Fifty Shades of Freed

Title : Fifty Shades of Freed (Fifty Shades #3)

Writer : E. L. James

Number of Page : 579

Publisher : Vintage Books

When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees.
 
Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.
 
Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.

Review:

Actually I planned to read this a long time ago. I read the previous two books and I just wanted to finished all three books quickly. However, I never found the mood to read this. Probably it was because I know the story would be mediocre and somewhat boring. The only thing I liked from this series was Christian Grey because he was a tortured, sickly intriguing, and memorable character. His horrible past, his unusual habit, and his weird taste were interesting. 

Despite my reluctance, I read it anyway.

It was quite enjoyable meeting the characters again. The style of writing was still the same although I felt there was a slight improvement. But, maybe it was just because I was already used to this kind of writing. Nothing much happened for the first half of the book, mainly about the impressive honeymoon and marriage life. It was okay. The dialog, the problems, and the little inconvenient things that Ana and Christian faced felt real. Like every couples in the world, there would always be misunderstanding and incompatibilities. 

The first half of the book showed how Ana and Christian tried to adapt and cope up with the marriage life. Ana was still unable to believe that she could buy anything she wanted with Christian's money. Christian was still possessive and a control freak, making Ana feel uncomfortable all the time. There was no freedom for Ana because Christian would always know what she was doing. Even she had her own bodyguards. Ana protested, got angry, and challenged Christian to let her breath a little. But, that was not easy. No matter how hard Christian tried, old habit died hard. Ana also tried to understand her husband more, slowly guided Christian to act more normal. In this part, I admired Ana for her patience. (although who would not be patient if they got a husband as otherworldly perfect as Christian, duh!) But, there was still a problem of trust between them. Christian still did not believe that Ana loved him, no matter how many times she said and showed it to him. He thought he was not good enough, undeserved of any kind of love. 

The next part was about Jack Hyde, the antagonist from the second book. He wanted to destroy Christian. He burnt Christian's property, almost caused Ana get an accident, and even kidnapped Christian's sister. Honestly, I did not really care about Jack. The threat did not make me feel thrilled at all. Insignificant plot. At least, Jack's incident made Christian realize that Ana's feeling for him was truly sincere. Also, from Jack I knew the missing piece of childhood in Christian's past. 

The other problem was how Christian dealt with Ana's pregnancy. Ana forgot to take her shot and she accidentally got pregnant. Christian was very angry and he hurt Ana here. Christian was scared, he thought he would be a horrible father, like her mother was to him. 

As I expected, the story was flat. Not boring, though. I liked the conversation between the characters. The emails between Ana and Christian still amused me. Ana's best friend also had her happy ending. Well, the title itself showed everything. Happy ending for all. Christian was freed from his past. His BDSM lifestyle was not a demanding need anymore. At the end, Christian and Ana were just as normal as any other couples. Ugh, not really. They were horny all the time and sometimes Ana still wanted those kinky things inside the Red Room of Pain. 

I wanted to give the book three stars, but I changed my mind after I read Christian's point of view at the end of the book. Wow, a bonus. Now I knew what Christian was thinking when he first met Ana in his office. He was very good in hiding his emotion. He might seem relaxed, but he was attracted to Ana since that first meeting. He was agitated and impatient, planning a scheme to get Ana's attention. Haha... Crazy bastard. 

Anyway, despite all the flaws, I still think that Fifty Shades trilogy is a nice thing to read. Something new because it was the first time I read erotica. Furthermore, I think I'm going to remember Christian Grey for a long time. Such a conflicted and complex person, Mrs. James was really brilliant in creating and describing this psychologically damaged character. 

Fifty Shades series:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey

2. Fifty Shades Darker

3. Fifty Shades Freed

4/5