'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.

Good moaning all... and Happy Birthday Christian #Grey :D

— E L James (@E_L_James) June 18, 2015,

@E_L_James As a guy, I must say that I prefer #Grey with his POV! He is more mature and quite funny himself. Thanks for that new book!

— Jamie Dornan Online (@JamieDornan_org) June 18, 2015,

There's a paragraph about inserting a ginger root somewhere and I am deeply conflicted about whether to tweet it or not #Grey

— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) June 18, 2015,

#Grey is very impressive so far! Getting into Christian's head is pretty amazing and he's very hilarious at some parts ??????

— THE50SHADESWORLD·COM (@50ShadesWorldcm) June 18, 2015,

I'm too scared to buy gingerroot from Tesco now. People might assume things. #Grey #GingerrootIsTheNewCableTies

— Ariadne Griffin (@Ariadne_Griffin) June 18, 2015,

Weren't 3 books spewing crappy literature enough?! #Grey

— Swagskriti (@SanskritiS05) June 18, 2015,

Jealous of anyone that has this book today.... #grey https://t.co/KiAkvqMUTh

— Shayla Mallett (@ShaylaMallett) June 18, 2015,

@E_L_James just read the 1st chapter, hooked. #grey

— Jennie Povey (@jennie4povey) June 18, 2015,

May all who buy #Grey today offset their 50 Shades footprint by buying another book by an author they have not heard of.

— Jonny Geller (@JonnyGeller) June 18, 2015

Good moaning all... and Happy Birthday Christian #Grey :D

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.

@E_L_James As a guy, I must say that I prefer #Grey with his POV! He is more mature and quite funny himself. Thanks for that 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.

There's a paragraph about inserting a ginger root somewhere and I am deeply conflicted about whether to tweet it or not #Grey

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:

#Grey is very impressive so far! Getting into Christian's head is pretty amazing and he's very hilarious at some parts ??????

I'm too scared to buy gingerroot from Tesco now. People might assume things. #Grey #GingerrootIsTheNewCableTies

Weren't 3 books spewing crappy literature enough?! #Grey

Jealous of anyone that has this book today.... #grey https://t.co/KiAkvqMUTh

@E_L_James just read the 1st chapter, hooked. #grey

May all who buy #Grey today offset their 50 Shades footprint by buying another book by an author they have not heard of.

I'm too scared to buy gingerroot from Tesco now. People might assume things. #Grey #GingerrootIsTheNewCableTies

Weren't 3 books spewing crappy literature enough?! #Grey

Jealous of anyone that has this book today.... #grey https://t.co/KiAkvqMUTh

@E_L_James just read the 1st chapter, hooked. #grey

May all who buy #Grey today offset their 50 Shades footprint by buying another book by an author they have not heard of.