A review by naceprettub
Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

5.0

4.5 stars!

This review can also be found here - http://thebookboudoir.blogspot.com/2012/01/fifty-shades-darker-by-eljames.html



After the cliffhanger that was Fifty Shades of Grey I was so thankful that Darker was already published and I could go right into reading it. Anastasia has started a new career but she hasn't completely moved on. Christian still haunts her. Seeing her go through missing him is really heart breaking but I am glutton for punishment and I love angst. All Ana really wanted was for Christian to open up to her but he wasn't willing to do so. Since Fifty is in Ana's point of view it's hard to know what he's thinking. The angst lover in me wanted him to suffer, to miss her like crazy and to come crawling back, begging for forgiveness.

I also wanted Christian to see that he deserves to have someone love him and to be happy in a 'stable' relationship. I think he had a lot of fear locked inside himself -- definitely afraid that if he let Anastasia completely into his heart he would wind up hurt. Or that he would hurt her. So many times I wanted to just shove them both in a closet and lock the door until they talked it out.

There is a part of Ana that can't get over Christian's past 'relationships' too. It ate at her until she couldn't do anything but think about it anymore. She was so desperate to have every part of him that she didn't really see that he was giving what he could. I guess in a way, he was only giving what he would allow himself to give. He definitely could have been less controlling of his emotions. In the past, he'd also controlled Ana, but she's not going to allow that any more. She's going to bring him to his knees.

Not only are Christian and Ana struggling to find a common ground - between her fear of punishment and his fear of a 'vanilla' relationship - but someone from his past can't seem to let him go. Ana is faced with the ex that made Christian the man he is, as well as an ex that turned out to be a stalker. Her life is in danger and Christian does everything he can to protect her. There's also Ana's struggle with wondering if she's enough for him. If she can be what he needs in the play room - submissive enough.

The intensity and heat are still so easy to feel with these two. Even with all their struggles it's obvious their hearts are truly twisted up in love. It's up to the two of them to find a median where they can both get what they want. Love and acceptance, BDSM desires. Sigh. I wish I could just blog every single detail of this story. So many characters in this book that are easy to fall in love with. I want to read both this book and the first all over again.

As I stated in my review for Fifty Shades of Grey, this is a BDSM book. If that doesn't appeal to you, consider before reading.