While everybody was gushing over the sex scenes in 50 Shades, many failed to recognise the damaging message that it is romanticising a controlling, abusive relationship. Not that there is anything wrong with engaging in an S&M lifestyle, but the first book many women and girls, by their own admission, have ever read is the story of a young, naive girl being coerced into signing a contract that blurs the line between consent and control. Not to mention that it is written in the style of a teen romance crossed with a Mills & Boon novel and that most of the sex scenes are more cringeworthy than erotic.

50 Shades seems to have opened the floodgates with a multitude of similar novels appearing on the shelves. One of which is Consequences by Aleatha Romig. If I'm honest I don't really know how I feel about this one. It is certainly better written than 50 Shades, it isn't peppered with gratuitous descriptions and it doesn't end happily ever after.

Anthony Rawlings, the Christian Grey of Consequences, is a very similar character - he is a young, attractive self-made millionaire with a multitude of properties, private jet, loyal staff who presumably have signed confidentiality agreements and serious issues, only Romig goes one step further and has her lead character actually abduct and imprison Claire/Anastasia before she falls madly in love with him and marries him. 

Perhaps it should not be a surprise that this sort of literature is so popular given the success of the Twilight books and films, which send the message that love is obsessive, dangerous and controlling, that as long as he says he loves you, him hurting you is ok.

Abusive relationships are never ok, now matter now much mainstream media may try and convince you that Christian Grey and Edward Cullen are the men you should lust after.