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    The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
    The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
    The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

    Written by Anne Rice

    Narrated by Genvieve Bevier

    3/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure. 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. Now Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince reawakens 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 27, 2004
    ISBN9780060782900
    The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
    Author

    Anne Rice

    A.N. Roquelaure is the pseudonym for bestselling author Anne Rice, the author of 25 books. She lives in New Orleans.

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    Reviews for The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

    3/5

    114 ratings57 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This is the first true erotica books I have ever read. I have read all of Anne Rice's vampire and witch books. I have read a lot of paranormal romance books that have more than their fair share of sex. I thought that this might bring together some of the sex I had read in those books and I really liked Anne Rice's writing style. I thought I would give these a try.

      There is a good plot that goes with this story, it is not all just sex. Some people are saying BDSM, but I am not sure about that. In this book, there is no safe word and it is not consensual. I truly believe that there are things that are done, that people in the real world would not survive either emotionally or physically.

      I am not sure exactly how much I like this book. They are a truly another world. I am going to get the next book and see where it goes from there.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      the retelling of a traditional folk tale interpreted through a world of erotic yearnings and fantasy

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book is about TPE (Total power exchange) and mostly about pain. Interesting read and way more "bdsm" than 50 Shades of Grey could ever be.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      In an attempt to escape 50 Shades of Suck (I got about halfway before I just broke down and threw it across the room), I searched for a better alternative in the realm of erotic literature. I'm already a fan of Ann Rice, and this series popped up on pretty much every Must Read for erotica, so I thought, why not. Disney's Sleeping Beauty, this sure as heck is not. Yes, Beauty and her kingdom is under a sleeping curse, and a handsome prince does wake her up...but not with a kiss. The thing is, this prince and his court have pleasure slaves, tributes from the neighboring kingdoms of royal lineage, who are required to serve in court for years. These slaves are always naked and are always expected to perform any manner of task for their masters and mistresses. If they do not please them, the slaves are punished. This novel does not shy away from actual sexual punishment (not that insipid pseudo-BDSM that Christian and Anastasia partake in in 50 Shades), so it is not for the faint of heart. I would definitely not be embarrassed to read this book in public. I appreciated how this novel is billed as erotica for men and women, since the experiences are relayed through both perspectives (Beauty's in the present, and Prince Alexi's in flashback).The book also deals with humiliation and learning to accept the humiliation and punishments. Again, it can be hard to read in some parts, especially for those who are not at all comfortable with those topics and the subject of rape.The writing is obviously way better, and while there isn't what I would call character development, Beauty makes a decision at the end of the book that could lead to some interesting things in the books to come. My only complaint is that Prince Alexi's story took up way too much time, and after a while the punishment scenes became repetitive. I am hoping the next book goes into why this particular kingdom operates this way.This book/series is for anyone who wants actual, well-written erotica, far from the likes of 50 Shades.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I read this to challenge myself, and challenge me it did. Within a few pages there was rape, humiliation and degradation and it only got worse from then on. Every now and then I would have to pause to take a breath in order to continue.

      I was made uncomfortable, appalled and utterly disgusted. I desperately wanted to put this down but curiosity won out. How was it going to end?

      The constant repetition ground down my abhorrence of some harrowing events which take place, to the point where I was almost desensitised and eventually bored by the end. Can you believe it?!

      Although I understood the lesson (which usually appear in fairy tales), I can't say I appreciated or enjoyed the delivery of that lesson. I have read books that have conveyed it in a more...palatable fashion. That being said, the language was easy to read, if the content was not.

      I recommend this to those not easily offended, and even if you're not, you might want to hesitate reading this anyway.

      FYI, you don't have to be a prude to be shocked by this book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Umm. I am a little traumatized but still somehow slightly intrigued. This book is definitely not for the squeamish!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty strays far and wide from the traditional fairy tale of 'Sleeping Beauty'. Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquelaure, tells of Beauty's story from her awakening to her enslavement to the Prince in a nearby kingdom. Anne Rice says it best in her preface where she states, "Every page is about sexual fulfillment." Indeed, there isn't one boring section of the story and every page has either thoughts, or actions, of some form of intimacy. The story is undoubtedly erotica, but not the type of story one could appropriately ascribe love to as an element of the plot. Even though the world Rice built caters to BDSM and other unusual sexual fantasies, the actions of the characters were cruel and at most times unappealing. All of the secondary characters, such as the Lords and Ladies of the court, are trying to teach Beauty that pain enhances sexual encounters and will eventually equate to the love of her master, the Prince, or anyone else in the palace taking control of her. The belief is that the love slaves will eventually leave enslavement as better leaders because of their learning self-control and other valuable traits. The underlying theme is dominance and submission, but the story's cringe-worthy depiction is somewhat loud.The main protagonist, Beauty, is a young and apparently spoiled princess. She's so timid, scared, and soft that it's extremely hard to picture her in the environment that Rice places her in The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty. In the end, though, Beauty rebels against the court's expectations of her submissiveness. Rice's method of closing the first book in the Sleeping Beauty Trilogy is certainly unexpected, but may leave readers with more of a curious, than sexual, appetite.*Book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review and blog tour purposes*Originally posted on Lovey Dovey Books 

