Reviews

Sleeping Beauties by Owen King, Stephen King

mbenzz's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 Stars...

It's been so many years since I've read a Stephen King book, and I had forgotten how good he is. My reading goal this year is to tackle the longest books on my TBR list, and this was the longest one I had at the start of this year.

I loved the beginning of this story. Definitely the first 50%. After that, though, I started to struggle. This book could EASILY have been shaved down by 200 or so pages and still have been just as good.

There are so many characters in this book that I had a hard time keeping track of who was who, so whenever someone would come to their inevitable gruesome end, I didn't really care because I had to sometimes reference the glossary of people at the front of the book to remember who they were.

As for Aurora, the sleeping sickness, it started out super cool, then sort of...petered out. The ending was pretty lackluster and unbelievable. I mean...why DOOLING, of all places? What made that place so special? I never understood.

Overall, though, I'm glad I read it. I heard it's going to be made into a TV series, and that's a show I would definitely watch. I think I need a little more Stephen King in my life. I'll have to rectify that this year.

emrodav's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 to 4 ⭐️

Mostly I liked it, especially how the huge cast of characters was handled, but it definitely lacked in explanations/resolution.

Longer review to come.

jenhurst's review against another edition

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3.0

This is way too long. I kept thinking of how much we could’ve cut to get a stronger story. The idea of a pro-women dystopian and men vs women is great but i just kept thinking how bored I was.

p1eceofharmony's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.5

heresbea's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

klparmley's review against another edition

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4.0

Not the fairy tale I was expecting.

elliethecatlover's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

tishywishy's review against another edition

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4.0

An interesting novel and certainly filled with some laugh out loud scenes, suspense, intrigue and drama. Would not classify as horror, although if it happened in real life, it would be.

I would recommend the audiobook but jeez louise, it was 25 hours long and I was ready for it to be a wrap by the 20th hour.

veganheathen's review against another edition

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3.0

This book was looooong. I'm not averse to long books, but this one felt like it really could have been edited down a bit. The story was interesting, but not amazing. Basically a look at what could happen if there was a world without women and vice versa. Some interesting characters and it was a nice change for one of King's books to be set somewhere outside of Maine.

clarkf87's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4.0

The Kings came together to tell a feminist, post-apocalyptic story. This is a horror fantasy book about what would happen in our modern world if every woman who went to bed never woke up. Instead they ended up in a manless world where they no longer had to fear for their safety or fight for their rights. The men are left in today’s world scrambling to survive in a society without women’s leadership. 

I wish this book would have dove more deeply into the women’s perspective but it was a fascinating read nonetheless.

Owen and Stephen King dedicated this book to Sandra Bland, whose death under the surveillance of police at a Texas prison made national news. Say her name.