New Video: Review of Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Yes, I did it. I read the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey, the first book in E.L. James' erotic trilogy. To be perfectly honest I did attempt to read this book when it first debuted in 2011. But I just couldn't do it. I got maybe halfway through before I gave up.

Now that the movie version has just been released, I resolved to read the entire book before I saw the film. And my review can be summed up in a single sentence:

This book woudn't be so bad if everything about it was completely different.

Don't get me wrong: I love erotica. I've been reading it since I was a teenager. For me, good erotica should be fun, sexy, and titillating. Unfortunately, Fifty Shades is not any of those things.

Let's start with the two main characters: Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Ana is the most naive character I have ever come across. She doesn't seem to know anything about sex. She's never kissed anyone, touched herself, touched anyone else, or even had a wet dream. I'm not against innocent, virginal characters but this is just ridiculous. In the 21st century, even if you're a virgin, it is almost impossible to go through puberty without at least thinking about sex. Sex is everywhere in our culture. The only explanation for Ana's innocence is that she time-traveled from an earlier era. Like the Victorian era. 

But of course, that all changes once she meets billionaire bad boy Christian Grey. Now I know that there are a lot of women (and I'm sure some men too) who think Mr. Grey is the epitome of the tortured, romantic male hero. I just don't get it. He's misogynistic, abusive, controlling, and emotionally unavailable. Everything is about him and his needs. Ana spends the entire book trying to please him, trying to figure out how to give him what he wants and he never seems to consider her needs at all. She protests the expensive gifts that he's giving her; he tells her she's overthinking things and should just be appreciative. She wants to have a serious discussion; he shuts down or distracts her by fucking her brains out instead. 

I'd like to point out that I have nothing against the BDSM community or people who like to experiment with their sexuality and express themselves in different ways. But this book is not about that. A sexual relationship between two (or more) adults should always be consensual. In Fifty Shades, Ana is unsure about the kind of lifestyle that Christian is into but she tries it because she wants to be with him and she's decided that it's the only way she can be with him. She's not doing it because she wants to. It seems Christian always has to coerce her into it. He says that she can walk away at anytime, but when she thinks she might leave (or even jokes about leaving) he immediately shows up and fucks her into submission. 

As far as plot goes, there really isn't one. It's basically Ana trying to decide what kind of relationship she wants to have with Christian and crying a lot because Christian doesn't care what she wants or needs. Oh, and there are a lot of repetitive sex scenes that aren't sexy. There was maybe one that I liked. 

The only thing that kept me reading was Ana's laughably bad inner monologue (or should I say dialogue since it consisted of her, Ana's 'subconscious', and her inner goddess.) But even the entertainment factor of the bad writing isn't enough to cover up the fact that this is a book about a woman being emotionally and physically abused by an emotionally stunted asshole. After a while it stops being funny and just becomes depressing. 

I will go see the movie because I am intrigued to see how this story will translate onto the big screen. And I will probably read the other two books in the series out of curiosity. Love it or hate it, Fifty Shades has become a cultural phenomenon and I think it's important to explore the message that this book sends out to readers. 

Reading Wishlist: February 2015

 Feb. 3

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Genre: YA Horror
What It's About: Micheline Helsing is a descendant of the famous Van Helsing - and she follows in her ancestor's footsteps by slaying monsters in the modern world. (Can I just say that I love that creepy cover?)

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Genre: Historical Fiction
What It's About: A tale of two sisters living in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy/Short Stories
What It's About: A brand new collection of short stories from one of the modern masters of fantastical fiction, Neil Gaiman.

Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Judd Trichter

Genre: Science Fiction
What It's About: Set in a near-future LA, a man falls in love with an android.

In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black'mor

Genre: Fantasy
What It's About: A tale of dragon encounters complete with full-color illustrations! I am so excited for this book!

Daughter of Gods and Shadows by Jayde Brooks


Genre: Fantasy
What It's About: Eden Reid, a 24-year old woman living in Brooklyn, discovers that she is an ancient god.

Dark Intelligence (Transformation #1) by Neal Asher


Genre: Science Fiction
What It's About: A man is brought back to life 100 years after a devastating war between humans and aliens.

