deepest, and darkest secrets. They can’t stand each other, but they want each other. Badly. They hide their need behind arguments, and banter, but when Kane drops his guard for all to see, and succumbs to an illness within his body, it’s Aideen who steps up to the plate to take care of him.

An illness is the least of their worries when a devil from Kane’s past comes back to play with him. Everybody in Kane’s life is threatened, and with his body fighting against him, he doesn’t know if the luck of the Irish is enough to keep his family safe and his demons at bay.

Kane needs Aideen, and what Kane needs, Kane takes.

~My Review~
««««

I'm pretty sure that I found the first Slater Brother's Book, Dominic, as a recommendation on Goodreads....Maybe over a year ago.  I remember really enjoying the book, despite the fact that the characters were still in high school (I was a little skeptical at first that they may be too young, but I was quickly proven wrong).  As time went on, I kept reading the new books that LA Casey was releasing.  The companion novella to Dominic, Bronagh, then Alec and Keela.  When I had the opportunity as a blogger to post a release day post promoting Kane, I decided to go for it!  I mean, why not?? 

As many of you know, I took a bit of a hiatus from reading and writing over the last couple months.  I don't know what it was but I think I had been impulsively reading so much that I just needed a little break.  A lot of what I was reading was just quick little finds that were really mediocre, and I didn't want to write about them because they really weren't great.  However, Kane was released today and I just had to go for it.  Kane is the first new book (new release, new for me) that I've read in a long time, and I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed it.

We learned a little bit about Kane in the previous books, but we generally knew very little about him.  I only ever knew that he was a tough guy  in the whole scene with Marco and he was thus covered in scars.  He may have been the bad boy, but he still seemed like a gentle and kind soul, even from the little information that we got from the previous books.  I really loved getting to know him in this book.  It picked up right where Keela left off, continuing with the girl's adventure with the pregnancy tests and Kane's collapse in the grocery store. We learned about his collapse and why it happened, and we got to see his and Aideen's relationship grow right from the beginning.  I knew a little bit about Aideen because she has been present, at least a little bit, in all of the books so far.  She is a sassy thing, and I really loved her.  Even though the entire book was written from Aideen's point of view, I felt like a good job was done in also presenting information about Kane.

I really liked the dynamic between Kane and Aideen.  I loved how they bickered and argued, and then how they finally were able to admit their attraction to each other.

There was a lot of conflict and resolution in this book.  There's the obvious trouble of Kane collapsing and them finally discovering what his illness is and the challenges to overcome it.  Then there are troubles from Kane's past that come to haunt him.  I like how everything came together with these troubles - I never felt like they came out of nowhere or were just there for the same of having conflict.  It ends on a mini cliffhanger - in that some things are resolved, but other things are not.  This obviously gives us some talking points for Aideen's novella.  I wish I could talk through the things that weren't involved, but by mentioned them I would totally give away so much about the book that I don't want to spoil.

As usual, all of the brothers and their girls have presence in this book.  I love them all, and it's interesting to see how their relationships are going.  I felt that quite a bit was built up between Ryder and Branna, so I'm excited for Ryder's book to see how that plays out.  I have my suspicious, but who knows.  I also liked the introduction to Aideen's family (all of her brothers), and while they had small roles in this book, they still brought a lot of entertainment.

I actually sent LA Casey an email today because a friend of mine and I were trying to figure out the timeline between the books.  I remember she had posted something at some point about the years between each book, but I can't remember when or where I read that.  So hopefully she points me in the right direction.  In this book, Dominic and Bronagh are about 23, so it is about 5 years after the first book, but I'm interested to see how much time will elapse between this book and Ryder & Branna's.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  I felt like it moved quickly, but there was never a time where I felt like things were moving too slow or too fast.  There was never a time where I felt like conflict was thrown in for no reason.  

I've really come to love the Slater Brothers series, and I honestly can't wait for Aideen's novella, as well as the rest of the books in the series!!

Link to Goodreads
Link to Kindle
Link to Nook

Release Day: Kane (Slater Brothers #3) by LA Casey

Title: Kane Series: Slater Brothers (#3) Author: L.A. Casey Genre: Contemporary, Romance, New Adult, Romantic Comedy

Aideen Collins is a free spirit. She is outspoken and tough as nails, but she has to be after growing up in a house full of men. Family means everything to Aideen. Her family consists of her four brothers, her father, and her group of wild friends. Aideen is protective of her family, there is not a lot she wouldn’t do to keep them safe. Kane Slater is a tortured soul. Literally. He is misunderstood by people, even feared by them thanks to the scars that mar his face and body. He relishes in their fear because people who fear you, won’t want to know you. He likes his circle limited to his brothers and their girlfriends, but a thorn from an Irish rose is dug deep into Kane’s side, and her name is Aideen Collins. Aideen and Kane don’t get along… at all. Aideen is the only woman who stands up to Kane and throws his bullshit back at him without fear of hurting him. Kane is the only man who can see right through Aideen's tough exterior. He knows her deepest, and darkest secrets. They can’t stand each other, but they want each other. Badly. They hide their need behind arguments, and banter, but when Kane drops Kane by L.A. Casey ~ Release Day Blitz HTML his guard for all to see, and succumbs to an illness within his body, it’s Aideen who steps up to the plate to take care of him. An illness is the least of their worries when a devil from Kane’s past comes back to play with him. Everybody in Kane’s life is threatened, and with his body fighting against him, he doesn’t know if the luck of the Irish is enough to keep his family safe and his demons at bay. Kane needs Aideen, and what Kane needs, Kane takes.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

 

“Hey,” Kane murmured, “what’s that face for?”“I don’t like how she looked at you,” I replied lowly to him. “What way did she look at me?” he asked. I set my jaw. “Like she was frightened.” Kane sighed, “I get that a lot, darling. I don’t blame her though—I do look scary.” Hearing him say that made me really mad. “No. You. Don’t,” I hissed. “You look perfectly fuckin’ fine, and fuck anyone who thinks differently.” Kane grabbed hold of my arm and brought us to a stop. He rounded on me and looked down at my face. “Babydoll.” I shook my head. “I’m fine. I... I just don’t like people thinkin’ you’re somethin’ to fear. You aren’t. They don’t know you like I do.” Kane smiled at me. “Have I ever told you how amazing you are?” I flushed. “No, but it’d be nice to hear it often.”

Dominic

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Bronagh

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Alec

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Keela

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

   

 

 L.A. Casey was born, raised and currently resides in Dublin, Ireland. She is a twenty-three year old stay at home mother to a two year old German Shepherd named Storm and of course, her five year old – going on thirty – beautiful little hellion/angel depending on the hour of the day. She is the author of the Amazon Bestselling book series, Slater Brothers.

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Amazon | Goodreads Follow L.A. Casey on tsu Subscribe to L.A. Casey’s Newsletter

 

Enter to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway