Yes, I’ll admit it. I jumped on the bandwagon.

For those who have been on Mars for the last month or so, the Fifty Shades trilogy has skyrocketed to the top of the Times best seller list for the last 14 weeks, with each of the three books taking that position in the chart. It is the story of Anastasia Steele- a university student that has just graduated and Christian Grey a control-freak, megalomaniac, super rich handsome modern day Mr Darcy type with a big secret.

Although very addictive, for me, Fifty Shades lacked originality. The girl meets boy, big drama, happy ever after scenario has been done so many times that quite frankly I expected it. There are obvious pointers throughout that highlight where the book is going. The book also quite heavily lacks a story line.

As far as Ms James’ book’s selling point goes, the second book entitled Darker has samey, predictable sex. (That isn’t saying that if a super rich man wants to come and whisk me off my feet I’d say no.) However, considering the author did research at an Audi dealership and asked whether you could in fact conduct said activity in their R8 model, and the subsequent label the car has been given, even I’m surprised by how bored I got with the sexual content within the book.

The book raised some interesting questions among the Concourse team, and it has made us wonder why this book has caused such a stir. It is labelled by most as ‘erotica’, which is basically porn in literature form (a bit heavy for me, who blushes at Embarrassing Bodies). It is interesting that when reviewing this book it has been criticised for the poor literature quality however, its visual alternative has never been criticised for not having a storyline.  I’d love to know more about what everyone else thinks about that.

It is interesting that when reviewing this book it has been criticised for the poor literature quality however, its visual alternative has never been criticised for not having a storyline.

All things added up, I would tell everyone above the age of 18, male or female to definitely pack the Fifty Shades trilogy in their holiday suitcase. Despite all the horrific spelling mistakes and clichés, I will definitely be reading it again the next time I get dumped, and I’m severely hoping Ms James, or her husband (whoever it was that ACTUALLY put pen to paper) to write another trilogy. It’s a great read if you’re looking for some no-strings comfort reading. However, if you are lucky enough to have a Kindle or otherwise, I suggest you put it on that- I got some pretty filthy looks whilst reading it on the train and buying it in the shops.