Darker (Fifty Shades as Told by Christian #2): Book Review

• Author: E.L. James   
• First Published: 2017  
• Genre: Erotica  
• Rating: ★★★★  

We're back and continuing Christian's journey through his relationship with the intoxicating Anastasia Steele. This week with delayed gratification. -Yes, I've been hiding Easter eggs in my posts for people who've read the books, you're welcome.-

Again, which I don't think comes to a surprise to anyone, I've rated it quite highly due to it's entertainment value and how well E.L. James was able to piece together and answer a bunch of the questions that I, and I'm sure many other readers, had from Ana's side of the story. Without getting into spoilers, here's a list of the things -in no particular order- that I was most happy to get answers about:

1. Christian's impulsive behaviour
2. Leila's reappearance 
3. Mrs. Robinson v. Grace fallout

To anyone who has read Fifty Shades Darker or even Darker itself, this will make a lot more sense. For those who haven't, just know that these are fairly strong plot points in this time in the series' timeline.

What surprised me about this book was how much it genuinely made me reflect on my own life. Typically, at least for me, when I read these sorts of books it's not to gain any deep insight into my own psyche but rather as a form of pure entertainment. My reflections were about relationships past and present, about toxic traits across the board, and most surprisingly, about discipline. No, I don't mean being tied up and whipped or flogged, E.L. James has that covered, I mean about self-discipline. As you go through the motions with Christian you do gain some perspective into how disciplined you have to be, at least in his field and work, in order to be successful. This, of course, translates into the rest of life itself, but I find it funny how a book from a series that is fairly polarizing in terms of love it, hate it, into it, disgusted by it can make one reflect so deeply -or maybe it's just me and I was in a weird mood this week?-

As comes with the territory of erotica, I'd recommend it to anyone who is into these sorts of novels. Fair warning -not that it's really warranted because there's a series of movies out and all that jazz- this does touch on childhood abuse and traumas, as well as mental health and sexual abuse -or what's considered sexual abuse from certain parties-, so keep that in mind when choosing this book.

Have you ever read a book that surprised you by making you self-reflect when you least expected it? What was it and what triggered the self-reflection?

Cheers!