Right, make yourselves comfortable. This is one of those ranty, unplanned posts which might go on a bit because I am SO ANNOYED!
First things first - I can't go on an erotica rant without briefly mentioning this...
I was a bit late to the party when it came to Fifty Shades of Whatthefuuu so, rather than jump on the bandwagon, I ended up running waaay behind it trailing desperately after all the cool kids and shouting "Heeyyy, waiiit! I've got shit to say about this book too!".
Well, it took me a while to make up my mind about 50 Shades because, having read my fair share of Mills & Boon, I had expected it to be so much worse, and was therefore pleasantly surprised to find some semblance of character development.
I mean, yeah, the inner goddess vs. subconscious waffle was really painful and borderline schizophrenic BUT on the whole, and let's be reasonable here guys...
It. Wasn't. That. Bad.
...Although arguably, the only reason it had any character development was because the characters were based on Bella and Edward (what is it with stupid names? Bella?? Really?) from The Twilight Saga (which I haven't read - disgraceful I know).
...And okay, the repeated vocab was annoying but show me an erotic novel which doesn't repeat itself...at the end of the day - there are only so many words to describe your spam folder!
I mention Fiddy now because, until last night, I thought I'd found a series of erotic fiction that I could hold up to you as an antidote to everything that was wrong with E L James' writing.
The Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day.
In essence, the story is pretty similar. A pretty-and-successful-but-doesn't-realise-it woman, falls for a ridiculously rich and good-looking man. The books follow their passionate love affair as they fight to overcome their emotional issues in order to stay together yattayattayatta. There's a whole sub/dom element to it but it's not as pronounced as in 50 Shades, which I personally prefer. The plot is more textured, there is more to the characters and it doesn't feel like the author is just using a loose story as an excuse for something to write about when the protagonists aren't banging each other. So far, so good.
I found that I absolutely tore through the first two books because the love story, while completely unbelievable fantasy, was fun and easy to read. The dark side of these books, doesn't necessarily come from the sexual deviance of Eva and Gideon (the main characters, again with the names...), instead, Day uses a sort of crime fiction baseline to give the story drama. Again, I much prefer this type of multi-layered story. I think I would go so far as to say that I really loved the first 2 books. They were welcome, summertime, escapist reads and I think that's why I was so utterly disappointed when I came to the end of the first book last night.
Here's what happened...I was tearing through it, as expected and Day was bringing all sorts of interesting stuff into the plot. The guy that Gideon supposedly killed in the second book was found to be inexplicably linked to the Russian Mafia. This let Gideon off the hook because it raised suspicions that a member of the Mafia killed the guy instead. The police evidence against both possibilities is sketchy but Day brings in bits and pieces of the back story here and there making you wonder exactly how the guy was killed, who was responsible, how that affects Gideon and Eva's relationship etc. etc... and alongside that, we find that Cary has got a girl up the duff!
Alarmingly, we only start to really get into all this when we are like (*looks at Kindle*) 80% of the way through!
Then, all of a sudden, we come to an abrupt end where the Author writes a quick, crappy little note to say that she missed her deadlines so the book is unfinished.
No.
I lie.
She says:
Author's Note
Yes, dear reader, you're right. This can't possibly be the end.
Gideon and Eva's journey isn't quite finished yet. I look forward to seeing where they'll take us next.
All my best,
Sylvia.
Seriously?
GAAAHGGHGHAAHAHHHHH
Have you read this book? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below - I'd love to hear your views!
