Given the original trilogy that Rice/Roquelaure delivered was very novel and insightful for its time...this book 4 so many years later simply seemed like the 40 year old+ perspective of the same dynamics. This older generation now richer, wiser, but still having the passions of a 20-something. I think the book would be a fun read for someone never having read the original books, then maybe there would be something new to see. Otherwise this felt like a very recycled concept and I'm a little disappointed. Average at best. Could easily put the book down. Too much "been there done that". Too much reliance on the powerful character development of the original trilogy...so much so I'm not convinced I learned much new about the characters from this entire volume.

This is perhaps the worst book I've ever read. So very disappointed in Anne Rice. Seems she wrote it as a hasty response to the god awful Shades of Grey books in an attempt to remind everyone of her superior writing ability in the genre, but she failed miserably. The story was trite, the characters boring, and it wasn't even sexy. And don't even get me started on the big secret from another kingdom - just ridiculous.

I must first state that I loved the original three Sleeping Beauty books. They were EXTREME and the most disturbingly erotic thing I've read to date, and that's saying something. This series is NOT for the vanilla only people of this world. It is BDSM to the nth degree. They were fast paced and both mentally and emotionally stimulating on an epic scale.

As for this book I must say I struggled until about page 120. It seemed to drag a bit. I'm not sure if it's because I was anticipating the same pace and stimulation as the original or if it truly was slow. After that it picked up a lot (no where near the original pace, but still way better than the beginning!). I loved the reintroduction of all the beloved characters. I enjoyed learning about who they each became after 20 years away from the Kingdom that brought them all together in the first place. I adored the new characters and all they brought to the new and vastly improved Kingdom. I enjoyed the erotic parts of the story, but wish that it was at the same level (in terms of the amount of interaction per book) as the original. All in all I enjoyed it, but would have loved it if it was at the same level as its predecessors.

And the guilty pleasure returns... .

The idea is intriguing, having Beauty to return as a ruler in the kingdom that enslaved her. She also did lots of er, reforms and initiatives to make Bellavalten a sexy, kinky fantasy land. However, the book has too many POVs it got me confused. And the last chapter with Lexius appearance is a WTF moment. And Dimitri?? I don't remember them at all from the previous books. Their descriptions are just too much. It cost one star from my rating. Overall, a quick read (skipped half of the paddling thing, paddling is paddling, boring) but I still recommend this over Fifty Shites of Grey.

Too many povs for me but I felt invested in the series and needed to finish. Predictable ending but not terrible.

2.5 This is the fourth of the famous trilogy - long before the 50 Shades drivel. Sadly, this one was disappointing compared to the others. Not that the original three were great works of art, but they were more entertaining, more exploring, and as books had more overall tension. The shifting POV between characters isn't a problem, but changing from between characters and 1st and 3rd didn't work here. The plot was simplistic and predictable and could have been so much more. The exploration of a complex topic was shallow and not done justice. And it isn't that erotic works can't have good plots and real exploration of that erotic world, but this just falls short. The good news was I bought it on a "under $3.00" sale.

This isn't as intriguing as the others in the series.