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

it's not that bad.

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

this was a book that caused an escape. much like desperate housewives or back-in-the-day, Dallas or Knots Landing. it's just a soap-opera type book. don't go thinking you're going to raise your IQ fifty points by listening to this book. i enjoyed it thoroughly and found myself looking forward to listening to it and was excited for book two.

Who was your favorite character and why?

i enjoyed getting to know them both.

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

after they changed the tone/bass/whatever, i thought it was better. not as high-pitched. the fact remains, that Ana is a YOUNG GIRL of twenty-two, so of course she's going to have a youthful sounding voice. i don't understand why everyone's so quick to throw Becca under the bus for giving her a sound that fits the characters age. i thought she was fine.

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

no real extreme reactions other than all the reviews from everyone else. my goodness. they're so harsh. i think people forget that this is a "fluff and nonsense" book that's supposed to be a fun escape, at least it was for me.

Any additional comments?

i've been married for 18 years and have had one partner my entire life. ONE. so i felt very connected to Ana simply because of my own life. i was married at 22 and had children fairly quickly into our marriage. i loved so many parts of the book(s) and was sad to see them end.

not everyone will love this book but i think we "girls" want to be wanted and need to be desired. lighten up a little. take a breather. this book is fun and erotic and well, totally sexy.

Oh My. Oh Puke.

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

I should have read it myself. The audio was horrible. At least if I read it I wouldn't have made the Oh My's and the ooooooo Christian Greys so sickeningly..... I can't even think of a word that to describe the fingernails on chalkboard feeling I got listening to this audio. I can usually put aside issues with listening to a bad reading, but not this time. Blaaahhhh!

Would you ever listen to anything by E. L. James again?

Not sure

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

NO

Was Fifty Shades of Grey worth the listening time?

Not at all.

Worst. Performance. EVER!!!

What did you like best about Fifty Shades of Grey? What did you like least?

Let's not pretend that this is fine literature. It's a fun, smutty diversion, but it is that.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Different reader would have helped!

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

Battoe made the lead character sound like a vapid Valley Girl. And when she changed her voice for different characters, she was simply ridiculous -- like the local librarian who puts on a silly voice to read the part of "Mr. Toad" to local children. She makes one of the characters, who happens to have a Latino surname, sound like Speedy Gonzales.But it is her performance of the lead character that is the most egregious. Absolutely appalling. So inappropriate for the character that she takes you out of the story completely.

Any additional comments?

Somebody MUST rerecord this! And, here's an idea: why not have an actual man read the men's quotes, so that it is slightly less ridiculous?

Very Graphic but Tastefully Written!

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

opening your eyes to a more vivid "romance" novel. Extremely moving and can picture and relate to some of the comments in the storyline.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Anastasia - She started off as a introverted virgin. She was given the opportunity of a lifetime to be with the ares most eligible bachelor. They both teach each other. Lots of 1st's for each of them.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Christian was willing to review and modify the contract. He was willing to try to give her the "more"she wanted and needed.

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

YES. Took about 4 days but well worth it. I am starting Book 2 after it finishes downloading. Cant wait!

Any additional comments?

I am hoping that the additional books in the series will have Christian revel more of his past or maybe a couples session with the shrink together :) Who knows that may already be written in the next book that I am starting now.

LOVE this series

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

Yes and no - but mainly because I love reading - but listening to it was just as good, plus I could listen to it at work

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

"F*ck the paper work" - it's a moment in the elevator....you can feel the emotion, it's awesome.

What about Becca Battoe’s performance did you like?

I felt like I was in Ana's head....it was easy to imagine Becca's voice was Ana's voice

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

All of it....but I love this book after I read chapter 1

Any additional comments?

Becca does her best - I could not stop laughing after she did Christian's voice the first time and it took a couple chapters for me to REALLY get used to it - but if you love the books, and I do - you can look past all that and listen to what she is saying rather than vocusing on her voice.

I Good Listen!

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

YES! Was able to follow along much better and I really enjoyed listening to this book. Will definitively listen to part 2.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Surprised and yet a bit sad!

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

Life to the Characters

Loved the narrater

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

Great story - hard to get enough of it! I can't understand why so many people complained about the narrator - I thought she was great! I just bought the second book in this series and they changed the narrator - WEIRD! I wish they'd go back to the original.
This story was addicting... I can't wait to start the next book!

very intense

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

yes i would this book is good

Who was your favorite character and why?

mr grey

Which scene was your favorite?

when he found out that anna was a virgin

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

i guest to know that she was innocent

Any additional comments?

great book

Good story, HORRIBLE Narration

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

HORRIBLE, her valley girl accent, and her very non manly accents were horrible. Very annoying. I did like the book.

I'm a fan...

What did you love best about Fifty Shades of Grey?

The story and charaters captured me. The only thing that irritated me was the e-mails. OMG, I didn't need all the sastics for every e-mail.