Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Despite what the forward from Anne Rice says, there isn’t a single iota of the enslaved princes/princesses “enjoying” their predicament. They’re all constantly crying, and Beauty’s resounding thoughts through everything are “no no no.” This is rape and torture. Plain and simple.

NOT TO MENTION THAT IN THE FIRST CHAPTER IT’S STATED THAT BEAUTY IS ONLY 15 (ie. A CHILD), and the Prince is 18. So there’s that.

To add further insult to injury, this book is BORING, both in terms of plot and the way the spice is written. I’m all for a good erotica, but this isn’t it. This is the most bland, lazily written smut I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading.

PLUS, it woefully misunderstands everything about BDSM.

As much as it pains me to say this, 50 Shades is a better choice. At the very least they’re both adults in that story.

But hey—if lazy, boring, repetitive, and highly problematic writing gets you going, this might just be the perfect erotica for you!!

Content Warnings

aether_seawo1f's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Anne rice cannot write sex well. It’s not that it’s like anatomically incorrect or anything, it’s just repetitive AF. Like someone read a textbook about S&M and applied the knowledge with all of the passion and creativity of someone doing math homework. It does not seem her protagonist has the ability or Knowledge to consent frequently and overall it was creepy and not enjoyable

Like a lot of the feminist retellings of fairytales choose to keep the implied or explicit rapes but use it to say something about or criticize the society that enables it. Anne rice is just like “it’s feminist because a woman is one of the abusers and my characters enjoy assault eventually”

Content Warnings

huichola's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad

0.25

Content Warnings

khaleesimod93's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I'm so very confused with this book. The writing itself is perfection! I adore the way Anne Rice describes things and makes the imagination come alive. I knew going into this book exactly what is was about. But I didn't really enjoy it. Not because of the content, but it was all very confusing. I wasn't sure what was going on. There wasn't anything that made it clear of why Beauty had to go. Or what was the reasoning behind all the slaves. Why is the queen requiring tributes? Why do other kingdoms just give her what she wants? Why did Beauty try to run? The whole thing felt very confusing. I did like the writing itself, but I feel there are major holes missing out of the story. I adore Beauty and her character. She does what she is asked but still keeps her rebellion and treasonous thoughts. I actually feel bad for her in some instances.

Content Warnings

mximlay's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

skygurr04's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

0.5

Content Warnings

callie4223's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

I don't know quite yet how I'm going to rate this book. Mainly because I'm unsure of my feelings toward it. I don't want to say that I enjoyed this book, but I also don't want to say I didn't enjoy it. I only read this book because Anne Rice writes it, and I know she's very popular with her Interview With A Vampire novel. For one, there is no plot, but I was so engrossed in this horrific story that I didn't care if it didn't have a plot or not. I will say that besides the horrendous sexual content, I do believe that everyone in the book overused spankings. That's literally all the book is. Someone somewhere is constantly getting spanked for something; it doesn't matter what.

This book is my first by Anne Rice, and because of my lack of knowledge of the author, I feel as though I didn't know what to expect with the amount of excessive BDSM.

I'm not going to tell you to read it or not. Do what you want. I suggest using personal judgment for a novel of this magnitude.

Content Warnings

toiaaaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious fast-paced

3.0

This read like the porn I wanted to write, a bit too much spanking for my taste but I enjoyed it

Content Warnings

More...