I know that 50 Shades of Grey gets a lot of flack from all angles and I think that some of the reasons for that are completely justified. There are most definitely issues with power relations and the books writing style and a plethora of other issues. However, I have read a number of books that fall into the 'erotic' genre and I have found some books that are even more deserving of being categorised as 'bad'. These books are, in my opinion, all much worse than 50 Shades for several different reasons which are explained below. The order that you see them in are how angry they made, the most rage-inducing coming last.
1. Release Me by J. Kenner
I've read a lot of novels in the Erotic and New Adult genres and this is nothing special. Everything between the two characters happened too quickly and that is saying something for this genre! At the same, paradoxically, the story moved too slowly. It took five chapters just to pass one night. That was the first half of the book!
The love interest in this novel is Damien Stark or should I say Gideon Grey or is it Christian Cross? As the names suggest this character was just a poor amalgamation of other popular love interests in other books and had very little about him that was original. Putting that aside he's rich and handsome and arrogant, but there was just something missing for me besides the sexy shivers that you're supposed to get. I found myself not caring about Damien at all.
The protagonist, Nikki, was also poor and not a character that I felt invested in at all. She's darker than Ana, but I didn't believe her back story. Nikki Fairchild has an overbearing mother and cuts herself to deal with her pain. In a review that I read when I was first looking into this book the reviewer described Nikki as an independent, strong female character. I have to disagree whole-heartedly. I'm not saying that people who self-harm are weak, but they are not healthy and I don't think it's what we should be interpreting strength and independence to be.
One other thing I would mention about this book is that it is supposed to be a BDSM romance. The sex scenes were not at all like that in my opinion and I think I'd just given up caring by that point anyway. Apparently there are sequels (that's right, more than one) but I just wouldn't waste my time or money.
2. Captive in the Dark by C.J. Roberts
This is very much a dark romance and tells the story of 18-year-old Olivia Ruiz who is kidnapped by a man called Caleb, who demands to be called Master. Caleb's mission is to 'train' Olivia so that she can be sold as a sex slave at an upcoming human auction. During the time that she is held in captivity Olivia develops Stockholm syndrome (as I would contend) and her relationship with Caleb becomes a little bit more.
On Goodreads it states at the bottom of synopsis that this book contains 'dubious consent'. As this book is about sex workers and human trafficking I would very much argue that the consent in the story is not dubious more non-existent. The apologist way that that is dealt with in this book, or even just the way that it marketed is one of the things that makes it so much worst than 50 Shades in my opinion. This is quite clearly a book about rape, but I felt as Roberts was trying to manipulate the readers emotions in order to make us believe that there is something more genuine going on there.
Caleb is a character that I thought was excellent, although sadly not in any cheerful way. During the narrative there are a series of flashbacks that allow us a look into the past of Olivia's captive. Caleb too was once a sex-slave and is using Olivia in order to get close to the man who he believes was responsible for his ordeal. I can understand that revenge is so important to this character that he would live in a state of denial of what he is doing to his victim in order to reach his end goal. The complexity with which he is portrayed was perhaps the only highlight of the whole book.
The truth is that this book could have been good. It would always have been darker than 50 Shades, but if the female protagonist had been more of a 3-dimensional character and the plot been accepted for the story of rape that it is then it would have been good. However, these two issues are far to big to overcome. The rape apologism that is contained in the story makes it impossible for me to even consider reading the second book and I would hope make others think twice too.
3. This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpass
This book is the first of the This Man Trilogy and has to be one of the most sickening books that I have ever read. This homage to every myth about domestic violence does everything it's power to try and convince readers that this abusive relationship is in fact a romance. Romanticised? Yes absolutely. Romantic? Not unless romance became being stalked, tricked, emotionally manipulated, kidnapped and impregnated without your consent, whilst I wasn't looking. And in case you are wondering all of those things genuinely take place in this trilogy.
The protagonist of this novel is Ava, an interior designer who has just broke up with her long-term boyfriend (read: emotionally vulnerable) and is sent to meet a potential client for a meeting one day. Ava makes her way to a secluded country house that she mistakes for a hotel and is confronted with the cocky and arrogant Jesse.
Jesse embodies all of the characteristics that are that have come to define this genre. He is dark, dangerous, rich and arrogant. He is also an alcoholic, prone to sexual harassment and stalking. Sounding similar to Christian Grey? Absolutely, that character too is guilty of many of these things which are what make that novel so problematic. However, I feel that these books take that precedent to a whole new level.
Ava is a lot stronger and more of a woman-of-the-world than Ana and where Ana welcomes Christian's behaviour, for the first half of the first book Ava wants nothing to do with Jesse. She is tricked into meeting him in a bedroom, he cuts up her dress when he disapproves of it, physicalyl removes her from places more times than I can count, he constantly badgers her to give up work and he hides her pills from her in an attempt to control her body.
The worst of all this is far from painting Jesse as a monster and using this novel as a hard look at the way an abusive relationship works, Malpass tries passing this off as a romance! It is the romantacisation and even erotcisation of a controlling, abusive relationship and does a real disservice to survivors of domestic abuse.
Those are my picks for the three books worst than E.L. James' infamous creation. I am by no means excusing the faults that exist in James' book, but am merely pointing out the context that it is set in. The truth is that books like 50 Shades have been around for a while and it was just that that particular book brought it to the mainstream. It is my wish that these three books, particularly the last two are never glorified in the same way.
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