Shades Gray

Nothing is black-and-white when dealing with love or murder. In “Shades of Gray,” an award-winning photojournalist finds herself on the wrong side of the lens when she is framed for murder.

Samantha “Sam” Jennings has been hiding from the world since she was seventeen years old. At twenty-seven, living in isolation on a little private island off the coast of South Carolina, Sam guards her privacy. Her photographs are famous, but her face is anonymous. And she likes it that way.

Caleb McCloud is a defense attorney who basks in the spotlight. His legal successes have him on a career path to become the youngest president in the United States. But an entanglement from his past may put a kink in that path.

When front-page headlines scream: “Photographer Shoots to Kill,” Sam finds herself facing murder charges in the death of Ben Fuller. To stay out of jail and catch the unfeigned killer, she will have to turn to Caleb, the one man who has haunted her dreams since she was a teenage. She vows to trust him with her life but not her heart. But as the two begin a journeying to find a killer, Caleb vows to win both. Is he too late? Find out in the action packed love story of Samantha and Caleb.

ReviewOozes all the necessary passion of any good romance novel. . . . The romance ardent won’t be disappointed with this novel that never skimps on passion or story.
–Kirkus Reviews

A must-read murder mystery. . . . This book is splendid from beginning to end and the mixture of mystery and romance will leave the reader wanting more. 
 –Michelle Humphrey, Examiner.com

About the AuthorKim Sanders was born and raised in the South and presently lives in South Carolina with her husband. Sanders received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina and a doctor of law degree from Emory University. Over the years, she has worked as a journalist, a photographer, an editor, and an attorney. After winning sixth place in a Writer’s Digest Short Short Story contest, she decisive to pursue yet another career as a fiction writer. Shades of Gray is her debut novel.

Shades Gray Pic

Shades Gray Photo

Shades Gray Pic

Shades Gray Pic

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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
First book? REALLY?
By Kathryn J. Rhineahrt
I’ve never lived in the low country, but novelist Kim Sanders made me feel as though I had. Her description of the scenery made me want to visit that part of the country. Sam is the reason I liked this book because she made me see the things she saw and feel her emotional turmoil. There’s a lot more to this book than romance. This book keeps you guessing til the very end. The strong characters and the plot are just two of the reasons you want to keep reading. I’m hoping to hear more from this author.
KRhinehart

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
OUTSTANDING FIRST NOVEL
By Mary B
Shades of Gray had me from page one when I met Sam, the main character, running along a South Carolina beach. It kept me fully absorbed to the very last page. Exceptionally well-written, this novel skillfully blends romance and mystery. As the plot unfolds, the characters come alive. The settings – whether a coastal island, a college town, a mountain hideaway,or elsewhere – provide a sense of place which further enriches this story. Shades of Gray is an outstanding first novel and I eagerly await Kim Sanders next one.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
My new favorite author.
By RB
I really enjoyed this book. I love the chemistry between the main characters. Even the supporting characters are well developed and draw you further into the story. The mystery and the romance are engaging and beautifully told. I’m amazed that this is Kim Sanders’ first novel and I’m already anxiously awaiting her second.

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With age comes the aging process. Cell regeneration slows down and this causes changes to our bodies that in galore cases are more noticeable in dissimilar constituents than others.

For the woman who is in her fifties and over, the aging procedure is more noticeable. Firstly with your hair and then your face. As cell regeneration slows it is routine our skin becomes paler and looses the shine we had in our youth. Cell regeneration in our hair causes each strand to turn white that gives us that greying look.

Grey hair may manufacture an effect where on firstborn inspection you believe you are thinning on top of your head and going bald. This is a natural reaction as the grey colour brings about this effect.

Modern hairstyling proficiencies include cutting styles and colouring of the hair. With long grey hair it will become straight and look thin so a shorter haircut will provide more body as the weight is removed. Choosing a hair colour that is one shade lighter then your natural hair colour will blend with your paler skin and will not be so noticeable.

Using a technique called low-lighting may dramatically alter the way you look. This technique is used by a hairstylist who will have assorted shades of your natural hair colour ready to dye each grey strand. The technique is gathering a section of the grey hair and applying a shade of the colour to each division that will result in an all over blending.

The hairstylist will colour up to ninety percent if not all of the grey hair. As each section or strands are coloured with a dissimilar shade the overall effect will be that it mixes together to look natural. No one will say to you that they love your new colour as they will not detect any dissimilar other than you look fabulous.

When using low-lights a permanent colour is used and this means you will need a touch up each eight to twelve weeks, depending on how well you have been looking after your hair.

If you want to be more adventurous then cover up grey hair with bold rich colours such as copper or copper-gold for that wow element that will get you noticed.

50 Shades Grey

Enjoy this hot, 17,000 word collection of 6 BDSM short stories featuring male domination and female submission.

Collection Includes:
Switch
Directions
Financial Aid
Gangbang
Foursome
Too Far?

You will love these stories. This is not your mother’s erotica.

Excerpt from Switch:

I don’t consider myself a Dominant or a Master.

I consider myself a man if I think with regards to it at all and I genuinely don’t much. Occasionally I find myself in disturb because I take it for granted every one will do what I say.

When I was young I went through great adversity and survived. From that experience I learned that deep down most people are followers.

Recently I was contacted by a Domme who was looking for a switch to play with. Now I’ve never felt the desire to bottom or be a sub. Instead I like to
be in control and watch the one I am controlling. It’s not about
finding me. It’s just who I am.

She invited me over to her place and while she knew I was not fascinated in being her sub, she had said she would sub for the right person. Our meeting was to be a nice coffee and get to know you type.

The Mistress greeted me at the door wearing a tight leather outfit that looked like it was glued to her skin. She had long curly brown hair tied back in a bun. Her features were pleasant, if a bit stern as she looked up at me standing in her doorway.

“May I come in?” I asked.

“Sorry, Yes of course.” She said and stepped back to let me past.

My left arm brushed versus her leather clad breasts as I entered the room. She stepped further back but came up abruptly versus the door. Our eyes met and she held my look with fixed eyes for a few seconds then looked down.

“Leather does not a Domme make. Take off that ridiculous costume.” I instructed the woman.

With mildly shaking hands she begun the business of unzipping, unlatching, and unbuttoning. I watched intently as her luxurious flesh was revealed.

“I don’t care what you’ve done in the past”, I told her, “but from now on you will stay unclothed until I say other than as supposed or expected and if you don’t like that, that is fine, I’ll find myself someplace else to be.”

She started to say something while she was pushing her leather pants down her thighs but at the time I in truth wasn’t mesmerized in anything this switch had to say.

50 Shades Grey Pic

50 Shades Grey Photo

50 Shades Grey Photo

50 Shades Grey Photo

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Relationship Enrichment Seminar

Dr. John Gray author of the best vender “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus”

Dr. Gray noted as a preamble to his talk that when his book ‘Men are from Mars, Women from Venus’ had come out he was questioned whether one may make generalizations in terms of the behaviour of men and women. The only response he gave was whether they resonated with what was written in the book and 100% of the time they replied ‘Yes’.

