Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

Title: Fifty Shades Darker
Author: E. L. James
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven, and demanding Fifty Shades. While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront her anger and envy of the women who came before her and make the most important decision of her life. Erotic, sparkling and suspenseful, Fifty Shades Darker is the irresistibly addictive second part of the Fifty Shades trilogy.
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This is the second book in the trilogy and I have to say that I liked it much more than the first. This book is where the love starts to come in, and that I am much more interested in than all of the crazy sex stuff that happens in the first book. Don't get me wrong, there is still all the sex you could want in this book, but the way she describes it starts to get repetitive and I got bored of it very quickly. I also am not a fan of Ana's whole "inner goddess" and "subconscious" deal where she insists on describing what they're doing insider her head and what they're even wearing. It's kind of annoying sometimes, but I'd have to say that those are the two things I disliked about reading the book.

The first half of the book went rather slow and I thought I was going to get bored with the whole thing, but the second half proved to be much more suspenseful and exciting than the first, so I read on. I am now on to the third book, as I have heard that the love and suspense (the parts I like) heighten in the final installment. It's kept my interest so far, so I hope it continues to develop.

The Host

Title: The Host

Author: Stephenie Meyer

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies, The Host is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

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This is my second time reading this book and I have to say that I loved it even more this time. I read it a long time ago my sophomore (I think) year of high school and I realized I really didn't remember as much as I thought. I picked it up again because the movie is coming out March 29 and I wanted it to be fresh in my mind. I have read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, but I have to say to all you Twi-hards out there that this book kicks their butt. You still get the interspecies love aspects and the love triangle (imagine that), but I think it's a lot more tolerable than Bella toying around with her vamp and her wolf. 

Anyway, I believe that Wanderer is one of my favorite female book characters so far. She reminds me so much of myself with wanting to please everyone all the time, even though that's her nature as a soul. She is so gentle and caring and utterly sincere about everything. I seriously see a lot of myself in her. 

I recommend this book to everyone honestly. It went by so fast for me (and that's amazing because I'm such a slow reader). But I guess I would say the people who would like it the most are those who like the sci-fi drama-like books. Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc. Cliche, I know, but it's true. When I first fell in love with this book it was after I read the Twilight saga and I was in love (I can't say that's the case now that the movies are out), so I was looking for another book like that or by the same author and this is what I found. There's talk of her writing two more books. I can't decide if I want her to or not. I would love to read more of this story, but I don't want it to be overdone. Something to ponder.. One of my faves, though, so definitely check it out.