Happy Anniversary E.L. James and Fifty Shades of Grey!

            

As Fifty Shades of Grey celebrates its 1 year anniversary in publication, we wanted to celebrate! 

S.E.R's Awesomness would like to invite everyone who loves this series to join in with us today to show your LOVE and support for E.L. James!  Just tell us your story and how you came across the series  and spruce up your comments with anything else you'd like to say.  Keep reading, there will be a giveaway involved too!


Here are our congrats to E.L James from all of us ladies at S,E,R's Awesomness!

Rhonda- Wow!

It's hard to believe it's already been a year since E.L. James unleashed Fifty Shades of Grey on the world.  Even though I wasn't a reader of the fan fiction, I am proud to say I was among the first few thousand to read the published version. ;)  Mrs. James Thank you for bringing Christian Grey into the world of FICTION, I have enjoyed him immensely, not only the KINKY FUCKERY, but his story, from the heartbreaking to the love he found in Anastasia, as well as their journey.  Congratulations on all of your success with this series! *blows kisses* 

Grace- Cheers!

As a reader of fan fiction, I remember dropping everything just to read the latest update from Icy.  I also remember when she announced that she had this huge opportunity to publish her story.  Happy Anniversary to Fifty Shades of Grey! It's so much fun watching the world discover Christian and Ana's incredible story.  Congratulations, E.L. James!

Elena-Best Wishes!

The "Fifty Shades Trilogy" was above and beyond amazing! I can't believe just a year ago this novel was recommended to me and I have yet to fall out of love with this series, including the characters. EL James did a remarkable job putting together a great story line that's truly unforgettable. My best wishes goes out to her and her future success. Good Luck and wish her all the best! 


Sam-Wow! 
I cant believe its been a year since Christian Grey came in to my life *sniffs*. Its amazing how time flies. I remember when a friend said to me ‘You have to read this book, its amazing’ – I honestly had nothing else to read at the time so delved into it and OMG! Christian Grey and Anastasia just dug thier way so far and so fast into my heart that I haven't been the same since.  This is a trilogy that dumbfounds you. Its a series that I still cant put into words how much  I love it. People have their opinions, and I too have mine and mine is that these books are beyond the realms of awesomeness. Ms James is a true talent, and one that is more down to earth and so deserving of her fame that has come from this series. I will be that first screaming fan girl, if the books ever make it to that big screen. I actually just the past weekend, sent a copy of all three books to my brother to read, so its refreshing to know that even men are getting in on the Fifty Shades hype. I bow down to Ms James, and her ability to handle not only the hype but the drama that has attached itself to this series. Not many are as level headed as her self – must be were Christian gets it from! LOL. CONGRATULATIONS Ms James, Christian and Anastasia for coming this far – you eternally have my support and NO#1 FAN GIRL STATUS!

Ren-Congrats!

I haven't read "Fifty Shades of Grey" yet. But I've heard all the hype, many gushing about it and raving reviews.The ladies here at S,E,R's Awesomness Loved it! I Will read it someday. I'm  proud of Ms James with her Fifty series,she's made quite the impression with her romance novels (and erotica) and has been noticed by many people! Forget the young adult novel era, now its time for romance novels to conquest the book world! Okay, I'm halucinating. 

So, congrats for the first anniversary of Fifty Shades series. I hope Ms James will become more famous and will write many great books that'll make her readers love to read it, like they enjoyed reading Fifty :)

Well we're not quite finished. If you'd like to hang out and read a few reviews, keep going. There will be a giveaway at the end of the post.

From: Rhonda W.
Subject: Fifty Shades of Grey
Date: September 26, 2011
To: E.L. James


Mrs. James
I have finished your novel, and while I’m aware that it was derived from fan fiction, I was a bit apprehensive about reading. It seems that all the shining reviews made me very curious, so I had to go with my gut and take the plunge. While I have read the books that this series was spawn from and loved them very much at the time, I have since moved on, as hand holding and kissing were just not enough… I wanted more. There were scenes, and lines from your book that made me think of that series, maybe it was because I knew ahead of time.

