Taking a Shot by Jaci Burton

In this third installment of the Play by Play series, we are reintroduced to the Riley Clan.  This is sister Jenna's story of her hot romance with hockey stud Tyler "Ty" Anderson.  I found this series sort of by accident.  I was in between series and needed something to read.  The first book, The Perfect Play, has a pic of the very sumptuous Jed Hill on the cover which was the only reason I bought the book lol.  Yes, I admit it lol.  Who could resist??  Now in defense of myself, I rarely by a book strictly for the cover, but it has been known to happen.  Three times.  Broken, by Maya Banks, Perfect Play and Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter...(haven't read it yet though).  Annnnnnnnnyway....Taking a Shot, very nice cover indeed, no complaints there.


What can I say about this book? It was an ok read....not overly exciting.  It's mostly Jenna lamenting about why she will never date a jock (her family owns a sports bar, her brothers and cousin play professional sports, she is surrounded by it 24/7).   Now, to some extent I can relate to this.  I had brothers who played, family who coached, friends who played, some of who went pro.  Do you hear me pissing and moaning??  No.  I can still sit behind home plate and call every pitch that comes over.  Once it's in your blood, it never really leaves and I still love a good ball game.


So Jenna runs and runs and runs from the very studly Ty.  Who seems like he has demons galore to fight, but in reality he just took his parents divorce extremely hard.  Which is why he doesn't do relationships or love.  I say get over it.


But like protons and neutrons they gravitate to each other and Jenna is somehow under the impression that if she just goes ahead and does Ty, she will get him out of her system.  Yea.  We all know how that turns out lol.    


All in all, a rather uneventful book.  But, considering it followed the Fifty Shades Series, I've had enough drama for a while.  Sometimes, no drama is just nice.  And plus....I like the Rileys.  Like I always say, don't ever take my word for it.  Read it yourself and develop your own opinion.  While you are still allowed to have one.




And they really should list the models on the covers.  Sometimes it really is all about them.

Fifty Shades Freed, E.L. James

Alright, so I have finally finished the Fifty Shades series.  Took a little longer than expected because I do actually have to work for a living.

In this installment we find the young Master Christian still being an insufferable ass.  As I was reading through the entire series, one strain of thought kept coming to my mind:  "If Christian acted like that toward me, I would have kicked his ass and kicked him to the curb".  Yes, I understand he is horribly messed up, but these days, who isn't?  Suffering and abusive childhood, as many people do and have, does NOT give you the right to act like a megalomaniacle prick.

Now the entire story is a bit Twilighty, as it was meant to be originally.  If I remember correctly it came off a sight called Twilighted.net.  I am still a member of that sight.  E.L. James fashioned the character Christian after the Stephanie Meyer character Edward Cullen.....but in looks, I think that is as far as it goes.  Christian is actually more realistically fashioned after Richard Gere's character Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman.  Right down to the job and the sex on the piano.  Both Christian and Edward buy companies and break them apart and sell them bit by bit and make a very prosperous living doing it.  It also has a flare of 9 1/2 Weeks.  The character John being the powerful  dom to Elizabeth's simple and fun but not really a sub. 

Now I have been reading reviews online and trying as best I can to keep up with the information on this series.  This is really the first time in a book I think that the BDSM lifestyle has gone mainstream.  Frankly I have no idea how it made the NY Times Best Seller list, other than the fact that all the "mommies" on the east coast have gone "Twilight Mad" over it.  Which brings me to this question:  What the hell are these people reading on the east coast that makes them think this series is the shit???  Are they serious?  These people need to visit a bookstore more frequently then.  The story line is simple:  Controlling, seriously fucked up young man falls for educated, simple young gal.  Then tries to control her whole entire world.  But while doing this, he finds his salvation lies with her and he begins to heal.  All three books are filled with constant conflict; him castigating her, her fighting and complying.  It actually made me anxious a few times while reading it lol.  I don't have this kind of drama in my real life I sure as shit don't want to read about lol.  If Anastasia were my friend I would have told her to dump the asshole lol.  And there were many times in the storyline I thought if I were involved with Christian, I would have given him the big fat finger and fuck you to boot.  Despite his first 4 years being neglected by his birth mother, Christian spent most of his life in a loving productive home.  At some point I would think the character would realise, at a much younger age, that how he chooses to live his life is up to him. 

