I’m still laughing… Ms. Merkin aka Andrew Shaffer has nailed it! Her parody of that other book is hilarious! Fifty Shames of Grey captures the essence of the two main characters very well. Edward Christian Earl Grey is rich, powerful, and a Dungeon Master! Yup – he’s a master of live action role playing. His type of BSDM involves bards, dragons, sorcery, and magick. Complete with the prosthetic ears! Bella Ana Anna Steal is her usual klutzy, clueless self. She even has an Inner Guidette doing backflips and running on a hamster wheel, and even makes fun of Anna repeating herself. Anna works at the local Walmart store. She lives in a Portland duplex with Kathleen Kraven, a 38 year old alcoholic addicted to bad television. Her bud Jin is a “brony” – he even has a website dedicated to My Little Pony. And get this – Jin writes My Little Pony fan fiction! Anna is easily impressed by Earl’s affluence. Earl’s wealth knows no bounds and he basically buys anything and everything in order to get closer to his Anna. He even buys Walmart so that he can be Anna’s boss and give her a break so that they can have their first date. Let’s face it, a helicopter ride to the nearest Starbucks (across the street!) to drink a cup of tea as a first date? Impressive. Earl Grey is so rich that he not only has a helicopter at his disposal, he also owns an F-14 Tomcat.Back in Earl’s apartment there are more impressive sights to behold. Earl has a lovely library with a secret doorway to his Room of Doom, or as Anna calls it his “Dorm Room of Doom.” A few scenes stood out for me – Earl and Anna at his private island, complete with his own version of Jurassic Park. There is a memorable dinosaur riding scene. The author comes up with some creative uses for tampons as well. Spanking becomes a whole new experience – a very giggly one. At the end of the book there is an extensive list of Earl’s fifty shames. Very funny. I loved the references to the fan fiction. Well done!This is a pretty short book and a fast read, perfect for summer reading by the pool. Do not read this book in front of your computer, especially while drinking coffee. Is this book for everyone 18+? Sure, why not? I think that people who have read the fan fiction and have some knowledge of that story will enjoy it the most. The author has some subtle references to that work and readers in the know will enjoy those the most. If you’ve read the other published book and liked/hated it, you will get some good laughs. If you haven’t read the other book or the fic, this can still be funny but some of the jokes may not make sense to you.And now for the good news….There is a sequel planned and there is an excerpt at the end of the book – Fifty Shames in Space!Favorite quotes: “I spend the rest of my night doing schoolwork. After striking a match and lighting a candle, I sit down at my desk with my quill pen and parchment to write an essay for my ethics class on the legalities of fan fiction.”“He hands me his shopping list and I lead him through the store in search of the item. Duct tape? Plastic wrap? A hack saw? Who is this guy, Dexter?”“For the first time in my life, I have found my purpose: to be a doormat for this ridiculously wealthy, attractive, impossible to resist man.”A draft of the first 3 chapters of this book is available on the author’s website. Here’s the link. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.Review posted on
