Publisher's Weekly Review
In this mediocre erotic romance that lacks both passion and intimacy, the events of Fifty Shades of Grey are retold from Christian Grey's perspective, allowing readers to see inside the mind of the enigmatic, domineering businessman as he seduces and falls for college student Anastasia Steele. It's a perfect portrayal of an unhealthy relationship, as Grey, here shown to be an immature, self-loathing sadist with mother issues, attempts to lure a sexually inexperienced young woman into an ill-considered, unconvincing BDSM arrangement for which she's not suited. Furthermore, in switching vantage points, James sadly demonstrates a glaring inability to depict a convincing male perspective. Grey's inner voice shows him to be obsessive, possessive, insecure, and needy, with a tendency to treat and view Ana like a child rather than an adult potential lover. This version mirrors the source material so well that it adds very little to the story, merely filtering the events through a less sympathetic lens. "Yeah, yeah, baby, it's just a face and it's only skin deep. I need to dispel that admiring look from those eyes, but let's have some fun in the process!" thinks Grey upon first meeting Ana, and it's all downhill from there. Agent: Valerie Hoskins, Valerie Hoskins Associates. (June) c Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
By now, it's a well-known story: Dominant rich boy meets innocent girl and tries to make her his submissive. Girl resists but falls in love. Boy is perplexed, then falls in love. Drama ensues. Those wondering about Christian Grey's version of the events depicted in Fifty Shades of Grey can now satisfy their curiosity in exhaustive detail. James spends the majority of this work retreading the first novel in her best-selling trilogy while offering only a few tidbits of Christian's dark past. Christian is revealed as a sensitive man who is overwhelmed and confused by his passion for Anastasia Steele, a naïf unlike the submissives he's accustomed to dominating. Narrator Zachary Webber does an excellent job demonstrating the nuances of Christian's character, infusing emotion and occasional humor into sometimes dark subject matter. VERDICT This is nonessential listening, but it does eventually offer a look into Christian Grey's brutal past from his perspective. ["Though some readers of the 'Fifty Shades' series might be disappointed that the character they imagined is not the Christian Grey author James writes about here, others will be pleasantly surprised": LJ 7/1/15 online review of the Vintage hc; ow.ly/RHFLc.]-Anna -Mickelsen, Springfield City Lib., MA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
