There’s been so much written about these books I’ll keep mine brief.

Sadly I got caught up in the hype on a recent trip to the UK – there hadn’t been much talk about it in Australia at that point but I was picking up a lot of talk via Facebook friends in the UK and once we arrived it seemed to be the talk of the town. Every town.

Usually I resist this sort of hype. I’m sure I was the last to read Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (which I loved by the way)!

But I went into one bookshop and there it was. I read the back cover and put the book down again and walked off into the shop.

I then noticed a couple of young women come in grab a copy and run – yes run – to the counter. Then another woman came in and bought a copy.

I walked over and impulsively grabbed two books. One for me, one for my sister-in-law. Well it was cheap in the UK!

Why did I bother?

It’s one of the worst books I’ve ever attempted to read. I say attempted because I’ve only got to Chapter 11. I’m not even up to the real “mucky” stuff yet. But it’s awful.

Dreadful writing, so clichéd and then there’s the ridiculous asides of “Oh my” every few seconds and if I knew how to do it I’m sure my breath hitched with every word I read.

The idea that middle-aged women think this is sexy astounds me.

But that’s the funny thing, all my friends who’ve read it – and yes, sadly we’re all just about middle-aged, feel the same as I do. It’s rubbish.

Why would I find a ridiculously naive 21-year old who’s never been kissed properly and a 27-year old rich, good looking, moody control-freak vaguely interesting. It’s a nonsense.

Most of us got up to all sorts in our 20s. Lots of fun. I’m not going to tell you about it here or anywhere else, but come on!

I saw a comment (there have been so many) from a man on Facebook who said the books:

… are aimed at sad chicks dreaming of a fairytale they will never get!

Seriously? What woman wants to be bullied, treated as a sex slave, controlled and owned by a man who seriously has some issues. And that’s putting it mildly.

What concerns me it that young girls – I’m talking teenagers or even younger – will read this book. Will they think this is the norm?

Is this what they will aspire to in a relationship? Thinking it’s ok to be submissive to a man. God help us. God help all those feminists.

And will men read it thinking this is okay to do this to a woman? To own and control her every move and to punish her if she does something he doesn’t like?

A real relationship should be equal. Balanced. Full of love, friendship and respect. A mutual bond between two consenting people.

Please, do yourselves a favour, and don’t get caught up in the hype.

Just saying.

P.S. And I’m ashamed to discover that Australia is responsible for it getting published in the first place, see the final entry of her Frequently Asked Questions.