Of course we cannot forget the character Elena.  This part of the story line is very tricky.  Christian falls into Elena's grasp at the age of 15.  Christian is on a very negative and destructive streak.  While working for Elena doing yard work, to earn money for a secret drinking problem, Elena slaps Christian, kisses him passionately, then slaps him again.  Turned on, confused, UNDERAGE.  How does one deal with this subject matter??  On the one hand, I grew up the only girl and an all boy household.  At 15, none of my brothers would have minded the affections of an older woman.  I'm not sure many 15 year old boys would.  It does happen, and probably more frequently than we know of.  Does it make it appropriate?  Certainly not.  So how does one reconcile this plot line, other than to say, despite that fact that for a while, it did help Christian focus his life?  You can't.  But you can say underage, and it's a huge gray area.

Now despite Christians overbearing control issues, Anastasia....well this ditz can't seem to get her act together.  I didn't get the idea when Christian would ask her to do something he felt it was overkill, even though she did.  But even when there was a threat of danger, this dumb broad blew off Christians warnings.  Hell at one point, I wanted to hunt her down and beat the crap out of her.  She knows Christian is seriously messed up yet consciously or maybe not consciously, she baits him time and time again.  Then she wanders around the book wondering "is he mad at me?"  Yes he's fucking mad at you you twit".  Her serious bout with low self esteem had me wanting to gouge my eyes out.

Now yes, the big hub bub about the book series is its BDSM theme.  I read a lot of books with this theme.  This is BDSM light.  It's really not a big deal in this book.  It's handled with relative respect I think within the confines of the story, but it is NOT the most colorful I have ever read.  I would call it, as I did in my previous synopsis, An Introduction to BDSM.  Small "scenes" are played out...there is a demonstration of what not to do, (Christian spanking Ana with a belt, and despite her pain and intolerance, she accepts it and doesn't safeword) and a demonstration of what is appropriate (Christian stimulating Ana and denying her orgasm to the point of pain so she finally safewords and stops Christians punishment, an action he took to far as a dom, to her inexperienced submission)

Now, Joyce Lamb of USA Today, wrote a ridiculous article about the books and I have serious doubt she even read them....thoroughly at least.

http://books.usatoday.com/happyeverafter/post/2012-03-15/fifty-shades-of-grey-who-knew-women-like-erotica/648743/1

So I intend to pick her review apart bit by bit here.  Her first faux pas is stating that the books BDSM plays a big role in the books.  It doesn't.  Not really.  BDSM ( Bondage, Domination/submission, Sadism, Masochism) is a part of the books, but mental instability and the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) plays and even bigger role, constant throughout the entire series.

Next, Joyce Lamb states:  "I have noticed, though, that the hubbub about Fifty Shades of Grey has highlighted some frustrating misconceptions about romance novels, erotica and readers of romance novels and erotica. Fact: Fifty Shades of Grey is not a romance novel. The ending is not happy.

I will answer this first.   Joyce, Joyce, Joyce.....what to do, what to do.  I am not in the publishing industry, though seeing articles like this I may rethink that.  I'm just an avid book reader.  I have a day job, friends, enjoy going out from time to time etc.  Fifty Shades is neither really romance or erotica.  It falls in the the abyss of the in between.  Now, the publishing industry equates erotica as something that "pleasurable turns one on".  Frankly, the constant bickering in the series was a huge TURN OFF for me, lol.  Second, if Joyce has actually read the books, she would in fact know the ending is a happy one.  So much so it can bring warm fuzzies to even Christians cold heart.



"The No. 1 rule in romance novels: A happy ending is a must, even when a book is only the first in a trilogy that probably does have a happy ending."

"Also, the "hero" of Fifty Shades of Grey does something at the end that is not redeemable by romance novel standards".


**SPOILER ALERT**

Now, if she is solely speaking about the first book...she's wrong again.  It wasn't Christian that did something that was irredeemable, it was Ana.  She consented to allow Christian to spank her with a belt on her butt.  She was curious and wanted to see how dark it could be.   Christian gave her instructions for safewording, but she didn't use them.  The first rule in D/s is the sub has all the power.  If a safeword is used, all action ceases and the sub is immediately cared for.  However, Ana acted as if Christian knew she was in unsafe mode When he didn't, and acted like he beat her when that is in fact NOT what happened.  IN fact when Christian found out how she felt he was devastated.  It was Ana, not Christian.  So in what amounts to her humiliation and bruised ego, she decides to bail on Christian, and he decides to let her go.  Ana is an idiot.

