<p>I was trying to get myself to spend the money to get this on Kindle, almost convinced and then I read that it is actually Twilight fanfic with only the names changed - which explains the one-dimensional characters and Washington state setting that the author is not actually familiar with.</p>
<p>My 14-year-old son writes and reads fanfiction. I just told him a fanfic is at the top of the NYT best seller list and he said what?? no Mom, it’s not worth it, don’t spend money for that! Ha ha</p>
<p>Anybody want to talk me into it?</p>
<p>Go read any number of the 900+ one star reviews on Amazon. You won’t have the slightest urge to part with your $9.99.</p>
<p>I did that once amazon recommended it to me ( I didn’t know what it was)
No thanks, but I did get a recommendation or two from the reviews that sounded interesting.;)</p>
<p>Apparently some libraries aren’t ordering it, either because it’s soft core porn or because it’s really poorly written. Does that motivate you?</p>
<p>I read a couple of excerpts.</p>
<p>I can’t see the appeal. </p>
<p>Good fan fiction exists. Good erotica exists. This is neither of those things.</p>
<p>However, the one star reviews on Amazon are worth reading. They’re really funny.</p>
<p>I skimmed it at the Barnes & Noble. It’s written like a bad Harlequin novel, and I’ve got no interest in the types of acts described. Save your money.</p>
<p>A co-worker expressed an interest in reading it. I immediately blurted out “WHY?”
She said she had heard from a friend that it was poorly written but also hard to put down…ugh. She had not read any of the reviews. I tried to clue her in but apparently her friend has more sway over her than I do. Said she was still wanted to give it try…ugh.
She loved all the Twilight books.</p>
<p>I have one friend who loves it - another friend, somewhat ambivalent. This second friend bought the book and then passed it along to me, saying I should read it … just because. I have less than 100 pages left at the moment … should finish later tonight. </p>
<p>So my thoughts:</p>
<p>I think it could best be described as “romantica” … with the focus on BDSM. I hesitated to read it for this reason, and I find as I near the end that I still can’t quite jump that hurdle. The scenes are descriptive, yes, :o but it’s more than just that for me. Christian insists that Ana call him “Sir” and only look him in the eye when he allows it. Excuse me!?!</p>
<p>Even with (or despite) the BDSM, it falls squarely in romance land … tortured “hot” hero, virginal heroine meet. Instant attraction. And so on. I find myself bugged that Christian is a 27 year-old multimillionaire. Really? I hate to sound jaded but would Ana (or readers) feel quite the same willingness to indulge should he not be able to buy and supply. I don’t think so. </p>
<p>Writing … reminiscent of fan faction. I too heard that it started as Twilight fan fiction but … well, I can’t say as I only read the first in the Twilight series. (I’m not a fan.) However, I do find the emails between the two characters amusing as well as Ana’s inner dialogue. I like the book best when the characters are apart because the parts that bug me only happen when they’re together … and I’m not talking just the sex scenes.</p>
<p>Our library system has 25 copies in circulation and 597 requests. (And may I just say “good grief” here.)</p>
<p>Bottom line … iffy. I personally wouldn’t buy it, and I wouldn’t have read it now without the buzz surrounding it, which still confuses me. I wouldn’t think the book to be that unique in the land of romantica. How it escaped onto the NYT Bestseller list is beyond my comprehension. Would I read it again? As in read twice … nope, but I’m not sorry I read it the first time. I read quickly - and it’s a quick read - so no big deal. Truthfully, I’ve read books I liked less than this one, though none quite this informative (BDSM) in content. I bet I finish out the trilogy at some point - though not in a hurry to do so - as I imagine the books will land in my hands with little effort on my part … and, yea, I’d like to tie it all up. (My sincere apologies for the bad pun. ;))</p>
<p>I have the book but am not sure if I will actually read it. I never like to do something because everyone els is lol</p>
<p>It’s my book club book this month (yeah, I know). I was going to pass because of the bad reviews, but I got it on my iPad and just started it. It’s horrible writing. I suspect it will be a quick read if I can even get through it.</p>
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<p>Sounds like the very worst combination a book could have.</p>
<p>You all just saved me $10 I think - thanks!!</p>
<p>Our book club book is finishing up The Submission.
It is the " If all Seattle reads the same book" choice.
It reminds me of an Oprahs choice book - but it isn’t BDSM, I swear!</p>
<p>^^^ Ha!</p>
<p>Brief thread hijack for emeraldkity4: Have you seen this book:</p>
<p>[Book</a> Reviews - Truth Like the Sun by Jim Lynch](<a href=“http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/truth_like_the_sun/]Book”>http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/truth_like_the_sun/)</p>
<p>Thanks! We have The Highest Tide, which one of the kids must have read in school, but I hadn’t heard of that one.
It is the anniversary of the Worlds Fair too!
( & they couldn’t get Elvis for Bumbershoot, so they got Tony Bennett)
;)</p>
<p>Thank you for saving me $9. 
I took a look at it at Costco, and could not decide whether it was all this bad or if I just happen to come across the worst pages. I decided to pass, so thank you for confirming what I thought.</p>
<p>This book is one of the reasons why I regularly use best sellers lists as advice as to “what NOT to read.” Why are so many books aimed at women readers SO BAD?</p>
<p>For years all I read were short stories or essays. Too sleep deprived to keep complex storylines & lists of characters straight. Too busy to read for any length of time. I probably could have zipped through a couple “bodice rippers” in the time it took me to read a few stories by Raymond Carver or essays by Nancy Mairs, but why would I want to?</p>
<p>I have the same complaint about “women’s” magazines.
Yes I am interested in my home & cooking, and my relationships, but that isn’t all I am interested in, & I can’t stand magazines that are filled with recipes for “mud pie”, articles about lactose intolerance & how to lose ten lbs before a reunion.
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I wonder why this book is being distributed so widely?</p>
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<p>I had the same thought. I’ve actually read fan fiction written better than a lot of books, but I can’t believe this got published. Being based on Twilight, which I tend to think reads like bad fan fiction, can’t have given it a good starting point though.</p>