4 out of 4 stars
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Fifty, Four Ways by Katherine Cobb travels back to the time when Fifty Shades of Grey was just starting to take off and make waves. The story follows four women, all mothers with sons on the baseball team, and how their experiences with the book make them question their desires and satisfaction in their marriages. Kelli is a librarian whose husband is more focused on prepping for doomsday than he is on their love life. Mel is overly conscious of her body and doesn't feel able to ask for more in the bedroom. Lynn wants to try some kinky things, but her husband is resistant to change. And Candy is a trophy wife who can't get along with her stepson and suspects her plastic surgeon husband of cheating.
I'll be honest. I've only been married for a few months, but I can see bits and pieces of myself in all four of these women. I was so bored at work that I downloaded the book during my lunch break and finished it just four hours later! (I know, I'm blessed to have such a free job.) I was so sucked into the novel that I didn't care bother with switching tabs when people passed behind me. Not even during the steamy bits. I'm shameless, but that's how good this book was.
I usually have a hard time telling characters apart at the beginning of books, but the author helpfully started each chapter with a little picture related to that character's life. For example, the chapters in Candy's point of view, the plastic surgeon's wife, always started with a picture of two cantaloupes. I'll let you guess why.
Not only did the pictures help me straighten out the characters and their families quickly, but I felt a little jolt every time I saw the pictures and thought, "Finally! I was wondering what would happen next with her!" I loved all the characters but the four main women were true stars, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Also, I loved how they each started reading the series with the same expectations, but they took away different lessons. There was a lot of character growth, with a touch of drama.
Not to mention, I found two whole typos in the entire book. Honestly, it was one of the best books I've read in a long, long time. I have absolutely no complaints, although I do wish it could have been longer! Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be made into a movie, just like with Fifty Shades of Grey. Katherine Cobb is a wonderful, funny author. I can't wait to read more of her work!
Fifty, Four Ways is more interesting than Sex and the City and ten times more interesting than the series that inspired it! I felt emotionally moved and lifted by these women and have learned so much that I plan on implementing in my own marriage. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and would highly recommend it to any woman of marrying age, whether she enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey or not. There are some steamy scenes, but as I mentioned earlier, I read this in my office on my computer screen, so nothing too scandalous. Or maybe my shamelessness truly knows no bounds.
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Fifty, Four Ways
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. The fact that the reviewer is very passionate, is understandable enough that this book has a very great storyline.