The books are NOT MEANT TO BE READ AS STAND ALONES!!! They are meant to be as one complete story....so she's not right.

Now for my next answer.  What is Joyce talking about?  **SPOILER ALERT**

Near the end of the book, Ana tells Christian she is pregnant.  Needless to say IF YOU HAD ACTUALLY READ THE BOOK, you knew he would come fifty shades of unglued.  So he flips out  on Ana, and storms out of the house.  He meant to go to Dr. Flynn, who isn't available, and ends up seeing the bitch troll Elena.  Again.  It's not sexual, even though he does confess later that Elena made a pass at him, which made him realize how much he did in fact love Ana.  Granted, it was a total dick move on his part.  Yes, they talked briefly about kids, decided they were too young, needed to spend time getting to know each other better before they embarked on that endeavour.  But as we all know shit happens.  Irredeemable??  HARDLY.

In JR Wards book of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Lover Eternal, Rhage brings Mary, the object of his affections back to his bed.  He loves her, has said as much, but yet still leaves her to go "level himself out" by fucking some other broad in a bar.   A fact that is brought to light upon his return, in front of Mary, by the character Phury.  Talk about a slap in the face!  When I read that I was devastated for her character.  Had it been me, I would have been done with him.  Stone cold, never talked to him again, never seen him again, over and out fuck you I'm outta here don't try and find me ever...gone.  THAT is irredeemable.  However, Mary took it, and all worked out in the end.


 "I won't spoil the story for the three people who haven't read it yet, but bottom line: Not a romance novel, not a romance hero. And that's not because of his BDSM tendencies -- you'll see why if you keep reading. "


Ok for the three people who havent read it.  Don't worry about it.  It's an ok read....Not worth the 10$ ebook price, thats for sure.  It IS a romance novel, Christian IS a romance hero.  And Joyce has obviously never spent time in the romance/erotica section of a bookstore to even remotely know what she's talking about.

I could go on, but suffice to say, read the answers given by Raelene, she is in the industry and she knows what she's talking about it.

Is Fifty Shades a good read?  It's hard to say.  It's not on my list of top 10.  I found it parochial, frustrating, banal and repetitive to the nth degree.  However, I did embrace the characters and I did want then to overcome and succeed.  Despite my earlier prognostication of wanting them to destroy themselves, lol, I did want them to have their HEA in the end.  I do think this book is better geared for a 20 something audience (I am 45).  Would I read it again?  Probably not, which I why I bought the ebook. Delete.  Nuff said.  When it comes to BDSM or D/s or Menage, my preferred authors are Joey W. Hill and Maya Banks.  You can even throw Lora Leigh in this category as well as Jaci Burton.  And I'm always looking for other authors to read as well.

In the end, what I look for in a book is something that is so far out of my own reality that it takes me to place of complete unfamiliarity and entertainment.  I may be 45, but I am still a girl and I still love a good fairy tale.  With whips and chains or not lol.

Fifty Shades Darker, E.L. James

In this installment we essentially begin with Christian topping...from the bottom.  A deeply disturbed young man, immensely successful, intelligent, handsome and manipulative.  He is essentially, as Dr. Flynn puts it......."an adolescent".  I agree with the assessment.

With Christians petulant behavior, it appears as though he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.  Which would explain why his is as successful as he is.  But the story is out of balance..  We find Christian making amazing life altering changes, while his Ana makes surprising few.  I wasn't convinced that Christian was as much "healing" as he was just trying to win his end game.

Ana on the other hand has begun to depersonalize Christian in this installment, constantly referring to him as "Fifty".  Some could argue that this is a term of endearment, but to me it's like complimenting someone about how good they look for their age.  Ana's insecurity in herself frankly made me want to bash my skull in against a brick wall.  I can understand insecurity, we all have them, but for Christ's sake it made me wonder who was more "Fifty shades of fucked up"....her or Christian?

The nearly plot constant arguing between the two characters, Christian and Ana nearly drove me insane.  I don't even have this kind of drama in my real life!  To read about it....??  I found it exhausting.  Had I been dating either one of them, I would have kicked them to the curb and told them to chill the fuck out and stop creating all this damn drama!

I am amazed at how inappropriately people seem to act around Christian.  A shrewd businessman, very direct with his personal staff, yet his so called "friends" in the book, namely Elena, act amazingly out of bounds and he does nothing? Jose is drunk and makes a pass at Ana in book one, and Christian is ready to flog the man.   Again I understand Elena is a trusted friend, so to speak, but not even me and my friends act like that around each other.  I'm also fascinated at the dynamic that Christian feels he CAN have friends, but Ana cannot.  Because Christian is that insecure....juvenile.....controlling......manipulative.

