50 Shades of Shite

After much anticipation I finally indulged in my not so secret passion for 50 Shades of Grey. As most of you know, I am a lover of the book series by E.L. James. I even went so far as to have my own fantasy cast for the movie! I was stunned that Jamie Dornan was cast as the mysteriously kinky Christian Grey. Frankly I just couldn't see it. When the promotional material began to flood the television and internet, Dornan grew on me but Dakota Johnson, not so much.

Being the frugal lady I am, I waited until I could rent the movie on demand. It was actually my viewing pleasure for Mother's Day. My poor husband indulged me and even sat with me to watch the movie. Well, that is $7 and 2 hours I will never get back. I was so disappointed in the cast. Dornan was barely able to pull off an American accent let alone hide his Irish lilt. While I enjoy looking at Jamie Dornan and that toned body, the guy couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. Johnson was like a dead fish. Lifeless. Boring. No passion. She stank. Actually, neither actor portrayed great passion for a film that is all about passion. I just didn't feel it. The sex scenes were ok. They had to be tamed for obvious reasons but still they lacked that kink that I came to associate with Christian Grey.

My husband fell asleep within the first 20 minutes of the movie while I struggled to stay awake. What is worse is they ended that joke of a movie on the insinuation that there would be a follow up movie! Seriously, will they put out another piece of shite like that? Just sayin', if you need a fix of Christian Grey...reread the book and skip the movie, what you imagine in your mind would be far more powerful than the drivel they served up on the silver screen.

Review: All of You by Christina Lee

Avery has no desire to have a relationship, preferring to keep the men in her life as casual sexual encounters. Her troubling childhood are the main reason for her poor attitude towards love and relationships.

 

Bennett is the hot guy who also shares a similar background as Avery but deals with it in a much healthier and honorable manner. He is sweet and caring and 'gasp' a virgin! That's right, a sexy hot virgin according to the authors detailing of him.

 

That is really the whole story. Boy meets girl, they like each other. Girl wants to sleep with boy but he refuses because she doesn't want a relationship. A tale as old as time. Ha! This is where I found this story so unbelievable, hard to wrap my head around. Now I'm not saying that a guy can't be a virgin at 21, but lets be honest here, the possibility of that is pretty freaking slim. It would be just as likely as if I were to encounter a hot vampire at my local high school.

 

So I swallow my disbelief, pour a glass of wine and continue to read the book. First off let me say I do not like Avery. She is just that classless, trashy kind of character that I just don't care for. I don't expect the heroins in novels to be as pure as the driven snow, but perhaps if her persona was shared with the reader in a different way, I might have liked her a bit more. The sad thing is I have met a few 'Avery' type girls in my day. I found it difficult to be their friends. Call me judgemental, call me a meanie! I just didn't like  her nor do I have to!

 

Now Bennett is a different story. His sweetness and the physical description of him makes me like him instantly, a departure from the dark and complicated men I tend to favor in novels. If you are looking for an Alpha type man , Bennett is NOT your guy. He is honest, wears his heart on his sleeve and surprisingly innocent. He is for some reason drawn to the somewhat slutty Avery, which perplexes me as I would think that he would stick to his moral code and not date a woman who is even remotely like his mother. 

 

 

 

Given my dislike for Avery and my lukewarm feelings for Bennett, it is a miracle I completed the book. But I stuck to it, determined to find out if the story got any better, maybe had a few incredible drama's or love scenes. I gritted my teeth while reading solely about Avery, the only time she wasn't intolerable was when she was with Bennett.

I didn't care for this book. Sure it had its moments but it just seemed to drag on. The love scenes were few, not as passionate as I had hoped for, and the characters, mainly Avery lacked any captivating qualities, even the side kick friends annoyed me, immensely.

Near the end of the book the event that brought the young couple together was brought to light but it was done haphazard and hastily.

 

In all this was one of my least favorite books. Weak characters and story line, not enough to sink my teeth into...even while drinking a good Barolo!

Addicted to Reading

I have always been an avid reader, I recall loving books from an early age. Of course how frequently I read depended on how busy I was at the time. Sometimes I had very little time to read a book for pleasure while I was in college and again when my children were really young.

I am pleased to say I am on a reading roll again. It all started with the least likely of suspects. Frankly I am still shocked to this day that I even picked the books up. You see, historically I have been a fan of thriller and horror fiction. Give this gal a grisly murder or ghost story over some prince and peasant girl love story anyday! With that said, I was curious about all of the hype, the chatter regarding some man named Christian Gray. I had no idea who he was so Googled him only to learn that he was a character in a popular BDSM related romance novel.

Whips and chains! Oh My! Really not my cup of tea but curiosity got the better of me and well as they say the rest is history. I found a new niche that I enjoyed reading. Contemporary adult romance novels struck a chord with me. I would likely need to spend many months on a psychologists couch in order to work through the many reasons for why this genre appeals to me. Perhaps I am going through some midlife crisis. Maybe I'm just a perv. Suffice it to say, I am a fan and in the last year or so I have read countless books, some great, some awful.

I have decided that I would like to share with my readers some 'thought' and suggestions for many of the books I have read. So every Friday I will (hope) to post a suggestion for a book along with a review, just in time for the weekend!

So please, ladies, and maybe a couple of men, join me in my Mamma's Tawdry Reads and share your thoughts on some of the novels I discuss.

Until my first official post, Happy Reading!