
Well, the Fifty Shades trilogy has ended and I. Am. Glowing. Why do I feel so happy? I didn't write this book. But I did read it, and the two that came before. That is a great accomplishment, only because I am so very glad that I didn't overlook these books. I didn't miss this opportunity.Those that stop at book one couldn’t possibly get the full impact of the story. I suppose because…well, they don’t read the whole story. They get about ten shades of Fifty. Another ten to fifteen with Darker. And here comes Fifty Shades Freed. Here, our beloved Fifty is laid bare for everyone to see, in all his multifaceted glory. This is a trilogy that really is one story split up to readable portions. I’ll admit, I was so emotional after reading the first two back to back that I don’t think I could have handled this one right away. I had about six weeks. And it gave me a new appreciation for both Christian and Ana. We all focus so much on Christian, because -uhhh - he’s freaking Fifty! But the story would be more of the same old same old contemporary romance without Ana. Her innocent candor in regards to Christian is refreshing, and somehow borderline annoying at the same time. She can be so honest with him, just when he needs honesty. And as he professes, he loves that she doesn’t take his crap. While Christian is everyone’s current dream boat, this book especially brings to light how difficult it would be to be in Ana’s shoes. One gets the feeling that he would literally be a shell of a man without her. What a wonderful and terrible burden! Christian is just so broken. His activities almost seem masochistic in light of the revelations about his past. At the same time, he is possessed with the demon of possession when it comes to Ana. She is his light, his beauty, the bit of reality that he desperately needs. That being said, in real life, I would probably not have stuck around to wait out Christian's demons and help him open up. But Ana, in her quiet way, somehow stubborn and giving at the same time, stayed...and stayed...and stayed. If it's even possible, I think I was even more emotional about this one that the first two. You know the term rock bottom? Well, Fifty hits it, and when he does, events unfold (finally) that set the freeing in motion. We hurt the ones we love. Geez, okay. At time it seemed as if there wasn’t an ultimate goal for the end; no direction, so to speak. We get lots of play. Red room, HELLO! A few eye rolls from Ana, and a few lip-bitings that had me knawing on my own lips. We all know where that leads to…yummy Christian goodness. But I just didn’t know where it was leading for quite some time. Also, it takes quite awhile for Anna to grow a pair big enough to put her foot down about her 'hard limits' in the relationship. I felt peeved with her for a bit. Wow, does it change!I don't know what else to say without giving something away. The ending, aaaah, the ending! Ms James, what a glorious release you have given us! Words aren't enough. The end of this trilogy was perfect to me.