Not Your Usual Cup of Tea — Anne Rice’s: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
Why you can’t always judge a book by the author …
Book Review | Anne Rice | Erotic Stories | What Did I Just Read?
Years ago when my blog was active, I would review about 3 books a week. It would end up being between 100 and 130 books a year, for several years in a row. I would do my best to finish each book I started. Sometimes that just didn’t happen, though. But what I learned through that process was to appreciate character development. Appreciate the love and emotional attachment the reader found in the story. Sometimes, that took a not so great book and made it enjoying. Other times, like in this instance, it made me hate the book in defense of the characters.
When you’re so angry at the author for the pain they inflicted on these made up characters … you know you’re reading an author with unimaginable talent.
I am sure a lot of you are just like me. When we hear a name like “Anne Rice” we think that what we’re about to open will jump off the page and change our lives. Maybe we will transcend to a new plane where fiction and reality merge and our present lives are put on hold for some new adventure.
That is exactly what happened when I read this book. Except, for me, that wasn’t particularly a good thing.
A bit of a back story on why I started reading this novel. I’ve been told for a decade that the Sleeping Beauty series was a MUST READ of Anne Rice. I just never found the time to commit to it. But earlier this year, a different friend started telling me it would really change my outlook on things.
It was that description that struck me. How could one book change my outlook?
As a writer myself, I know how hard it is to come up with worlds and new topics to keep readers focused on your work. But what Mrs Rice did was absolutely unparalleled. She took a completely fictitious country and made me care for these characters.
But I actually cared too much. I don’t want to give spoilers away, but it was hard to stomach. I’m an erotic writer and my writings themselves have a few times dabbled in the depraved and filth departments. But what this book contained went beyond what my imagination could manifest.
Anne Rice built a world around sex slaves and how these slaves were used for the kingdom. The world was full of amazing intricacies I could only imagine took years to plan out. Her writing, as expected, is top shelf. She made me cry for these characters. I wept at their failures and prayed for their success.
Given all the emotion that she pulled out of me, you would think that I would have been able to love this story. But, I cannot say that was the case.
I actually stopped reading with about an hour left to go in the book. I just couldn’t.
My heart broke for so many people in this world that it was too much emotion to bear.
Which tells me she was a phenomenal writer.
But not every book written by phenomenal writers is for everyone. We all have our preference and what suits one may not suit another. And that’s okay. We should still celebrate those books. Because YOU may love this book. And I hope you do.
For me though, in this world, I’m going to have to take a pass at. Maybe in ten years I’ll be ready to revisit it and see if I can stomach what it has to offer.
But until then, I am going to keep my fantasy world safely in the current plane of existence where sex slaves are not part of the kings and queens of the world’s courts.
~Skylar~
P.S. — If you liked this review, let me know if you would like me to resume my old habits of book reviews. I know that authors need reviews to help sales but I always did them for the readers. So others can find books that they may never have picked up if a particular review hadn’t jumped out at them.
So if this jumped out at you, let me know!
Also …
If you want to take a stab at this series … here you go!
The Sleeping Beauty Series
And if you want to know which friends were the culprits …
tried for a decade - finally talked me into it.
That’s interesting I will have a look.
"When you’re so angry at the author for the pain they inflicted on these made up characters … you know you’re reading an author with unimaginable talent."
Remember this the next time I'm irritated by some selfish Hotwife or whatever 😉