I don’t read much erotica because frankly, the story lines tend to be cheesy, and characters jump in the sack by page 2. Mrs. James, I really enjoyed this book, from the story, to the erotica. Which is possibly one of the best erotica books I have ever read. I heard Christian’s voice from the moment he put his hand in Ana’s and helped her to her feet after falling into his office. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved him. Throughout the book I kept thinking, “where do I sign?” ;-) I found that I liked Ana very much, I liked how she challenged Christian, and I enjoyed her inner dialog, her inner goddess had me cracking up. I liked how Christian tried to ease her into his world of BDSM, the little things that led up to the first encounter in the playroom. Christian was delicious, and I savored him thoroughly!

I’m glad I never read the fan fiction version of this story, because quite frankly, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I did Christian and Anastasia. Am I curious about it? Absolutely NOT! I love Fifty Shades of Grey just the way it is. I can't remember the last time I smiled this much while reading a book. Mrs. James, you have completely captivated me with this book, and I can’t wait to start the next one.

Rhonda W.
ABR, Ten fingers twitching

Grace's Review:

This is the second time I am reading this series. I read the fanfic version a while ago. I was a huge fan of the story then. You guys should all be so lucky to have the published version available now as it was a PITA to wait for chapter updates!

E.L. James, I am still enjoying reading this story the second time around. It did take a while for me to get used to the names and the slight changes, but the overall heart of the your story is still present. I found myself being engrossed again in the lives of Christian and Ana. The first time I read your story I was as clueless as Ana when it came to the world Christian tries to introduce to her. Vanilla sex...what's that? I had the same reaction as Ana, LOL! Reading the contract Christian presents to Ana this time around, I am not as overwhelmed, but that's OK because I know where this story is heading. I have more knowledge of all the toys Christian wants to play with and use on Ana!

But really, I think what I love about Fifty Shades of Grey is the budding romance that develops outside the D/s relationship. Both Christian and Ana are not perfect, but they are willing to try in order to be together. The emails they send to one another are playful, honest and fun to read! I know book 1 ends in a huge cliffhanger, but keep reading! E.L. James will take you on a suspenseful and emotional roller coaster that will leave you ultimately satisfied at the end of the trilogy

Holly's Review

Let me start by saying.... Wow! Just Wow!!

This book is 5+ stars for me!! It is my favorite kind of story. You know what I mean...just so intense that the characters get so far under your skin that you can't stand to be away from them for any length of time? Well, that was me while reading this book, I couldn't concentrate to get anything done :)

There are a lot of reviews on this book, and obviously the majority love it, so I am simply going to explain some of the reasons that this story grabbed hold of my heart and wouldn't let go.

First, I am a total sucker for the tortured hero and you would be hard pressed to find a hero more tortured that our own beloved Christian Grey. That said, the fact that he is a gazillionaire at age 27 is nothing to shake a stick at! Christian's intensity and focus is what really captured me in all this, I keep having to remind myself how old he is. The chemistry between Anastasia & Christian is just off the friggin' charts, I swear at times I could feel it coming right off the pages, from the moment she 'fell' into his office!! :)

I really enjoyed the BDSM element, it wasn't necessarily heavy but intense, especially listening to Christian tell Ana that he WANTED to hurt her and why. When he said he had never had to explain it before and knew he wasn't explaining well just melted my heart. There is such a vulnerable, sweet boy underneath that gorgeous domineering man!

Obviously you can tell I am completely smitten with Christian, but let me tell you a little bit about why I completely love Ana too. Even though she is an innocent, oh and I mean really innocent, I can't help but love her fire! Yes, just like the rest of the female population she has fallen completely under Christian's spell but she is not willing to just submit to his every whim - She's feisty but conflicted, I love the emotion!!

Now, I could wax poetic about this book all day long but I will instead say if you haven't read this and you enjoy a read that will stay with you for days after you finish it then I cannot recommend this enough!! GO GET IT - RIGHT NOW!!! That's right, shouty capitals!! LOL - I myself finished this one and jumped right into Fifty Shades Darker because like I said, I can't get enough!! Soooo..... Laters baby!

Sam's previously posted review of Fifty Shades of Grey

E.L. James is kind enough to be giving away a signed copy of
Fifty Shades Freed!  
One lucky winner will win this copy. 
This is an international giveaway, WOOT WOOT!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway