I’ll admit it. I am one of the millions of women who tore through the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy like a bride at Filene’s Basement. They were silly, redundant, romantic and shocking…not to mention a lot of fun (not good, clean fun, but definitely fun).

It is now five days away from the movie’s opening day and I am giddy with anticipation. (UPDATE: It’s now only one day away…24 hours to be exact! I wish I had a countdown thingie like the Irish bars do for St. Pat’s Day) Will they be able to capture the intriguing allure of Christian, accurately portraying the torrid, tormented soul that both attracts and repels the innocent Ana? It’s a tall order.

To be honest, I don’t expect it to live up to the hype. But a girl can hope, right?

Follow up 

As you can tell, by my second post “5 reasons why the movie was better than the book,” I was not disappointed. I wouldn’t give it 5 stars, but it was not the soul-crushing, society-destroying, domestic violence promoting, women’s rights bashing, end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it travesty that seemingly EVERY reviewer is proclaiming.

So, to support those few brave reporters who watched the movie and took it for was it was–a fictional/romantic/sexy/fantasy/love story–I’m going to post your reviews here. Thank you.

• It’s called fantasy, people.
• Three cheers for 50 Shades of Grey
• My mom and grandmother saw it
• More campy than disturbing
• 50 Shades is NOT domestic violence

If you’re as obsessed as I am…finding yourself watching trailers over and over, even clicking on the Lego video just to get your fix, let me offer you an alternative.

**Shameless self-promotion alert** My romance novel, Dare to Love is what I call “Thirty Shades of Regency.” While he’s not quite as damaged as Mr. Grey, Lord Landis is a handsome, heartless rake who goes to great lengths to hide the scars of his childhood. Nivea Horsham is a sweet, spinsterly wallflower who has loved him since she was a child.

Can Nivea shatter Dare’s carefully crafted facade and show him how to love? Just click here and you can find out!

Now available through Lyrical Press/Kensington Publishing.