Fifty Shades Trilogy Review (spoilers)

I recently finished the Fifty Shades trilogy and can't wait to share my thoughts.

***I feel like everyone says this but just so people know Fifty Shades is not a good example of a healthy relationship.****

Fifty Shades of Grey-(2 stars)
I want start out by saying that I did not like Fifty Shades of Grey. There were so many things that irritated me about this book. I did not like the rules-the submissive is seen as his property. Wow! I thought while reading this book that Ana had Stockholm Syndrome. One minute she would say that she did not like something and then she says that she wants to please him.

There are parts in the book where she says that he is suffocating. If he is suffocating then LEAVE!

I kept thinking 'why not try to date other people? This man is the only man that you have had a relationship with and this relationship is not healthy.'

I think that most people know this quote but I have to include it because it sums up this book perfectly (which is why I think E. L. James named it Fifty Shades of Grey). "I'm fifty shades of fucked up." When I read this I thinking 'damn straight you're fucked up'.

Its not just Christian that gets on my nerves, Ana does too. She says she doesn't like him when he is mad and then does things deliberately to make him angry.

One part that I did think was interesting/amazing in the book was when Christian said that the submissive has the power. They have the power to say no. Finally! In a book where Christian says that he likes to be in control then to find out that he really isn't in control was a surprise.

The ending killed me. (I watched the movie before I read the book so I knew what was going to happen but still reading that made me angry and sad.) The fact that he got off on hurting her made me sick.

The last thing that I had a real problem with was that she said she loved Christian. How can you love someone when you don't know them. The side of him that she knows is the red room of pain. He won't open up and tell her things that are not related to a Dom/Sub relationship. She doesn't really know him at all.

(The reason I gave it two stars was 1.) This book kept me on my toes. I wanted to know how it was going to end and if she was going to find out more about Christian. 2.) Christian-I wanted to know why he is the way he is. Did what Mrs. Robinson do to him make him this way or was it something else that set him down this path?)

Fifty Shades Darker-(3.5-4 stars)
Normally I don't continue on with a series if I don't like the first book but I wanted to read this one because the movie looked like it had more of a plot than just sex.
I was glad that we got to know more about Christian in this book. He explains why he doesn't like to be touched.
There are things that come to light for both Christian and Ana in this book. They both admit that they do not know each other very well.
One thing that made me jump for joy was the fact that Ana told Elena (AKA Mrs. Robinson) off. I was just waiting for it!
Another thing that I like in this book is that she calls him Fifty. She took the negative thing that he said about himself and sort of makes it a "cute" nickname but she calls him Fifty when he is being overbearing so maybe not cute. I don't know. Every time she called him Fifty I couldn't help but smile.

When he told her why he only had brunettes as his submissive's. WOW! I didn't expect that. He beats and sleeps with women who look like his mother. This was when I put the book down because that really is fifty shades of fucked up.

When Grace found out about Elena and Christian I was so happy that she slapped her. Its about damn time someone smacked this women in the face for taking advantage of a fifteen year old boy.
This part made me so sad: '"You never once held me,' Christian whispers. 'You never once said you loved me.'" (He said this to Elena.)

The ending to this book also shocked me. I wanted to immediately start the next book but when I finished this one it was like 1-2am and I needed sleep.

Overall I enjoyed this book. There are still parts in this book that I can't stand. Mainly when Ana says she does this for him and by this I mean the abusive sex, but there are other parts that were good.

Why I gave the book 3.5-4 stars:
1. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time
2. There was more of a plot
3. There was more information about Christian.

Fifty Shades Freed-(4 stars)
There are moments in this book that had me laughing.
I died laughing when Christian and Ana were being followed in their car. Christian had me laughing so hard because he wanted her to go around this car. Here is the conversation:
"Flash the headlights," Christian orders when a Ford Mustang won't move.
"But that would make me an asshole."
"So be an asshole!" he snaps.

Then there are times where I am still completely shocked when Christian becomes 'fifty shades' again.
There is a part in this book where Christian shows up at Ana's work and he's says something to the extinct of he's comes to places he owns because it keeps people on their toes and wives in their place. After reading that I was stunned.

One thing that I loved in this book was when Ana tells Gia off. In the last book I was waiting to see Elena be told off and in this book I was waiting for Ana to tell Gia off.

Another thing that I love that Ana did is when she smacked that guy on the dance floor. I was glad that she took care of it and stood up for herself. She didn't need Christian to come to the rescue, even though he did show up and punch the guy.

A conversation that I love:
"I love philanthropic Christian," I murmur.
"Just him?"
"Oh, I love megalomaniac Christian, too, and control freak Christian, sexpertise Christian, kinky Christian, romantic Christian, shy Christian...the list endless."
"That's a whole lot of Christians."
"I'd say at least fifty."
He laughs. "Fifty Shades," he murmurs into my hair.
"My Fifty Shades."


When Ana took the money to save Mia and Christian told her to take it all I was so sad. Guys, I felt so bad for Christian because he thought that she was with him for his money. I was screaming 'No! No! No!'

I was so happy when they were reunited and he said he was okay with her being pregnant. After his freak out when he found out when he found out that she was pregnant. I was glad to see that he came around to the idea of being a father.

I loved the ending with Christian playing with Teddy and talking to Ana about their baby girl. It was great. Just a good ending.

Overall
I loved how Christian and Ana grew as the story progressed. Once I finished Fifty Shades Freed I thought back to Fifty Shades of Grey and how Christian was. He is still controlling but his heart  has grew. He loves Ana, Teddy, and Phoebe. Ana also isn't shy/innocent anymore. She becomes this women that isn't afraid to call Christian out. In the first book I know that she was wanting to do things for him to make him happy but by the third book she tells him she's had enough. She uses the safe words and isn't afraid to tell him no.


