'Grey': What People Are Saying about New 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Novel

— -- Christian Grey, the fictional star of the erotic trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey," celebrated his birthday this morning by giving fans more of what they want: a new novel, simply titled "Grey."

Told from his perspective, the new 559-page book by E.L. James is already causing a stir on social media, where some of the book's raunchiest lines are being quoted. Early reaction from readers is decidedly mixed, with some calling it the "worst" and others declaring that they are already "hooked."

Reviewing the book for the British newspaper The Guardian, Jenny Colgan writes, "The first trilogy was a fantasy. This book is far more realistic — and creepy beyond belief."

Though some fans have criticized James for essentially re-hashing the same story — only from Grey's perspective instead of Anastasia Steele's(as in the first three books) — "Grey" already appears to be on its way to bestseller status.

The author, who was already making appearances and signing books Thursday, has said she wrote the book after fans kept asking her to tell Grey's side of his BDSM relationship with college student Steele. She even dedicates the new book to fans. "Thank you for all that you've done for me. You rock my world every day," she wrote.

Earlier today, she also tweeted a message to the character that has made her famous.

Meanwhile, a fan site for Jamie Dornan, the Irish actor who portrayed Grey in the movie, jokingly chimed in with an early review of the new book.

For those folks who weren't planning to get a copy, Buzzfeed writer Scott Bryan has been live tweeting some of the most outrageous passages.

Bryan later did tweet it.

He also declared, "This book is the worst. I'm so sorry. #Grey"

Here were some other reactions from social media: