50 Shades Darker begins at the cliffhanger where the original 50 Shades of Grey ended, with Grey and Ana broken up, after her spanking with a belt in his "red room of pain." Both being devistated, they soon find themselves together again, and discovering their chemistry still there, they make the mutual decision to give their relationship another chance. This time, though, there is no contract, there is no power exchange; just a man and a woman and a little bit of "kinky f*ckery." The story develops along with their relationship, and ends with a twist, leaving you hanging and wanting to start 50 Shades Freed instantly.

This second book in the 50 Shades series reads smoother and has a much more developed storyline than the first book. It's engaging and actually has a plot line that can be followed, with the twists and turns of a normal romance novel. I was glad to see that both Grey and Ana begin to display some character development, which was, for me, a missing component in the first book. By page 403, neither one are close to where they started on page 1.

The sex scenes are more realistic, as is Ana's approach to BDSM. And I must say, during the last erotic scene in the book, I was left excited and breathless, and able to picture my Sir and I doing similar things, which did not happen with any of the scenes in 50 Shades of Grey.

James's development as a writer is apparent with her second novel, and as an erotic writer myself, I am intrigued to watch her over time, to see what she transpires to become.

I bought this book on my Nook, so I can not effectively comment on the quality of the material or physical structure of the book. I will say that the front cover is discreet, and you would be able to read it at the doctor's office without concern that everyone will know you are reading erotica, based on the front cover (although at the stage, just about everyone knows about 50 Shades).

Although I was not impressed with the original 50 Shades of Grey, I decided I would give the second book a chance, and overall, I'm glad I did. As a lover of all things sex, I figured worst case senerio, it would only be a waste of a few hours of private reading time. But I was surprised, halfway through 50 Shades Darker, when I found myself quickly turning pages in anticipation of what was to come.

Although this still does not rank in the top 5 of my favorite pieces of erotica, James's style is developing, and I am glad I decided to follow through with the second book. If you enjoy kinky storytelling, give it a try. But a warning, if you are looking for some hard core BDSM scenes, you aren't going to find them here. There is some toy play, including a spreader bar scene and the use of nipple clamps, but nothing extreme that I, as a practioner of BDSM, would consider hard core.