Anne Rice’s very naughty read, and my first erotic book

A 12y/o horny teenager who can't even form proper sentences was given a quill to pen down her most bizarre and grotesque intrusive sexual fantasies. She giggled everytime she wrote the word "spank". She puffed her chest when she wrote about her character being "blissfully" raped. She blushed when she made her character walk around naked with honey smeared on her genitals or when the insects were eating her flesh as a "punishment". And above all, she nutted when her character ate food with her mouth kneeling at the foot of her "master"/king like a fucking dog.

This story was not as dark as I had imagined it would be. Instead it was rather whimsical and mesmerizing. Though I found myself liking her, I had trouble connecting with Beauty for much if the book; it wasn't until later when she makes a decision to face what she fears most that I truly began to respect and admire her.

Her journey intrigued me, and yes there were even moments I truly envied her. Overall however, I could never see giving myself over as completely as many of the Princesses & Princes had done. The idea of letting myself be completely cared for & controlled by others sounds utterly tempting and appealing at face value, when you can shed all responsibility and just "be", but also sadly....monotonous and rather lonely, lacking in the deep abiding affection I crave, instead it seems to be mostly for the amusement of those in control here in the castle. So ar far as I can tell, this would not be the life for me, but still one that fascinates me as I learn more about myself.....

Poor Beauty. Went to sleep a Princess, got woken up deflowered & a slave to her Prince. A prince with no name at that! Ain't that a bitch? I wonder if he knows the words to Purple Rain? Nah… prolly not.

I browsed some of the reviews of this thing & have been conflicted about reading this trilogy. It seems people either love it or hate it; nothing like a polarizing read. So, I decided to find out for myself. I find I still feel a little conflicted.

Beauty is fickle as all get out but it seems fickle's in the water in this kingdom; everybody's in love with everybody! Sometimes, it seems the Lords & Ladies have a "special" one. Ok, ok sometimes two or three. Details. It's hard to tell if it's love or lust though but I guess you can fall 'in love' an awful lot when there's a time limit, a thousand slaves on hand & a fresh crop of slaves arrives on the regular, right?

These poor slaves are crawling around so much I felt like running to Dick's & buying a case of knee pads & at least some padded footies for them. I feel sorry for those grooms having to work on their feet. On the one hand, all the humiliation… GACK! I'd rather eat a box of spiders; but, on the other hand I had a hard time putting it down. And the punishments… Yee Gods… so much pain is doled out. I think the saving grace (for me) is that it's told from Beauty's perspective well, that plus the fact that none of the slaves are subjected to actual harm (permanent damage, cutting, scarred, burned) or beaten bloody (if blood is drawn, that's the end of the punishment). Yes, she's humiliated, punished & there's definitely dubious consent but at the end of the day she just wants to please her Masters & Mistresses. Not to mention she got herself sent to the worst & most dire punishment on purpose! So, she ain't hatin' on it that hard. If humiliation's her gig who am I to judge? That's all I'm sayin'. Furthermore, as she gets to know more of the slaves, she finds this general feeling of a desire to please is common amongst them. Some don't wish to leave the kingdom even when their time is up! Now that could be Stockholm Syndrome or just survival or it could be they actually are finding themselves & falling in love. It's no more unrealistic than any other romance novel published.

I don't think anyone can argue Ms. Rice's writing skill. She's clearly imaginative & diabolical. I've read some of her vampire & witch books in the past so I knew she could create some monstrous characters. It's difficult to tell if some of these people are truly evil since it's told almost exclusively from Beauty's perspective. Like I said, Beauty's fickle, impetuous & has a tendency to be easily swayed which all equates to not a good source. Then again she was asleep for 100 years so if she wants to get her groove on & have an adventure, I think she's allowed. I won't argue, it's not for everyone. It's distasteful at times, barbaric even but I'm still engrossed by it & moving directly into the next installment.