1. The divergences amid Men and Women are universal. Women all over the world complain that “He doesn’t understand”. “He doesn’t listen”. “Only time he touches me is when he wants sex”. And men all over the world complain that “She doesn’t want to have sufficient of sex.” (Unless the woman is around 37 years. At this magical age women want more of sex than ever before.)

2. Women like affection from men much more than sex. They want to be hugged. John learnt to hug his wife.

3. Men like to be logical. Women like to part and talk even if there is no point in their sharing and talking. Men need to have an objective. They need to see the point in doing something. They can’t percentage for the sake of sharing.

4. Men tend to do one thing at a time. Women do a lot of things at a time. Men have a tunnel vision. 95% of their attention is concentered on just one thing and 5% on checking of the environment. Women are just the opposite. They are without disturbance taking in everything that there is in the environs whether it is utile or not.

5. John narrated the incident of his wife asking him to get galore milk while coming home from work. He forgets. She considerately puts it down to his thinking of work. She asks him again. Again he forgets. She takes it personally. It’s not that the milk was forgotten but that she was forgotten. Women behave in this manner.

6. Men have their own caves on which the sign states “Please do not disturb.” Men like to retreat into their own world where they feel they are in control. Women also have caves but the sign on their caves is “I need to talk”. When a man asks a woman what’s defective and she says “Nothing” it genuinely means “Nothing, unless you care to listen and give me an probability to talk.”

7. 90% of women go into therapy because they want to be listened to. They want to be asked questions. They want to feel special. Men hate to be questioned. If men want to talk they’ll talk. If they don’t want to talk they won’t. When a man is locked in his cave, the woman thinks that something is wrong with him and goes in and asks questions. This is a faulty move for the woman to make. Men hate to be interrogated.

8. When a woman touches a man she may want to be cuddled. But for a man anyplace he is touched leads to Rome and he thinks hence that it has to lead to sex.

9. Men want to forget the difficultnesses of the day. Women want to remember. A man will say “Forget it, it’s no huge deal.” For a woman she will not rest till the problem is talked about. Her response to the man, who wants to just forget in regards to it and not make a big deal out of it, will be “How may you be so insensitive.”

10. Men must never tell a woman how she must feel. In fact if she is unhappy, the man needs to be unhappy with her for a while rather of supplying advice.

11. If the man is at a loss for saying anything when the woman is sentiment bad then rather of providing counsel he could build her up a bit by saying “I recognise how much you work for the duration of the day to make the kids and myself feel happy. It will have to be very exhausting.” Her unconscious response would be “He understands.” The woman craves for understanding.

12. Women make noises to get attention. Men make noises to signal “Please leave me alone.”

13. To cope with stress, sometimes, women while speaking tend to speak in long sentences and then pause. Men think that the pause is a signal for saying something. Wrong. For the woman the pause is just a semi-colon. Men need to restrain themselves in giving advice.

14. When a woman is trouble and a man tries to give a solution 99% of the time her response will be “Yes….but”. When she is relaxed then give the solution. After she has been given the chance to talk regarding it.

15. If a man tries to walk in a woman’s shoes, she will be more more than willing to comprehend his point of view. Men tend to suppose women to agree with their point of view because they feel it is plainly the best point of view.

16. Men are efficacy oriented. Must do it the easiest and most immediate way. Women on the other hand feel that taking the shortest path amidst 2 points is boring. Women like variation. This is specially unfeigned in the bedroom. Men go by the same formula each time while women want variation. Men like uniforms and the same uniform. Men look good in a tuxedo or a suit and that’s it. Every time the same tuxedo or suit. Women like to modify their dress; most times thrice or even more times in a day.

17. When John’s book ‘Men are from Mars, Women from Venus’ was on the bestseller list for 6 years in a row, John realized how narrowly focalized in life he had become. He only gloated regarding his book being no. 1 on the bestseller list. John was missing the little things of life where his wife and children were concerned. Women are competent to see the little things in life and be happy.

18. The more narrow the focus of a man the more stressed he is bound to get. He can’t detect anything else other than what he is focusing on at that moment. Women deal with a large total of troubles at the same time and the way they cope is to talk with regards to them.

19. Men use their brain sequentially viz. one percentage at a time. Where women are concerned it is ordinarily the whole brain at once.

20. Women lower stress through talking and sharing. The collectiveness and togetherness which they percentage is part of their feminity. Men lower their stress by being alone. Women’s attitude is that if we can’t do anything with regards to it then let’s talk when it comes to it and suffer together. Men’s focus is on solving the problem. And if they can’t solve the problem then they make the problem decrease rapidly by forgetting when it comes to it.

21. Men always want to be right.

22. Women, unknowingly sabotage their success. They put themselves down because they want support. Women bond by putting themselves down. For example if one is late for a queer function in the office, the woman will say what an imbecile she is by not catching the right train or missing the connection because of numerous stupid fault she made and so on. And other women who are likewise late will do the same.

23. Or if a woman is having a problem with the computer, she will call the so called expert from the computer division and tell him that she doesn’t know anything regarding computers and that she is very happy that he has come to her rescue and thereby push the guy way up there. But when he proposes a solution which she have a tendancy to disagree with, she doesn’t recognise how to tell him because if she does it, it makes him come crashing down and he reacts by saying that she has wasted his time. In this case one needs to resort to face saving gimmicks like ‘whatever you have suggested will I am sure support me to figure it out (even if you see no utility in the suggestion).

24. As women more and more enter into the workplace their need to being listened to and understood is not being met. The workplace is efficacy oriented. They are getting more and more isolated. They have to raise their children alone. Unseen and unheard. And this is causing them to go more and more into depression. The man focusses on work no matter what the difficulties are that are being experienced at home.

25. Man is efficacy oriented. He needs to feel needed. He needs troubles to be solved. If there are no occupation prospects or there is no venture called for to do something then the man feels depressed.

26. When women feel nurtured they feel happy. They are happy with the little things of life. Man likes to measure himself versus the goal he has set for himself. Men behave like squirrels. They focus on one thing, dash towards it and once they reach there then they turn their focus on another thing and make a dash there and so on and so forth.

27. Men see the news on TV specially after coming home, because the difficulties they listen when it comes to and see make their troubles seem that much smaller.

28. John’s soul sings when he teaches. Need to find one’s path and go along it. The fact that one feels fear is because it is one’s path. If it was not one’s path then one would not be so worried with regards to whether one made an affect or not.

29. The truth is I is worthy of to be the way I am. I need not be troubled to be perfective in order to be loved. Once one lives in an atmosphere of perfective trust the more authentic one becomes, and the more authentic one becomes the more irresistible one becomes. The closer we are to who we genuinely are the more people will love us. There will always be people who do not love us.

30. Forgiveness is the key. If an individual hurts then one needn’t hurt back. As Gandhi said, An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.

31. Women give more. Men want to get more.

32. Women want flowers to be purchased by men. And they ought to be cut- flowers. So that the flowers die and consequently the men have to go out and buy them again and again. They do not want the romance to go out of the relationship. Men on the other hand feel that if they have done it once there is no requisite to do it again and again. But women want things and messages to be repeated again and again.

