So, why? "Why did I read this?" Is the question. I had already decided, based on general public opinion a while back, that I was going to avoid this book. However something must have changed my mind, right? Well it's like this...a few weeks ago I was coming to the end of my last book trying to decide what to read next. I read something online that revealed the song "I put a spell on you" by Annie Lennox was the song that opened up the movie version of this book. I know the song but had never heard Annie's version. So I listened to it, and I was, well, put under a spell! It is such an amazing version of the song, and to me I felt it encapsulated a lot of what the book is about. This was different, never have I decided to read a book based mostly on a song! Also I admit that I did have some slight interest in the book before when I heard Charlie Hunnam was going to play Christian because "Jax" is one of my top favorite actors. And lastly, I admit I do have an interest in this story, before public opinion went and swayed me, it is a topic that I have an interest in. I told my friend I was reading this book after I had first started, and she said, "Enjoy your trash/smut" but yet I felt at the time that I didn't feel I was reading "trash" though that is the general consensus. That is because the story/relationship gets built up quite a bit before there is any sex scene. I listened to the audiobook and if this was what most people think it is, they would have been 'going at it' in the first 10 minutes. It actually took a little over an hour of "character development" before they got 'intimate.' And that was okay for me actually. Because I did not read this book just to read the sexy parts. If I wanted to read a book like that, this would not have been my choice! I feel I should also add a note about the audiobook narration. I recently listened to Gone Girl narrated by Julia Whelan. In my opinion, she nailed that narration. I know some people got annoyed by her narration but to me I did not agree with that, I loved her voice and how she narrated. The same went for this narrator Becca Battoe. It was so important that her narration work for me for whether I would accept/enjoy this book. I could tell if I didn't like her narration from the start, that may have actually impacted whether I liked the book at all. Because her 'delivery' on certain lines of dialogue (for example things said in the sexy parts) were make or break aspects of the audiobook. Also, like many audiobook narrators, she had to "change her voice" to portray the male character(s) which is actually not as easy as it sounds. She did a great job doing the female and male character voices/dialogue. 
 I should say, I also did, I'll admit, I read the Twilight series. And this book reminded me a lot of Bella and Edward in Twilight, though I know this comparison has already been talked about. I saw that there are a lot of reviews on this book already here on Goodreads, most of them downright hilarious. So I'll just say this as far as my own review - I liked the book because to me the whole make or break aspect of it came down to "did I believe in the love story." And yeah. I did. It's just like the way I review films I watch. If I don't "care about the characters" early on, I come to not give a crap what happens to them at all in the story. But I came to "care about" what happens to Ana and Christian. Their characters were established and developed enough to where when they finally did get to the point where they were going to start "that part of their" intimate relationship, I did actually give a damn. Now that's just me. I know not everyone agrees with me, and that is okay. I won't lie and say I didn't like this book just because a lot of people I know didn't like it. That wouldn't be fair to my review and I wouldn't lie just to pretend I follow my friend's opinions! What I got is that at the core of the relationship, it was two people who really wanted to be with each other. But they couldn't give each other what the other wanted. It was simply put, that. Yet this "struggle" tore them apart and I understood. Also the portrayal of BDSM in the story, a lot of people had "problems" with that, and I too was leery that the book may not get it right when this is so crucial to the story. But I believed the BDSM parts. That is because what people do "in the dungeon" is their personal and private business. It may be different than the way other people act in their dungeons, (haha!) but I realized that doesn't matter. If Ana and Christian don't act the way others act in their dungeons, I realized that doesn't really matter now does it? 
 One other thing I want to add is I did something in relation to the book-to-film-viewing experience that I have never done before. You see I like to read the book then immediately follow it up with watching the film. In this way I often time reading the book right when the film comes out in the theater or right when it is first released on Dvd. When I reached the exact middle of the audiobook, the movie came out on Dvd. Instead of waiting until I was done reading the book, I jumped right into watching the movie! I knew this would essentially "spoil the ending" of the book for me, but as is often the case, film and book do not end the same so I took a chance and watched the film anyway with my husband. Film/book spoiler: (view spoiler)[I was surprised how abruptly the film ended, and I was very curious if the book ended the same way. To my surprise the endings were quite similar though I saw the Blu-Ray Dvd has an alternate ending that I haven't seen yet because my Blu-Ray player is broken (hide spoiler)] 
 On a more personal, deeper level, this story also has a greater significance in reference to the BDSM part. But, that's another story ;P