I finally got done reading Book 2 of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, called 50 Shades Darker. However, this title is VERY misleading. At the end of 50 Shades of Grey, Ana decides that a dominant/submissive relationship would be way too much for her to handle, and decides to leave Christian. The second book takes up right where this leaves off. She had been without Christian for 5 days before they ultimately decide that they can't go that long without one another. They decide to take on a normal (vanilla) relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, however, Ana is completely unaware of how much baggage Christian actually has.

First of all, one of Christian's creepy ex-subs finds Ana and threatens her, then eventually buys a gun, which someone with as much emotional and psychological damage probably wouldn't be able to do in reality. But, after she breaks in to Ana's apartment, and holds Ana at gunpoint, Christian comes in and subdues her by commanding her to submit. And after that, the threat is over. The same thing happens several times throughout the book. Every time in the book that there seemed to be an issue or threat, or a climax, it was resolved within two pages. I found this incredibly annoying. There was another part in the book where Christian "goes missing", but within a page or two, he is found and okay. Another false climax. It was ridiculous.

Christian also has several problems, besides the baggage. Not only is he incredibly controlling, he also has trust issues. He doesn't let Ana go on a business trip that would possibly give her more experience in her job, mainly because of her male boss (which he later turns out to be right about, unfortunately). He even ends up buying out the company that Ana gets a job for, just so he can keep a closer eye on her when she's not around. Ana seems to make this behavior seem okay because he's impossibly good looking. To me, even if a guy is incredibly good looking, there are certain lines to be drawn, especially being only weeks into a relationship. And he ends up proposing to her! Why marry someone you don't feel you can trust?

Also, this book followed that same "typical romance" suit that made Twilight popular. Within weeks of knowing each other, Christian decides to propose to Ana, which she eventually accepts. I don't know if this is the jaded side of me coming out, but this book should never be compared to reality. Relationships hardly work out this way without ending in divorce. Frankly, I just think the character of Ana is a complete idiot, and immature. Some of her quips such as "my fifty", "Holy cow" (especially before having sex), and "my inner-goddess" are incredibly annoying, and are mentioned several times throughout each chapter.

The sex scenes are also relatively uneventful. There are good ones that take place on a piano, as well as a pool table. Toward the end of the book, she shallowly decides to give BDSM a chance. This involves a spreader bar, and that's it. Very shallow. All of the sex scenes in this book are predictable. There is no revolutionary positions or places. All of these things have been done before in porn or in other books. E.L. James just does a somewhat decent job of eloquently describing these scenes. But again, she probably got the ideas from porn.

This book was incredibly difficult to read, compared to the first one, which was read in less than 48 hours. It takes quite a few chapters to pick up, and even when the climaxes do occur, it doesn't last long. Almost like premature ejaculation. Very unsatisfying.