Feb. 10

Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard

Genre: YA Fantasy
What It's About: In this new trilogy, the common Reds are ruled by the Silvers, an elite race with god-like powers.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Genre: YA Contemporary
What It's About: Lex is left reeling after her brother commits suicide. In the devastating aftermath, she tries to piece her life back together.

The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopian
What It's About: Aya, along with a small group of women, is on the run from men who would auction them off for their breeding rights.

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Genre: YA Contemporary
What It's About: Sixteen-year old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death.

Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger

Genre: Thriller
What It's About: Ian meets Megan, a sweet beautiful girl who makes him want to change for the better. The only problem is his troubled ex-girlfriend Priss doesn't want him to move on. 

Feb. 17

Half the World (Shattered Sea #2) by Joe Abercrombie

Genre: Fantasy
What It's About: The second installment in Abercrombie's Shattered Sea series.

Dendera by Yuya Sato


Genre: Fiction
What It's About: Elderly Kayu is abandoned by her family on a snowy mountaintop. Instead of passing into the afterlife, she discovers a utopian society of other old women who take her in. The only threat to their peaceful community is a hungry mother bear.

Feb. 24

A Wicked Thing (A Wicked Thing #1) by Rhiannon Thomas

Genre: YA Fantasy
What It's About: A retelling of Sleeping Beauty which explores what happens after happily ever after.

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Genre: YA Contemporary
What It's About: Skylar is determined to leave her small town and go to art school - but her plans are derailed when her mother loses her job.

The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury

Genre: YA Fantasy
What It's About: Seventeen-year old Twylla lives in a castle and is engaged to the prince. But she also serves as the royal executioner.

The Art and Making of Hannibal by Jesse McLean

Genre: Entertainment
What It's About: The title is pretty self-explanatory. I just had to feature it because I am a huge Fannibal.

A Darker Shade of Magic (A Darker Shade of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

Genre: YA Fantasy
What It's About: Kell is a Traveler - a rare magician that can move between parallel universes.

Reading Challenges 2015: January Update

1. Goodreads Reading Challenge

Towards my goal of reading 200 books this year, in January I read...11 books. It's a pretty abysmal start, especially since, according to Goodreads, I am already 6 books behind schedule. But my goal for February is to at least get back on schedule, if not get a little bit ahead. I'm not giving up!

2. POPSUGAR 2015 Reading Challenge

Of the 50 reading tasks on the POPSUGAR reading challenge checklist, I managed to complete 8 of them in the month of January. Here are the tasks I completed along with the books I read:

A book with magic

A book set in a different country:

(I live in Canada and the Peter Grant novels are set in England)

A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit

(This book is set in London, a place I've wanted to visit for a long time)

A book by a female author

A nonfiction book

A book published this year

A mystery or thriller

A book set in high school

Eight tasks down, forty-two more to go!

3. The Book Riot 2015 Reading Challenge

Of the 24 tasks in the Book Riot challenge I managed to complete one task. But I am on track to complete at least a few more in February. 

A book by a person whose gender is different from your own:

4. The Gothic Challenge

This challenge, hosted by Books Under the Bed challenges readers to read Gothic fiction. I pledged to read 10 books and unfortunately I didn't read any in January but I'm hoping to read at least one in February.

5. Fairytale Challenge

This challenge, hosted by The Daily Prophecy, challenges readers to read Fairytale retellings. I challenged myself to read at least 9 books for this challenge. I didn't read any in January but I am planning to read Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles in February so that's going to be at least 4 books right there. (I'm not sure if I should include short stories or not.)

6. Books to Screen Challenge

Okay, a minor update for this challenge. I originally pledged to try to read all of the books being turned into movies this year. But there were seven movies based on books coming out in January alone. So I am going to modify this challenge a little bit. I'm going to read as many as I can but I won't be reading as many as I originally planned. I haven't read any in January but a certain romance novel is being brought to the big screen in February so I might have to revisit the source material. (Is anyone else fifty shades of excited?)

Reading Wish List: January 2015

 January 6

Firefight (Reckoners #2) by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

What It's About: The second installment in Sanderson's series featuring ordinary teens battling pouwerful supervillains.

