The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
by Anne Rice
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Book Reviews of The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
Book Review: You could do SO much better with your time and money
Summary: 3 Stars
Beauty is a re-imagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty tale, except with a lot of spanking, dubiously consensual sex (cast in the best light; in the worst, it's serial rape), and hardcore D/s total power exchange.
I'm very apathetic about this series. On the one hand, it certainly has its share of titillation for those who enjoy BDSM fantasies, and there's both a fair amount of creativity and a fair amount of truth in Rice's exploration of it. I'd go so far as to venture that Rice had firsthand experience in the scene before she wrote this . . . though not very much.
On the other (much larger) hand, the two egregious issues with this book are a total lack of believable setup and a near-total lack of believable character development/motivation.
The setup issue comes down to how flimsy the excuse was for getting the princes and princesses into their servitude. I won't spoil it for you, but trust me, it's ridiculous.
The development/motivation issue is a significant problem that consistently pulled me from the narrative, most especially at the end of the book. There were some moments that really hit the nail on the head, such as the breaking point of Beauty's secondary love interest (an enslaved prince). But most of it felt artificial, railroaded, as if Rice was familiar with the motions of BDSM but not the *e*motions or thought processes of a submissive. This led to a lot of eye-rolling on my part, because I felt like she was writing a self-indulgent fantasy rather than a realistic one that I could buy into and enjoy along with her.
Conclusion? Read them if you're bored. Borrow or swap for them; don't buy them. They're moderately entertaining, despite the flaws, but I suspect much of the enjoyment comes out of the way she twists a beloved childhood story into something naughty.
If you want to read a really great BDSM story, hit up any one of a number of independent presses who specialize in erotica, rather than wasting your money on this.
(For more reviews and recommendations in this genre, check out my Goodreads profile at [...]
Book Review: Great Herotica...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read many of Anne Rice's novels. They are fairly similar in execution until these. Anne writes under 2 other names, Anne Roqueleire and A.N. Rampling. Belinda and Exit to Eden are 2 of her novels that deal with unconventional sex. They were also good.
However, the Beauty series deals with an entirely different level of sex. It is not based in reality at all... it is a FANTASY. No one gets pregnant. No one gets and STD. No one has a period. This is pure Fairy Tale land where EVERYONE is beautiful! The Disney World of Porn!
So, to read this book and degrade it because it is not based in reality is preposterous. It was not written to be based in any kind of reality.
If you are at all homophobic... if you are at all sexually repressed...if back doors skeeve you out...this series is NOT for you.
Yes, there are tons of spanking, degrading, and S&M. However... most people fail to understand that the heroine (Beauty) is the one in control and they feel sorry for her and angry for her. But she controls what happens based on whether she chooses to comply with her "Prince's" requests. When she does not comply, she is punished. She chooses not to comply because she LIKES being punished! This is FANTASY!
This is great Erotica... soft porn at its finest. One of the best Erotic novels I have ever read.
If you are looking for a "Romance" novel... don't buy this one. The Beauty series is pure sex for pleasure in every way... pure absolution of all decisions... which is a must for any "control freak" of a woman.
Live vicariously for a minute where sex is pleasurable in every way... where no one gets sick... where beautiful people surround you... where your every waking moment is sexual... where you have no other worries or cares... where your beauty is worshipped and revered... where you are tortured and you enjoy it...where you are brought to the pinnacle of ecstasy only to have it jerked out from under you...and you live in perpetual sexual arousal where there is no shame and no guilt...
then, you will have entered Beauty's world. Happy Reading!
Book Review: What a waste
Summary: 1 Stars
I am completely confused as to why this book got such a great reviews by other members. I'm an avid reader who enjoys reading at least 3 books a week from all different genras. And yes sometimes that includes erotic romance. And like many do, I will on occassion skim through a book for the "juicy love scenes" of which this book has NONE. Fumbeling teenagers have hotter sex then this. That aside this book has the most poorly developed characters I've ever run across. There is NO story-telling here. Nothing that grips your interest. The premise is strong an "adults only" version of a classic fairy tale. Great concept. Horrid execution.