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I'm currently in the processes of rereading the series, it has been close to a decade since I've last read them. Detailed review coming, but I wanted to put a little something here for people who might be confused or curious about why people either love or hate this book.

      This is a extreme BDSM fantasy in every sense of the word. Rice threw out all the rules of our society and even safe/sane/consensual rules of real life BDSM play to create a fantasy world that is essentially one long BDSM scene. There is no consent given, no safe words, negotiations, etc.

      Here Dominance and submission are a way of life. Sex slaves are real slaves, but most importantly a readers is allowed to fully emerse themselves into a fantasy world without real life consequences.

      So be warned, gentle readers. I would not recommend this for someone's first foray into erotica or BDSM. I would remind those who are brave enough to read that this is a fantasy world, with its own rules that do not necessarily match that of our world. Much like in other fantasy worlds where people have magical powers, animals can talk and no one has to wear a condom for fear of getting an STI. ;)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      It's not for the faint of heart, but it's also far better than 50 Shades of Grey (and I think that's all I can say without making this review completely inappropriate...). Anyway, yes this was a great book & I'm eager to devour the sequels...

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Yeah that's right - I read it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I did not expect that! Good book, a little cringey. On to the next one ❤️❤️❤️
    • 4/5
      This is a quite a weird book. I've always enjoyed erotica, but this is maybe a little too much even for me. I don't necessarily enjoy books where the intimate relationship between men is described in detail and this has more action between men than men and women or between just women. Although, I guess this is what you can expect from Anne Rice and of course intimate relationships between men were very common in the past. I will continue reading all the books but not my favourite series, although it might be the best book I've read from Anne Rice so far.
    • 5/5
      This book was just amazing. I must say right off if you are not into reading erotic books then this book is not for you. This book has sex starting in the first chapter. Its a great adult version of Sleeping Beauty. I absolutely loved this book from beggining to end and have already started book two "Beauty's Punishment". I highly recommend this book if you are open minded, enjoy reading about sex, with some BDSM as well. Remember you have to enjoy reading erotic novels to enjoy this book, if not you wont like it. I LOVED IT!
    • 2/5
      Eh this book was not what I expected. After so much hype I was really disappointed. It had some very good erotic scenes but the story as a whole was not well developed.
    • 2/5
      Yeesh! Disturbing to the nth degree.
    • 2/5
      The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty is a "very" different take of the Sleeping Beauty folktale we are all used to. Obviously Disney's version flew right out the window after reading a little into the second page. The gist of the story remains the same... a princess and her court are all cursed and have been in slumber for hundreds of years. Along comes a Prince and instead of kissing Beauty he sexually initiates her into waking (yes, my eyes were the like saucers when I read this - and this was only like the 2nd page) . The Prince then drags her off to his kingdom where she becomes his sex slave to pleasure and punish at his every whim.To be honest, I can't say I really liked this story - and not for the reasons you would think either. Obviously from the cover alone you can tell this is an erotic version of the story. Which is fine. I'm not much of an erotica fan - but I can deal with it well enough. What I couldn't deal with was Beauty's submissive nature. I wanted her to put up a fight - I can't imagine just letting myself be put in the dire position she was thrust into (no pun intended) without putting up even a tiny fist in the air and screaming at someone, scratching, biting or throwing a shoe.Once I realized what the story was about (and after someone being sexually impaled on a statue) I really considered putting the book down - this was obviously not my cup of tea. So I put it down for a couple of hours and I tried not to think about it. I really did. But I couldn't help myself. I needed to see how much more poor Beauty would endure and if she would ever grow a backbone. I picked it up again and just couldn't put it back down.This is the first book of a 3-part series by author A.N. Roluequare (pen name for Anne Rice). It made me blush, gasp and I know more than once I had to glance around just to make sure no one was reading over my shoulder. It is by far the most sexually graphic novel I have ever read. The ending is a cliff-hanger and obviously sets you up for the next book in the series - I haven't decided whether I'll pick it up or not. I will confess that I am intrigued to see what will happen next... hmmm.My final thoughts - in order to truly enjoy this story you must be able to completely give yourself over to the fantasy and leave your inhibitions and "Girls Rule" attitude at the door and then all I can say is enter at your own risk.
    • 4/5