33. Women now and again give hints viz. On Sunday they will mention that they are getting their hair cut on Thursday. This is to be taken as a warning signal. The hair cut ought to be noticed. If a woman has to ask how she looks after she has had a hair cut then there is no value placed on the man’s comment. It has to be noticed without being asked. Women put in much more venture in looking good. Men put in more effort in their work.

34. Man wants to be appreciated. Woman wants to be listened to and noticed. Men stress more on what they do while women stress more on their being.

35. Men think that by being flexible they are Mr. Agreeable and that is cherished by women. Really speaking women want men to take charge and suggest something which they agree on. Mr. Agreeable is boring. The idealisti metaphor is to have a man with a plan and a woman with a smile.

36. Sometimes the woman feels that she does everything according to what the man wants. At this point it is necessary for the woman to say “I’ll do it this time your way but next time we’ll do what I want.”

37. Women are always keeping score in a kinship viz. When a woman does anything for a man she always gives herself a point. Men keep score in business. Men need to keep score in a kinship too. They need to do something for the woman so that they too score points from the woman’s point of view.

38. At work the man’s perspective is not to unnecessarily interfere. A man feels that if he doesn’t ask then he is giving total freedom to the woman. But a woman who is a subordinate wants to be asked regarding her work because silence is taken to mean ‘non-involvement’.

39. Women like the little stuff. Chit-Chat. Occasionally ask a great deal of personal questions. The magic words are ‘What else?’

40. To free a man a woman needs to say ‘You don’t need to say or do anything and you don’t need to feel bad.’

41. Listening brings about healing.

42. Women by nature give. But when they find that they are not getting anything in return they need to give to themselves. Men have no problem in giving to themselves. Men don’t give sufficient to others.

43. Men prefer women managing directors while they learn the job. After learning the occupation they prefer a male manager.

44. Men sprint faster. Women win the long distance.

45. In men testosterone lowers stress. In women oxytocin lowers stress. Affection, considerateness, being noticed is what develops the oxytocin in women. Therefore men need to learn new accomplishments to develop oxytocin in women. Foreplay is more primary for a woman than a man. A woman needs 20-30 minutes of stimulation. A man needs just 2-3 minutes.

46. Women want sensible men but the peril is that if men become too sensible then women don’t like it. They want men to be considerate but not to be too sensible just like them.

47. Don’t try to fix or modify your partner.

48. When husband and wife are business collaborators then there needs to be clear rules. There needs to be a clear demarcated time when no business is talked about.

49. Duty is indispensable but being authentic is more important.

50. Women may be equated metaphorically to the moon. When the moon is full, women crave for sex. When it is half-full, a woman may have it not have it, it does not matter, and when it is a new moon she couldn’t care less.

51. There are dissimilar types of sex viz. Healthy, home cooked sex, Ferrari, junk feed sex, and Gourmet sex. Once a month one could have Gourmet sex which means bringing in the romance by going out for a dinner and coming home to an atmosphere which tardily climaxes. Whenever he wants sex, and it is a quickie then give it to him. Provided on other occasions there is good, regular homemade sex. In order to arrive at a significant understanding one could have 3 candles signifying the 3 types of sex. Either collaborator finds it very difficult to know the real mood of the other. Depending on which candle is lit and by whom one may behave accordingly. The candle becomes the sign of the mood.

Christian Gray

On the same day Mare Welsh receives the happiest news of her life, she also receives the worst. Her husband, Jack, was killed on his way home from work, leaving Mare alone to raise their one year old daughter. Now, a year later and deep in the throes of depression, Mare sees Jack everywhere. He even shows up to talk to her in the shower. Her well-meaning friends stage an intervention to fetch her back to the real world, and it works a little too well. A day later she meets Tate, the new youth pastor at her church. At 25, Tate is seven years her junior, but Mare can’t stop her wild attraction to him. And in spite of the fact that he always catches her in the midst of an embarrassing situation, the sentiment appears to be mutual. Mare decides to give Tate a chance, as long as they keep their romance a secret. But soon she has too galore mysteries to keep straight, including the fact that her dead husband still follows her around, making fun of her for her for dating a younger man. Can Mare win a victory over her insecurities and hug her newfound love, or will she concede the views of her friends, neighbors, and meddling dead husband to tear them apart?

Christian Gray Pic

Christian Gray Photo

Christian Gray Picture

Christian Gray Pic

Most helpful customer reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Can’t wait to read another!
By Kandee
Read this book in 2 days! It’s THAT good! The characters come to life and seem so real. I actually laughed out loud in parts and cried in others. Can’t wait to read another Vanessa Gray Bartal book. Gonna go get one right now!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
A Christian Cougar
By Jeannette M. Shields
This book was so much fun to read! All the characters were very realistic and believable. I loved how Mare’s friends cared so much about her to give her a makeover, rather than pitying her behind her back and letting her stay in the slump she was in.
I found myself smiling and laughing a lot.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Funny and Relatable
By Krissta
This book by Vanessa Gray Bartal was funny, heartfelt, and a great read. You truly relate to the characters, and feel like you’re standing in the room with them, talking to a friend. So excited to read more from Vanessa!

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Do you look as old as you feel? Ageing is a portion of life, rather of rebelling versus nature; hug this time, do not forget life is short. There are notwithstanding galore ways in which you may modify or alter your aspect gracefully, but let’s have a look at how you may achieve the perfective hairstyle to defy your age.

The primary thing most women over fifty tend to do is chop off their hair and color it a darker shade to cover the gray, but will have to you do the same? The smart cash says – No, you may have long medium or short hair, because a fifty year old woman may look just as good as a twenty year old with the same hairstyle. Natural looking highlights may change your look drastically, lightening and lifting your face.

The most indispensable aspect of a new style revolves around taking your facial shape into thoughtfulness and determining what features you want to accentuate or hide away. Hair becomes arid and limp so be sure to deep moisturize your hair regularly, making it shiny and full of life.

If you have fine lines and wrinkles, soften them by adding layers around the face. It is strongly commended to add layers if you have long hair, it will lift your face. Layers will add body and volume to your hair. Expression lines on the forehead may effortlessly be covered up by adding bangs, undertake side swept bangs as they will add softness and generate a chic edge to your hairstyle. Remember bangs may be added disregarding of the length of your hair.

Perhaps you want to hide your neck area and have longer cut layers which will divert attention. You don’t need to hide everything though, if you have beauteous eyes, accentuate them with bangs skimming the brow area. Some soft layers may spotlight lovely cheekbones. If you want to show off your neckline have a shorter bob haircut.

Often persons advise you to have a picture of a hairstyle you like. Remember to focus on the haircut rather than on the person sporting it. Technology may likewise be very helpful, a lot of of the latest software programs online grant you to upload a current photo of yourself and undertake out a lot of dissimilar hairstyles.

If you haven’t changed your hairstyle in the last few years – now is the time; outdated styles unquestionably give away your age. Stay current; be daring and young at heart. Remember you are as old as you feel.

