Upping the ante! E L James released her latest book on Thursday, June 18, debuting a Fifty Shades of Grey novel told from male lead Christian Grey’s standpoint, titled simply, Grey.
Fans and readers whipped through the erotic fiction in the early hours of Thursday morning, creating instant buzz about the BDSM story. Early takes on Grey mark the book as even raunchier and more boundary-pushing than the predecessors Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed.
James, 52, chose the June 18 release date in honor of her character Christian’s birthday, and appeared on the Today show in recognition of her latest effort’s debut.
“Christian is a fantasy figure and how we think we’d like men to be, but we just want someone to do the washing up, really,” she said of her leading man, whose tale of lust with female lead Anastasia Steele made her a millionaire many times over and gave her the opportunity to nab lucrative book deals. “I’m halfway through something else, which has nothing to do with this, which I may or may not finish. It’s sort of a love story. It’s really good fun, it’s set in England.”
Asked by Today‘s Erica Hill if Grey is, in fact, “naughtier” than the Fifty Shades trilogy, James hesitated, finally answering, “I dunno! It’s difficult to… It was interesting to write from a man’s point of view. You’ll have to be the judges of that!”
And judge readers did, taking to Twitter on Thursday to weigh in on Grey and its most out-there passages. Tweeting with the hashtag of #Grey, fans and critics alike shared the raunchiest quotes and their reactions to the book. Check out the very NSFW tweets below!
@SmartBitches You’re just begging for the nightmares to come, aren’t you?
— The_Book_Queen (@The_Book_Queen) June 18, 2015
He’s just asked his cleaner to change the silk sheets on the playroom bed #standard #grey
— Bryony Gordon (@bryony_gordon) June 18, 2015
“He suddenly awoke, and thought to himself: I want to insert my P into her V.” – #Grey
— Emma Gannon (@girllostincity) June 18, 2015
This book is the worst. I’m so sorry. #Grey pic.twitter.com/KiQ3qFJ7Sg
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) June 18, 2015
Caught glimpses of #Grey…I can’t…I just can’t. Whoever gave the go ahead to publish that ****, shame on you. #SoBad #Cringe
— Aoife Lawlor (@Aoife_Lawlor) June 18, 2015
So turns out #Grey is a tad judgy: “His handshake is limp, like his hair.” #GreyDay
— kassia st clair (@kassiastclair) June 18, 2015
There’s only so much chaining and spanking and flogging a girl can take before 10.30 am #grey
— Bryony Gordon (@bryony_gordon) June 18, 2015
#grey “I like my women in skirts. I like them accessible.” Those are words. in the book.
— Sarah Wendell (@SmartBitches) June 18, 2015
‘Suddenly her pelvis flexes…’ CALL 911. This is either childbirth, advanced tetanus, or rickets. #Grey
— lucyinglis (@lucyinglis) June 18, 2015