These books made me happy, sad, frustrated, and intrigued. I am sorry if all of my feelings for these books are coming out a mess. Hopefully you enjoyed hearing my rambled thoughts and feelings.

Let me know what you thought of the Fifty Shades Trilogy!

Thanks for reading!
I hope you have a great day!
~Mariah

Jan 2017 Food and Movie discussion

I found some new food I like and I watched a few movies this month so I thought I could share with you my thoughts on both.

Food:
I found this brand called Gardein (for those vegan/vegetarian people out there probably know what brand I am talking about and it is amazing.) I can have orange "chicken", "chicken strips", hot pockets, etc!
Right now my favorite is the orange chicken.

Movies:
This month I watched Now You See Me 2 and this movie is amazing. I loved it a little bit more than the first one and the first one was phenomenal! Definitely recommend. If you know of any other movies that are similar to this please let me know!

The next movie I watched this month was Max. This movie had me on the edge of my seat. I knew the basic premise of this movie. "It is about a marine and his dog." When I started this movie I thought it was going to be about how a marine and his dog try to get back in to living life like a civilian. NO! This movie is much more than that. I should have known since there is a dog in the movie that it was going to be sad.

I just finished the movie By the Sea. Now that it has been a little bit since I have watched it I can tell you I did not enjoy this movie.
For most of the movie I was lost. I was trying to figure out what was wrong with Angelina's character. I could see that she went through trauma but I was trying to pin point if she had been raped or if it was something else.
I did not understand the purpose of this movie until the end. I think that can be a good and a bad thing.
With the movie By The Sea I knew that it was about a couple that are struggling with their marriage. I was just trying to figure out the overall message of this movie and like I said earlier that message becomes clear at the end. You find out why they are "broken".


I saw Passengers in the movie theater and and it was good! There was a something that I did not agree with and if I mention it it will ruin the movie but overall I enjoyed it. I wanted to see if again right after watching it.

I went to see La La Land this month and oh my gosh it was great! I do plan on doing a review and should have that up shortly if it isn't already posted.



Lastly, I put up my wrap up recently and I think I said that I read Thanks For the Trouble by Tommy Wallace because Trina from Between Chapters talked about it. I can't seem to find that video where she mentions it. I think I was wrong. Maybe it wasn't Trina who talked about the book. Sorry for the misinformation. 

Let me know in the comments what movies you have watched or what food you have enjoyed this month.
Thanks for reading!
I hope you have a great day.
~Mariah

January Wrap Up 2017

This month I completed four books.

The first book that I completed this month was one that I started in December. That book is Thanks for the Trouble by Tommy Wallace. I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

I picked this book up because (I think) I remember Trina from Between Chapters on YouTube talked highly of it.

I know that normally people like to discuss why they did not like a book. Today I want to tell you why I liked this book and gave this book 3 stars.

1. This book was about getting out of your comfort zone.
2. Zelda made Parker come out of his shell. She did not let him hide behind the fact that he didn't speak. She made him talk to other people.
3. The ending! The ending made me question the entire book and I love when books do that!

This is one book that I will definitely be rereading. Next time I want to try and read it in the span of a day. I think if I would have read this book in a day or two I would have given it a higher rating. 

I went into this book knowing hardly anything about it. This is one book that I want to encourage people to go in blind.

The second book that I finished this month was Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. This book for me was a let down. I found so many issues with each story that I could not love the book as much as I hoped I would. I wanted a sappy good old Christmas romance that was the perfect dose of cheesy and unrealistic. Sadly that did not happen. I got a girl who found out that she did not like her boyfriend, a boy who wanted to see cheerleaders, and a snobby girl who wants her boyfriend back. This book was just filled with drama.

If I had to pick one story that was my "favorite" I would pick the first one. The Jubilee Express has many issues, the awful boyfriend and the girl finding out that she didn't actually like him. This story to me was the one that had an actual thought out plot.

( I know that I said earlier that I wanted a sappy good old Christmas romance that was the perfect dose of cheesy and unrealistic. The last sentence that I just wrote might be contradictor of the previous statement but I feel like you can have a cheesy and unrealistic novel with out compromising the plot. When I say cheesy and unrealistic I am talking more about the romance than I am the plot. I want the book to have a plot that has depth.)

Even though I am being very critical of this book I ended up giving it a 3 stars on Goodreads, which I am thinking about changing to 2 stars. I did enjoy the fact that these stories were loosely connected. I didn't hate it but I certainly did not love this book.

The third book that I completed was The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West. I bought this book from my local library thinking that this would fill one of the Pop Sugar reading challenges, it didn't. This is one that I did not have any feelings after reading.

While reading I did not like the main character and I waited for her to realize what she was doing.

But overall I didn't hate or love this book. I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads.

The fourth book that I "read" this month was one I actually listened to. I started and finished it in one day and that book is Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick. I seriously enjoyed this book. This is a book that I want to buy, go back and read, and then put up quotes in my room to motivate myself.

This book made me want to do things but it also made me feel guilty and unaccomplished because when I was 12 I was stressing about math homework. When Anna Kendrick was 12 she was working. She was building herself a resume.

I gave this book a 4 stars. I  enjoyed it and wished I had a pen and paper ready to write notes. (I listened to this while driving, which is why I have no notes.)

Currently Reading:

I am in the middle of one book right now that I wished I could have finished before February and that book is The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oaks.

 So far I am enjoying this and I can't wait to finish it.

Well that is it for my reading wrap up for the month. Let me know in the comments what books you completed this month.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you have a great day!

~Mariah