Fifty Shades Of Gray

When creative writing of recognized artisti value student Anastasia Steele goes to consultation young enterpriser Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, in spite of his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to protest Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
 
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular (erotic|sexual pleasure|sexually arousing tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s mysteries and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

ReviewA GoodReads Choice Awards Finalist for Best Romance

“In a class by itself.” 
—Entertainment Weekly

About the AuthorE L James is a former TV executive, wife and mother of two based in West London. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She in the long run plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her basi novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.CHAPTER ONE
 
I scowl with feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized at myself in the mirror. Damn my hair—it just won’t behave, and damn Katherine Kavanagh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal. I will have to be studying for my final exams, which are next week, yet here I am attempting to brush my hair into submission. I must not sleep with it wet. I ought to not sleep with it wet. Reciting this mantra various times, I attempt, once more, to fetch it underneath control with the brush. I roll my eyes in exasperation and stare at the pale, brown-haired girl with blue eyes too huge for her face staring back at me, and give up. My only option is to restrain my wayward hair in a ponytail and hope that I look semi-presentable.
 
Kate is my roommate, and she has chosen today of all days to succumb to the flu. Therefore, she can not attend the consultation she’d arranged to do, with a good deal of mega-industrialist tycoon I’ve never heard of, for the student newspaper. So I have been volunteered. I have final exams to cram for and one essay to finish, and I’m supposed to be working this afternoon, but no—today I have to drive 165 miles to downtown Seattle in order to meet the enigmatic CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. As an special enterpriser and major benefactor of our university, his time is extraordinarily precious—much more cherished than mine—but he has granted Kate an interview. A real coup, she tells me. Damn her extracurricular activities.
 
Kate is huddled on the couch in the living room.
 
“Ana, I’m sorry. It took me nine months to get this interview. It will take another six to reschedule, and we’ll both have graduated by then. As the editor, I can’t blow this off. Please,” Kate begs me in her rasping, sore throat voice. How does she do it? Even ill she looks gamine and gorgeous, strawberry blond hair in place and green eyes bright, though now red rimmed and runny. I ignore my pang of unwelcome sympathy.
 
“Of course I’ll go, Kate. You ought to get back to bed. Would you like numerous NyQuil or Tylenol?”
 
“NyQuil, please. Here are the questions and my digital recorder. Just press record here. Make notes, I’ll transcribe it all.”
 
“I know not one thing with regards to him,” I murmur, attempting and failing to suppress my rising panic.
 
“The questions will see you through. Go. It’s a long drive. I don’t want you to be late.”
 
“Okay, I’m going. Get back to bed. I made you numerous soup to heat up later.” I look with fixed eyes at her fondly. Only for you, Kate, would I do this.
 
“I will. Good luck. And thanks, Ana—as usual, you’re my lifesaver.”
 
Gathering my backpack, I smile wryly at her, then head out the door to the car. I can not believe I have let Kate talk me into this. But then Kate may talk any person into anything. She’ll make an special journalist. She’s articulate, strong, persuasive, argumentative, beautiful—and she’s my dearest, dearest friend.
 
 
The roads are clear as I set off from Vancouver, Washington, toward Interstate 5. It’s early, and I don’t have to be in Seattle until two this afternoon. Fortunately, Kate has lent me her sporty Mercedes CLK. I’m not sure Wanda, my old VW Beetle, would make the traveling in time. Oh, the Merc is a fun drive, and the miles slip away as I hit the pedal to the metal.
 
My destination is the headquarters of Mr. Grey’s global enterprise. It’s a big twenty-story office building, all curved glass and steel, an architect’s utilitarian fantasy, with GREY HOUSE written discreetly in steel over the glass front doors. It’s a quarter to two when I arrive, mainly relieved that I’m not late as I walk into the enormous—and candidly intimidating—glass, steel, and white sandstone lobby.
 
Behind the solid sandstone desk, a very attractive, groomed, blonde young woman smiles enjoyably at me. She’s wearing the sharpest charcoal suit jacket and white shirt I have ever seen. She looks immaculate.
 
“I’m here to see Mr. Grey. Anastasia Steele for Katherine Kavanagh.”
 
“Excuse me one moment, Miss Steele.” She arches her eyebrow as I stand self-consciously before her. I’m beginning to wish I’d borrowed one of Kate’s formal blazers rather than worn my navy-blue jacket. I have made an crusade and worn my one and only skirt, my sensible brown knee-length boots, and a blue sweater. For me, this is smart. I tuck one of the escaped tendrils of my hair behind my ear as I pretend she doesn’t intimidate me.
 
“Miss Kavanagh is expected. Please sign in here, Miss Steele. You’ll want the last elevator on the right, press for the twentieth floor.” She smiles kindly at me, amused no doubt, as I sign in.
 
She hands me a security pass that has “visitor” very with resolute determination stamped on the front. I can’t aid my smirk. Surely it’s evident that I’m just visiting. I don’t fit in here at all. Nothing changes. I inwardly sigh. Thanking her, I walk over to the bank of elevators and past the two security men who are both far more smartly dressed than I am in their well-cut black suits.
 
The elevator whisks me at terminal velocity to the twentieth floor. The doors slide open, and I’m in another big lobby—again all glass, steel, and white sandstone. I’m confronted by another desk of sandstone and another young blonde woman, this time dressed impeccably in black and white, who rises to greet me.
 
“Miss Steele, could you wait here, please?” She points to a seated area of white leather chairs.
 
Behind the leather chairs is a extensive glass-walled meeting room with an evenly broad dark wood table and at least twenty corresponding chairs around it. Beyond that, there is a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of the Seattle skyline that looks out through the city toward the Sound. It’s a stunning vista, and I’m momentarily paralyzed by the view. Wow.
 
I sit down, fish the questions from my backpack, and go through them, inwardly cursing Kate for not providing me with a brief biography. I recognise not one thing when it comes to this man I’m in regards to to interview. He could be ninety or he could be thirty. The uncertainty is galling, and my nerves resurface, making me fidget. I’ve never been comfortable with one-on-one interviews, preferring the anonymity of a group discussion where I may sit inconspicuously at the back of the room. To be honest, I prefer my own company, reading a classic British novel, curled up in a chair in the campus library. Not sitting twitching nervously in a colossal glass-and-stone edifice.
 
I roll my eyes at myself. Get a grip, Steele. Judging from the building, which is too clinical and modern, I guess Grey is in his forties: fit, tanned, and fair-haired to match the rest of the personnel.
 
Another elegant, flawlessly dressed blonde comes out of a huge door to the right. What is it with all the immaculate blondes? It’s like Stepford here. Taking a deep breath, I stand up.
 
“Miss Steele?” the latest blonde asks.
 
“Yes,” I croak, and clear my throat. “Yes.” There, that sounded more confident.
 
“Mr. Grey will see you in a moment. May I take your jacket?”
 
“Oh, please.” I struggle out of the jacket.
 
“Have you been offered any refreshment?”
 
“Um—no.” Oh dear, is Blonde Number One in trouble?
 
Blonde Number Two frowns and eyes the young woman at the desk.
“Would you like tea, coffee, water?” she asks, turning her attention back to me.
 
“A glass of water. Thank you,” I murmur.
 
“Olivia, please fetch Miss Steele a glass of water.” Her voice is stern. Olivia scoots up and scurries to a door on the other side of the foyer.
 
