This review posted on Guilty Pleasures 
 And so the journey continues....... 
 Book one ends with Anastasia leaving Christian and Darker picks up with her regretting every moment of being apart from him. What starts out as a prior promise from Christian to attend her friend's art show with her ends up with some powerful revelations about Mr. Grey and the feelings Ana truly has for him. 
 Ms. James' writing is very powerful. In Darker, she answers all the questions that are raised in Fifty Shades of Grey. Why is Christian a Dominant? Why does he have such self-loathing? Why can't Anastasia touch him? She brings in one of Christian former Subs which ends in a very compelling and heart-wrenching moment for Anastasia and expands more on his relationship with "Mrs. Robinson". That should give you a hint of some of Christian's problems and where some of them stem from. There are several poignant scenes in Darker that bring Anastasia and Christian closer together and finally allows him to accept love. 
 Spoiler Alert......this is one of the most heart-breaking scenes in Darker. It explains so much and I have a need to share. This occurs as Anastasia returns to Escala (Christian's apartment) after Leila is confronted. 
 "Christian... I--" I struggle to collect my thoughts. What am I trying to say? I need time, time to process this. Give me time. 
 "No. No!" he says. 
 "I ..." 
 He looks wildly around the room. For inspiration? For divine intervention? I don't know. 
 "You can't go. Ana, I love you?" 
 "I love you, too, Christian, it's just ---" 
 "No ... no!" he says in desperation and puts both hands on his head. 
 "Christian ..." 
 "No." he breathes, his eyes wide with panic, and suddenly he drops to his knees in front of me, head bowed, long-fingered hands spread out on his thighs. He takes a deep breath and doesn't move. 
 What? "Christian, what are you doing?" 
 He continues to stare down, not looking at me. 
 "Christian? What are you doing?" My voice is high-pitched. He doesn't move. "Christian, look at me!" I command in panic. 
 His head sweeps up without hesitation, and he regards me passively with his cool gray gaze - he's almost serene ... expectant. 
 Holy Fuck ... Christian, The Submissive. 
 What an explosive scene this was. The scene continues with Ana bringing him out of his submissiveness and ends with Christian letting go of his "hard limits". Heart-breaking, beautiful and gut-wrenching. 
 There are lighter parts to the book as well. The e-mails continue and get more and more explicit. They are just "cute". Something a normal couple would do as they are starting to learn about each other. (Make sure you read the RE: in all the e-mails - they are hysterical) All the back-ground players come back into the picture with a twist at the end. Mrs. Robinson is finally put in her place and Christian finally gives Anastasia the "Hearts and Flowers" that she has been searching for. Ah, and the contract that was previously mentioned....well, it's kind of null and voided. 
 There is plenty of sex throughout the book....in the elevator, in his home office, on the pool table, on the piano and, as he puts in his e-mail to Ms. Steele: "I calculate that there are at least 30 surfaces to go. I am looking forward to each and everyone of them. Then there's the floors, the walls - and let's not forget the balcony." Have you noticed that I have not mentioned the "Red Room of Pain". There are only 2 scenes in the book that are in the "room". One where he enlightens Ana on the uses of some of the equipment and then his birthday present from Ana. An interesting and very erotic scene where Ana does explore Christian's dominant side and finds out how exhilarating it can be for her. 
 I've also learned a new vocabulary with Darker. "Kinky Fuckery" and, my favorite, "fuckedupness". Mr. Grey is still Fifty Shades throughout the book and, just as in Fifty Shades of Grey, the title and the book-cover go hand and hand with this book. 
 Now, I do need to address one more upsetting subject that I heard about. "Mommy Porn". How ridiculous! Neither of these books are Pornography. They are tastefully done. They are erotic. They are a beautiful love story. They explain a life-style but, more importantly, they show how love, faith, trust and commitment bring two people together and how one person can finally heal another. If you are reading these books just for the sex or the BDSM, you are reading them for the wrong reasons. 
 Now that I have vented on that, I am moving on to Fifty Shades Freed.......Laters, baby!