Anna Steal is a naïve young college senior who interviews Earl Grey, a ridiculously handsome and rich CEO, as a favor to her roommate. He quickly becomes obsessed with her, but will Anna be able to put up with his "fifty shames"?
Fifty Shames of Earl Grey is a parody of Fifty Shades of Grey (in case you weren't able to guess), which started out as short posts on Andrew Shaffer's blog, EvilReads.com. I thought the blog posts were hilarious, and I'm glad Shaffer continued the parody in this format, because Fifty Shames is just as funny and so needed (for my own sanity, if nothing else). Shaffer hits on every annoying or ridiculous thing in Fifty Shades, including the weird sense of geography and distance, inane e-mails, the heroine's tea drinking habits, and her "ethnic friend."
On a side note, I'm ridiculously happy they kept the "I just bought Walmart," line in, because that is THE BEST LINE EVAR.
Fifty Shames of Earl Grey is a very quick read--as it should be--even though it does lose momentum and isn't as funny in the second half. The book is basically a pure parody of the Fifty Shades series (are they calling it a saga now? Please say no), so if you're looking for something that satires romance in a more general way AND has a good story, you're probably better off reading The Princess and the Penis by RJ Silver (review here). But if you HAVE read Fifty Shades and need some sort of antidote, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey will undoubtedly make you laugh. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy via Netgalley!
My eyes, my innocent eyes...
