Trilogy Reviews...Dun Dun Dun

This series from EL James has gotten so much press and has many women and conservatives in an uproar. Of course this meant that my curiosity got the best of me (and several friends) and I had to read them. The books feature Christian Grey, a young business tycoon that has a particular fetish and a young college student, Anastasia Steele, who is naive with a spunky attitude. I wasn't sure what to expect completely and I purposely ignored all reviews and opinions until after I finished the series...in one week's time. I actually read the second book in one night! Clearly, I enjoyed them all. The writing isn't great and if EL James could maybe find a thesaurus, that would be helpful, but the characters themselves and the storyline are oddly intoxicating (I have a few more suggestions but don't want to give the book away). Yes, there are heavily sexual scenes but there is also a relationship that is so intense and powerful that it is hard to stop reading. I finished the final book last night and am a little sad that it is over. There is a rumor that one more book exists but damn, I hope not! Where the author leaves us at the end is perfect.

The Hunger Games trilogy. Yep. I resisted and resisted. I ignored all of those in my internship last summer that were excitedly reading through these. I ignored the movie. But then I graduated and needing something to do and luckily one of my friends is my very own personal library and had all of the books. The books take place in Panem, a country that seems to be North America after we have thoroughly messed it up. The Hunger Games themselves are done for the amusement of The Capitol, the leadership and ruling class of Panem. I dived in without any preconceived notion and found myself totally enthralled with the story line. I wasn't sure that I actually liked the books until the second one but this was another series with such rich characters and a great romantic triangle so of course I read them all in about...a week and a half. Bonus of finally having read this, I know what people are talking about now!

And last but not least...

I totally blame Brittney for this one. She said that the first two books of the series had been passed around from many a girl and figured that I needed some light reading. I read the first two books in December during winter break and was skeptical. I mean, it's a young adult novel about some bitchy girls, or so I thought. The overall storyline is that there are two sisters that were adopted and one of the girls goes to find the other and figures out she has been killed the same day. The other sister takes the place of the first sister and tries to figure out who her killer is. I found these all very well written and I will admit, I got freaked out at a few points. The characters are all so suspicious and off-putting but in a really great way. I haven't read the third book but have it on the night stand for another night when I don't need quite as much sleep.

(All pictures from Amazon.com)