Fifty Shades of Grey

Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy

By: E. L. James

Narrated by: Becca Battoe

Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

More than 150 million copies sold worldwide.

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success - his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family - Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

This audiobook is intended for mature audiences.

Look for E L James’ passionate new love story, The Mister, coming April 16, 2019.

©2011 E L James (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

• Finalist, GoodReads Choice Awards, Best Romance

INTERESTING READ

I was told by a friend to read this book and been hearing folks ranting and raving on how good this book was so I decided to pick it up. Personally, this book was a little slow paced it seemed to take forever to get where it needed to go. This is a very long book and I really think it could have been a little bit shorter. The emails that went back and forth throughout the book started to get on my nerves. What the author did do was build the character so that you felt as if you knew them and their personalities and then helped you understand the main characters' inner conflict and how they saw themselves.What I did like about the book was the descriptive sexual content. Whew I could just picture the scenes in my head. I am a fan of the bdsm lifestyle and love anything to do with bondage, role playing, pain and pleasure so the scenes were fantastic and had me at the edge with all sorts of thoughts running through my head. The narrator was also perfect for the book and did an amazing job. I would recommend this book to my friends and most of them love this book and now fully understand that I may not be as weird as they thought, because they loved the sexual content in the book they now want to try something new and have been blowing up my phone to tie them up and spank them...hahaha This is a pretty good introduction book into the second book.

ATTN: ALL WOMEN!!!!!!

Where does Fifty Shades of Grey rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is by far my #2 on my favorite books of all time...#1 being the next book in the trilogy "Fifty Shades Darker".....WONDERFUL....HOT!!!

What other book might you compare Fifty Shades of Grey to and why?

I can't really compare this to any other books, it is a LOT hotter/sexier than ANYTHING I have ever read.

What does Becca Battoe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She does a wonderful job with her voice changing it to make each character unique.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The thing I really enjoy about this whole trilogy is the fact that as a book, it leaves SO MUCH to the imagination. I love that it has some humor as well as pure sexiness to it.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful way to "rev-up" your personal sex-life....WOWSA!! ;)

Performer can make or break an audiobook

What didn’t you like about Becca Battoe’s performance?

Of course the book is fabulous! I think enough has been said about that. But the performance on this audiobook was so poor that I couldn't listen to it. After the first chapter, I had to put away my headphones and buy the book to read. Becca Battoe still has to mature as an actress before she should read another audiobook. The phrasing was off, the punctuation was distracting, and the male voices were like listening to nails on a chalkboard. I don't like to criticize, but I was so disappointed in this performance and so frustrated that I had wasted $20 that I had to say something!

Please bring Anna Back....

Would you consider the audio edition of Fifty Shades of Grey to be better than the print version?

I loved Becca Battoe first version of the book. Ann was sweet and innocent as she should be.
As my husband reminds me all the time " that is not a ten year old driving the car next to you , you are just getting older and can't tell kids ages anymore.
I think she sounds young in the both versions. But I like the first better.
Loose up the story is about a 20 something and should sound like one in the audible version.

Which character – as performed by Becca Battoe – was your favorite?

Anna, but she did a good job with all of them.

WOW

All I have to say is be careful where you are reading this, hopefully there is a pool or cold shower close by - you may need to cool yourself off!

Wonderful!

Normally not into romance novels but I have to say This was worth the listen! Loved the narrater she did a great job!. Wont give away the story however I will say I'm hooked and will be downloading #2 shortly = )

Becca Battoe was great!

Would you listen to Fifty Shades of Grey again? Why?

Oh yeah baby! This was great, not the story per se but this story combined with narrator voice is just great.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fifty Shades of Grey?

Well... the most memorable moment was when reading the contract, wow! A main entrance to a different world.

What about Becca Battoe’s performance did you like?

Timing, tone, enunciation, everything. I could imagine every one of the characters becoming alive. Great Job!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me smile definitely...

Any additional comments?

Love Audible!

Embarrassingly gripping!

What made the experience of listening to Fifty Shades of Grey the most enjoyable?

The emotions of the characters overrode the shocking physical activities. It is not the ordinary sex story.

What other book might you compare Fifty Shades of Grey to and why?

This book is unlike any I have ever read. The story is fast and consuming.

What about Becca Battoe’s performance did you like?

Excellent narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I could hardly put it down.

Good romance novel, terrible portrayal of BDSM

Would you try another book from E. L. James and/or Becca Battoe?

Yes, EL James wrote a better than average romance novel, nothing more.

Any additional comments?

My issues with this series is more that it portrays anyone interested in the BDSM lifestyle as damaged, which is far from true. Insulting in fact. There is no real attention to community, communication, little to safety, etc. As a romance novel it is better than average, as a novel around a BDSM couple as here it failed miserably

Becca Battoe Naration

What made the experience of listening to Fifty Shades of Grey the most enjoyable?

I will not be buying the other two books in this trilogy because of the awful narration. The first narration made all of the characters sound like they were from the valley, even Christian who is supposed to be strong and masculine sounding. The second version is NO better! Becca does not sound as air headed as in the first version but Christian sounds even more AWFUL in the second version!!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fifty Shades of Grey?

The story is well written and the writer takes the reader (listener) through each phase of the relationship between Christian and Anastasia.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I like the story, I very very very much dislike the narrator in BOTH versions!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had an extreme reaction to the awful narration!

Any additional comments?

The narrator should be COMPLETELY changed!