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Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Fifty Shades of Grey in Books

Feb 23, 2018  
Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.6 (103 Ratings)
Book Rating
I didn't intend to read this book, as I'd largely heard snark about it. A dear friend recommended it, though, so I finally gave it a read.

The writing definitely needs polish and a good editor--I couldn't possibly give it more than 3 stars due to that alone. The sexy is there, though, and that's the whole purpose of the book. It does follow most of the traditional romance tropes, which explains most of its acceptance, but the addition of spicier sex seems to be what has everyone talking. (I'd call it spicy more than truly kinky.)

The entire plot takes place in just three weeks, which isn't bad in the romance world. That doesn't leave much time for character growth, but there is a little. That brings the book up a star from where I'd put most romance novels.

If you want some light, sexy summer reading and don't mind the fact that this is so very obviously a self-published first novel, go for it. Some people will want to read it just because of all the uproar, I imagine. If you're looking for literature or true erotica, pass this one up.
  
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David McK (3425 KP) rated Flying Colours in Books

Feb 8, 2020  
Flying Colours
Flying Colours
CS Forester | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Chronologically the seventh (of eleven) of CS Forester's Hornblower series of books, this was actually the third published in the series, and follows on pretty much directly from the ending of 'Ship of the Line', with Hornblower and his men captured by the French after he had to surrender the HMS Sutherland at the end of that previous book.

Unlike the other entries, this one takes place largely on land, with the majority - a good two thirds, say - of the novel dealing with Hornblower's (and Bush, and Brown) captivity, escape from the same and journeys across France before a daring raid that sees him recapture and return home (where he has been presumed dead) with a (now re)captured British vessel.

As such, this is perhaps more character-driven than we have been used to so far, with large swathes of the book concerned with Hornblower himself and his mental state, riven with self-doubt and jealousy, and unsure of how his surrender will be viewed at home: a home where he is both unhappily married and awaiting the birth of his third child (after the death of his previous two to Smallpox).