Fifty Shades of No Imagination

This will probably be the shortest review I have ever written. And it’s going to cover two books! Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed were two books with so very little imagination it’s almost tragic. I noted in my review of the first installment, Fifty Shades of Grey, that while not great literature this at least was consistent with the type of stuff in the romance genre. The other two installments? Not worth reading the first fifty words of the second or third installments.

The author uses the same phrases over and over and over. By the time I was half way through Fifty Shades Darker, I couldn’t bear to read “don’t be mad at me”, “mine”, or “my fifty” one more time. And for “mommy porn” – with the reputation like this series seems to have earned, well, it was bordering on boring. The same phrases and lack of imagination was evident in the scenes that we’re supposed to be exciting. And the hard core that I expected based on all that I had heard, never really materialized. It just became boring to read.

So, if you are looking to rehash the same dialogue, the same arguments between characters, the same scenes, the same everything chapter after chapter, have fun. There are three books worth of it. If you are looking for something erotic and exciting and imaginative, I can give lots of other, better, and much more exciting book recommendations. The Fifty Shades Trilogy was Fifty Shades of not worth reading more than the first installment.

Creepy scary wonderful Anna Dressed in Blood

Want to spend some time with a creepy scary ghost story? Then check out Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. It’s not the creepiest or the scariest but it’s another for the faint of heart either.

We are introduced to Cas while he is out one night killing a ghost. How does one kill something that is already dead? Well, he has an athame that was his father’s, before his father was killed, and Cas believes it is a special knife. He also believes that setting the ghosts free so they can not harm others is his calling. He is meant to do it. Because of this, he doesn’t stay in any one place long. His mother moves them where ever they need to be. And where they need to be is looking into the ghost story of Anna.

Anna is a ghost who was killed in 1958 and now like all the ghosts that Cas releases is killing. She kills and leaves no trace of her victims.

What ensues is Cas’ introduction into the social minefield known as high school. He sets out to find the queen bee because he knows that the popular kids will know all the ghost stories. And while he knows a little about Anna, he needs to know more including where he ghost is likely to be. And as expected, by identifying the queen bee, he pisses off the queen bee’s court which includes an ex-boyfriend jealous jock and his goon friends. Fast forward to them tricking Cas and taking him exactly where he wants to go – Anna’s house. But things go terribly wrong. And for Cas Ina. Creepy sort of way they go right because he meets Anna. And over time he finds that he wants to save her as much as destroy her. We get some quick glimpses into voodoo and other magics. We get introduced to and (thankfully) well acquainted with both the mystery and the answers to what happened to Cas’ father too.

This book had a great balance of creepiness, scariness, gore, evil, ghosts, good guys, magic and fear. It had just a hint of a teenage love story too. Normally I would say that I want to see more of the relationship develop. But here, since we are talking about a really bloody murdering ghost and teenage boy, it was ok to see only a little. And it was the perfect amount of the right stuff to see. The author made Anna scary angry and vulnerable and sympathetic at the same time. It was easy to route for an ending where she doesn’t end up the big bad evil. And it was easy to route for her and Cas even while knowing that they really couldn’t be together. It was also really nice to see the author not find some wacky convoluted was to resurrect Anna.

My biggest disappointment was actually when I realized that there will be a sequel based on Anna. I think that Cas and his ghost hunting abilities/story have potential. But bringing Anna back, when things were so nicely tied up, will likely be a little bit of a stretch. I hope I am wrong and the author has found a way to do the second installment without making the whole thing crazy, because I don’twant to see my opinion of Anna spoiled. But this means that I need to get on putting some pages together dedicated to this series…

This book is a great read for those who enjoy the creepy goose bump inducing story with just enough realizing in it to scare the daylights out of you!