And then there is the poor, very messed up and sad Leila.  I did like the way Ana was handling that scene.  I would have actually liked to have seen that go further.  Enter intervention with Christian.  As Leila's former Dom, it is his responsibility to care for her.  A good Dom does not neglect a sub, or if said Dom sees another sub in distress it is their responsibility to come to aid.  A sub is NOT to fall to neglect.  Period.  I felt that this whole part of the story is what opened everything up.  Christian and Leila's "relationship" has very distinct and clear cut boundaries and each knew how to act within those parameters.  Outside of those boundaries, I almost feel as though Christian is faring better than Ana.

I have been doing a little re-reading on this book series and it's base of origins.  I keep hearing that this is supposed to be "all the rage" on the east coast and with the soccer moms....not to mention the BDSM tone of the books.  Frankly, I'm trying to figure out what the hell these people are reading if this gets them fired up.  As I said in an earlier synopsis, this is pretty tame reading actually.  The author obviously fumbles her way through the BDSM portion and the sex scenes are marginal as I felt as though the author was holding back.  I have read other authors, namely Joey W. Hill and Maya Banks who also write similar stories.  Their books are no holds barred and farrrrrr more racy than this.  Anne Rice's Beauty series also leaves this in the dust.  Or maybe I am just hardcore lol.  This is more like beginner BDSM to me.
Joey W. Hill's Knights of the Boardroom Series?  Now that will leave you with a pair of wet panties.

Despite my.........negativity, I do like the books.  Sort of.  The characters are frustratingly endearing, even though you want to hit them lol.  As I said in my first synopsis, I was kinda hoping the main characters would annihilate each other.  In a way, I hope they still do.  I really get tired of everyone getting a "happily ever after".  Just once, I want the book to end fucked up.  I want to be disturbed.  When I finish a book, I want to sit on my sofa with my mouth hanging open, saying "damn".  I want the book to haunt me.  I'm not sure that is going to happen with this series.  I'm starting to like the characters, lol.  But you neeeeeever know.  And I can always hope lol.  Cuz, I'm twisted like that lol.

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James

It's raining today, which for some reason I find apropos as I sit mulling over this book.  Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James.  I must first preface this by saying, I did not know of this book until a day or so ago.  Since then I have read a few reviews for it and tried to bring myself to knowledge of it, as well as it's rank on the NY Times Best Seller List.  While this book does have BDSM undertones, more appropriately Domination and submission (D/s) it is tactfully done and by far tame by my standards.  I am by far more drawn to what I consider to be the calignosity that surrounds it.

At the start of reading this book I almost immediately get the same disturbing  undercurrent as I did when I began reading The Story of O.  There is a definite prevailing darkness to the characters which I feel draws one into the book.  Christian Grey, the enigmatic, multi cajillionaire and profoundly fucked up male protagonist.  We know there is a dark monster lurking somewhere within.  Like being in  dark cave, no light to speak of, only your hands and the cave walls to find you way and the strange slithery sounds you hear in the darkness.  You know it's there, yet it terrifies you to look to closely.

Then there is the lovely Anastasia Steele.  The carefree and fun loving female protagonist.  A bubbly and buoyant, take-no-shit-from-anyone personality who you cannot help but fall for and admire.

Christian and Anastasia meet when she literally falls for him, lol.  She stumbles into his office practically landing on her face.  Though it was Ana who literally fell, it was Christian who took the proverbial fall....Like Lucifer being cast from the heavens.  The book does a great job in giving the reader, or perhaps voyeur, ever so brief glimpses into the man.....like the monsters who linger in the dark of a really good horror movie.  A flash here, a glint there, a scream, a slither, a thud.

Christian, a Dom (Dominant IE: Sexual Dominant) has qualities that while reading, rouse my own dark monster, which is now slithering around my head, looking for its own way out.  I have much in common with this character.  He is controlling, bossy, short and direct to the point of being cold and detached.  He is by all means, direct.  He says what he means and means what he says.  When he spouts a directive, he expects it followed without question.  An attitude often looked up as powerful in a business situation, but in a relationship?  Oddly enough, I understand him.  Christian has constructed his environment deliberately.  He is, as the book says, "an island".  In his carefully constructed world he can move around, safely and securely.  He is at the top of his food chain...or so he appears.