Now I'm an attractive women in her early 30's who in todays society sees nothing wrong with erotica or porn but this book was the worst example of both. Purely about putting the main chartacter Beauty is every concievable phsyical postion that could be only politely described with such words as uninventive unsexy and plainly gross. She goes from being shown naked throughout the entire book first like a dog then as a horse. Now I've read some BD/SM books and in my opinion whatever floats your boat is fine. It can be intresting when written by someone who understands what SEXY is . That is not the case with this book.
In 8 years of reading through hundreds of books I've maybe been tempted to write 3 reviews. This book was hands down the worst book I've ever read. If you're looking for hot romance the kind that has you unable to put it down and cursing having a job that doesn't allow you to read all day THIS IS NOT IT. If you are looking for a sexy read that has you squirming in your seat with hot and heavy love scenes THIS IS NOT IT.
Spend your money elsewhere or contact me and I'll fish mine out of the trash bin. Also a first for me never have I ever thrown a book out. But this went right where it need to go - in the trash.
If you"re looking for hot romance sorching sex a little BDSM with great charcaters check out Lora Leigh Bound Hearts series.
1 star because I couldn't post review with less
Book Review: Not for everyone
Summary: 5 Stars
As you have no doubt noticed, the reviews of this book vary widely. I just got it and wasn't really sure what to expect, but I can't put it down. Heed the bad reviews; it is certainly not for everyone. However, I am a big snob concerning erotica, and I have never liked Ann Rice before, and I was very pleasantly surprised by this book.
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty is not at all realistic, though why anyone would be looking for realism in a fairy tale/erotica combination that begins with the Prince breaking a spell of a 100-year sleep is beyond me. Everyone is impossibly beautiful, but so are all the princesses in Grimms' fairy tales and the principals in most erotica. I, for one, enjoy reading about a bunch of beautiful, exquisitely dressed people within impossibly opulent settings.
There certainly are a lot of spankings, nearly in every chapter. If you like that kind of thing, you won't be bored. If it's not your cup of tea, it might get old. I don't find it monotonous; maybe repetitive, but that's not necessarily bad. The Marquis de Sade is repetitive too; spanking is repetitive by nature. There's a lot going on in The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty besides spanking as well. Many of the principals are what would be considered underage in the present-day United States, and consent is questionable at best. Again, you're the judge of whether that would turn you on or off.
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty is at heart a Nouveau-Décadent work. I just reread Beardsley's Under the Hill and Rice's book is very reminiscent of that style. (By the way, most Décadent works are unrealistic and light on plot.) If you like Sade or Mirbeau, or certain passages in Petronius or Suetonius, you'll probably like this. If you don't like eroticized violence or overwrought language, or you want erotica with consensual, loving, adult partners of clearly defined sexual orientation, this is not for you.
Book Review: Beauty meets her "Prince"
Summary: 4 Stars
In this tale of Sleeping Beauty, I was shocked at even the first couple of chapters. I have had, as many little have had, the story of Sleeping Beauty engrained in my brain. Young Beauty touched a spindle only to fall asleep until her true Prince awakes her with a kiss. Oh well The Prince did awaken Beauty with a not so gentle nudge.
At the beginning, I didn't know whether to love or hate The Prince. I was so confused, and I don't know whether it was because it was engrained in my brain by Disney to be in awe of The Prince or because he was so aggressive with the innocent Beauty. I was struggling to figure it out and after reading the book, I still don't know if I love or hated The Prince.
Rice has definitely created a world beyond "...and they lived happily ever after." I don't know if it's just me, but I find myself comparing things to all things Disney. I can't help but compare how Beauty was paraded from town to town to how when you go to Disneyland patrons attend a similar parade. And children alike wave in amusement to their favorite Disney character. In all this I wonder if Rice has some sinister plot to diminish the meaning of Prince and Princesses to bring us to a much more harsh reality. Well, she does accomplish that.
I know that some of the reviews include some dislike of the book, but in me it rendered curiosity. Not for the kinky or the erotic side of me, but for the social aspect of things. I know this is a trilogy, and hopefully I want to see Beauty break free of her mold and grow and be free. I need help understanding whether what The Prince and The Queen have going on here is really for the good of those being `punished' or should it all be done with. And like what Prince Alexi experienced in the kitchens, is that worse than being servant to the Queen? I believe this is some sort of social experiment, and I really want to know how it ends.