After reading the first book, I could not wait to get my hands on this one. The surprises it had in store for me were so much more than I could have ever expected. Fifty Shades Darker starts out on the same note it left off in the first book. While being faced with the problems that had arisen in the first book, this book clearly weighs the main character's choices very heavily. This book will keep you on your toes and when you've ridden the roller coaster this takes you on, and you finally think the ride is over, it will send you sailing in another unexpected twist in the plot. This book clearly introduces quite a few characters that were named in the first book but never seen. It uniquely introduces each character and puts each character in their surroundings and not only uncovers things about both the main character and Christian but also uncovers quite a few things about the past about both major and minor characters.

As for the formatting of the emails that get sent back and forth, I was not overwhelming fond of these. These play a very important part of communication - mainly when Ana uses the emailing system on her cellphone because they are harder to trace. The warnings Christian gives Ana over and over about the emails on her computers are annoying to the point you know something will happen. I didn't like the emailing back and forth, but that may just be me in the fact I do not like e-mails. I like the fact that there were little changes in e-mails lines and signatures, and while I can't imagine that you could actually change the bottom signatures so quickly, I do not know a whole lot about e-mailing.

One thing I think the author really missed again in this book was the ability in making the beginning interesting. Even while listening to the audiobook, I was unenthusiastic and uninterested in the beginning. Thinking back, the beginning was probably the most important part in details though. I think it would have been useful to make it a little more eye-catching but not intense because it's important to pay attention to details - especially in the beginning. The one thing that did capture my interest in the beginning was a surprise character intro but does not mention any name or relation at first.

The sex in this book occurred just about as much as in the first book but more deep than pleasure-seeking. The characters begin to develop more in this book, and though the sex occasionally gets kinky, it is more on an emotional level than on a BDSM level. Not all the whips and chains are gone, but don't expect as many in this book!

The cover was definitely my favorite part of this book. The amount of detail in the shading and highlights in the mask on the front made me love this cover the best out of all things of the books. While I did wish I could see the black feather on top a little more, it's hard not to draw attention to the silver mask on the black background.

The cover is what drew me to this the most. I loved the fact the word "darker" was actually darker on the book and, as I own my own Carnival mask, I loved this cover the most. While I could hardly see the black feather on the black background (and wouldn't have even noticed it had it not been pointed out in the book), I was impressed by the decorative detail of sparkles (and the fact I could tell they were sparkles) on the mask. I am an artist, and I truly appreciate how well done and drawing this cover is to people.