“My apologies, Miss Steele, Olivia is our new intern. Please be seated. Mr. Grey will be another five minutes.”
 
Olivia returns with a glass of iced water.
 
“Here you go, Miss Steele.”
 
“Thank you.”
 
Blonde Number Two marches over to the huge desk, her heels clicking and echoing on the sandstone floor. She sits down, and they both proceed their work.
 
Perhaps Mr. Grey insists on all his laborers being blonde. I’m marveling idly if that’s legal, when the office door opens and a tall, elegantly dressed, beautiful African American man with short dreads exits. I have unquestionably worn the defective clothes.
 
He turns and says through the door, “Golf this week, Grey?”
 
I don’t listen the reply. He turns, sees me, and smiles, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners. Olivia has jumped up and called the elevator. She seems to excel at jumping from her seat. She’s more nervous than me!
 
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he says as he departs through the sliding door.
 
“Mr. Grey will see you now, Miss Steele. Do go through,” Blonde Number Two says. I stand rather shakily, attempting to suppress my nerves. Gathering up my backpack, I abandon my glass of water and make my way to the partially open door.
 
“You don’t need to knock—just go in.” She smiles kindly.
 
I push open the door and stumble through, tripping over my own feet and falling headfirst into the office.
 
Double crap—me and my two left feet! I am on my hands and knees in the doorway to Mr. Grey’s office, and tame h…

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3684 of 3853 people found the following review helpful.
An older man on truckling
By david shobin/thatch pond corp
First, a disclaimer. I am a male senior citizen, a semi-retired gynecologist whose customary literary fare is spy novels and military techno-thrillers. I have never read a romance before, except perhaps for junior high’s “A Tale of Two Cities” (or was that a classic?) But after the recent hullabaloo over James’ “Fifty Shades,” I opted to give the genre a glance.

The book’s protagonist is college student Anastasia, who has never had sex or even “touched herself.” I had to suspend disbelief at the social and sexual naivete of this twenty-one year-old, but I guess this implied vulnerability makes her more attractive as a romantic heroine. Yet it doesn’t take her long to rectify this situation, and soon she is having orgasm after orgasm at the behest of her “dominant” partner, Mr. Grey. At my age, my arthritis flared up just reading about Ana’s sexual gymnastics. And for some reason, I kept thinking about her contracting genital warts. Soon, however, Ana’s endless pyrotechnic climaxes resembled repetitively watching porn: after a while, it leaves me bored and yawning. That said, there was a definite infectiousness to the plot; and taking Viagra to stiffen my resolve, I persevered.

James’ strong suit is her ability to elicit sympathy in the protagonist. I wanted to find out what happened to Anastasia, and that lent the story a compelling, page-turning quality. James is a polished novelist. Her dialogue is crisp, her prose poised, and her paragraphs well-parsed. The author’s considerable skills notwithstanding, would I pick up an erotic romance like this again? Probably not.

But that’s just me.

2160 of 2377 people found the following review helpful.
Could not finish
By RiverinaRomantics
1.5 stars

I don’t enjoy writing bad reviews, honestly it puts a sick feeling in my stomach, but at the moment I am feeling too annoyed not to write one. So please don’t get snarky – I do realise I am in the minority with my opinions.

OK, I couldn’t finish this book. I tried, holy hell did I try – but by 88% I was so annoyed I had to put it down.

And after a lot of contemplation I have decided not to rant and rave, but simple state in point form what I didn’t like.

~ The writing was too sterile. There was no depth and I found it hard connecting to any of it. There was a whole heap of – I touched him, he touched me, I did this, he did that. And it wasn’t engaging at all.
When I read I want to be able to feel the emotion, not be told how a scene is playing out as if the heroine is actually an observer.

~ The sex – it wasn’t hot at all. I wouldn’t even classify it as erotic. For some strange reason I have the opinion that you need to be able to refer to your vagina as something more erotic than ‘down there’ before you can pull off a significant hotness rating.

~ Christian – ok, he was relatively hot but not enough to get my blood pumping. He wasn’t alpha enough for me. One moment he is trying to be hard core the next he is gasping because she is wearing his underwear.
Now if that was my dominant alpha, he would have given me a cocky smile, licked his lips and gave that ‘how you doin’ look, But no, he gasped like a little girl.

~ The price….I don’t get it. How can a publisher charge this much for a book written so badly??

…..ok, I could go on, I could practically write a novel, but I won’t.

I will take my Inner Goddess (seriously if I had to read that line one more time I would have caused self harm) and my find something else to read.

717 of 803 people found the following review helpful.
Deeply Disturbing, Compelling and Completely Addicting
By Kris
I am not into BDSM stories, but I have to say that I really loved this one. This was one of those books that keeps you glued to the pages; staying up reading into the early morning. I found it to be very addicting which is really disturbing for me.

This is the love story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. Christian is such a complex character. You love him and hate him at the same time and it’s really confusing. He’s the ultimate alpha male, bad boy with a very dark and disturbing desire to inflict pain. He literally gets off on it. He meets and falls for Anastasia. When they meet she is an innocent college student and happens to still be a virgin. This is their love story and its deeply disturbing. Our boy Christian has some serious demons and its making Ana think long and hard about their relationship. This is not your typical boy meets girl let’s date and fall in love romance. He wants to dominate her and he wants her submissive. He comes up with a contract that he wants her to sign. She’s torn between her love for him and her fear of him. She wants to know why he is so Fifty Shades of “f’d” up. She wants to get to the bottom of what happened in his past to make him need this type of relationship and why he hates to be touched. He introduces her to the “dark side” of his sexual habits and in his desire to keep her and make her happy, tries for the “vanilla relationship” she desires. Will Ana embrace Christian’s dark side or will it be more than she can handle? The way he makes love to her is so erotic, steamy, sexy and scary all at the same time.

I know it does not sound like it, but there is a real love story there. Ana brings out feelings in Christian that he has never felt with anyone else. As crazy as it sounds, I have a lot of hope for these two and I am eager to read the next installment.

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To most breeders and pet lovers out there, the African Gray parrot has got to be one of the most charming parrots out there. Known for it is wondrous character, the parrot is also one of the most preferent species for possessing an admirable combining of high intelligence and extraordinary charm.

If you are one of those who were instantaneously drawn to the beauty, it is a must that you supply yourself with sufficient data when it comes to these wondrous birds.

According to taxonomy, there are fundamentally two subspecies or types that may be found in today’s pet trade: the Congo and the Timneh. The former type is characterized for being somewhat more prominent than latter with bright, red tail feathers. The Timneh, on the other hand, is overall darker than the Congo African.

When it comes to temperament, there are significant divergences amid the two. Timnehs are believed to be more laid back and less prone to feather picking and other neurotic behavings equated to the Congo species.

Generally, these parrots live from 25 to 50 years depending on the history of the bird, lifestyle, stress factors, diseases, and other aspect that may affect it is lifespan. When it comes to intelligence, this parrot specie is considered as an exceedingly intellectual bird because of it is capacity to talk or mimic dissimilar sounds and noises and for having a distinctive capacity for putting their words and sounds into the right context.

