Freed
It’s hard to imagine that anyone hasn’t heard of E L James’ controversial and sensuous romance series Fifty Shades of Grey. What began as fanfiction inspired by Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling Twilight Saga transformed into a hit series all its own, and now, ten years later, James has released Freed (Bloom Books) — Fifty Shades Freed from Christian’s perspective — a novel that could perhaps be the Fifty Shades swan song.
Whether you’re a fan of the series or not, you could not have participated in pop culture over the last decade without coming in contact with James’ work at some point or another. The film adaptations (starring Dakota Johnson opposite Jamie Dornan) made more than a billion dollars at the box office. Additionally, the trilogy itself sold over 165 million copies worldwide. It’s clear readers and moviegoers alike fell hard and fast for the magnetic, steamy love affair between the demure, literature student Anastasia Steele and the attractive young billionaire Christian Grey.
If this fiery trilogy and subsequent film franchise weren’t enough to satiate her millions of adoring fans, James returned to her bestseller in 2015 with the release of Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian. This new book saw the author climbing inside her leading man’s head to gift readers a deeper (and darker) perspective on the love story that first captivated them four years earlier.
James had never intended for this alternate point of view to become its own series. In a recent GMA interview, she explained: “I’d written a couple of chapters from Christian’s point of view … for charity events and things I’d organized within the fandom.” She later put these bonus chapters at the end of Fifty Shades Freed, the final book in the Fifty Shades trilogy, and readers begged her for more.
James said writing Grey was “enormous fun.” She released the sequel, Darker, in 2017, but then stepped back from the project to write a stand-alone romance entitled The Mister. Since then, devoted readers have been clamoring for the final Christian Grey novel, and the pandemic finally presented James with the opportunity to sit down and write Freed, which fans may be excited to learn fills in a six-week gap in the Fifty Shades Freed timeline.
In Freed, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele tie the knot — but marriage brings its own challenges. Though their passion burns hotter and deeper than ever, Ana’s defiant spirit continues to stir Christian’s darkest fears and tests his need for control. As old rivalries and resentments endanger them both, one misjudgment threatens to tear them apart.
James said of the project, “This story has been a labour of love, one that my readers have been eagerly awaiting. For me, just as for Anastasia Steele, Christian is a challenging, infuriating, and endlessly fascinating character. Living in his head is exhausting, but I got to explore aspects of his life in Freed that we only glimpsed in the original trilogy, and to follow his emotional growth in response to Ana’s love and compassion.”
With Freed finally published, the question on everyone’s mind is “Will this be the end for the Fifty Shades series?” James says, “We’ve left [Ana and Christian] in a good place. Let’s leave them in a good place … but I always say, ‘Never say never.’”
Readers will just have to wait and see.
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Even die-hard 50 Shades fans might not care about Grey
God, one can only hope she’s done with poorly written books based off of a mediocre fanfic. Sure I read the trilogy. It was…ok. Too contrived, and I was irritated by Ana’s inner goddess and Holy Cow’s. Not to mention the absurd notion that anyone is as foolish, naive, and orgasmic (every time? Really? Can’t she enjoy sex without orgasm?) as she is. I came across a pdf of the original Master of the Universe or whatever. I read 1 chapter before I realized a. It’s nearly identical except for names and fewer Holy Cow’s (and no inner goddess! My mind is dancing!).
The follow up Grey series is less annoying. But seriously, can’t this woman milk her publicity by writing something new? Apparently she’s a one hit wonder who can only do fanfic. What’s next? Game of Thrones with inner goddesses?