Fifty Shades Darker by E L James - review

What's Fifty Shades Darker about? The sequel to the hugely successful Fifty Shades of Grey, this book sees the rollercoaster relationship between Seattle's richest bachelor and Anastacia Steele continue to rise and fall. The book opens in the aftermath of Christian and Ana's break up, after the pair's differences in what they want from their relationship have ultimately caused it to fail. While Christian and Ana's sexual relationship has been explosive, exciting, and sometimes even passionate, Ana's doubts that she can fulfil Christian's love of bondage and whips in the bedroom and her want for ‘more' out of the relationship see the pair struggle. As the couple try to find a compromise between the two, Ana learns more of the dark, disturbing details that blighted Christian's childhood. Ana must now decide how deep she wants to delve, as sinister characters from Christian's past, (and some from her present) threaten to crush the progress they've made as a couple.

goodtoknow says: This book does exactly what it says on the tin. It gets darker, fifty shades darker, in fact. We get a much deeper insight into Christian Grey; we meet his family, his jealous and psychotic ex-'submissives' (the women he's dominated in the bedroom - who prove to be a whole load of trouble), his psychiatrist, and we finally get to see his romantic side (yay!). And most importantly we learn about his past. This book finally begins to reveal to us what's happened to this man to make him so impossibly confusing. What every reader wants to know is if Christian and Ana will have a happy ending, and this book throws so many twists and turns at their relationship that it's impossible to tell. There are some really thrilling action-packed scenes and some pretty explosive arguments. We were held in suspense from start to finish, finding 5 minutes wherever possible to read more; will they or won't they? How will they get out of this one? Who's got a gun? Oops, we've said too much...

Rating: 8/10

Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd Publish Date: Out now

If you like this, you'll love: Beauty's Punishment, Anne Rice

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Ready for the next Fifty Shades? Read our review of Fifty Shades Freed here...

More books reviews in the goodtoknow Book Club. Have you read Fifty Shades Darker by E L James? If you have, tell us what you thought of it by publishing your review in the comments box below.

Where to next?

Emylia Hall's The Book of Summers - review

Martina Cole's The Faithless - review

See the latest titles in goodtoknow's 2013 Book Club