Despite it is admirable traits, there are a heap of conduct issues you have to deal with when you possess one such parrot. Because of their intelligence, this bird is rather demanding because you need to spend a lot of time in giving social contact and for mental stimulation. A lot of forbearance and attention ought to be given to these birds. These birds are also known for biting and feather picking when they get bored or depressed.

Here are galore dos and don’ts in taking care of your parrot:

1. Make sure that you recognise the specie of your parrot because having a good noesis the will provide you better guidelines in taking care of it.

2. Make sure that you provide it with the fundamentals it needs like big and safe cage, good and healthful diet, a wide range of toys, a dependable T-stand, as well as a gym or play stand, scale, and a mercantile carrier.

3. If possible, take time off to talk to the breeder and pet shop assistants who have dealt with your parrot. Talking to them will give you an idea how the bird has been treated in the past.

4. Make sure that you with objectivity evaluate if the African Grey Parrot is compatible to your living space and lifestyle. Since these birds are rather demanding pets, attention and clean surroundings will keep them healthful and happy.

5. Because of it is rather demanding nature, an African Grey parrot is not suitable for everyone. Make sure that you think a thousand times before purchasing it and have a written guarantee of it is age if possible.

6. Never, ever buy on momentum because it may be rather stressful.

7. Don’t keep questions to yourself if you want to recognise something when it comes to the bird.

8. Don’t forget to make a list before you go to the breeder so you won’t miss out on necessary selective information you need to recognise in taking care of your pet.

Shades Grey

The New York Times bestseller and “a rich brew of dystopic fantasy and deadpan goofiness” (The Washington Post)

Welcome to Chromatacia, where the societal hierarchy is strictly regulated by one’s fixed color perception. And Eddie Russet wants to move up. But his plans to leverage his better-than-average red sensing and marry into a powerful family are quickly upended. Juggling inviolable rules, sneaky Yellows, and a highrisk friendship with an intriguing Grey named Jane who shows Eddie that the apparent peace of his world is as much an illusion as color itself, Eddie finds he ought to reckon with the cruel regime behind this gaily painted façade.

From Publishers WeeklyThis inventive fantasy from bestseller Fforde (The Eyre Affair) imagines a screwball future in which social castes and protocols are rigidly specified by acuteness of personal color perception. Centuries after the cryptically cataclysmic Something That Happened, a Colortocracy, founded on the inflexible absolutes of the chromatic scale, rules the world. Amiable Eddie Russett, a young Red, is looking forward to marrying a notch up on the palette and settling down to a complacent bourgeois life. But after meeting Jane G-23, a rebellious working-class Grey, and a discredited, invisible historian known as the Apocryphal man, Eddie finds himself questioning the hitherto sacred originations of the status quo. En route to finding out what turned things topsy-turvy, Eddie navigates a vividly imagined landscape whose each facet is steeped in the author’s in an outstanding manner elaborated color scheme. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to see the story for the chromotechnics. 10-city author tour. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist*Starred Review* In Eddie Russett’s world, color is destiny. People’s perceptions of color, once tested, determine their rank in the Colortocracy, with primes ruling “bastard” colors and everyone lording it over the prole-like grays. No one may see more than their own color, and no one knows why—but there are a great deal of unknowns ever since Something Happened, followed by the deFacting and successive Great Leaps Backward. Due to an infraction versus the Collective’s rule-bound bureaucracy, Eddie is sent to East Carmine, in the Outer Fringes, where manners are shockingly poor, to conduct a monthlong chair census. In short order, he falls in love, runs afoul of the local prefects, learns a terrible secret, and is eaten by a carnivorous tree. This series starter combines the dire warnings of Brave New World and 1984 with the deevolutionary visions of A Canticle for Leibowitz and Riddley Walker, but, Fforde being Fforde, his dystopia includes an abundance of tea shops and a severe shortage of jam varieties. It’s all brilliantly original. If his complex world building once in a while slows the plot and the remainder of foolish and severe is uneasy, we’re still completely won over. In our own willful myopia, we sorely need the laughs. –Keir Graff

Review’Full of brilliantly inventive wordplay and quirky fabrications’ — Mail on Sunday ‘Fans of the late Douglas Adams or, even, Monty Python, will feel at home with Fforde’ — Herald ‘SHADES OF GREY has something of a flavour of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil…but the novel is much gentler than Gilliam’s savage madcappery, and Fforde’s world is more old-fashioned public school than bureaucratic nightmare’ — Guardian ‘Full of colourful characters and amusingly bizarre plot twists… SHADES OF GREY is a clever and gratifying read’ — SFX Magazine ‘There are distinct shades of Orwell’s 1984′ — Daily Express

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87 of 93 people found the following review helpful.
I’m a Blue, my ex is Orange–this explains so much…
By Susan Tunis
6.1.02.11.235: Artifiacture from before the Something That Happened may be collected, so long as it does not appear on the Leapback list or possess color above 23 percent saturation.

Did you understand that? You would if you were Eddie Russett, the 20-year-old, first-person narrator of Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron. Eddie knows that the above is one of Munsell’s innumerable Rules. “The Word of Munsell was the Rules, and the Rules were the Word of Munsell. They regulated everything we did, and had brought peace to the Collective for nearly four centuries. They were sometimes very odd indeed: The banning of the number that lay between 72 and 74 was a case in point, and no one had ever fully explained why it was forbidden to count sheep, make any new spoons or use acronyms. But they were the Rules…” Not surprisingly, this is a society that has embraced “loopholery” enthusiastically.

Eddie’s society is a Colortocracy, where social status isn’t determined by merit or by birth, it’s determined by which color(s) of the spectrum you can see, and how much of them. Eddie’s a Red, which is next to lowest on the totem pole. Oranges are higher than Reds, Yellows higher than Oranges, and so on. The only ones lower than Reds are the Greys, or achromatics. They can’t see any color at all. They’re the unappreciated workers of this society.

In Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde has created a richly imagined future that revolves entirely around color, and the perception of it. Explains Eddie, “No one could cheat the Colorman and the color test. What you got was what you were, forever. Your life, career and social standing decided right there and then, and all worrisome life uncertainties eradicated forever. You knew who you were, what you would do, where you would go and what was expected of you.”

As the novel opens, Eddie doesn’t want much from life. He wants to fulfill his Civil Obligations as best he can. He wants to marry into the prestigious Oxblood family. And he does have a few fairly radical ideas about improved ways to queue. Other than that, he wants to avoid the perils of swans, lightning, and mildew. But that’s before he travels for the first time in his life, to the Outer Fringes, where the Rules are interpreted differently. Eddie’s a fish out of water, and we’re meeting people and learning about life in the village of East Carmine right along with him.

It is there that Eddie meets an intriguing Grey named Jane. He’s smitten immediately, and that’s even before she threatens to kill him. Jane, rude in a world without rudeness, violent in world without violence, leads Eddie gradually down a path that has him questioning everything he thought he knew about the Colortocracy–in a world that most definitely does not value questions or those that ask them.