Ensnared (Splintered #3) by A.G. Howard

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

What It's About: The third and final book in this series that puts a new twist on Alice in Wonderland.

Golden Son (Red Rising Trilogy #2) by Pierce Brown

Genre: Science Fiction-Dystopian

What It's About: The sequel to Red Rising, one of the most critically-acclaimed Sci-Fi books of 2014.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

What It's About: A girl falls in love with a boy who is fascinated by death and has suicidal tendencies.

Foxglove Summer (Peter Grant #5) by Ben Aaronovitch

Genre: Urban Fantasy

What It's About: I have raved about the Peter Grant series on this blog before and, finally, the fifth book is coming out this month! I cannot wait to read this book. 

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7) by Alan Bradley

Genre: Mystery

What It's About: The seventh book in the popular cozy-mystery series starring eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce.

Descent by Tim Johnston


Genre: Thriller
What It's About: A teenage girl goes missing in the Rocky Mountains during a family camping trip.

Never Never (Never Never #1) by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher


Genre: New Adult
What It's About: The Goodreads description is a little vague so all I can really gather is that it's about two best friends who fall in love and then something bad happens between them. Right now, you can only get an ebook version but I assume a physical copy will be published in a few months.

January 13

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

What It's About: Humans and fae live peacefully side by side in the town of Fairfold. However, one girl knows that fairies are more dangerous than they appear.

The Providence of Fire (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #2) by Brian Staveley

Genre: Fantasy

What It's About: The sequel to The Emperor's Blades. The first book was on quite a few Best of Fantasy 2014 lists. I can't wait to dive into this epic fantasy series.

The Just City (Thessaly #1) by Jo Walton

Genre: Fantasy

What It's About: A time-traveling goddess creates a perfect city where people from all different eras can come and learn from the greatest minds in all of human history - with some help from a few robots from the far future.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Genre: Mystery

What It's About: A woman witnesses a shocking incident from the window of her commuter train.

Near Enemy (Spademan #2) by Adam Sternbergh

Genre: Science Fiction

What It's About: The former garbage man turned hitman Spademan returns in this sequel to last year's Shovel Ready.

Held Against You by Season Vining

Genre: New Adult Romance

What It's About: A bounty hunter falls for the woman he has been hired to capture.

January 20

Polaris (Avalon #2) by Mindee Arnett

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

What It's About: The follow-up to one of the most acclaimed YA sci-fi novels of 2014.

Frog by Mo Yan

Genre: Literary Fiction

What It's About: China's most revered and controversial novelist chronicles the making of modern China through the lens of the country's one-child policy.

Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia

Genre: Fairy Tale

What It's About: Camille Rose Garcia has illustrated beautiful editions of Snow White and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I can't wait to see her creepy drawings for Cinderella.

Mort(e) by Robert Repino

Genre: Science Fiction

What It's About: A cat named Mort works as an assassin for a race of super-intelligent ants that are bent on destroying the human race. Needless to say, this book is pretty high up on my TBR list.

January 27

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer 

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

What It's About: Serving as a bridge book between Cress and the upcoming final installment, Winter, this short novel tells the story of Queen Levana, the main villain in the Lunar Chronicles.

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

What It's About: Cody and Meg are two best friends, practically inseperable - until Meg's tragic death leaves Cody reeling with a desperate sense of loss and confusion.

A Cold Legacy (The Madman's Daughter #3) by Megan Shepherd

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

What It's About: The final installment in this YA retelling of H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Beautiful Redemption (The Maddox Brothers #2) by Jamie McGuire

Genre: New Adult Romance

What It's About: The second book in Jamie McGuire's Maddox Brothers series. I just love these covers!

The Mime Order (The Bone Season #2) by Samantha Shannon

Genre: Fantasy

What It's About: The anticipated follow-up to The Bone Season.

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Genre: Thriller

What It's About: The Chinese government discovers a species of animals that no one believed existed.

Ghettoside: A Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy

Genre: Non Fiction- True Crime

What It's About: Ever since I finished listening to the Serial podcast, I have become obsessed with reading True Crime books. This story, about the murder of a young black man in Los Angeles, should keep me occupied until season two.

Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

What It's About: A dark retelling of Snow White.

*Release dates and cover art are subject to change.