Love Story with a Kink: Fifty Shades of Grey

Master of the Universe: The books currently 'dominating' the world. (Pun intended). 

Not long ago, Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James, was relatively unknown and people had no idea of the effect it would have all around the world but within just the last six weeks it is now sold out in almost all shops with long waiting lists of people eager to read it. 

Fifty Shades of Grey is a novel set in Seattle that follows the complicated relationship of multi-billionaire Christian Grey and university graduate Anastasia Steele. It is currently a New York Times bestseller bypassing the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga by being the fastest selling paperback in six weeks and having sold 100,000 copies last week in the United Kingdom alone. The effect of the novel in the United States is much more widespread with it having sold over 5.4 million books in just four weeks. This success of the book is ironic especially considering it started off as Twilight fan fiction yet it has dwarfed its 'predecessor'. Constantly breaking records, it has been claimed that Fifty Shades of Grey has today reached the one million mark via Kindle e-books. 

Fifty Shades of Grey is followed up by two books: Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. These make up the trilogy that depict the growth and progress of the relationship between Grey and Steele and the obstacles they face in their attempt to "bring him into the light". Just like the Twilight Saga used the vampire/werewolf façade in an attempt to make the love story between Bella and Edward more exciting, James uses this framework to introduce the element of BDSM to cover up the real issues at play in her series and these prove to be deeper than the sexual references. The trilogy follows Steele's attempts to get to know Grey and help him overcome his "fear of being touched" and eventually uncovers that he is the victim of a drug-abusing mother who neglected her child and this has led to him being emotionally detached from society until Steele conveniently "falls into his office". Up until this point, Grey has learnt to deal with his issues through control which is something he tries to inflict upon Steele but her innocence proves to be an asset to her as he grows to accept that while his mother was not capable of love, he is. As a result of this, he learns that his previous methods of coping just do not fill the void that Steele's love fills so aptly.

Also, with a film adaptation on the horizon after having been snapped up by Universal Studios, I'm sure this is a series that will continue to captivate people all around the world with its fans, dubbed 'Fifty fan girls' debating on who they would like to see play one of their favourite literary characters. 
From the likes of The Vampire Diaries' Ian Somerhalder to the Twilight Saga's very own Robert Pattinson to Snow White and the Huntsman's Chris Hemsworth, being considered by fans for the role of Christian Grey, the casting director for the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movies has a difficult job on his hands as this is one decision the fans would want to be perfect!

Many shades of Grey: The rumoured casting choices for the role of Christian Grey.

While some may have issues with some regarding its explicit content as inappropriate, Fifty Shades of Grey continues to draw people in and aptly lives up to its blurb as it will "obsess you, possess you and stay with you forever".