By now, you may have gathered that this novel is a bit of a departure for Fforde. There is so much going on that it’s hard to take it all in, and virtually impossible to summarize. While undeniably funny, the humor is darker and a bit less overt. Shades of Grey is more challenging, sophisticated, and substantive than anything we’ve seen previously from Mr. Fforde. In a word, it’s brilliant! The cleverness he has always displayed in his Thursday Next novels is dialed up several notches here, as he points his satirical eye at a world so strange and outlandish that comparisons to our own are inescapable. I’m not convinced that all of the Fforde Ffanatics will embrace this latest work, but I suspect most will. And I, for one, will be looking forward with great enthusiasm to Shades of Grey 2: Painting by Numbers and Shades of Grey 3: The Gordini Protocols.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
There will be spoons
By S. Lionel
Oh, how I missed Jasper Fforde! I devoured his Thursday Next series and then the Nursery Crime books, and definitely had mixed feelings when he wrote that his next book would be delayed a year due to the birth of his new daughter. (I understand, really, but I also wanted to read more Fforde!)

At last, we have Shades of Grey, and it’s both like and unlike anything Fforde has published before. Like, because it gives us a richly imagined world with absurd-sounding details, yet it all hangs together. Unlike, because Shades of Grey is firmly on the side of science fiction whereas his other books I’d call fantasy.

It is some unspecified time in the future. An “Epiphany” occurred some hundreds of years in the past – nobody knows what it was – that changed the world. Most people can see only one shade of color – the higher up the spectrum you can see, the higher your social status. Those who can’t see colors at all are Greys and are generally a servant class, but not entirely. It is possible to move up and down the social strata through marriage, and children are reclassified by a color test given when they are 20.

We meet our hero, Eddie Russett, a Red, as he is being digested by a carnivorous tree, into which he was thrown by Jane, the Grey woman who has turned his life upside down. I spent a large part of the book wondering how this would be resolved, since Eddie is narrating the story and this implies he somehow moved past this fate. We shall see….

As Eddie learns more about how his society works, he has more questions. This does not endear him to the community leaders, since their society is rigidly structured according to the rules laid down by “Munsell” some centuries past. Many of the rules don’t make a lot of sense – such as why manufacture of forks is permitted but not spoons – but the populace manages, sometimes finding loopholes in the rules. Despite periodic “Leapbacks”, where selected technology is destroyed, some tech remains, such as the self-maintaining Perpetualite roads and the Everspin motors that never slow down. Remnants of the “Previous” are held onto, though often misinterpreted (such as the “Parker Brothers Map of the World”, which is a Risk game board.)

Eddie’s questions and moral development lead him into danger, into confrontation with Jane, and gradual revelation as to what’s really going on. It is not all pleasant and Eddie is forced to make extremely difficult choices. Throughout the book Fforde’s vision is very colorful, if you’ll excuse the term. The level of detail provided is astounding, perplexing and entertaining.

As in Fforde’s other books, you are simply deposited in the new world without any explanation, and you are expected to pick things up as you go. It is a style similar to CJ Cherryh. Another author I’m reminded of is Matt Ruff, who has a similarly overactive imagination, though his books are typically darker than Fforde’s.

The end of the book is classic Fforde, however. I don’t want to elaborate on that. What I was not prepared for was the note that this was the first in a planned trilogy. I don’t mind book series, but I do find it annoying when an author does not tie up important plot elements by the final pages, which is what happens here. I very much want to read the next installments in the series, and hope it will not be another two years before I get to do so.

If you enjoyed any of Fforde’s other books, you’ll get a kick out of this one. If you haven’t met Fforde before, by all means start here, but don’t miss his Thursday Next series.

41 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Quintessential Fforde.
By Nicole Del Sesto
9.3.88.32.025: The cucumber and the tomato are both fruit; the avocado is a nut. To assist with the dietary requirements of vegetarians, on the first Tuesday of the month a chicken is officially a vegetable.

If you’ve read and loved Fforde in the past stop right here. There’s no need to read this review. Shades of Grey is Fforde at his Ffordy best. Buy, read, enjoy.

I really feel that this is one of those books that it’s best not to know anything about before you start reading it. But you seem rather committed to reading this review, so I’ll continue.

It feels like there’s a nod to both Brave New World and We (Modern Library Classics), though I’ve never read anything quite like this. Once again, Fforde takes us into a cleverly devised fictional world, filled with his satire, humor and social commentary. A world where the cause of death could be “mildew”, “Nightloss”, or accidental beheading by the guillotine at the linoleum factory.

Green is the drug of choice, and beige is quite rightly Hell, and I can’t even begin to expound upon the Perpetulite.

“I’m not a big fact person,” said Mr. Crimson, who was honest, even if a twit. “Unproved speculation is more my thing … “

This book is the first in a trilogy. Enjoy.

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Anastasia Steel

Anastasia Beverly Hills Precision Tweezers are made in Italy and designed by Anastasia herself to meet her precise specifications. Using the most eminent quality stainless steel for long-lasting performance, these tweezers will be a staple in your beauty regimen for years to come.

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Anastasia tweezers
By ronzo
I paid $30 for these tweezers. They worked great for about 2 months and then became very dull and wouldn’t grasp the hairs. I went to the Anastasia counter at Nordstrom, where I bought them and was told, in a very dismissive manner, that they didn’t sharpen them and there was no address to send them away for sharpening. No customer service with this company. Guess I’ll stay with Tweezerman who does sharpen them when they dull. Don’t waste your $$, go with Tweezerman.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
The Best!
By mom of 2
The Best tweezers ever! If they’re too sharp for you, than you can’t appreciate them, and you might as well go to the grocery store and buy those cheap dull ones that don’t work! I love these,a nd have been using them for YEARS!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
The BEST tweezers I’ve ever had
By C. Frees
Finally! A pair of tweezers that grabs the hairs. It makes plucking so easy that I talked a friend into getting them. She was skeptical about getting a $30 pair of tweezers, but as I told her, sometimes you just need to go with quality. She loved them so much, she took them to work to show all of her co-workers. Mine have not dulled in the slightest and I’ve had them for about 6 months so far.

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With age comes the aging process. Cell regeneration slows down and this causes changes to our bodies that in some cases are more noticeable in dissimilar constituents than others.

For the woman who is in her fifties and over, the aging procedure is more noticeable. Firstly with your hair and then your face. As cell regeneration slows it is procedure our skin becomes paler and looses the shine we had in our youth. Cell regeneration in our hair causes each strand to turn white that gives us that greying look.

Grey hair may formulate an effect where on firstborn inspection you believe you are thinning on top of your head and going bald. This is a natural reaction as the grey colour brings about this effect.

Modern hairstyling proficiencies include cutting styles and colouring of the hair. With long grey hair it will become straight and look thin so a shorter haircut will provide more body as the weight is removed. Choosing a hair colour that is one shade lighter then your natural hair colour will blend with your paler skin and will not be so noticeable.

Using a technique called low-lighting may dramatically change the way you look. This technique is applied by a hairstylist who will have assorted shades of your natural hair colour ready to dye each grey strand. The technique is gathering a division of the grey hair and applying a shade of the colour to each division that will result in an all over blending.