Anastasia, or Icarus as she often refers to herself.  Ana comes from a fairly well adjusted not to screwed up childhood.  She is loved, cared for, has close friends.  She is not involved in the D/s culture, though Christian would like her to be.  While reading this I am reminded, you cannot make someone something they aren't.  But Ana, like most women, wants to please Christian, so she tries.  Again I am reminded of my own past, trying to make someone happy at the expense of myself.  If Ana were in front of me I would shake her by her shoulders and scream RUN!!!.......and by the grace of the Gods don't look back.  You somehow know when you meet that one person, the chemistry and electricity between the two of you is so unbelievably powerful that it can in fact be your ultimate downfall....destroy you utterly.

Christian seems young.....mid twenties?  But his persona is much older.  Is he 25 or 35?  It's a little confusing to me timeline wise because we know Ana is roughly early/mid 20's.  I am confused because Christian was taken into submissive servitude at the very young age of 15 by what appears to be a much older Domme.  I believe the book said he was in servitude to her for six years, which means he came out of it at approximately 21.  But he tells Ana when she asks him it was "years ago".  If he's mid 20's then "years ago" this does not make.  Now the fact that it involves and underage boy does give me the heebs a bit.  Do I justify it by saying 15 year old boys are different that 15 year old girls?  I dunno.  I have no way to rationalize it other than to say at 15 I know what and who I was doing.  Right or wrong.

The whole while I am reading this book I am thinking this is a dangerous relationship.  Ana called Christian the "ultimate consumer".  While I think she meant his penchant for purchasing, it has a dual meaning to it because I see him consuming her.  She has entered his carefully constructed world and literally up ended it and the man and like a drowning man grasping as a rescuer, will he inadvertently drown her in the process?

It has cross elements of Twilight.......Christian tells Ana he is no good for her, AKA Edward the dick dumping Bella in the woods.  I hated that prick for doing it.  Still pisses me off.  Too busy thinking about himself to see to the needs of another.  It also has tones of 9 1/2 Weeks...The very cryptic John meets the very carefree Elizabeth.....and tries to turn her into something she isn't.  The scene where he tries to make her crawl across the floor to him, while throwing money at her still boils my blood.  Had it been be me I would have stood, laughed in his face, given him the finger and big fat fuck you and walked out the door.  But then again, I am not a sub.  I don't think.  Anyway.......

The tone of the story is Christian wanting Ana to change so she fits in the box he has so carefully constructed.  It's all about him.....The gift of the computer is so she can research HIS world.  The blackberry is so HE can get ahold of her.  The car is so HE can control her world.  Sure he says it's for her safety, which I do understand, but c'mon, I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday.  He is a wealthy cajillionaire and she is a college student.  An enticement into his world.  To her credit, Ana does fight him all the way.  She retains her sense of self, even as she feels herself getting lost in him.  And in a world where Christian holds all the strings......she will very well be Icarus flying too close to the sun.

The book does have it's lighter moments as well.  Ana's inner Goddess is annoying and hilarious.  The proverbial angel on the shoulder.  But is she devil or angel?  Maybe a bit of both, lol.  The emails Anastasia and Christian exchange are priceless breath of fresh air.  They are fun, formal, flirty, sexy.....a joy to actually read and a perfect break in the story's intense plot.  E.L. James did a great job creating these.  It gives the reader what I feel is a true glimpse into the soul's of each character.  The lightheartedness and playfulness is almost childlike and each characters need for the other to love them is clearly evident.  It's an easier way for them to communicate with out the constant buzz of intense chemistry between them.  Here they can truly be open and honest with each other.

But my own darkness has a need for something disturbing, as with the Story of O.  There was no happy ending for her as O asked her Master for permission to commit suicide (in an alternate ending) and permission was in fact granted.  Where will Fifty Shades lead?  I have only started the second book, but there in one thing I have to say about it.  I haven't stopped reading since I started, with the exception of writing this.  Will Christian and Ana have an HEA?  A part of me is hoping they do.......

But disturbingly my dark side hopes they completely and totally annihilate each other.

I haven't put the story down.  I haven't cleaned, I haven't done laundry and I haven't really left my house.  My trash is still sitting on the porch, waiting to go to the can.  I did shower, I did brush my teeth and I did eat.

I'd say that's a pretty fucking good book.  Wouldn't you?