      In Diaz’s romantic suspense novel, U.S. Marshall Ryan Jackson breaks protocol by taking a protected witness on the run. Jessica Delaney had testified against a crime boss nearly putting him away for life. Ryan doesn’t trust her—she had worked for the mob—but it was his sworn duty to protect her at any cost. It soon becomes clear there’s a mole working in the Witness Protection Program and Ryan is determined to identify the culprit who keeps leaking her new identity. As they strive to stay ahead of killers in pursuit, the net tightens around them and they must work together to defeat the darkness and hope they don’t lose themselves in the process.Fast-paced, action-packed, hard to put down thriller.
    • 3/5
      I am willing to admit it, I was driven through this book of passion, reading it quickly and enjoying the eroticism of it very much. (I am reading it in place of _Fifty Shades_ since I tend to stray away from the masses as much as possible). I like fairy tales and I know enough about power play dynamics to recognize just how accurately Anne Rice (writing as AN Roqulaure) describes both the dominant and submissive roles.The reason the book doesn't get more than 2.5 stars is because I am not sure there's much of a story here... Yes, it's a plot-based pornography, that would likely make quite an enjoyable BDSM-related film, but it is still primarily pornography. The final chapter gives promise that there is more to Beauty than meets the reader's eye, and I will likely find myself reading it under the covers, with a flashlight, as I did reading Gerald's Game as a young girl, but I'm not holding my breath for a true story arc.
    • 1/5
      I did not like this book. I have heard that this book is a must read if you like erotica. I found the book to be tedious, and I couldn't see the point of the story. Admittedly, I did not finish the book. Perhaps I will pick it up again and see if it appeals to me.
    • 3/5
      I received a copy of this copy from a GoodReads.com giveaway and the following is my honest opinion of the book.Growing up what girl hasn’t read sleeping beauty or watch the classic Disney cartoon and dreamt of having a Prince Charming entering her life and becoming a Princess. And having grown up has realized it had merely been a fairy tale of their youth and although there are many wonderful guys in the world not one of them is truly a Prince.I should have read the description for this book more closely otherwise I wouldn’t have entered this particular giveaway.In this version of the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty doesn’t get woken by a kiss from her Prince Charming ending her hundred year curse, instead she’s gets brought into a life of total sexual enslavement by a master who desires her beauty to solely fulfill the desires of other men. The story takes its readers through the adept writing of its author, Anne Rice, to the erotic extreme of BDSM where some women might want fantasize about, but few would desire for it to be a reality.Beauty is repeatedly force to endure incredible erotica rituals with strangers solely to fulfill their wanton sexual desires.As a Book Reviewer, I’ve already read several erotic novels. The author’s selection for the title of this book is totally apropos as this is what happens to Beauty at the hands of her so-called Prince Charming.Even though this book had been a New York Times Bestseller and had been originally published in 1983 I found myself not being able to turn the pages fast enough to get to the last page; which is why I’m giving this book the lowest rating I give for any review I post of 3 STARS.
    • 1/5
      I'm more than disappointed. The story is definitely erotica but it pushed even my boundaries (and I don't have many). This was heavy on BDSM and debauchery, torture, humiliation, homosexuality, and polyamorous relationships. There is nothing romantic about it.

      It made absolutely no sense to use the fairy tale characters as the backdrop. Even if I had replaced them with the hottest couple I could conjure up in my mind I would still not like this at all. Most erotica stories tickle the fantasies. This just made me cringe.
    • 3/5
      Anne Rice wrote a trilogy of books under the pen name A. N. Roquelaure, based on the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. These books were titled The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment (Sleeping Beauty), and Beauty's Release: The Conclusion of the Classic Erotic Trilogy of Sleeping Beauty. Yep, you read it right - erotica. The set is the only thing I have ever read by Anne Rice, and the only erotica books I have ever read. I have told maybe one or two other people that I have read the series, because it just does not match up with my "good girl" persona, and it resulted in the shocked expression I was expecting. Why would I read such an abomination? One part boredom, one part fairy tale superfan, and three parts secret naughty indulgence/curiousity (one for each book) - I found the books at a slow point while working at a bookstore, and sneakily read them at the customer service desk when I had nothing else to do.


      In the first book, Beauty is awakened from her hundred-year sleep with a deflowering by the Prince. He takes her to his kingdom, where she is trained as a sexual slave and plaything, but she fails to be obedient, so is sent to brutal slavery in the neighboring village. In the second book, she is sold at auction and a power struggle ensues as she refuses to be completely broken by her various punishments. Actual plotline wanes in this one until towards the end some of the psychological aspects of sexual slavery are explored before Beauty is kidnapped for a Sultan. In the third book, the various characters all reach closure in varying forms as the sexual aspects of the plot take on a more religious and philosophical tone, as opposed to the crudity of the European castle and village. By the end of the series, it felt more like I was reading a study of a lifestyle for the education and not so much for the indulgence.

      The sexual scenes are extremely explicit and graphic with the theme of sado-masochism replete throughout the text, but amazingly, there is still a plotline and decent character development. The first book was my favorite of the three, simply because that is the only book of the three that actually uses the fairy tale in its plotline, and by the third book much of the sex seemed vaguely repetitive and did not affect me as intensely as it did in the beginning. I would even dare to recommend it to those who are of the appropriate age.

      I likely have A. N. Roquelaure's influence to thank for my unquestioning devotion to the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey, now that I think about it...

    • 3/5
      Interesting. I was interested that this was a new take on sleeping beauty, I was interested that this was an erotic novel, and I was interested that this was written by Anne Rice. Overall I did not think this novel had much of a plot and was trying too hard to be like the [[Marquis de Sade]] and not succeeding. It starts off with the Prince rescuing Beauty. Instead of just kissing her he rapes her and takes her to his kingdom to be a sexual slave. Fulfilling the Princes and Queens demoralizing acts, Beauty learns to submit to their control while still keeping an amount of power all her own. Definitely for adults only. I'm not sure if I will continue with the trilogy.
    • 3/5
      I had no idea what I was getting when I bought this book. But now it sits on my nightstand. It is much better than any of those cheesy romance novels, for all you bored housewives out there. I didn't care for the sequels as much, because of the amount of bondage/masochism, but different strokes, right? Just, don't bring it to work to read on your lunch break like I did, okay? How embarrassing!
    • 5/5
      One of the most erotic books I have ever read. Must be open minded but if you are you will love it. I loved the entire trilogy.
    • 1/5
      First of all, let me preface this review by saying I am no prude. While I'm not going to say I've seen and/or done it all, I've seen and done quite a bit, with not a lot of judgement - to each his own.To call this collection of disgusting perversions "erotic" would be laughable if it wasn't so gross. Vile act after vile act keeps you horrified chapter after chapter. Each time you think it can't get worse, it does. I bought the set of three novels during the height of her Vampire novels' popularity and now use them to horrify friends. No one who has borrowed them has read them all and no one can say anything about them other then "yuck". One friend who was reading them in her home was so embarrased by the first book, she hid it from her husband, lest he thought she was into the extreme bondage/pain in the book.Unless you are into the extreme S&M/Bondage/Humiliation/Control scene, this is NOT for you.
    • 3/5
      Finally got around to reading this. Didn't realize that it was going to be quite so explict in the beginning. Anne Rice wrote the beauty series over 20 years ago, and it really shows how much of a hack Laurell K. Hamilton really is, if you compare all of her writing over time.
    • 3/5
      I may be alone in this oppinion, but I felt this book tappered off to boring. Started out interesting and erotic, but eventually the novelty of the ideas wore off and there was nothing new to keep me interested.The plot is barely worth describing. Basically the Prince awakens Beauty and takes her as his slave. She is not allowed to wear cloths and must crawl around on her hands and knees and she is punished quite frequently and pretty much always in the same way. As I said, the shock value really wheres off about a hundred pages in. Anyway, it turns out that in this kingdom, such practices are extremely common (hundreds of similar slaves are kept in the court) which aslo lead me to wonder why no one there gets bored of it. But it's probably best not to question the logic of erotica.The good things about this book were that it was a quick, simple read. Some parts were sort of hot, especially in the beginning. But seriously, it needs a lot more variety. If you can suspend disbelief and your into this sort of thing, I'd recommend it.
    • 1/5
      Ugh. I don't think this book is my thing. In all fairness, I'm only 50 pages in. Maybe it gets much better. But I fear I will never find out.

      I love smut. I love BDSM. I don't love shitty writing (Fifty Shades, I'm looking at you.) So I thought for sure these facts put me in the target audience for this book. It would seem I was wrong. I think the "prince" is a jackass and a creep. I can't get past it. There's no way I can possibly find this book erotic, because I'm too busy being pissed off.
    • 2/5
      Wow, props for Anne Rice for breaking away from the vampires to the extreme. Of course because of her previous writings I was expecting something totally not was on those pages. Once more She has a page turner here. Extremely Sexual and Erotic like it says right on the front cover. If you like to read your porn this is book for you. Pain and Passion! Beauty is the submissive in a dominant relationship. The extremes of the acts that Beauty must obey does make you shudder from within. Why would you want to ruin such beautiful skin is beyond me!?