The hairstylist will colour up to ninety percent if not all of the grey hair. As each division or strands are coloured with a dissimilar shade the overall effect will be that it mixes together to look natural. No one will say to you that they love your new colour as they will not detect any dissimilar other than you look fabulous.

When using low-lights a permanent colour is employed and this means you will need a touch up each eight to twelve weeks, depending on how well you have been looking after your hair.

If you want to be more adventurous then cover up grey hair with bold rich colours such as copper or copper-gold for that wow element that will get you noticed.

50 Shades Of Grey

When creative writing of recognized artisti value student Anastasia Steele goes to consultation young enterpriser Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, in spite of his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to protest Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.
 
Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular (erotic|sexual pleasure|sexually arousing tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his immense wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s mysteries and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

ReviewA GoodReads Choice Awards Finalist for Best Romance

About the AuthorE L James is a former TV executive, wife and mother of two based in West London. Since early childhood she dreamed of writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on hold to focus on her family and her career. She at long last plucked up the courage to put pen to paper with her initial novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.

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2201 of 2305 people found the following review helpful.
An older man on truckling
By david shobin/thatch pond corp
First, a disclaimer. I am a male senior citizen, a semi-retired gynecologist whose customary literary fare is spy novels and military techno-thrillers. I have never read a romance before, except perhaps for junior high’s “A Tale of Two Cities” (or was that a classic?) But after the recent hullabaloo over James’ “Fifty Shades,” I opted to give the genre a glance.

The book’s protagonist is college student Anastasia, who has never had sex or even “touched herself.” I had to suspend disbelief at the social and sexual naivete of this twenty-one year-old, but I guess this implied vulnerability makes her more attractive as a romantic heroine. Yet it doesn’t take her long to rectify this situation, and soon she is having orgasm after orgasm at the behest of her “dominant” partner, Mr. Grey. At my age, my arthritis flared up just reading about Ana’s sexual gymnastics. And for some reason, I kept thinking about her contracting genital warts. Soon, however, Ana’s endless pyrotechnic climaxes resembled repetitively watching porn: after a while, it leaves me bored and yawning. That said, there was a definite infectiousness to the plot; and taking Viagra to stiffen my resolve, I persevered.

James’ strong suit is her ability to elicit sympathy in the protagonist. I wanted to find out what happened to Anastasia, and that lent the story a compelling, page-turning quality. James is a polished novelist. Her dialogue is crisp, her prose poised, and her paragraphs well-parsed. The author’s considerable skills notwithstanding, would I pick up an erotic romance like this again? Probably not.

But that’s just me.

1503 of 1639 people found the following review helpful.
Could not finish
By RiverinaRomantics
1.5 stars

I don’t enjoy writing bad reviews, honestly it puts a sick feeling in my stomach, but at the moment I am feeling too annoyed not to write one. So please don’t get snarky – I do realise I am in the minority with my opinions.

OK, I couldn’t finish this book. I tried, holy hell did I try – but by 88% I was so annoyed I had to put it down.

And after a lot of contemplation I have decided not to rant and rave, but simple state in point form what I didn’t like.

~ The writing was too sterile. There was no depth and I found it hard connecting to any of it. There was a whole heap of – I touched him, he touched me, I did this, he did that. And it wasn’t engaging at all.
When I read I want to be able to feel the emotion, not be told how a scene is playing out as if the heroine is actually an observer.

~ The sex – it wasn’t hot at all. I wouldn’t even classify it as erotic. For some strange reason I have the opinion that you need to be able to refer to your vagina as something more erotic than ‘down there’ before you can pull off a significant hotness rating.

~ Christian – ok, he was relatively hot but not enough to get my blood pumping. He wasn’t alpha enough for me. One moment he is trying to be hard core the next he is gasping because she is wearing his underwear.
Now if that was my dominant alpha, he would have given me a cocky smile, licked his lips and gave that ‘how you doin’ look, But no, he gasped like a little girl.

~ The price….I don’t get it. How can a publisher charge this much for a book written so badly??

…..ok, I could go on, I could practically write a novel, but I won’t.

I will take my Inner Goddess (seriously if I had to read that line one more time I would have caused self harm) and my find something else to read.

176 of 191 people found the following review helpful.
Where to start with this?
By GadgetChick
The success of this book baffles me. While I am not an avid reader of “erotic fiction,” I have read some, and everything that I’ve read is so much better than this, it’s ridiculous. If you’re contemplating buying this book, here’s what the book is, if this helps you make a decision:
- Take Stephenie Meyer’s ham-handed, awkward writing and turn down the “quality” dial about four – maybe five – notches. Romance novel readers can look at it this way – the writing is about two levels worse than the worst Harlequin romance you’ve ever read.
- Add in a Stephenie Meyer-esque heroine, a woman so boring it is hard to imagine how anyone – much less an extremely rich, sophisticated, smart, experienced dominant – would ever see anything the least bit interesting in her. Just like Bella in the Twilight novels, Anastasia is mostly just a cipher, a complete blank that women can project themselves onto. She’s not that smart, she’s not that funny, she has very pedestrian beliefs, goals and ambitions, she has standard mommy-didn’t-love-me and divorced-parent issues. Actually, Anastasia is Bella, just this time around she gets into sex.
- Add in some clumsily-written sex scenes and a whole lot of mostly inaccurate, overblown information about BDSM. Then couch the sex scenes in a whole lot of very boring dialogue and “plot” (mainly consisting of the main characters’ emails to each other – is there anything more boring than reading someone else’s emails?) so there can at least be a pretense that there is a story here, and that the book isn’t just bad BDSM erotica.
Part of my problem with the book is the poor quality, including everything I’ve mentioned above. My other main problem with the book is just how unbelievable the story and the characters are. There are very few experienced doms out there who get involved with uninitiated subs this way. There are very few doms with Christian’s resources that have to resort to uninitiated partners, no matter how “fascinating” (not) they are – they can pretty much purchase as much experience and expertise in their partners as they need, and generally, they need and want a lot of experience – bringing someone up to their level takes time and effort and becomes boring pretty quickly. I would actually caution women who might be interested in this kind of arrangement with a dominant, now that they’ve read the book – experienced doms who look for uninitiated subs do not usually have good intentions of bringing someone along into the lifestyle slowly, and buying them cars and computers. It’s something people should steer clear of, not seek out.
I don’t know. I guess if this gets some housewives hot and bothered and spices up their bedroom life, there’s no harm in it. Husbands everywhere will probably get some awesome experiences out of this whole temporary BDSM-lite erotic-fiction craze. But, the really tragic thing is that there are authors of erotic fiction out there, who have been working for a long time, who actually have – you know – WRITING SKILLS – who will never be as rich or as famous as the woman who wrote this very lackluster book that is getting all kinds of unwarranted attention, for no good reason.
If readers of this are really interested in this whole BDSM erotic-fiction thing, without the thinly-veiled, poorly-constructed romance subtext, I highly recommend the Sleeping Beauty series that Anne Rice wrote under a pen name, A.N. Roquelaure. The first one, The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, is available for Kindle here on Amazon. It’s much better written, overall, than this book, and also much more creative (and thus, much hotter).

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