The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice writing as A. N. Roquelaure

 ABOUT THE BOOK 

Before E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day's Bared to You, there was Anne Rice’s New York Times best seller The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

In the traditional folktale of "Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconscious. In the first book of the trilogy, Anne Rice (author of Beauty's Kingdom), writing as A.N. Roquelaure, retells the Beauty story and probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince awakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation. His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty's complete and total enslavement to him . . . as Anne Rice explores the world of erotic yearning and fantasy in a classic that becomes, with her skillful pen, a compelling experience. Readers of Fifty Shades of Grey will indulge in Rice’s deft storytelling and imaginative eroticism, a sure-to-be classic for years to come.

Praise for The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty:

"Articulate, baroque, and fashionably pornographic." —Playboy

"Something very special . . . at once so light and yet so haunting." —The Advocate

 REVIEW 

Being a fan of Anne Rice, I have always been curious about this book. In an effort to read a "fairy tale retelling," I decided to give the story a try, and I am not sure how I feel having just finished the reading. What I am sure of is this, this is a BDSM fetish story. I don't know how it compares to what one gets out of the experience in reality. I only speak as someone with a mild curiosity on the subject. I was as uncomfortable with this story as I was excited by it. I understand the fixation. I can concede how willing participants might gain insight and restraint from the act, but the humiliation and degradation the love slaves suffered in Claiming of Sleeping Beauty was periodically hard to take. But I did read all the way to the end. Only to be handed a big stinking cliff hanger. Now I have to decide how much I want to know where the tale is going and if it is worth more titillating discomfort. So, this story is not for everyone. If you are easily offended by dubious consent or severe treatment, just don't read it. If you are interested, be ready for an in-your-face journey. Would I recommend it? Yeah, maybe, but still not sure.